Santa Elena Canyon, Big Bend TX

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Note: We were there Jan 2017. Accessibility may change depending on what happens with Trump’s border wall promise.

Santa Elena Canyon is the single most popular spot in Big Bend National Park. Everyone stops here, even those who don’t normally hike.

The nature trail crosses Terlingua Creek, climbs several flights of ramps and stairs and then descends into the canyon along the Rio Grande. At this point the canyon walls loom over 1500 feet above the river below. …

In my haste to get over to the Canyon, I took off my shoes and waded Terlingua Creek.

That turned out to be a mistake. Everyone else found a way to cross keeping their feet dry.

Nobody regrets taking this short hike.

And I did finally get a photo of a desert cottontail. Or is it a small jack rabbit?

The best way to see the canyon is by raft or canoe. Local outfitters offer trips from one to three days in length when conditions allow, and river runners of intermediate or better skill level often go on their own. …

Visit Big Bend

Even better for me would be the difficult Mesa de Anguila hike along the canyon rim. Next time. 🙂

“Building a wall is the most expensive and least effective way to secure the border,” Rep. Will Hurd (R-Tex.) said in a statement …

January 24, 2017January 21, 2017

The Window, Big Bend TX

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Chisos Basin Campground is the best in Big Bend National Park. Reserve in advance as it’s very popular.

The Window, Big Bend

Awaking my first morning I found the famed Window hike ran right past my campsite.

I had two mugs of coffee. Then set off down the trail.

The Window, Big Bend

The moon still out.

The Window, Big Bend

I was first down the trail this morning. My only company were the large, friendly Mexican jays.

My first trail in Big Bend, I was impressed with construction and management. Check these stairs cut into stone.

The Window, Big Bend

Here’s the Window pour-off. The only outlet for water from the entire mountain basin.

The Window, Big Bend

Don’t get too close. It’s a 220ft drop to Chihuahuan Desert.

related – Trek Southwest – The Window Trail – Big Bend National Park

December 19, 2016December 15, 2016

best sections of the Florida Trail

Cam Honan hiked the Florida Trail in the winter of 2011/12.

He enjoyed most St. Marks Wildlife Refuge and Big Cypress National Preserve.

Highlights included sunrise and sunset on this Trail.

Local fauna.

Cam bumped into legendary thru hiker Billy Goat. Two legends, I’d say.

Read Cam’s Florida Trail Backpacking Guide.

December 5, 2016December 2, 2016

hiking Spittal Pond, Bermuda

Spittal Pond Nature Reserve is the largest wildlife sanctuary in Bermuda …

It is one of 13 parks or reserves managed by the Bermuda Department of Conservation Services which protects and conserves environmentally critical areas and habitats. …

…unique characteristics such as its lagoon which is permanently brackish, ecology featuring wet grassland and mangrove forests, seasonal shorebirds, other waterbirds and European eels. …

The winter season provides one of the best vistas for visitors walking along the many small trails in the park.

I was there in November. The only visitor on the trail.

I did see feral cats.

Though short, I would say it’s the best hike in Bermuda.

“Spanish Rock”, (also known as “Portuguese Rock”) a rocky cliff overlooking the ocean with inscriptions of the year 1543 AD … This rock piece has been taken out and replaced by a bronze plaque. …

The only other wildlife I spotted were wild chickens.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

official website

November 21, 2016November 17, 2016

Switzerland – Alpine Pass Route

Cam Honan:

Alpine Pass Route Overview Map (Cicerone Guide)

… a 340 kilometre (211 miles) hiking trail that spans the breadth of Switzerland. Starting in Sargans on the border with Liechtenstein, it passes up and over sixteen mountain passes before reaching its western terminus at Montreux, situated on Lake Geneva.

I completed the Alpine Pass Route in August, 1997. Nineteen years and many hiking miles later, it remains one of my favourite European trails. A memorable combination of gorgeous mountain scenery, picturesque villages, great hospitality and some very cool side trips …

It’s one of our best hikes in Europe.

November 3, 2016October 31, 2016

Badlands National Park Traverse

Cam Honan:

Last month I hiked the length of Badlands National Park from Ben Reifel Visitor Center to White River Visitor Center. To the best of my knowledge, it was the first time that such a traverse had been completed. …

Distance: 90 miles approx.

Time: 5 days

Read the excellent trip report – Badlands Traverse – Trip Report

October 19, 2016October 12, 2016

hiking Ivvavik National Park

David Webb:

… Tucked away at the tip of the Yukon, with its base camp set at 69 degrees north and hundreds of kilometres from the nearest road, only a handful of people will ever visit this park. Untouched by the last Ice Age, it’s a place of unique rock formations, abundant wildlife—we saw muskox, caribou, grizzlies and Dall’s sheep—jaw-dropping mountain vistas, clearwater rivers and vast open tundra. …

And the hiking… wow. There was no point in the five days I spent in Ivvavik where Iwasn’t surrounded by an awesome panorama. From deep gorges carved by a frothy river; to tundra dotted with bright lupins; to multi-coloured slate stabbing from mountaintops like the spines on a dragon’s back; to the midnight sun circling the whole expanse like a halo. It is the most beautiful natural environment I have ever seen. (And I’ve seen a lot.) …

Video Post: Jaw-Dropping Ivvavik National Park

Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube.

October 3, 2016October 2, 2016

attacked by a Grizzly

YEESH. 😦

Todd Orr:

I took an early morning hike in the Madison valley (Montana) to scout for elk. Knowing that bears are common throughout southwest Montana, I hollered out “hey bear” about every 30 seconds so as to not surprise any bears along the trail.

About three miles in, I stepped out into an open meadow and hollered again. A few more steps and I spotted a sow Grizzly bear with cubs on the trail at the upper end of the meadow. The sow saw me right away and they ran a short distance up the trail. But suddenly she turned and charged straight my way. I yelled a number of times so she knew I was human and would hopefully turn back. No such luck. Within a couple seconds, she was nearly on me. I gave her a full charge of bear spray at about 25 feet. Her momentum carried her right through the orange mist and on me. …

read more on Facebook

Click PLAY or watch it on Facebook.

September 28, 2016September 21, 2016

hiking & paddling Gates of the Arctic, Alaska

… to Anaktuvuk, float southwest on the John River, hike west to the Alatna River, float southeast on the Alatna to access the Arrigetch, cross the Arrigetch, float northwest on the Noatak River, hike southwest to the Ambler River, and float west to Ambler. 400 miles in 19 days. …

Gates of the Arctic Traverse, Anaktuvuk to Ambler

Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.

September 21, 2016September 16, 2016

5 weeks hiking, paddling Greenland solo

Willem Vandoorne has done a number of the world’s most difficult long hikes. He’s just back from Greenland.

… which was without any doubt the most beautiful I have ever made and which has impressed and touched me deeply. The feeling which I had during those weeks in the wilderness is hard to explain. As I struggled through boulderfields and moraine, watched the sun set from mountain with views unknown to human gaze, and slalommed along countless muskoxen, I no longer felt like a spectator of any kind in this vast wilderness, but was an integral part of it, obeying to the same rules and laws of nature as any animal out there.

My trip was blessed with sensational weather conditions – during the first 4 weeks of the trip I had only a few overcast days with some rain and a few mornings with sea fog – all the rest was just blue skies and warm temperatures. I hiked over 80% of the distance in t-shirt …

BACK FROM GREENLAND