Category: fauna

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the “PCT Method” – hanging a bear bag

Affectionately known by the lightweight hiking underground as the “PCT Method” (presumably because it was first used by long distance hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail), a bear bag hanging method exists that is lighter, requires less rope, offers the benefits of counterbalancing, is easier to set up, and offers simple and quick hanging and retrieval of your food.

Click PLAY or watch and comment on TheBackpacker.tv.

You can make your own system quite easily by assembling the following components:

* Food storage bag
* 40 feet of hanging rope
* Keychain carabiner
* Small stuff sack for a rock (”rock sack”)
* Pencil-sized twig about 4-6 inches long.

I particularly like the second option shown by Bryan DeLay. Many’s the time I’ve needed that in the past.

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hike Waterton National Park in Canada

Continuous with Glacier National Park in Montana, Waterton in Alberta is one of our favourite hiking destinations.

It’s home to our #6 best hike in the world, Glacier North Circle.

Rachel Tynan from Waterton Park Inns and Resorts recommends the ExperienceWaterton.com hiking page:

Waterton Lakes National Park boasts world class hiking trails with unparalled scenery and the opportunity for many wildlife encounters. There are 255 km (191 miles) of managed trails in Waterton Lakes National Park. Ranging in difficulty from short jaunts to steep advanced treks that can take days. …

read more

Our other favorite hikes in that park:

• Tamarack Trail
• Crypt Lake
• Carthew/Alderson

Besthike world headquarters is Calgary, Canada. We’ve been hiking Waterton for decades. Like Glacier, it’s one of the very best places in the world to see wildlife. (One day we saw 6 bears!)

more Waterton photos

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dogs in the back country?

This photo of Munch by Jill Goodell generated some discussion on the Yosemite Blog.

A commenter named Tom suggested he’d be within his rights to shoot a loose dog in Yosemite National Park. It’s illegal to be off-leash.

Seems to me Tom’s not actually threatening to shoot Jill’s dog, but rather was using exaggeration to make a point. Off leash dogs can wreak havoc with wildlife.

Click through to that post if you’ve an opinion to add: Yosemite Blog – The Last Straw

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interview – Aussie hiking author Frank Wall

by site editor Rick McCharles

Clayton Kessler of TracksAndTrails.ca posted an interview with Frank Wall, author of the Guide to Planning the Overland Track eBook.

Frank edits the often hilarious Our Hiking Blog, as well.

I’m a fan of both those sites and subscribe by RSS.

The Overland Track is one of our top 10 hikes in the world.

I was on Tasmania for only 2wks yet saw many poisonous snakes. I’m interested in how a Tassie vet like Frank assesses that risk:

Can you share any unique encounters with wild animals?

We don’t really have “wild” animals like bears in Australia. We do have lots of tiger snakes that can kill you. In Tasmania they are quite common and you learn to keep an eye out for them. They love to lie along the side of trail and bask in the sun. I always keep my eyes out for them and wear gaiters to at least protect my legs. The snakes, fortunately, are more scared of us then we are of them and usually disappear quickly. Bites are usually caused when someone (i.e. an idiot) tries to catch or kill one, which is illegal as they are protected species. …

read the entire interview on TracksAndTrails.ca

Tasmanian Tiger Snake

Frank has a new post discussing whether or not his favourite trail is getting too crowded …

… number of walkers had been trending up from 6360 in 2005-2006 to 7024 in 2008-2009 …

Click through to read his opinion – The Overland Track – hiking solo in season? Not likely

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want to hike Torngat, Labrador?

It ain’t easy …

Tourism Newfoundland and Labrador launched another ad in its already very successful ad campaign. This latest ad features Torngat Mountains National Park in northern Nunatsiavut. …

bluepeak.net – New Labrador ad

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

… The park, 9,700 sq.km, is probably one of the most difficult parks in Canada to reach. Even the parks in Nunavut are easier to get to. It’s not only the remoteness, but especially the weather and ferocious winds that make getting here an adventure in itself.

If the weather is good, then the park is about 1 hours’ flying or up to two days by fishing boat north of Nain, Labrador’s northernmost community. There are no scheduled flights or boats to the park, and once you arrive, there are no facilities.

Safety is a real concern, as polar bears roam throughout the park. Since only Inuit are allowed to carry arms, visitors should always be accompanied by an Inuit guide. A good idea in any case, as the area is also infamous for its quickly changing weather and strong “ghost” winds that can appear out of nowhere. …

bluepeak

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hoverfly on your nose

My favourite insect is the hoverfly.

They can be found at altitude on trails most everywhere around the world.

… About 6,000 species in 200 genera have been described. Hoverflies are common throughout the world and can be found on every continent except Antarctica. Hoverflies are harmless to most other animals despite their mimicry of the black and yellow stripes of wasps, which serves to ward off predators. …

wikipedia

Henry knows they are harmless. A great challenge is to try to get one to land on your nose. They like to lick up the salt in your sweat.

UPDATE: Turns out Kolby Kirk is a hover fly guy. Here’s one of his brilliant photos, this one from Joshua Tree.

click for larger image
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in search of the Himalayan Tahr

I was disappointed not to see this beautiful animal in Nepal on my recent Everest trek.

The Himalayan Tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) (or Himalayan Thar) is a large ungulate related to the wild goat. Its native habitat is in the rugged wooded hills and mountain slopes of the Himalaya from Central Asia in northern Kashmir to China. …

… Adult Himalayan Tahrs range from 135 to 180 kg (300 to 400 lb) in weight, 120 to 170 cm in length, and 60 to 90 cm in height. They are herbivores, subsisting on grass, shrubs, and trees. …

Feral Himalayan Tahr are an introduced species in the South Island of New Zealand, with herds forming in the Southern Alps. In large numbers tahr are regarded as a pest because their browsing has an impact on native vegetation. Tahr hunting is a recreational sport and commercial activity. It has also been introduced to New Mexico, California, South Africa, and Ontario.

Wikipedia