Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
3 days, 75mi+
Mike:
I had a funny idea a few months ago: Colorado and Utah are at the low (we hope) ebb of a 10-year drought cycle, meaning our trails are desiccated and our rivers low.
… it occurred to me that this would be an *ideal* time to use fatbikes to access Cataract Canyon, taking advantage of the low flows therein to float it with packrafts.
Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.
☺
Here’s another VIDEO edit from the same trip.
(via Hiking in Finland)
Polar adventurer Eric Larsen next month will saddle up on the snow and pedal south. Way south. The goal of his solo expedition, which starts in December, is the geographic South Pole and a world record as the first man to do the trip on two wheels.
New gear in the world of bikes, namely fat tires and the frames to support them, allow riders to make tracks easier on snow. Larsen picked the Surly Moonlander bike, which has 5-inch-wide tires and can haul copious gear on racks and panniers. …
Click PLAY or check the bike on YouTube
How often have you, or someone you know, eschewed a bicycle helmet to look cool at the expense of safety?
Well, gamble with a traumatic brain injury no more. Two Swedish inventors created an invisible helmet called Hövding …
The helmet is actually a thick collar — like one you might see on a heavy winter jacket — with an airbag hood underneath that deploys should you get in an accident. …
Great idea. But it’s single use, $450.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Wyatt Roscoe from Jackson, Wyoming, conceived a grand tour.
Solo by bike, packraft and on foot.
Immaculate Chaos – Circumnavigation of Jackson
Click through. Those are some amazing stories and photos.
Jackson is a major gateway for millions of tourists visiting nearby Grand Teton National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and the National Elk Refuge.
I saw this linked from Hiking in Finland.
The Way of St. James … (Spanish: El Camino de Santiago) … is the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried. …
… existed for over a thousand years. It was one of the most important Christian pilgrimages during medieval times, together with Rome and Jerusalem, and a pilgrimage route on which a plenary indulgence could be earned …
.. many pilgrims continue from Santiago de Compostela to the Atlantic coast of Galicia, to finish their journeys at Spain’s westernmost point, Cape Finisterre. …
… pilgrim’s hostels with beds in dormitories dot the common routes, providing overnight accommodation …
Staying at hostels usually cost between five and ten euros per night per bed in a dormitory, although a few hostels … operate on voluntary donations. Pilgrims are usually limited to one night’s accommodation and are expected to leave by eight in the morning to continue their pilgrimage. …
Canadian Randall St. Germain did the 500mi (800km) French Way averaging 26mi (40km) a day.
Camino de Santiago in 20 Days: My Way on the Way of St. James is essential reading for anyone foolish enough to fancy the French Way.
Randall is not a professional writer. Unlike more poetic pilgrimage reports, Randall details the awful weather, dog bites, exhaustion, bed bugs, … 😦
It’s unvarnished.
Randall:
Never to be included on the final list of Pulitzer Prize nominees, or in Oprah’s Book Club, Camino de Santiago in 20 Days is not your granddaddy’s Camino book, either.
I wanted to maintain the integrity of my Camino from St. Jean Pied de Port to Santiago de Compostela. My writing had to be honest and based on events which actually happened. I know some of it may be dry, but I wanted to keep my journey intact and not make up anything, including dialogue. Believe me, if I made sh*t up, this book would be far more entertaining.
Randall carried a tent the entire Way — and never slept in it. Yet he hates the hostels. Hates smokers, snorers and farters. … In fact he’s not all that fond of people.
Randall’s foot problems alone are enough to turn away most pilgrims. Not to mention the lack of toilets.
Still interested? …
Check his website – Camino My Way
Or friend him on Facebook. As you might have guessed, Randall went back to the Camino …
Me? … I’m still leaning towards mountain biking The Way. Inspired and informed by Randall, I’ll be tenting it every night.
Mine was a review copy. Thanks Randall!
The Way is a 2010 American drama film. It is a collaboration between Martin Sheen and his son Emilio Estevez to honour the Camino de Santiago (Way of St. James) and promote the traditional pilgrimage. …
Plot
Thomas Avery is an American ophthalmologist who goes to France following the death of his adult son, killed in the Pyrenees during a storm while walking the Camino …
Tom’s purpose is initially to retrieve his son’s body. However, in a combination of grief and homage to his son, Tom decides to walk the ancient spiritual trail where his son died. …
He reluctantly falls in with three other pilgrims …. Joost is an overweight man from Amsterdam who says he is walking the route to lose weight … Sarah … is fleeing an abusive husband, who says she is walking the pilgrimage to quit smoking. Jack is an Irish travel writer who when younger had desires to be great author like Yeats or Joyce but never wrote the novel he dreamed of. …
The film has been well received. It has garnered a “Certified Fresh” rating of 82% on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes …
The consensus description is: “It may be a little too deliberately paced for more impatient viewers, but The Way is a worthy effort from writer/director Emilio Estevez, balancing heartfelt emotion with clear-eyed drama that resists cheap sentiment.”
It is pretty good. I’m still leaning towards mountain biking The Way, however, rather than walking it.
I joined Netflix.ca in order to FINALLY watch this film. 🙂
Do you know the Way of St. James (Camino De Santiago)?
… the pilgrimage route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the apostle Saint James are buried.
Click PLAY or watch the trailer on YouTube. Martin Sheen did a great job depicting the experience.
I’m more likely to bike, than hike.
(via Gadling)
Now this is what I want to do.
A hike/packraft/bike loop of the Lakina River near McCarthy, Alaska. With Paige Brady.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
(via Hiking in Finland’s Week in Review)
Tom Mangan calls the misnamed Hiking in Finland editor Hendrik Morkel the best hiking blogger we’ve got at the moment.
I’ve long subscribed. But on Tom’s recommendation I went straight to the site to see what I could learn. … Unfortunately, I was instantly distracted by this hilarious video linked by Hendrik:
Ted Bear teaches you how to survive, against all odds.
(via Hiking in Finland)
From now on I’ll pay closer attention to Hiking in Finland. Hendrik does have some near poetic content, including this one – Driving In The Mud and Rain
Rachel Tynan is a hiker who loves Waterton National Park in Alberta, as I do.
She posted at terrific trip report on their scramble of Vimy Peak:
Mt. Vimy is one of my favourite mountains in Waterton as it is the one you always see from the town site. I went online to get information and they SAY it’s a 4 mile bike ride to the trailhead and a 3 mile hike up with the last mile being a scramble. Let me warn you now, they are WRONG! …
… on the Wishbone Trail you can walk or bike this trail for approximately 4 miles (6.5 km) where you will encounter the Vimy trail which is a steep trail up a valley and onto the mountain. …
… about a mile to climb. There is no trail, you have to create your own. By this point I was so tired and had been stopping every 5 minutes, I really didn’t know how I was going to scramble up this steep peak. But we took our time and up we went! …
read the full trip report – Hiking to Mount Vimy Peak in Waterton, Alberta
I’ll be headed to Waterton in September to complete the Triple Crown. Just watch me.
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