cycling – Page 10 – besthike.com

July 15, 2016August 2, 2019

cycle hiking Galiano Island

Cycle hiking the Gulf Islands – trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Galeano Island is 27.5 km long, 6 km at its widest point, and 1.6 km across at its narrowest point …

… population of 1258 inhabitants. …

Seeing a campground an hour out from the ferry landing at Sturdies Bay, I went to check out Montague Harbour Marine Provincial Park.

Nice setup. But the cost was $25 / site for up to 4 people. I prefer the pricing model $10 / person.

So I turned my bike around and wild camped nearby.

In the morning I packed up early and rode back to the campground to make coffee. There’s a good hike there called the Gray Peninsula Trail. About 2km.

I cycled on to the Pebble Beach hike trailhead. Breakfast was cold pizza on this bench.

You reach the coast at Cable Bay. Then saunter over to Pebble Beach.

On a trail map it looked like I could cycle a mountain bike trail to Laughlin lake, the largest body of water on Galiano. That’s a bit risky on a hybrid bike. Happily, it worked.

Four guys in this boat arrived for a picnic. Boat and kayak are the best ways to get to Dionisio.

I returned via the dead end Bodega Beach Drive seeing only 2 vehicles in 3 hours. An ideal place to cycle.

The best hike on the island was yet to come – Bodega Ridge.

Bodega started much like any other hike, a welcoming soft temperate rain forest trail.

The fun starts when you get up on the ridge. A steep drop with marvellous views.

Galiano was a hard day for me. I could barely keep my eyes open on the ferry to Pender.

I’d like to return one day. Kayak to camp at Dionisio. And climb Mt Galiano, the highest point on the island.

June 17, 2016June 15, 2016

C-Level Cirque, Banff

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Elevation gain: 455 m (1,500 ft)
Maximum elevation: 1920 m (6,300 ft)

I’d wild camped the previous night, rushing to the first discrete spot I could find when thunder and lightning started.

Hanging food in this kind of forest isn’t easy. This time I bent a small tree to the ground. Let it spring back to vertical with my bear bag in place.

Next morning I loaded up the panniers and headed for the trailhead. That had been my first night ever bike camping. 🙂

My goal was C-Level Cirque on nearby Cascade Mountain. One of the most popular day hikes out of Banff.

Looked like new snow had arrived the previous night.

The trail begins its ascent through a pleasantly varied forest of lodgepole pine, aspen and spruce, where calypso orchids, blue clematis and many colourful violets bloom in early summer.

Within a half-hour you reach two skeletal buildings, the remnants of an anthracite coal operation that flourished in the area from 1904 to 1922. A town of nearly 1,000 inhabitants called Bankhead was spread across the valley where the trail begins, and these old buildings were a part of the “C Level” operation—the highest coal seams worked within the eastern slope of Cascade Mountain. …

Banff – C Level Cirque

By the time I reached the first viewpoint, it was snowing. Rather than continue, I opted to turn back here.

I did see some fresh bear scat on the way down.

related – Hiking with Barry trip report on a sunny day

June 16, 2016June 14, 2016

Sundance Trail, Banff

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

In 1985, the United Nations declared Banff National Park, as one of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, a World Heritage Site. Banff remains one of the most popular tourist destinations in Canada. …

Millions of people visit each year. The Cave and Basin Centennial Centre is not the best tourist attraction in Banff. But it is popular.

Throughout most of its long history, the short 2 km loop trail leading through Sundance Canyon was accessible by road from the town of Banff. In the mid 1980s, the road beyond the Cave and Basin was converted to a paved walking and cycling path, which made the trip longer but more scenically varied. Many people bike to the canyon on the broad, paved trail, but the first half of the trip is an open and pleasant route for walkers as well. …

Banff.ca

End of the road is a picnic area and bike rack.

From there it’s a surprisingly steep climb up along the creek.

It’s a 2km loop with switchbacks on the final descent.

So convenient to Banff, this day hike is highly recommended.

related – bikepirate – Sundance

July 17, 2015July 18, 2015

climbing Mount Sopris, CO

trip report by besthike editor Rick McCharles

I’m arrived Colorado. 🙂 Only my second hiking trip to this fantastic State.

As a warm-up leg stretcher, on Saturday I attempted Sopris, the imposing peak above Carbondale. Elevation 12,953 feet.

Sopris

We were up at 6am. My host, Brion, owner of Independence Run and Hike, wished it had been 5am. The Colorado Rockies are famous for mid-day lightning storms.

At the trailhead Brion took off for a training run. I turned the opposite direction to start up Sopris.

Brion warned me of aggressive cows and possibly even bulls. They weren’t aggressive with us. But they were a bit of a pain.

I met Matt – recently moved to Colorado from the East coast – at the start. He and I walked together to the top.

We took no breaks up to the Thomas lakes. Happy with the speed of ascent, we decided to carry on and have our first break above the treeline.

Lunch on the ridge was terrific. Big vistas down both sides.

Above the treeline the scramble up Sopris begins. The trail disappears at times up unstable boulders.

Our goal was the first summit. It looked an easy hour from our lunch vantage.

Up on the scree ridge footing gets easier leading to the false summit. Many stop here as the views are just about as good as on the summit. But Matt and I felt good. Wanted to go all the way.

And the weather was holding. Check this blue sky. 🙂

Sadly, in the other direction big scary clouds were rushing up the valley. When we saw the first lightning bolts, we turned back. 🙂

I planned to hurry down to the lakes. And cool my feet in cold alpine waters.

It’s far more dangerous going down than climbing up. Be careful.

A real highlight this time of year is wild flowers.

As the weather worsened, I increased my pace. But still got caught in a downpour the last 20 minutes to the parking lot.

I hid from the rain at the pit toilet, changing clothes for the long mountain bike ride back to Carbondale.

I always carry empty dry bags in my pack just for this kind of soaking rain.

It was a fun, muddy roll down the mountain. The best part of the day.

more photos

related – Hiking in Colorado – Mount Sopris

March 28, 2015March 26, 2015

Expedition Alaska Adventure Race

I’m planning to volunteer for Dave Adlard’s NEXT expedition race. Social media. Photos. Video.

June 28th – July 4th, 2015.

Over almost 7 days, teams will undertake a 340 – 600 km (200 – 350 miles) expedition over some of the most beautiful, epic and challenging terrain on Earth.

Racers will use a map, compass and their own wits to navigate their way over a (mostly) unmarked route by mountain biking, rafting, paddling, trekking, canyoneering, coasteering, glacier travel, orienteering, trail running, fixed ropes, and a few other surprises through the amazing expanse of Alaska’s Kenai peninsula!

expeditionak.com

March 27, 2015March 26, 2015

Danny MacAskill’s Solar Eclipse

On Friday March 20th a Solar Eclipse plunged Europe into darkness. Photographer Rutger Pauw teamed up with Danny MacAskill to capture the moment on Danny’s homeland, the Isle of Skye in Scotland.

With just one small window of opportunity to get the shot he had dreamed about, Rutger and the team spent days scouring to select the perfect location. This clip gives a unique behind the scenes look at how they found the spot and how they managed to capture one of the most creative shots of the year.

grindtv

Click PLAY or watch the story behind this photo on YouTube.

(via Adventure Blog)

October 30, 2014October 27, 2014

Danny Macaskill: The Ridge

#TheRidge is the brand new film from Danny Macaskill… For the first time in one of his films Danny climbs aboard a mountain bike and returns to his native home of the Isle of Skye in Scotland to take on a death-defying ride along the notorious Cuillin Ridgeline.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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.