Three Capes Track, Tasmania

Posted on October 18, 2017 by Rick Mc

46km, 4 days

Maximum 48 hikers starting each day.

When the Three Capes Track opened two days before Christmas 2015, it immediately set a new benchmark for Australian bushwalks, creating a hike that’s both heady and hedonistic, combining the raw beauty of the southern hemisphere’s highest sea cliffs with comforts and interpretation unsurpassed by any other trail in the country.

… its finest moments come when the track teeters along the cliff edge on its approach to Cape Pillar and the Blade. As the Roaring 40s winds inevitably howl in from the Southern Ocean, there’s a humbling sense of being poised at the edge of the world. …

How to walk Tasmania’s Three Capes Track

3CT Map

Before you get too excited know that this is a private hike – cost AU$495.

Book here.

2018 Inca Trail permits available Oct 1, 2017

Posted on September 20, 2017 by Rick Mc

… for the first time the Ministry of Culture is releasing all permits for 2018 on 1 October 2017.

With only 500 permits available per day, tour operators are urging travellers to book the trek, which ends at the 550-year old Incan citadel of Machu Picchu, as soon as they can. “Tickets usually sell out almost immediately for the peak trekking months of April, May and August,” …

Travellers who miss out on Inca Trail permits can still trek to Machu Picchu on an alternative route – the Salkantay trek for which no permit is needed. “On the Salkantay trek, you pass through small communities and farmsteads, and approach Machu Picchu from the other side. …

Inca Trail permits to be released four months early

No panic. We like the Salkantay (Salcantay) better in any case. And you can do the Salkantay independently if you prefer. The over-popular Inca Trek must be guided.

Greater Patagonian Trail documentary

Posted on June 23, 2017 by Rick Mc

4 travelers. 4 months. No support team. A documentary following an adventure into Patagonia for exploration and conservation.

Garrett Martin launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $15,000 for an adventure-travel documentary on the longest continual trail network in South America.

They started December 22nd, 2016 on a 4-month journey through Chile.

I’m planning on returning myself to section hike parts of the Greater Patagonian Trail January 2018.

Ausangate Trek, Peru

Posted on May 29, 2017 by Rick Mc

Drew posted the best Ausangate page we’ve yet seen.

Ausangate is one of our top 10 hikes in the world.

Distance: 42.8 miles
Elevation Gain: 9406 ft
Minimum Elevation: 12498 ft
Maximum Elevation: 16,828 ft
Time: 5 days
Permits: No
Visa: Single entry tourist visa to Peru for US citizens
Trail Condition: Wide fired road on the start which narrows to single track and alpaca trails
Cell Phone Reception: None

Trail to Peak – A COMPLETE GUIDE TO THE AUSANGATE TREK

If you are considering this amazing adventure, that page is MUST READ.

have you trekked Paine in Patagonia?

Posted on April 10, 2017 by Rick Mc

Without question one of the best hikes in the world. Most popular is the W Circuit.

Click PLAY or watch a teaser on YouTube.

Cost is about $600 / person for 5 days / 4 nights in 2017 if you sign on with Vertice Patagonia.

Even better and longer is the the full Paine Circuit (often called the “O” as contrasted with the red “W”).

w_sm

If interested know that logistics are getting increasingly difficult. Costs are going up. But it’s still well worth making your way to southern South America in the trekking season.

Click over to our Paine information page for details.

Trump donates to National Park Service

Posted on April 3, 2017 by Rick Mc

This is a surprise.

Trump donating first-quarter salary to National Park Service

The press secretary hands over a $78,333 check to the interior secretary and the superintendent of Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

Much appreciated. But here’s the down side for hikers:

The Center for Western Priorities, a conservation policy organization, quickly criticized the donation as a “publicity stunt” in light of budget cuts the president has proposed for the Department of the Interior.

“You can’t propose $1.6 billion in cuts to our public lands, then pretend a $78,000 donation makes it better,” said Greg Zimmerman, the center’s deputy director. “The White House needs to protect America’s parks and public lands, not pay lip service to them.”