fauna – Page 32 – besthike.com

August 25, 2009September 5, 2018

Mt Blanc to Matterhorn – day 2

Hiking trip report by site editor Rick McCharles. Day 2 of 7.

day 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | info

sunrise from Fenetre d'Arpette pass — sunrise from Fenetre d\’Arpette pass

Morning dawned clear yet again.

I quickly descended from snow, rock and ice to lush alpine meadows.

looking back at the Fenetre d'Arpette — looking back at the Fenetre d\’Arpette

When hiking I like to rise early. Put in a full hiking day of 4-6hrs. Relax for a couple of hours in the middle of the day. Then put in another 4-5hrs of hiking. Setting up the tent at around 7-8PM.

Here I am airing out the bunions at Champex-Lac.

Waiting for the bus, I stopped by the finest alpine flower garden in the Alps, Champex-Lac Alpine Garden.

Sadly in early August most of the species were already done. The bees seemed only interested in thistles.

Up high in the mountains wild flowers were still going strong. But Champex is too low, too hot.

Soon I found myself up above one of the most famous ski resorts in the world, Verbier. I skipped over 15km of valley walking by taking bus, train, train and cable car. This cheat was well worth doing.

In Summer the sprawling ski town seemed to be more fixed on mountain biking than hiking, however.

I departed as quickly as possible for the wonderful Sentier des Chamois, a traverse high above the valley. Some exposure. But good opportunities to see Ibex and Chamois.

Late in the day I spotted another Chamois on a very attractive chunk of snow.

Normally very shy, this Chamois hung out with me for many hours … once I set up my tent on his snow supply.

See the rest of my photos from day 2.

… on to day 3

day 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | info

August 6, 2009August 3, 2009

hiking and biking Sportgastein

Sportgastein is the highest ski resort in the ski-intensive Gastein valley in Austria.

In the Summer it’s a lovely place to hike or bike. The best destination out of the alpine town of Bad Gastein.

A few pics from my two days there.

It was more work than I expected climbing up to Nidersachsenhaus. Great views though.

more of my Sportgastein photos on flickr

everyone’s Sportgastein photos on flickr

July 30, 2009July 29, 2009

hiking the Stone Sea in Germany

Jeni and just about everyone else told me to travel to the most beautiful lake in the country. It looks like a fjord.

map-Germany You get there from Berchtesgaden, 30km south of Salzburg. Hitler’s mountain residence, the Berghof, was located near here though Der Fuehrer rarely visited due to security worries. Today the Nazi Eagle’s Nest is a restaurant.

Nationalpark Berchtesgaden was established in 1978 and has gradually become one of the region’s largest tourist draws. While technically in Germany, this spot is surrounded on 3 sides by Austria.

The day I was at the lake a boatload of tourists disgorged every 10min to visit a famed pilgrimage church.

From the church I climbed up an interesting gorge to Kärlingerhaus, a popular mountain lodge.

Nice. But my real goal for the day was to reach the Steinernes Meer. The stone sea. A bleak and rocky plateau.

Weird. Geologically ineresting. And beautiful.

At Riemann-Haus I could have escaped back down to the valley.

Instead I had a beer on their deck. And listened to some Army mountain climbers sing group songs before setting out for the cliffs.

Immediately after … I got badly lost. (A gorgeous sidetrip, as it turned out.)

What direction would you go if your guidebook told you to take route 411?

A highlight of this hike for me personally was seeing many Chamois up close. For the first time.

Even better was crossing a high mountain pass alone to meet Mt. Watzmann.

What a great evening I had up there!

This is the best hike in the Bavarian Alps. A hiking region surrounded and overshadowed by more famous neighbours: Dolomites, Austrian Alps and the Swiss Alps.

But I’ll be adding the Stone Sea to our list of the best hikes in Europe.

It’s fantastic.

I posted 80 photos from this 3 day hike on flickr.

There’s only one guidebook in English: Walking in the Bavarian Alps. It’s one of the weakest Cicerone guidebooks I’ve used.

July 27, 2009July 27, 2009

harsh night on an Italian mountain

Trip report by besthike editor Rick McCharles.

I was super excited to hike the Alpe di Siusi region of the Dolomites.

… Seiser Alm, (Italian: Alpe di Siusi) is the largest high altitude Alpine meadow in Europe. Located in Italy’s Bolzano-Bozen province (South Tyrol) in the Dolomites mountain range, it is a major tourist attraction, known for skiing and hiking. …

I planned 3 days, 2 nights. A big trip. Lots of mileage.

To get started, I cheated by riding the cable car to Compaccio 1844m (5050ft), a busy mountain tourist trap.

Arriving late afternoon, I was quite quickly forced into a cave.

under-a-ski-lift

OK, it was actually a storage space under a ski lift. I relaxed, dry, for about 90min.

The typical late afternoon rain ended. Some blue sky appeared. So I set off across gorgeous alpine meadows in the direction of the high peaks. Towards Rifugio Bolzano. I was following the Walk 24 itinerary from Walking in the Dolomites: 28 Multi-Day Routes by Gillian Price.

I was alone in the early evening except for many friendly cows.

Surprisingly, the skies threatened rain once again. To stay completely dry, I quickly set up my (technically illegal) tent on the side of the mountain. There I got pounded with a severe storm. Thunder and lightning non-stop for at least 5hrs. Super dangerous in the mountains. I feared for my life.

It continued raining all night.

I stayed in the tent 10hrs before I finally heard it stop.

Unzipping the fly , I was astonished to see this winter wonderland. It was July. In sunny Italy.

snow-in-the-trees

Snow is always better than rain for a hiker. I packed up as quickly as I could. And headed back down the mountain. The only other hikers I passed were a couple from Norway. They had the same idea. Hiking in the snow is beautiful. Hiking in the rain, a drag.

That night I ended up in a soft bed in a terrific hostel in the quiet mountain town of Brixen.

All’s well that ends well, I guess.

But I REALLY want to go back ….

By the way, my friend Jeni had a similar experience on this same route. She got lost, taking a wrong trail/animal track. On the side of a steep mountain she decided to rope herself to the cliff. Gathering her wits, she finally decided on the safest way out of danger.

Even when there are hundreds of other hikers around, the mountains can still be very dangerous.

This was a cautionary adventure for me. It was almost as scary as the lighting storm I experienced on the John Muir Trail.

July 22, 2009July 26, 2009

hiking Port Joli Head, Nova Scotia

Trip report by besthike editor Rick McCharles.

Finally, a success story from my hiking days in Maritime Canada.

I loved this pretty little 8.7km day hike loop, the seaside adjunct of Kejimkujik National Park. That’s the only National Park in all of Nova Scotia.

map

It was all good. A lovely coastal walk to visit the seals.

see the rest of my photos

June 10, 2009June 10, 2009

more bears in the Canadian Rockies?

A few weeks ago – on my first day of mountain biking in the Rockies – I nearly rode into a big black bear on the main trail at Canmore Nordic Centre.

In 2009 are there more bears in the Rockies? Closer to people?

Or am I simply hearing about more bears? And more cougar encounters?

trailex.org tracks encounters and information about trail safety in the Bow Valley (from Banff to Bragg Creek).

That site was set up by the husband of Isabelle Dube who was killed by a grizzly near Canmore.

… Dube, 36, was jogging with two friends when they ran into a grizzly. She scrambled up a tree, but the bear chased after her and mauled the young mother, leading to her death.

She was the first person to be killed by a bear in Alberta since 1998. Since then, two more Albertans have been killed.

Robin Kochorek, a 31-year-old Calgarian, was killed by a male grizzly last July as she was mountain biking on a trail in the Panorama area near Invermere, B.C.

Don Allan Peters, 51, a father of two daughters, was mauled to death by a grizzly last November while he was hunting about 150 kilometres northwest of Calgary. …

Fatal Bear Attacks Spur Tracking Site in Canadian Rockies

Calvin Coolidge, Horace Albright, and others encounter some Yellowstone bears.

photo source – National Parks Traveler – It’s a Bear! Everybody Get Behind the Ranger!!

Having grown up in bear country, I still sleep well in a tent in the Rockies. I really don’t worry about them.

Cougars are a greater danger. But those encounters much rarer.

My prediction: there will soon be a public backlash against bears near people areas in the Canadian Rockies.

UPDATE: 60-year-old trail runner, Thomas Nerison, of Kalispell, Montana, narrowly avoided serious damage when he was bitten by a Grizzly in Glacier National Park last Sunday.

May 31, 2009

audio – Elk Majestically Tramples 3

A funny fake news podcast from The Onion.

Elk Majestically Tramples 3

May 27, 2009May 27, 2009

scrambling Lady MacDonald, Canmore, Alberta

I was looking for a good first hike of the season. And a chance to test my full set of gear.

My original plan of scrambling Ha Ling, then wild camping, was abandoned after I heard about a better option from local hiker Kelly Mock.

In fact, I walked out Kelly’s front door directly to the trailhead and up the mountain to this gorgeous vista.

teahouse-view

… Just above the treeline you’ll find a large helicopter landing pad, a steel ramp for paragliders, and the remains of a teahouse that was being constructed but is now abandoned. A gazebo just to the east of the teahouse sits on the edge of a large cliff. The views from here are spectacular. A number of hikers end their hike here as it’s already been a hard push to get this far, and the scree slope above can be daunting for non-scramblers. …

TrailPeak – Mount Lady MacDonald

Actually, it’s an easy and popular hike straight up to the ill fated teahouse. Most do not go higher as it’s recommended you have mountaineering skills on the ridge.

That’s not far wrong. The slippery scree takes you up to a knife edge ridge with killer views into the Cougar Creek drainage. In summer it’s merely daunting.

Lady-MacDonald
flickr – Marc Shandro – larger version

In the Spring it’s hairier. It looks like you might fall right through the melting cornice at spots.

MacDonald-in-April
flickr – iHeartDimSum – larger version

I stopped when I got to the snow.

Lady MacDonald is a terrific option for fit hikers. Each in your group can stop where they want. Most will relax at the teahouse or the gazebo until the adventurous return from the ridge.

This is a good hike with dogs. Don’t let them chase after the resident mountain sheep.

May 21, 2009May 19, 2009

hot tub with a Grizzly Bear

This is 800lb Brutus with his buddy Casey Anderson.

wtf-pics-grizzly-hot-tub

source – picture is unrelated

See the entire fascinating story of their relationship in an LA Times video – Meet Casey Anderson — and his best friend, an 800-pound bear

Unsurprisingly, Anderson does not like to be compared with “Grizzly Man”, Timothy Treadwell, who was killed in 2003 by a Griz. Or two.

May 16, 2009May 11, 2009

climb Snow Mountain (Xueshan), Taiwan

An author of Lonely Planet Taiwan, Robert Scott Kelly also edits a blog called PASHAN HIKING THE MOUNTAINS, VALLEYS, RIVERS AND JUNGLES OF TAIWAN.