cycling – Page 10 – besthike.com

October 11, 2014October 10, 2014

Tyres & Earth: Meeting Mike Howarth

Ashley Crowther:

… It seems like an age ago since I first met Mike, I was looking for some company to trek up to Annapurna Base Camp in the Nepal Himalaya. Although this is a easy route to tackle on your own, I believe that sometimes moments are best shared with two.

Posting a thread on Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree Forum looking for people, I received an email from a Yorkshire man who was currently cycling around and across Nepal, but wanted to leave his bike behind for some good old fashioned walking.

We caught up in Pokhara, by Phewa Lake for a beer and a cheeky Western treat of Pizza. …

You’re currently in South America, what has it been like and where have you been?

… I started my travels in Buenos Aires, dubbed the Paris of South America. I spent a month learning Spanish and exploring this colourful and vibrant city. From there I travelled to Argentina’s southernmost city; Usuhaia. El Fin Del Mundo (The End of the World) and started my trip north toward Columbia after a last minute trip to Antartica. I cycled through Patagonia, the Argentinan and Chilean Lake Districts before stopping off for a breather and a slice of city life in Santiago and Valpariso.

From there I linked up with the spine of the Andes and rode through the Argentina wine growing areas of Mendoza and Cafayate before crossing in to Boliva and spending over 6 weeks on the Bolivian Antiplano crossing the spectacular Salar De Uyuni. I am currently in the heart of the Peruvian Andes, and plan to follow these north as closely as possible. …

read more

September 11, 2014September 9, 2014

Helm Creek to Black Tusk

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Whistler is a Canadian resort town in the southern Pacific Ranges of the Coast Mountains in the province of British Columbia, Canada, approximately 125 km (78 mi) north of Vancouver. …

Over two million people visit Whistler annually, primarily for alpine skiing and snowboarding and, in summer, mountain biking …

Very few of those 2 million visitors climb up to one of the most iconic Canadian peaks, Black Tusk.

The Black Tusk is a stratovolcano and a pinnacle of volcanic rock in Garibaldi Provincial Park of British Columbia, Canada. At 2,319 m (7,608 ft) above sea level, the upper spire is visible from a great distance in all directions. It is particularly noticeable from the Sea-to-Sky Highway just south of Whistler …

Most hikers approach from the Taylor Meadows campground to the south near Garibaldi Lake, although there is a second route from the north that travels by way of Helm Lake. …

Locals advised me to avoid the crowded trailhead off the highway, and hike via the Helm Creek Trail instead. That’s the Cheakamus Lake trailhead, closer to Whistler.

I bought my $10 / person / night camping permit online from BC Parks. You can pay cash at a machine only at the Diamond Head and Garibaldi Lake parking lots, not at the Cheakamus Lake parking lot.

Why doesn’t BC Parks have an office somewhere near Whistler?

Cheakamus Lake to Black Tusk Meadows via Helm Creek:

• Length, 14.5 km; suggested time, 6 to 7 hours one way;
• elevation change, 600 metres.
• 1.5 km along the Cheakamus Lake trail, drop down to a bridge across the Cheakamus River.

On the other side of the river the trail switchbacks upward steeply to the Helm Creek Campground.

I carried on to gorgeous Black Tusk Meadows.

Hikers coming down from the south summit told me it was too late in the day for me to start up.

After weighing my options (I was carrying a head lamp) I finally decided to wander the meadows, instead.

It turned out to be a leisurely night.

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Next morning I turned my back on Black Tusk and headed back down to my car.

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I had time for a sidetrip to pretty Cheakamus Lake via lush temperate rain forest.

Black Tusk is off limits to mountain bikes, but the ride to this lake is superb.

All in all, a wonderful 2-day hike.

If I had one more day I would have done the 34km route Helm Creek, Panorama Ridge and Black Tusk shoulder detailed in this 9min video.

Click PLAY or watch Summer hiking featuring Helm Creek, Panorama Ridge and Black Tusk on YouTube.

I might even exit from there to the highway. It’s still possible to hitchhike near Whistler. 🙂

more photos from my hike

related – BC Parks – Garibaldi Provincial Park

September 5, 2014September 3, 2014

swamp cycling northern Saskatchewan

Yep.

It’s been wet this past summer.

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Photos by Warren Long. 🙂

August 25, 2014August 25, 2014

cycling Lost Lake, Whistler B.C.

Whistler Ski Resort is a cycling mecca in the summer.

There’s something for everyone within a very short radius.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Rockin’ Ronnie and I thoroughly enjoyed the medium difficulty network around Lost Lake. (The one short black trail we tried was too technical.)

A great day. Next time we plan to try the easier downhill tracks off the ski lift. 🙂

more photos

July 5, 2014July 2, 2014

hiking Acadia National Park – meh

Don’t get me wrong. I liked Acadia National Park in Maine. But as a hiking destination, you can do better.

Why?

The most famous hike, the Precipice Wall, is closed every year from March 15 – August 15th. Peregrine falcons are nesting.

Valley Cove Wall, Jordan Cliffs and Beech Cliffs are also closed March 15 – August 15th.

no legal backcountry camping

it’s often crowded, over 2 million visitors a year in a very small area. Only about 120 miles of official trails.

only two campgrounds in the National Park: Blackwoods and Seawall

On the bright side, there’s no need to hike to and from your vehicle. Using the free Park bus shuttle opens up all sorts of interesting options.

And the trails are good. The views excellent.

I spent only 2 days in Acadia. Then set off for Mt Washington, New Hampshire.

… But if I went back to Acadia, I’d plan to mountain bike the Carriage Roads rather than hike.

June 16, 2014June 13, 2014

Tour de Great Himalayan Trail

I mountain biked 2 days of the GHT (Annapurna) last year. Glorious. But tough.

Stretching for more than 1700 km (1056 miles) across Nepal, the Great Himalaya Trail is making a bid for becoming one of the top long distance trekking routes in the world.

While the infrastructure along the trail is still being built, it has already become a mecca for adventure.

In the video below, we get a 4-minute look at the GHT from some mountain bikers …

Adventure Blog

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Facebook page.

May 12, 2014May 12, 2014

cycling Huayhuash

Joey Schusler:

The goal: to circumnavigate one of the most wonderful and wicked mountain ranges in the world – the Huayhuash, by bicycle.

This was all a spur of the moment idea; part of the vicious cycle of making every adventure more thrilling than the last.

January was the off-season, or rainy season, for the Andes so the wilderness would be completely desolate. The three friends hoped to be the second group to complete this trek on bikes. However, they underestimated the relentless weather they would encounter as they traveled for a week above treeline. …

Official Selection: 2014 5Point Film Festival

Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo. (13 mins)

My Huayhuash hike 2004 was my personal best ever. I’d much rather walk it than cycle. 🙂

April 21, 2014

mountain biking the GR20

Dan Harmon and Dale Weatherson … Are you crazy?

It’s super difficult to walk!

the GR20 is notorious as being one of the most scenic, yet most difficult hiking trails in Europe. The harsh, granite terrain rises steeply out of the Mediterranean on the French island of Corsica. In July, when the snow on the peaks has melted and the refuges are open, the route becomes home to thousands of walkers who traverse the island in about two weeks. They move from refuge to refuge, eating and sleeping in relative comfort before the next stage. One must therefore question why anyone would choose to attempt to complete this route, almost 200km in length with more elevation change than Mt Everest, by mountain bike in early May!

MTB’ing Corsica

April 19, 2014April 19, 2014

cycling the Carretera Austral

In Chile.

Mike Howarth:

… a grand feat of engineering linking the remote and isolated communities of Puerto Montt in the north with Villa O’Higgins in the south. Perhaps a curiouser byproduct is that of the adoption of this rough isolated road spanning 1200 kms by cyclists. Voted one of the top ten cycling destinations in the world, each year more and more come to make their pilgrimage to the holy grail of adventurous cycling. …

see Mike’s photo journal – Carretera Austral: A Ripio Oddeseey

There’s GREAT access to remote hiking from that roadway, by the way.

April 15, 2014April 12, 2014

day hiking the Fanie Botha

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

I would have loved to trek famed multi-day Fanie Botha Trail in South Africa.

But the best I could do was to day hike sections:

• Lone Creek Falls
• Bridal Veil Falls
• Mac Mac Falls
• Mac Mac Pools

Lone Creek Falls, a National monument, is yet another of the dozens of impressive waterfalls close to Graskop, South Africa.

Nearby are the equally impressive, but much more popular, Bridal Veil Falls.

I parked at Ceylon Hut on the Fanie Botha, then ran to Bridal Veil. The trail here is signed for mountain bikes, as well.

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From the base of the falls, there’s a rough scramble up the escarpment. Scenic and challenging.

Mac Mac Falls is another National monument. I’d been warned the weather here is often misty and/or rainy. But this was the only day I got the typical slogging in the fog.

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Parking at Mac Mac Falls, I hiked both directions on the Fanie Botha. Towards President Burger Hut (… yep, that’s the real name) is was mellow forest trail.

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