Category: desert

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Markha trek, Ladakh – day 0

trip report by besthike editor Rick McCharles

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | day 7 | info page

I flew Delhi to Leh in September (the best month) to circumambulate the most famous mountain in the area, Stok Kangri.

LehAT A GLANCE

  • the most popular hike in Ladahk, northern India, bordering Tibet
  • easy access out of Leh
  • 6-8 days
  • 111km (69mi)
  • early June to mid-October
  • moderate-demanding
  • big risk of altitude sickness
  • 2-3 high passes (4900m-5200m)
  • several nights at very high altitude
  • sleep in tent or in “homestays”
  • frequent flights from Delhi. Infrequent flights from Srinagar and Jammu.
  • hike independently or with a Guide
  • check the confusing tourist visa requirements for India. Some nations can get a visa-on-arrival at airports.

Nobody speaks about hiking distance in the Himalaya. Only altitude truly matters. Markha ranges from 3190m – 5287m.

Acclimation is critical.

I spent 3 nights in dusty, cluttered Leh. And a 4th day cycling from the highest road pass – 38kms back to town.

I was hoping 4 days would be long enough to successfully start from Stok, rather than the usual place – Zingchen.

click for larger version

I’ll leave my luggage locked up in a Leh hotel. And try for a solo, independent, tenting week in the high mountains.

Wish me luck. 🙂

See all my high resolution photos from this day on flickr.

day 0 | day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | day 5 | day 6 | day 7 | info page

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Copper Canyon Traverse, Mexico

In 2013 Justin “Trauma” Lichter and Cam “Swami” Honan completed a 381 mile (613 km) traverse of Mexico´s Copper Canyon region. A first thru hike.

Justin Lichter at the base of Basaseachi Falls
Justin Lichter at the base of Basaseachi Falls

The traverse was a combination of hiking, packrafting, swimming, bushwhacking, scrambling, crawling and weaving our way around clandestine drug fields.

Our route linked together the six major canyons (along with numerous minor ones) that constitute the Copper Canyon region. It took us from the region’s northwest corner (Basaseachi Falls) to its southeastern limits (Sinforosa Canyon). In the order in which they were traversed, the canyons were as follows:

Candamena
Oteros
Copper
Urique
Batopilas
Sinforosa

The Hiking Life

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Zebra Canyon and Tunnel Slot, Escalante

Utah Canyons STORE & COFFEE SHOP should be your first stop on arriving in Escalante, Utah.

We have fuel, custom annotated topographic maps, guidebooks and “desert tested” gear to help you fully enjoy your remote day-hike, canyoneering adventure or epic backpacking trip. …

Get local information on what hikes are best while you are there.

There are plenty of fantastic overnight and day hikes in the area.

Zebra Canyon and Tunnel Slot looks perfect to me.

… we decided to stop and check out the beautiful Zebra Canyon. The added bonus to this route was tunnel Slot, a very dark tunnel through the sandstone, filled with ice cold water. Visiting these two locations took us 3.5 hours.

We went as far as we could up Zebra first then turned around and hiked out then up the sandstone to the top of this canyon to look down it. Up top we found tons of moqui marbles in all various sizes. …

After this canyon we hiked straight towards Tunnel Slot by taking the obvious cut in the terrain connecting the two canyons. Arriving at the top of Tunnel we found that it was full of water whose depth was hard to determine and ended up being about thigh deep. Tunnel Slot is a very short oddity of a canyon due to its shape but was fun to visit. It also had the coldest water I think I’ve ever felt in my life. The short stint in the water, maybe 75 feet made my feet and legs feel like they suddenly belonged to someone else. …

trip report from 2012

2012 Escalante (65)

2012 Escalante (23)

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researching Fish River Canyon, Namibia

The Fish River Canyon 5 day trek is one of the best in the world.

But it’s very difficult to get a reservation, even a year in advance. I’ve been turned down for all dates in June 2015. 😦

But I may try to show up at the trailhead anyway. Hang out. And look to substitute for a hiker missing from a booked group. (You must have a minimum of 3 people to register, in any case.)

Wish me luck.

- by Daniel Smith
– by Daniel Smith

I’ve put up a draft information page on the Fish River Canyon trek with what I was able to find out online.

Leave a comment if you have any advice.

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Colca Canyon, Peru

We’ve moved and updated our Colca information page. 🙂

A trip to Colca Canyon is recommended for all hikers, regardless of ability and experience. It offers superb day hiking and immensely popular 2-day trips.

Bruno Iglesias
Bruno Iglesias

Hard core hikers will love a unique 5-day option descending into the canyon then climbing up over a snowy 5100m (16,732ft) pass to the remote and rarely visited Valley of the Volcanos — weird cones & lava formations!

AT A GLANCE

  • canyon of the Colca River in southern Peru
  • depth of 4,160m (13,650ft) more than twice as deep as the Grand Canyon

Yeti Adventure Films nailed the feel of Colca in this cute edit. 🙂

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

details on our Colca information page

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Namibia camping – Brandburg – day 2

We were up early, taking advantage of the cool of the morning.

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A desert garden at the White Lady Lodge.

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After breakfast we made a second “mountain climb” with the kids. 🙂

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The biggest “danger” of Namibian camping so far as I could tell were these deadly acacia thorns. I stepped on one. It went right through my shoe.

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We saw black-backed jackals lurking around the cooking fires a couple of times. And these locals.

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You must be TOUGH to survive this desert climate.

It had not rained at the White Lady lodge in 3 years — but it poured on us. Desert tents are not particularly waterproof.

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Our not particularly waterproof bedding was soaked. 😦

The Ugab River rarely runs.

Here’s the river bed before the rain.

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And after.

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Playing in mud is a big novelty for Namibian kids.

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We climbed yet another hillock.

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And it was back to camp for another gigantic barbecue.

Ugab Wilderness Campground opened 2001. I can recommend it. Particularly if you want a base camp for climbing Brandburg and/or hiking Messum crater.

see ALL my photos from this long weekend trip

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Namibia camping – Brandburg – day 1

My hosts in Swakopmund, Namibia run  Ondjamba Safaris.

For the independence day long weekend, we loaded kids into one of their desert vehicles and headed north into the desert.

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Our destination was Brandburg (Fire Mountain), Namibia’s highest massif at 2573m.

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The temperature was about 40C when we arrived White Lady Lodge.

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I love the Namibian campsites, sprawling under shade trees.

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This technology was a first for me — showers are heated by wood fire. Campground employees light up the showers every morning.

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Just before sunset we headed off to climb a mound of boulders.

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The real attraction of Namibian camping is the Brai — a magnificent barbecue.

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I slumped into my tent early. Too much wine.

see ALL my photos from this long weekend trip