desert – Page 16 – besthike.com

December 22, 2013December 23, 2013

hiking/biking Annapurna day 6

by site editor Rick McCharles

After 15 days continuous hiking on Manaslu and Annapurna, I was pleased to be able to saddle up on a mountain bike.

P1260507

Mustang Mountain Bikes opened in Muktinath in 2012. It’s run by Jurriaan Prakke (NED) and a Nepali partner.

Most ride Muktinath 3760m 1 day down to Jomson 2800m (airport). Or 2 days down to the hotsprings at Tatopani 1190m. I paid $30 / day for a “basic bike” to the hot springs. Money well spent. 🙂

P1260514

Jurriaan, the owner, was riding down same day as me. We set off together.

P1260522

Downhill, dry and open, cycling is fairly easy on the Tibetan plateau.

I stopped often for photos.

P1260518

Mustang gave me recommendations on where to eat. And where to sleep en route. Much appreciated.

Jurrian himself had recommended “Applebees” in Kagbeni, my favourite village the last time I hiked Annapurna.

P1260529

This is the gateway to the (formerly) forbidden Kingdom of Lo Mustang, getting more popular with trekkers in recent years.

P1260532

I wandered Kagbeni for an hour or more. It’s a very interesting town.

P1260536

Descending, I often needed to decide whether to take the river (easier) or the road (higher & dustier). Most often I opted for river, sometimes to my grief.

P1260550

There was a fair bit of hike-a-bike in these sections.

P1260552

I stopped in the big city of Jomson for lunch. And to check email.

Then continued on to the recommended stop at Marpha.

P1260564

Marpha is wonderful.

I checked out the monastery.

Marpha roof

Then climbed up above town.

P1260574

Tourism, apple growing and mule rearing are the means of survival.

All the Mustang rental cyclists that day stayed in the recommended guesthouse in Marpha. Room price was only $1. Lodges on this side of the Annapurna Circuit were mostly empty, trekkers now flying out of Jomson. Or catching motor vehicles down the mountain.

One hope for the future is mountain biking getting more popular

All-in-all, that was one fantastic cycling day. 🙂

One sour note … On a late night walk through Marpha a healthy dog decided to playfully nip my Achilles. Not appreciated, I can tell you. I’ve never taken the 3 shots required for Rabies.

see high resolution photos from this day on flickr

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

October 22, 2013October 17, 2013

The Empty Quarter – Trailer

Alastair Humphreys:

Wilfred Thesiger was one of my heroes. It was his books who inspired me to join (very briefly!) his old Boxing Club at university. They encouraged me to think ambitiously but simply about making big journeys. And when he died (I was cycling through South America at the time), I felt sad that I never had the opportunity to meet him.

Thesiger pushed himself hard to test himself. He lived ascetically, and scorned modern convenience, speed and luxury. The harder the life, he believed, the finer the person. His prose is simple and measured, thoughtful and honest. His photography was superb, particularly when you consider that he took fewer photographs in an entire expedition than I do on a single day. Thesiger “had the man’s courage to live out the boy’s dream.” And ever since I read Arabian Sands, I have dreamed of one day making a journey in Thesiger’s footsteps.

So Leon McCarron and I walked 1000 miles across the Arabian Peninsula, inspired by the spirit of Thesiger’s own expeditions in the Rub ‘al Khali desert, the Empty Quarter.

“Into The Empty Quarter” will tell the story of our journey.

Release date: Autumn 2013.

intotheemptyquarter.com

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

July 30, 2013July 30, 2013

Ladahk trekking research …

I bought two books:

Cicerone Trekking in Ladakh

Lonely Planet Trekking in the Indian Himalaya

Looks fantastic.

Mid-October I’ll fly Delhi Leh 3524 metres (11,562 ft) in Ladahk. Spend some days acclimatizing to altitude.

Most likely start with the Markha Valley Trek, carrying my own food, tent and pack.

Any advice for me?

… Leave a comment.

*****

Now the BAD news … 😦

The end of guide books? Lonely Planet lays off one-third of editorial staff

Venerable travel guide brand Lonely Planet, which has bounced from owner to owner in recent years, just announced some bad news: They’re slashing staff on three continents and getting rid of much of their content staff. Almost 100 jobs were slashed in Melbourne, Australia alone, and additional layoffs were made at Lonely Planet’s London and Oakland offices. …

Update: According to an email from a Lonely Planet publicist, “Print will continue to be part of the mix” for the company.

END OF AN ERA: LONELY PLANET SLASHES CONTENT JOBS

July 15, 2013July 12, 2013

NEW – Oregon Desert Trail

A 33-year-old hiker has just become the first person to hike a proposed trail that spans roughly 800 miles across Oregon’s high desert.

The trail runs from Bend to the Owyhee Canyonlands near the Idaho border. The Oregon Desert Trail — as it’s being called — connects many wilderness areas and proposed wilderness areas. …

read more – 800 Miles Of Juniper And Jack Rabbits: First Hiker Completes Oregon Desert Trail

Click through that link to hear an audio interview with Sage Clegg.

Water was her biggest problem. She cached some in advance in order to complete the mission.

July 9, 2013

The Subway – Zion National Park

There are two ways to explore The Subway (the Left Fork of North Creek). …

From the Bottom Up

This is a strenuous 9-mile round-trip hike through the Left Fork of North Creek that requires route finding, creek crossing, and scrambling over boulders. …

From the Top Down

This is a strenuous 9.5-mile hike that requires rappelling skills, 60 feet of rope, and extensive route finding experience. The route also requires swimming through several deep pools of very cold debris-filled water. …

details

Subway Permits are awarded by lottery. Occasionally walk-in permits are available the day prior.

Click PLAY or watch a well edited trip video on YouTube.

November through March no permit is necessary.

Hmm …

Thanks George.

May 11, 2013May 14, 2013

Borrego Palm Canyon, California

by site editor Rick McCharles

My second visit to Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, I had time for a quick late afternoon day hike.

Right after I took photos of this coyote, hunting road kill.

If you park in the visitor center, you don’t need any kind of State Park permit. That adds a mile or so to the walk.

Borrego Palm Canyon is the most popular trail in California’s largest state park. It leads to the third-largest palm oasis in California, which was the first site sought for a desert state park back in the 1920s.

It’s a beautiful, well-watered oasis, tucked away in a rocky V-shaped gorge. If you’re lucky, you may glimpse a bighorn sheep, in a canyon vegetated by California’s only native species of palm. The park receives many visitors due to its proximity to the metropolises of Southern California, and the trail is relatively easy to access and hike (three miles round trip with 600′ elevation gain). …

EveryTrail

I got lost on the “alternate” route back.

more photos

related – official website – Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

May 8, 2013May 2, 2013

South Lykken Trail, Palm Springs

Just behind my cheap motel (Desert Inn $40) in downtown Palm Springs was the South Lykken trailhead.

One afternoon I hiked. The next I did a trail run.

more of my photos from those day hikes

… the North and South Lykken Trails are named in honor of Carl Lykken, Palm Springs’ first postmaster. …

related – Hiking in Palm Springs

May 5, 2013April 30, 2013

PCT day 2 – Mount Laguna back to Lake Morena

trip report by editor Rick McCharles

I knew next to nothing about PCT hiking strategy.

But it seemed a no brainer to catch one of the many available Angel rides up to Mt Laguna at mile 43. And hike downhill to Lake Morena at mile 20 … rather than uphill.

Yet very few hikers did so.

Beautiful country.

I passed hundreds of sweaty, hot thru hikers climbing. It was interesting to check their gear. And their hiking systems.

No mountain bikes are allowed. But trail riders and beasts of burden are welcome.

Several hikers had seen Rattlesnakes. I saw 3 of these guys. A gopher snake, I believe.

It seemed to take FOREVER to get back to the Kick Off campground. Yeesh.

I grabbed a shower. Then enjoyed free chile provided by Trail Angels.

Feet sore. Some blisters. Confidence shaken. … I wasn’t at all sure I’d be able to hike day 3. 😦

more photos

May 4, 2013April 30, 2013

PCT day 1 – Mexican border to Lake Morena

trip report by editor Rick McCharles

Everyone was excited to get to the Mexican border, the start of the Pacific Crest Trail.

Trail angels drove clean hikers here the 20 miles from ADZPCTKO 2013. (Annual Day Zero Pacific Crest Trail Kick Off)

Rick Mexico

The infamous fence between Mexico and the USA was less impressive than I expected.

A savvy coyote would dress his illegals in hiking clothing. And tell them to march north on the PCT.

Lovely scenery to start. Much greener than you’d think.

Interesting and colourful desert vegetation.

I dropped a Summit Stone conspicuously on this rock. This trail will be super busy only for about 3 days.

The first 15 miles seemed easy, the heat not a problem this day.

… Then we got a look at these switchbacks.

I cooled my feet and psyched for the climb.

A second wind got me up there. But well meaning angels had left BEER at mile 18.

Smarter hikers than me resisted.

I had to drag myself the last 2 miles to camp. Where free and delicious dinner welcomed.

The hot shower was much appreciated. I slept early.

more photos

March 28, 2013March 27, 2013

50 miles to Petra

An article by Trailblazer’s Tony DaSilva — World’s Best Hikes: Petra Through the Back Door, Jordan — caught my eye.

When I visited Petra in 1994, myself and an Aussie friend followed sheep herders down into the complicated gully system, assuming they would make their way down to water.

We were correct. And called it the “back door” to Petra.

This is a different back door.

details – Dana Reserve to Petra

50 miles, 7 days

… Go with Adventure Jordan, the local company that discovered this 50-mile route through the deserts, mountains, and peaks of Jordan.

Obama visited Petra — through the front door — just the other day.

petra_big