Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
Frank in Oz is an expert Australian hiker. He’s co-author, with wife Sue, of Hiking the Overland Track – the downloadable book.
Frank wears mostly Mountain Designs togs. That’s an Aussie company, their gear not easily available in North America.
For warm weather:
For a particularly foul, wet adventure in Tasmania:
Click through to Frank’s excellent site for much, much more:
Our Hiking Blog – Best hiking clothes for a multi day hike – ideas, tips and suggestions
I’ve been considering the Ursack system for protecting food from bears.
Those who try Ursack seem to like the product. But it’s not currently approved for use in the Sierras.
I currently use a 2 lb 9oz Bear Vault. It’s great.
details – Amazon
… On the other hand, the Ursack V27 that holds almost as much food weighs only 7.5oz. (Recommended is to use a small Brillo pad squeezed under the opening to protect your yummies from mice and insects.)
Calipidder posted a terrific comparative review of all the available systems.
(via Two-Heel Drive)
I could use one of these.
Built for bicycle touring, the freestanding Ghisallo features a garage! The side vestibule designed to accommodate bicycles upright, and without removing panniers. Full coverage fly keeps bicycle and other gear out of view. The entry vestibule has plenty of space for personal gear and the efficient floor plan and interior volume allows ample room for sleeping, sitting up and loving life. Superlight fabrics reduce weight and Atlas 7001 poles stand strong in stormy weather. Guaranteed watertight construction.
MSRP: 360.00
Minimum Weight 3.66 lb / 1.66 kg
Mountain Hardwear – SUPERLIGHT : GHISALLO 1
buy it from Amazon
via — I assume — Kraig on the The Adventure Blog
Long distance adventure racer Greg Kolodziejzyk posted a photo of all the disfunctional iPods he’s used for training over the years.
… I seem to blast through iPods as fast as I blow through sneakers. Last summer during training for the 24 hour human powered boat record I purchased a totally water proof enclosure for my iPod from OtterBox because my previous iPod got wet and eventually died. I was sick of buying new iPods so I decided to invest my money into a water proof and shock proof case.
Good idea in theory, but because this OtterBox case fits the iPod so tightly, inserting and removing the iPod for updating and charging wore out the headphones plug and now the sound is shorting out. So, Time for a new pair of shoes, and yet another new iPod. …
Adventures of Greg – Blew through another iPod
I’m only on my 3rd MP3 player. Though I use one almost every day.
The best accessory EVER for outdoor sport is Apple’s $29 Apple Earphones with Remote & Mic.
I can’t believe I used an MP3 player without them.
… just won Backpacker Magazine’s GEAR GUIDE 2009: best all-around solo tent.
Roomy, rugged, and light-as-a-feather
I’ll go test it out for myself.
… free-standing, three-season solo tent weighs less than many bivy sacks. The single hub frame design, together with a mix of clips and fabric pole loops, reduces both set-up time and weight. Mesh in the body minimizes mass while maximizing ventilation. Reflective guy lines and corner webbing prevent pratfalls during night exits.
The Big Agnes Fly Creek UL 1 Tent (CAD$293 at MEC in Canada)
The specs are a fair bit better than my current (beloved) 1-person tent, the Hubba.
Mountain Equipment Cooperative (MEC) in Canada (my favourite gear shop) has a great new product.
I love being able to find things without digging blind into the bag. And they are good for the environment, too.
MEC Transparent Dry Bag – $13.00 – $26.00 CAD – Made in USA
MEC believe they are the only completely transparent PVC-free drybags available at a consumer level. Not only that, in selecting a 0.5mm thick clear polyurethane they’re convinced the bags are also more flexible and more abrasion resistance than standard PVC drybags.
Treehugger – MEC Become Transparent with PVC-Free DryBags
The highly touted Therm-a-Rest NeoAir is now available.
Backpacker 2009 Editors’ Choice Winner: Therm-a-Rest NeoAir review on YouTube.
I just added this item to my Amazon.com Shopping Basket for the coming season. Details on Amazon.
For now I’ll abandon my heavier Exped air mattresses. Both I’ve bought have leaked from the valve insertions.
Tag line for this new guidebook is “New Gear for Old People“.
details – Amazon
It weighs in at 10.2 oz. (289 g) according to Backpacking Light.
A growing number of unclad hikers are wandering the Alps, near Appenzell. Some Swiss legal experts say that banning nudity in public would be unconstitutional.
In recent years, it has become fashionable for a growing number of Swiss and some foreigners to wander in the Alps clad in little more than hiking shoes and sun screen. Last summer, the number of nude hikers increased to such an extent that the hills often seemed alive with the sound of everything but the swish of trousers. …
read more in the NY Times – In Thin Air of the Alps, Swiss Secrecy Is Vanishing
I tried it myself on the John Muir Trail in California for about an hour. … Too short an experiment to get “comfortable”.
Fans of hiking in the buff should subscribe to the Nude Hiker blog.
besthike.com 