Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
One of the top 10 natural arches in the world, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to travel to see it in Chad.
It’s one of the poorest countries in the world, literally in the middle of nowhere.
But I’d love to see remote Aloba Arch, always included on lists of the Most Incredible Natural Arches On Earth.
Often called the “greatest runners in the world”, Mexico’s Raramuri Indians currently wear these sandals handmade from rubber tires.
They are much studied by researchers of the Running Barefoot or In Minimal Footwear movement.
Living in Mexico’s Sierra Madre mountain range, the Raramuri Indians are some of the best long distance runners in the world, but how far can they run in the face of problems like environmental damage, loss of native lands, and the drug war? An American ultra marathon runner known as Caballo Blanco is fighting to help the Raramuri preserve their culture and tradition of long distance running. The Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon is the result.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Aasmund Godal recently hiked a privately managed region of South America.
Los Nevados (English: snow mountains) is a national park located in the central area of the Colombian Andes.
Less than 150km from Bogotá.
Aasmund drafted a WikiTravel page on Los Nevados to assist those planning for that trip.
Looks great.
From Branch Whitney of the excellent Hiking Las Vegas blog:
I am not a big fan of the typical desert peaks. Most have boring approaches, crappy rock, and long drives. I do not consider the peaks in Red Rock or Mt. Charleston as desert peaks. The rock there is much different. So I “cherry pick” the desert peaks I do climb. Here’s a list of my favorite:
Mopah and Umpah Points
Eagle Mountain
Moapa Peak
details – My Favorite Desert Peaks
All of the routes to these peaks and another 350 routes are available for members of HikingLasVegas.
I feel a little sheepish recommending a book glorifying what some would call industrial terrorists.
But I do.
Amazon.com Review:
Ed Abbey called The Monkey Wrench Gang, his 1975 novel, a “comic extravaganza.”
Some readers have remarked that the book is more a comic book than a real novel, and it’s true that reading this incendiary call to protect the American wilderness requires more than a little of the old willing suspension of disbelief. The story centers on Vietnam veteran George Washington Hayduke III, who returns to the desert to find his beloved canyons and rivers threatened by industrial development. On a rafting trip down the Colorado River, Hayduke joins forces with feminist saboteur Bonnie Abbzug, wilderness guide Seldom Seen Smith, and billboard torcher Doc Sarvis, M.D., and together they wander off to wage war on the big yellow machines, on dam builders and road builders and strip miners. …
–Gregory McNam
It’s offensive in many ways. But I enjoyed it thoroughly as many, many have before me.
Author Edward Abbey is a hero and inspiration to hikers.
The dangerous 800+mi Hayduke Trail in the American S.W. was named after the lead character.
Wild Backpacker has a good summary of our favourite hiking destination in the American Southwest:
… Buckskin Gulch is the longest and deepest slot canyon in the Southwest, and while others are narrower, prettier or more challenging to explore, the length and variety of the terrain in the ever changing narrows make it an amazing experience. The narrows extend for nearly 15 miles, with some parts only 10 feet wide. The cliffs grow steadily higher downstream, reaching a height of 500 feet above the streambed at the confluence of Buckskin Gulch and Paria Canyon. The walls of both canyons are rather dark, as the sun rarely reaches the bottom of the deep canyons. The walls of the gulch still show interesting swirls and curves worn by floods.
Buckskin Gulch and the Paria Canyon, is located in the Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness Area of Southern Utah. Buckskin Gulch is best done at least as a two-day canyoneering and backpacking adventure, although there are day hiking options …
read more – Buckskin Gulch, Paria Canyon, Kanab, Utah
Challenging. And awesome.
But even more extreme is Coyote Gulch in Escalante, Utah.
… The most challenging part of this hike is the climb out of Coyote Gulch near Jacob Hamblin Arch. The climb involves scrambling up a 100-foot pitch of slick rock that ascends from the canyon floor at an angle close to 45 degrees. A 100-foot length of rope is useful here for raising backpacks. A compass is also useful for the last part of the hike, which involves a 2-mile cross-country walk from the canyon rim back to Jacob Hamblin Trailhead. Sneakers or other wettable shoes are the most practical footwear inside the canyon, as you will frequently be required to cross the stream bed. …
read more on Wild Backpacker
The always excellent Without Baggage blog published by Hank Leukart has a funny trip report:
… At midnight, the three of us set off to climb the seven miles and 3,500 feet from Mahogany Flat to Death Valley’s highest point in the moonlight.
In the dark, using only the almost-full moon to guide us, we trudged up the uneven, strenuous initial couple miles until we reached Arcane Meadows, a sweet, flat, two-mile treat sandwiched between the hike’s steep, challenging end caps. As we gained elevation, we began adding clothing layers — the desert certainly wasn’t too hot, but as we neared the peak, we wondered if we might freeze in the darkness. …
After five hours, exhausted and loopy from the altitude, we reached the peak. The meteorologist greeted us, then bounded back down the mountain to help the blanket-covered hikers we had seen on the way. We looked out at the supposedly stunning view, which we had heard combined Mount Whitney (the highest point in the contiguous US) and Badwater (the lowest point in North America). But in the darkness, almost everything was invisible.
Chilled by the breeze on the peak, we nestled into our sleeping bags just as an amber glow appeared on the horizon. As we drifted in and out of consciousness, we watched the Death Valley sunrise from 11,043 feet.
The last thing I remember from that night was the golden desert sun, peeking out from behind the mountains east of Badwater. Then I fell asleep.
We awoke three hours later to an expansive view of Death Valley with severe desert crags and deep valleys surrounding us. We signed our named in the summit book, repacked our sleeping bags, and began the same hike again in reverse. With the newfound daylight and panoramic desert views, it was as though we had never done it before.
moonwalking telescope peak.
hiking at night to death valley’s highest point.
Since I did that hike in June, seems I keep hearing about Telescope Peak. It’s cool to hike Death Valley.
The 2001 book Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon details 500 fatalities.
It’s a dangerous place to travel.
Library Journal:
Flagstaff, AZ-based authors Ghiglieri, a biologist who leads river trips in the Grand Canyon and abroad, and Myers (Fateful Journey: Injury and Death on Colorado River Trips in Grand Canyon), a medical doctor who has treated hundreds of Canyon injuries, have compiled a fascinating chronicle of deaths and dangers in Grand Canyon National Park.
The book is arranged by category falls, dehydration, floods, the Colorado River, air crashes, freak accidents, suicides, and murder and at the end of each chapter is a chronological list with names, descriptions, and causes of the accidents. The authors show that most of the deaths, whether of tourists, prospectors, or experienced adventurers, occurred when people failed to pay attention to warning signs or did not use common sense; others are attributed to high testosterone levels.
… Falls, fatigue, extreme temperatures and horseplay at national parks throughout the country lead to nearly 3,600 search-and-rescue operations each year, according to 2007 figures. The park service also responds to 16,000 emergency medical calls a year for anything from abrasions to twisted ankles, heatstroke and cardiac arrest, said Dean Ross, park service branch chief of emergency services in Washington, D.C.
Rangers at the Grand Canyon perform more rescues than at any other park, including 300 helicopter rescues a year, Ross said. …
If you plan to hike there, be prepared (tips).
I got lost and exhausted in similar terrain in 2005, Colca Canyon, in Peru. Eventually I hired a local villager to carry my pack and lead me to a “hotel” in the canyon.
There’s no Search and Rescue in Peru. …
More advice on avoiding heat emergencies by Steve Howe in Backpacker – THE FRYING GAME
My favourite vista in Death Valley is one of the most popular.
As well as being a curious film by Antonioni (1970), Zabriskie Point is an elevated overlook of a colorful, undulating landscape of gullies and mud hills at the edge of the Funeral Mountains, a few miles from the edge of Death Valley …
flickr – wenzday01 – larger version
I did a very popular hike / trail run from Golden Canyon trailhead in the valley. Up to Zabriskie Point. And back.
Fantastic.
A longer alternative is to add Gower Gulch making it a loop.
A number of deaths due to heat emergency are well documented here. Warnings are numerous.
Telescope Peak.
Trip Report by site editor Rick McCharles.
Want to see the highest and lowest elevations in the continental USA from one vantage?
Telescope Peak is the highest point within Death Valley National Park, in the US state of California. It is also the highest point of the Panamint Range, and lies in Inyo County. From atop this desert mountain one can see for over one hundred miles in many directions, including west to Mount Whitney, and east to Charleston Peak. The mountain was named for the great distance visible from the summit.
Telescope Peak is also notable for having one of the greatest vertical rises above local terrain of any mountain in the contiguous United States. Its summit rises 11,331 feet (3,478 m) above the floor of Death Valley (Badwater, -282 ft/-86 m) in about 15 miles (24 km), and about 10,000 feet (3,050 m) above the floor of Panamint Valley in about 8 miles (13 km). …
Hiking Telescope Peak by the normal route involves a 14 mile (23 km) round trip hike. The trail starts in the cool western part of Death Valley National Park at Mahogany Flat campground. The trail slowly winds itself up to the summit 7 miles (11 km) later at a steady gradient of roughly 8%. …
This superb, popular hike starts a few miles past the famed Charcoal Kilns.
The beehive shaped kilns were built in the 1870s to make charcoal for local mines. Here is the start of the Wildrose Peak Trail, a good alternative to Telescope.
Though often called “challenging”, I found this hike surprisingly easy. Weather is a big factor. And I tented one night rather than doing the entire big trip in one day as most do.
There are some pretty, rolling miles along a ridge walk. Some hikers do not make it to the top due to feeling ill effects from the 3000ft climb.
The lush high alpine contrasts starkly with bleak Death Valley below.
At the peak I found an impressive summit box. To the many souvenirs and prizes that had been contributed, I added a Summit Stone on behalf of artist DSD.
Here’s the sunset view from my campsite.
It’s normally snowed in between November and May. You can still hike, but bring crampons.
No hiking permit required. In fact, if driving in from Lone Pine, California in the Sierras, you won’t even be able to buy a Park Pass ($20 for 7-days) which is supposedly required to hike Telescope. This mountain is on the very edge of the Park.
Tom Harrison Maps are available. And several good guidebooks. But this hike is very straight forward. If you can find your way to the trailhead by personal vehicle, you won’t get lost on the trail.
See all my annotated photos from this highly recommended adventure.
=== Sound too easy? Consider this extreme alternative:
… An established, but more advanced, climbing route is from Shorty’s Well (elevation around -250′) to Telescope Peak. This provides a net gain of elevation of roughly 11,300 ft (3,400 m) The route follows Hanaupah Canyon for over 10 miles (16 km) until Hanaupah Springs is reached. This route can be done in one day by experienced hikers, and has one of the largest elevation gains that can be gained up a single summit. …
Wikipedia – Telescope Peak
One group did this in 12hrs earlier this season.
besthike.com 