Category: fauna

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hiking the Marin Headlands in California

A few pics from my hike today with Tom Mangan of Two-Heel Drive.

We headed across the Golden Gate Bridge en route to Point Bonita Lighthouse, touted in my guidebook the “most sensational easy hike in the Bay area”.

Tom concurred.

lighthouse

It’s only open a few hours each day, access blocked by a locked tunnel. Once through the rock, you need cross a suspension bridge deemed so untrustworthy that only two hikers (or three) should cross together at one time. If it collapses, this is what you face below.

sea arch

We wandered several more miles, enjoying the atypically sunny Spring Sunday.

California Poppy
California Poppy

quail
California Quail

See the rest of my photos from this hike on flickr.

Tom’s excellent trip report and photos.

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my Alakai Swamp trail run in Hawaii

I like the route Lonely Planet Hiking Hawaii recommends for Alakai Swamp:

Kalalau Lookout trailhead > Phea Lookout > Kilohana Lookout. And back.

That’s maximum bang / mile, I think.

It’s a brilliant hike, too, by the way. Don’t be deterred by the name “Swamp”.

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OK, it’s a swamp. But it’s so weird and unexpected after the sunny, hot coastal beaches, that I was instantly won over. Many hikers are. For some it’s their favourite hike on Kauai.

The highlight is not the swamp. Not pounding miles of boardwalk in my running shoes.

Some come specifically to see indigenous Hawaiian flora and fauna.

But for most, the highlight is the drop dead gorgeous 4000ft vista looking over Na Pali (The Cliffs). One of he great lookouts in the world.

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see all my photos from this hike on flickr

learn more – Alaka’i Swamp Trail – Trailspotting

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best hike south coast Kauai, Hawaii

The Maha’ulepu Coast.

haula_beach.jpgAs the last accessible undeveloped coastline on the south shore of Kauai, Maha`ulepu is a quiet retreat, a place to get away from the crowds at popular resort beaches. …

The area is also a remote retreat for resident and visitor alike to be awed and inspired by its beauty and rich past. The scenic splendor of Maha`ulepu, natural and undeveloped, includes majestic Ha`upu Mountain over-looking the fertile valley, the dramatic coastal headlands, the intimate bays and long sandy beaches. …

Best Places Hawaii

We spent 2 days exploring, hiking and trail running the Maha’ulepu Coast with and without kids. Fantastic!

We started here, only steps away from a luxury resort:

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The coastline is endlessly fascinating, but slightly dangerous. You would not want to fall on the jagged lava.

hike2.jpg

The biggest highlight was seeing two rare monk seals close up. They love to lounge and sleep on the beach — just like obese tourists.

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The hike ends here:

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Unless you ignore these signs, as local fishermen do.

Browse about 70 photos on flickr to see more of the Maha’ulepu Coast.

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walking Long Beach, British Columbia

One of the great coastal walks of the world is Long Beach on Vancouver Island. I try to get out there at least once every year.

It’s the gorgeous section of Pacific Rim National Park Reserve between Tofino and Ucluelet.

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What do you think?

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larger original – flickr

more amazing photos of this wonderland by Bravewest

My friend, journalist Kate Zimmerman was out last year for the first time en route to the Tofino Food and Wine Festival. Here’s what she wrote:

… It’s the beach, though, that cries out to you. One glimpse of its broad, silken sands, bracketed by rocky outcrops topped with bravely coping conifers, and staying indoors seems ludicrous. We dashed out to glory in the crashing waves and enjoy the driftwood seating so thoughtfully provided by nature. The boys danced in the surf while we shivered just watching them and we all tossed sticks, seaweed and even mussels for leash-free mutts who thought they were in paradise. Another day, at low tide, the small pools at one end of the beach were jeweled with anemones and starfish while crabs scuttled to safety as the dogs splashed about. …

Go West, Young Men, Dogs and Gourmands – Kate of Late

Leave a comment if you have your own fond memories of Long Beach.

There are many great hikes nearby, most famously the West Coast Trail.

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bears disappearing in Europe?

I only recently grasped the fact there are bears in the European Alps.

Now I learn they are disappearing:

bear.pngWhat — or who — is behind the mysterious disappearance of 20-25 Austrian bears? While that number may seem small, it in fact represents four fifths of the bear population that makes its living in the forests of Lower Austria and Styria. The disappearances, which started occurring in the late 90s, have caused sufficient consternation among local residents and environmentalists to lead to an investigation by the Austrian police.

Christoph Waldner of WWF attributes their disappearance to one of three reasons: natural mortality, migration or hunting — which is illegal because of the bears’ endangered status. To Waldner, it seems pretty clear that hunters are to blame for the bears’ disappearance. …

Treehugger

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bears in Europe?

And moose?

Where have I been hiking all my life?

From Laplandica.com:

I followed the incident with my binoculars. The bear was getting closer and closer as they both came downhill and closer to the river bank and brush across from me. As the moose entered into the brush, the bear was right behind her. The brush slowed the moose down giving the bear the advantage of the situation. And, more suddenly than one would expect, I watched the bear jump up from behind onto the moose and, holding hard onto her back loins with his paws and claws, tackled and dragged the moose down into the bushes. Both disappeared.

I saw a lot of rustling in the bushes, but everything went very quickly and soon these stopped moving. For a long time I sat there and waited, watching for any movement, but there was none. As I watched, I realized how swiftly the chase, and then the kill, happened. I was awed with how fast the bear could run and the strength and power he had when pulling the moose down to kill it. And, to have sat there alone and be a witness to the whole event was something I felt almost blessed with. …

Laplandica » Unexpected things can happen in Laponia…

Ah, of course. In the NORTH. That’s real wilderness.

Next, in a flash of Google magic, Philip Bethge’s article appeared on the reintroduction of bears to the Alps:

The brown bear is returning to the mountains of Central Europe, thanks to resettlement projects in Italy, Austria and France. Biologists celebrate the animals’ return as a success in endangered species protection. But the general population has mixed feelings about welcoming back the predator.

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Brown Bears in the Alps: The Great Bear Comeback – SPIEGEL ONLINE

They have a long way to go …

Brown bears were once found throughout Europe and even inhabited the British Isles until the 10th century (Curry Lindahl 1972, Servheen 1990). Populations in Europe have been severely reduced and habitat has been fragmented by human modification.

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GrizzlyBear.org

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new danger in the woods: Electric Bear Fence

Does Rocky Thompson make this stuff up?

(This can’t be for real.)

On his blog:

… Try to remember there’s an electrified fence right outside your tent when you get up in the middle of the night to take a piss. If a can of Bear Spray doesn’t offer the protection you’re looking for, then you might try lugging some fencing and batteries into the backcountry. The Bear Shock outfit weighs 3.7 pounds with batteries, and stretches around a 30 x 30ft area.

The website claims the batteries will last five weeks and blast someone with 6000 volts of electricity if touched. I say “someone” and not “some bear” since it’s much more likely you’ll walk into it than anything else.

Backcountry.com: The Goat » Blog Archive » Portable Electric Bear Fence to Encircle Your Campsite

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more photos – Bear Shock