fauna – Page 30 – besthike.com

November 6, 2009October 30, 2009

up the Kaupo Trail, Maui

Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles.

I did an unpopular route listed in Maui Trails by Kathy Morey, but not in any other hiking guidebook.

She calls this the “Kaupo to Halekala Park Boundary“, an awkward moniker it seemed to me.

Kaupo-map

A far more common use of this trail is as the Kaupo Gap exit from the volcanic crater above. I was walking it backwards, uphill rather than downhill.

On the bright side, it’s well signed.

I suspect many hikers in the past arrived at remote Kaupō Ranch in rough shape from the 6000ft+ descent.

From GORP:

… Kaupo Trail can be an experience in misery: blistered feet, tortured knees, intense sun or torrential rain, and no available drinking water. The steep, rocky terrain in Kaupo Gap makes it essential that you be in good physical condition. Weak knees, bad backs, and new boots are not compatible with this trail. …

Actually, crossing a working cattle ranch was interesting.

Wild pigs are a bit of a pest. I saw many.

Here’s a working trap, set to capture the bacon.

I stepped on over ripe avocados.

There were no signs any other hikers had ever been on this trail. Only myself, a few farm hands, and these onlookers.

Views back to the wild Kahikinui coast were nice.

But for me the biggest attraction of this walk was that it felt an authentic Hawaiian experience, not a standard tourist cattle trail.

I recommend it.

See the rest of my Kaupo to Halekala Park Boundary pics.

October 28, 2009

19yr-old killed by coyotes

What?

I’d never before heard of an attack on humans by coyotes, never mind a death.

This tragedy in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada.

… Up-and-coming singer-songwriter Taylor Mitchell was “an old soul” despite her young age …

… Mitchell, hiking alone on the Skyline Trail, was attacked by coyotes Tuesday afternoon. According to park officials, other hikers nearby managed to scare off the animals and call 911. The singer was hospitalized in Cheticamp and later airlifted to Halifax, where she died at the QEII Health Sciences Centre. …

CBC – Coyote attack silences emerging Toronto talent

taylormitchell-consideration

One article stated that the “eastern coyote that lives in the Cape Breton park has interbred with wolves and is somewhat larger than its western ancestors”.

Our sympathies to friends and family.

October 19, 2009October 16, 2009

Grizzly Bears in Vancouver, Canada

I was surprised to see two male orphaned Grizzly Bears on display at the top of Grouse Mountain, very much in the city.

Grinder was found orphaned June 5, 2001 in Invermere, British Columbia. He was wandering alone on a logging road, dehydrated, thin, weak and weighing only 4.5 kg. His mother was never found so how he came to be alone is unknown. …

Coola was found orphaned at the side of the highway on June 29, 2001 near Bella Coola, British Columbia. His mother had been hit and killed by a truck. Of her three cubs, Coola was the only one to survive. …

Grouse Mountain Refuge for Endangered Wildlife

Watch a video on the project.

Wolves are on show there, as well, but not visible when I visted.

October 17, 2009October 17, 2009

stupid bear can’t drive …

Bears aren’t so smart.

We’re going to need some backup here: Car thief turns out to be… a hungry bear

bear-in-car

October 8, 2009July 26, 2020

hiking Picos de Europa, Spain – day 4

Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Kraig Adams video

Trip Report – Picos de Europa Circuit – by site editor Rick McCharles

Here I am, elated to have tented rather than staying under roof at the Collado Jermoso refugio.

It’s a long, slow, pretty 1200m (3937ft) descent. Check out the wall looking back up from the valley.

My 4km return detour along the river to the town of Posada de Valdeon was well worth the time.

I resupplied at the bakery and two grocery stores.

I took time, too, to visit the Mirador del Tombo.

more interesting photos of this monument

Ascending back into the trees, I was shocked to see the leaves changing. This was the first time it had dawned on me that my summer of hiking Europe was ending. This was to be my last.

There were many more Chamois on this section of trail, the largest herds I’d yet seen.

Though I had still not found a water supply, I finally set up the tent in a pretty spot well above the Picos mist.

Eventually the mist rose up to engulf me.

See the rest of my photos from day 4.

Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Kraig Adams video

October 7, 2009July 26, 2020

hiking Picos de Europa, Spain – day 3

Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Kraig Adams video

Trip Report – Picos de Europa Circuit – by site editor Rick McCharles

This was the most photogenic day. Amazing.

I started by climbing up from Bulnes La Villa through high pasture land towards the central summits.

I was looking forward to the iconic peak of the Picos, Naranjo de Bulnes.

It’s a world class climbing destination, obviously. But I was more surprised by the normally shy Chamois that hang about the Vega d’Urriellu refugio (1953m) as if they are domesticated.

A cable assisted scramble takes you up and over Torre de los Horcados Rojos.

At the top, this weird silver igloo draws your eye. What the heck is it?

That’s Cabaña Veronica (2325m), once an American aircraft carrier cannon mount. Three hikers can sleep in it.

The most difficult part of the entire Circuit for me was the section from Veronica to Refugio Collado Jermoso. Here’s the high, bleak terrain. There are cairns at the start. But soon you’ll be guessing wildly, route finding and scrambling for a couple of hours. Convinced that you are hopelessly off route.

A GPS is essential. …

Somehow I made it. As did a dozen other hikers that day. Many, I noted, arrived late to the refugio.

This was my favourite sunset of the entire summer.

I set up the tent in a marvelous spot, very high with grand vistas in every direction.

Curious Chamois came by to check out my tent.

Hiking doesn’t get any better than this. .

See the rest of my photos from day 3.

Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Kraig Adams video

October 6, 2009July 26, 2020

hiking Picos de Europa, Spain – day 2

Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Kraig Adams video

Trip Report – Picos de Europa Circuit – by site editor Rick McCharles

The morning dawned clear. Quickly I climbed up above the valley cloud.

I met one of the alpine hut guards … with his free running dogs.

Here’s the large sign posted at his refugio, Marques de Villaviciosa:

National Park regulations are somewhat flexible in Spain. And they vary wildly from place to place.

The main “story” of this Circuit are the climbs into and out of the huge Canal de Trea, one of the most spectacular canyons in the world.

There are many slippery and unstable sections before you reach, with relief, the Garganta del Cares gorge at the bottom.

…A remarkable engineering feat, the 3m-wide path running the length of the gorge was gouged out of its sheer walls in 1946 …

This relatively flat day hike is the best and most popular in the Park.

I “cheated” and took the Bulnes Funicular (an underground train) part way up the other side of the gorge, avoiding 4.5km distance and about 400m ascending.

My goal for the next day came into view.

A long but fantastic hiking day in perfect weather.

See the rest of my photos from day 2.

Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Kraig Adams video

October 5, 2009January 4, 2022

hiking Picos de Europa, Spain – day 1

Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Kraig Adams video

Trip Report – Picos de Europa Circuit – by site editor Rick McCharles
map picos europa (Custom)

An unforgettable (91.5km) route covering the … most extaordinary limestone landscapes – river gorges, alpine lakes, depressions, dense beech woods, narrow canals, cliff hanging trails and peaks with breathtaking views

MAGIC …

Urriellu - photo by Edu-im — Urriellu – photo by Edu-im

The rain in Spain
falls mainly
… in the NORTH.

Green Spain, it’s called, home to a wealth of flora and fauna. Including, perhaps, 90 bears.

The weather in Picos de Europa is very atypical for Spain. Happily, September is normally the best month.

Cangas de Onís is the busiest and most easily accessed of the gateway towns. … and can supply all last-minute needs.

Roman Bridge - Cangas de Onís — Roman Bridge – Cangas de Onís

Frequent buses deliver you from Cangas to Covadonga, an impressive tourist attraction.

… In 722 AD, Iberian Christians won the battle over the Moors in Covadonga. This was the first significant Christian victory over the occupying Moors; as such, it is often considered to be the start of the Reconquista, the 770-year effort to expel the Moors from Iberia. …

During the summer you can bus all the way from Cangas to the trailhead at Ercina Lake. Unfortunately I arrived the day after those buses stopped running for the season. I hitched the last 12km or so from Covadonga. The Spanish couple who picked me up were also hiking a variation of the circuit staying in refugios, alpine huts providing beds and meals.

Lago Ercina - Browserd — Lago Ercina in good weather – Browserd

Here’s how the lakeside looked to me.

I’d arrived into the frequent, infamous Picos mist. A thick fog bank that often clouds the valleys and lower elvations of this micro climate.

After wandering around blind for 3hrs … I finally set up my tent right at the trailhead. A rotten start to the adventure.

Later I learned the couple that had driven me to the trailhead walked directly to the refugio using GPS.

Note to self: Get me a GPS.

See the rest of my photos from day 1.

Day 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Kraig Adams video

September 28, 2009

hiking Banff Tuesday …

Indian Summer is fading rapidly.

But we’ll try to squeeze in one more hike (at least) before the snow flies.

If you are one of the few people left who do not know the story of this photo, click through to one of the links.

The Banff Lake Louise Tourism Board has set up accounts for the squirrel on Facebook and Twitter.

September 23, 2009September 22, 2009

14,000 bears in continental Europe

Are you surprised that the number is that high?

There are about 200,000 brown bears in the world. The largest populations are in Russia with 120,000, the United States with 32,500, and Canada with 21,750. …

… Although many people hold on to the belief that some brown bears may be present in Mexico and the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, both are almost certainly extinct. …

The brown bear of Europe is closely related to the Grizzly. And looks like a Griz.

… In Europe, there are 14,000 brown bears in ten fragmented populations, from Spain in the west, to Russia in the east, and from Scandinavia in the north to Romania, Bulgaria, Slovakia (with about 800–900 animals), and Greece (with about 200 animals) in the south. They are extinct in the British Isles, extremely threatened in France and Spain, and in trouble over most of Central Europe.

The Carpathian brown bear population is the largest in Europe outside Russia, estimated at 4,500 to 5,000 bears.

Scandinavia is home to a large bear population, with an estimated 2,500 (range 2,350–2,900) in Sweden, 840 in Finland, and 70 in Norway. Another large and relatively stable population of brown bears in Europe, consisting of 2,500–3,000 individuals, is the Dinaric-Pindos (Balkans) population, with contiguous distribution in North-East Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, and Greece. …

Wikipedia – Brown Bear

Note that the smaller American Black Bear is much more numerous: up to 476,000 in Canada, and up to 465,000 in the United States.

We’ve had 3 people killed by bear since 2005 in my home Province of Alberta. So I’m quite bear aware when I hike.

In the Picos de Europa mountains in Spain, I’d swear “digs” I saw along the trail were made by bear. But I saw no other bear sign. The few animals in that range are very closely monitored.