Category: fauna

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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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how did the rodent get in my car?

I parked overnight at the Cheakamus Lake trailhead near Whistler B.C.

Vandals have been known to break into vehicles here, so I was careful to lock up tight.

On my return, I found that a bag of sunflower seeds had been worked over by some kind of critter.

rodent in the car

There’s a slight risk of Hantavirus, of course. Not good.

I’d never before heard of rodents gaining entrance to a locked car. Leave a comment if you’ve heard of this in the past.

related – How do you deter mice from automobiles?

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trek the Dientes Circuit in Patagonia

We’ve moved and updated our Dientes information page.

AT A GLANCE

  • circumambulate the jagged spires of Cordon de los Dientes
  • out of Puerto William, Chile, on Isla Navarino (pop. 2,262 last time we counted)
  • recommended 5 days, 4 nights
  • world’s most southerly major hike?

Why We Like This Hike

  • great views, most of the trek is above the treeline
  • vista over the islands making up Cape Horn (about 150km south)
  • condors, guanaco & beaver may be seen
  • it’s close to Paine & Fitz Roy, our favourite hikes in Patagonia
  • no risk of altitude sickness
Radek Tezaur

 Check the rest on our Dientes information page.

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coast-to-coast Madagascar

The plan is simple – to be a part of the world’s first group to walk across the northern part of the island from east to west, entirely on foot, a distance of almost 400 km, in the seemingly impossible timeframe of three weeks. …

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Days pass by as we trek west. We camp in rural villages – usually on patchy football fields where, night after night, hundreds of curious children and adults alike surround us, amazed at the presence of a ‘Vaza’, a white ghost – the Malagasy term for westerners. They haven’t seen many before. In fact, in this part of Madagascar, away from the tourist trail in the south, the last foreigners that have entered the foothills of the Tsaratanana were the French army in the late 1940s and occasional mineral prospectors in the 1970s. …

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At exactly the half way point of the journey, after almost two hundred kilometers of uphill slogging, we reach the summit of Maromokotro, Madagascar’s highest mountain. …

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read more – Adventure Travel: Madagascar

(via Hiking in Finland)

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Mt Townsend Trail, Washington

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

8.2 miles round trip

In 1792, as Captain George Vancouver was exploring the Puget Sound, he named a large, protected bay Port Townshend. The h was eventually dropped.

One of the most hiked summits in the Olympics, and it’s easy to see why this peak is so popular. Easy access, a long hiking season, and unparalleled views of Puget Sound and the eastern half of the Olympics give Mount Townsend quite an edge. Of the three trails leading to its summit, Trail No. 839 is the route most taken. …

Most hikers intent on reaching the 6280-foot open summit opt to begin their journey from the upper trailhead. This saves 1.2 miles and 600 feet of elevation gain, but at the expense of missing a beautiful old-growth forest and Sink Lake, a small body of water that causes tumbling Townsend Creek to disappear. …

Washington Trails Association

I did start from the upper trailhead. 4 miles at an angle of about 20 degrees was challenging enough.

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Perfect weather, the only surprise were solo tent caterpillars dangling down across the trail at lower elevations.

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It took longer than expected to clear the tress and get to the gorgeous views.

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Up top, late in the afternoon, it was just me and these guys. 🙂

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I decided to go for a scramble down this ridge, eventually having to retrace my steps.

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Somewhere on that ridge, I left a Summit Stone.

I didn’t get back to the parking lot until 7:30pm, much later than I had expected. My trail running down hill was not all that speedy.

more photos

• map

• another trip report – Mount Townsend Trail #839

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hiking Acadia National Park – meh

Don’t get me wrong. I liked Acadia National Park in Maine. But as a hiking destination, you can do better.

Why?

  • The most famous hike, the Precipice Wall, is closed every year from March 15 – August 15th. Peregrine falcons are nesting.
  • Valley Cove Wall, Jordan Cliffs and Beech Cliffs are also closed March 15 – August 15th.
  • no legal backcountry camping
  • it’s often crowded, over 2 million visitors a year in a very small area. Only about 120 miles of official trails.
  • only two campgrounds in the National Park: Blackwoods and Seawall

    • On the bright side, there’s no need to hike to and from your vehicle. Using the free Park bus shuttle opens up all sorts of interesting options.

    And the trails are good. The views excellent.

    Acadia map

    I spent only 2 days in Acadia. Then set off for Mt Washington, New Hampshire.

    … But if I went back to Acadia, I’d plan to mountain bike the Carriage Roads rather than hike.

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    fatal Black Bear attack

    Northern Alberta.

    A 36-year-old Suncor worker was coming out of a washroom Wednesday afternoon when a black bear attacked and killed her, as several co-workers tried to intervene and scare the animal away.

    Family have identified the worker killed at the oilsands site near Fort McMurray as Lorna Weafer, an instrument technician. …

    victim

    Seven people were working in a group area when the bear attacked the woman and dragged her off …

    … co-workers blasted air horns to scare the male bear away. They were not carrying bear spray, Suncor said. …

    “We don’t know why this happened and that’s why it’s so important we conduct a full investigation,” Seetal said.

    A bear response team made up of Fish and Wildlife officers is investigating, and Occupational Health and Safety will also complete an investigation. …

    Co-workers tried to save woman during fatal bear attack at Suncor site

    Bears normally do not attack groups of people. Sounds like she was alone exiting the washroom.

    This is the third work fatality in four months at the Suncor site.

    Bears aren’t the only problem up there. 😦