Bart Jordans updated his guidebook on Bhutan. (April 2008).
(via bluepeak)
Lonely Planet walking guidebooks in decline?
Through besthike recommendations, people have bought hundreds of Lonely Planet guidebooks. They reinvented the genre, in my opinion. Never buy any other company without first comparing against LP.
Sadly, for the past 6-7 years I’ve started to notice problems.
LP author Thomas Kohnstamm has a new book coming out this week:
A Swashbuckling Tale of High Adventures, Questionable Ethics, and Professional Hedonism
THE Lonely Planet guidebook empire is reeling from claims by one of its authors that he plagiarised and made up large sections of his books and dealt drugs to make up for poor pay.
Thomas Kohnstamm also claims in a book that he accepted free travel, in contravention of the Melbourne-based company’s policy.
His revelations have rocked the travel publisher, which sells more than six million guides a year – guides that generations of tourists have come to rely on.
Mr Kohnstamm, whose book is titled Do Travel Writers Go To Hell? said yesterday that he had worked on more than a dozen books for Lonely Planet, including their titles on Brazil, Colombia, the Caribbean, South America, Venezuela and Chile.
In one case, he said he had not even visited the country he wrote about.
“They didn’t pay me enough to go Colombia,” he said.
“I wrote the book in San Francisco. I got the information from a chick I was dating – an intern in the Colombian consulate. …
More alarming for hikers is that LP does not seem to be updating any their excellent walking guides as frequently as in the past.
BBC recently purchased controlling interest in Lonely Planet. BBC has their own problems, however. I’m not sure LP can recover.
Backpacker magazine – find a hike USA
Their choices are a bit of a random hodge podge but include some good calls:
I particularly like their QUICK START page:
Trip-planning tips, gear lists, safety advice, and other essential wisdom ever hiker should know.
PLANNING
GEAR
FOOD
FITNESS
SKILLS
SURVIVAL
LEAVE NO TRACE
FIRST AID
STAYING WARM AND DRY
BUGS, BEARS AND POISON IVYBackpacking 101 – Backpacker
hiker and builder – Ron Strickland
Ron Strickland has a site dedicated to long distance trails and the National Trails System in the USA.
He’s authored a number of books including:
I’ve been writing about hiking since around 1999. Ron’s done more. And for somewhat longer than that.
Ron Strickland began to create the 1200-mile Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT) in 1970. Seven years later he founded the non-profit Pacific Northwest Trail Association (PNTA) to locate, develop, maintain, and protect the Trail. He described its Continental Divide-to-Pacific Ocean route in The Pacific Northwest Trail Guide.
His current project is the creation of the transcontinental Sea-To-Sea Route.
He is excited about C2C’s (1) vast scale, (2) proximity to record numbers of potential hikers, and (3) potential to transform America’s National Trails System. He says, “Hikers know that initially a proposed long walk can seem overwhelmingly difficult. But the wiser heads among them realize that even the longest journey is accomplished one step at a time. So, too, the Sea-To-Sea Route at first glance may seem like an impossible dream. But in 2007, having already convinced many skeptics, I know that I am on the right path and that this project is the perfect way for many hikers `to give back to the trail'” …
Keep up the good fight, Ron!
And congratulations on your March 2007 wedding to Christine Hartmann. There’s hope for us old bachelor hikers yet.
… married him even though she’d been winter hiking with him on the Appalachian Trail and knew what she was getting into.
It’s a great story. To learn more, start with Ron’s Biography.
Forbes Traveler – best day hikes USA
Several of my favourite bloggers picked up on a story in Forbes Traveler magazine.
It’s not comprehensive review, rather a few picks from well respected experts. (Those in bold are also on our list of best hikes in North America. )
Mt. Katahdin, Baxter State Park, Maine Kennecott District, Wrangell St Elias National Park, Alaska Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Naples, Florida Grayson Highlands State Park, Virginia
Lost Coast, King Range National Conservation Area, Northern California Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness, White River National Forest, Colorado (info) Mt. St Helens, Oregon Na Pali Coast State Wilderness Park, Kaua’i, Hawaii Coyote Gulch, Escalante Subdistrict, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah details with photos – Spectacular Day Hikes – Jon Brooks – Forbes Traveler
The wildlife at Corkscrew Swamp, choice of Jeffrey Hunter of the American Hiking Society, looks fascinating.
Limpkin (Aragua itis — Family: Aramidae) – original – flickr – leppyone
more interesting photos of the swamp on flickr
I’m hiking the Na Pali Coast myself this week.
KauaÊ»i – Hawaiian hiking paradise
I’ve finally done it.
Made the trekker’s pilgrimage to the volcanic island of KauaÊ»i (also spelled Kauai). My first trip.
There are more miles of hiking trails here than on the rest of Hawaiian islands combined. It’s the “Garden Isle”. The one used in the opening fly-in scene for Jurassic Park.
The most useful website I’ve found is Hawaii Trails:
The second highest peak is Mount WaiÊ»aleÊ»ale near the center of the island, one of the wettest spots on Earth with an annual average rainfall of 460in (11.7m). The resulting floods have eroded deep canyons, including what Mark Twain dubbed the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific” — Waimea Canyon, 10mi (16km) long and up to 3000ft (900m) deep.
We’ll head first to Waimea. I’m using Robert Smith’s hiking guidebook:
hiking the Canary Islands, Spain
If I was flying there today, I’d head for the Island of Gran Canaria.
The Canary Islands are an African archipelago which are part of Spain and consist of seven islands of volcanic origin in the Atlantic Ocean. They are located off the north-western coast of mainland Africa (Morocco and the Western Sahara).
That’s the home of Rambling Roger and his wife Eileen. They are super experienced hiking guides. Or they can set you up with the best guidebook and maps for your independent hiking.
The guidebook is self-published by Roger, available hard copy or PDF.
I don’t know much about Gran Canaria. Let’s see some “interesting photos” on flickr.
original – roca del cangrejo – flickr – maccanti
original – flickr – maccanti
Nice!
Will contact you when I get there, Roger.
best California hiking guidebook
Once again I went to California, unsure where to hike.
There are too many choices. Too many good guidebooks. Here’s the one I ended up buying:
One of the authors is Tom Stienstra, sometimes called “the other Tom” in relation to Tom Mangan of Two Heel Drive. (Mangan reviews hikes on the San Jose Mercury News. Stienstra does the same for the San Francisco Chronicle. Both are Bay Area papers.)
Turns out Stienstra is the “best-selling hiking guidebook author in America”. It says so on his book, so it must be true.
AND Stienstra’s in the stars with John Muir:
Tom Stienstra inducted into California Outdoors Hall of Fame in 2003
I don’t want to downplay the co-Author’s contribution:
Ann Marie Brown has lived in and explored the San Francisco Bay Area for 15 years. A hiker extraordinaire, she has logged more than 10,000 miles exclusively on California trails. …
Anyhoo, if you are looking for the best overview of hikes in California, this is it. They’ve divided California into 16 hiking zones.
I wanted to hike the “Southern Deserts”. For that region “best hikes†are recommended including:
Tahquitz Canyon
Ryan Mountain Trail
Mastodon Peak
Lost Palms Oasis
I did 3 of these. All excellent
This guidebook has the guts to recommend “best hikes” in categories including:
Best Beach and Coastal Walks
Best Butt-kickers
Best Desert Hikes
Best Hikes with a View
Best for Kids
Best Summit Hikes
Best for Wildlife
… and many more
The best overview of California: California Hiking (Moon Handbooks)
East Coast Trail, Newfoundland
Check this out …
Located on the East Coast Trail between Port Kirwin and Aquaforte, Newfoundland
original – flickr – iJohn
The 540 km East Coast Trail is located on the east coast of Canada along the scenic shores of the Avalon Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
220 km of the Trail have been hardened to a world class hiking standard. This section of Trail stretches from Fort Amherst, in historic St. John’s, to Cappahayden, on the beautiful southern shore. It is equipped with trail signage, maps and supporting trail information to enhance your hiking experience along our shores and through the wilderness. This section of Trail consists of a series of 18 paths each with a northern and a southern trailhead that is marked with distinctive signage. Each of these paths can be hiked as an individual experience. Some paths are easy strolls, and some are longer and more rugged. …
320 km of Trail are under development and are not supported with trail maps and signage. This section of the Trail includes the northeastern tip of the Avalon, from St. John’s to Topsail Beach, as well as the southeastern tip of the Avalon, from Cappahayden to Trepassey. This section offers many hiking routes that have not been hardened or signed, presenting a greater number of hiking challenges. You should contact us directly, at eastcoasttrail@nfld.net, for specific information on trail conditions, description and access points.
Our goal is to have the 540 km fully constructed, signed, with map and route descriptions available by 2016. The following outline provides a brief overview of our trail development schedule. This schedule is subject to funding and change. …
Since the West Coast Trail in Canada is our favourite hike in the world, we should get out to compare the East Coast Trail.
Recommended guidebook:
National Geographic Adventure photo winners
Kraig linked to some fantastic pics:
… head over to the National Geographic Adventure website and take a gander at the winners of their “Life’s An Adventure photo contest.
Kraig’s favourite was taken on Mt. Kilimanjaro.
I like this one: Climbing California’s Mount Humphreys
besthike.com 