Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
It’s been years since I heard the name Mont-Bell.
The company withdrew from the U.S. market for a long while.
Then I heard Dr. Ryan Jordan of BackpackingLight.com call Mont-Bell one of the top 3 manufacturers of interest to ultra-light hikers. (He did not name the other two.)
I’d love to get to their mothership store in Boulder, Colorado to try the high end gear for myself. It’s difficult to shop over the internet.
Mont-Bell America – official website
Things can go wrong, fast.
A series of decisions, all which seemed reasonable at the time. Even experienced hikers can get lost in canyon country.
Three friends, planning on a challenging day hike on the standard Syncline Loop in Canyonlands National Park, Utah, got stuck overnight without provisions. One suffered some hypothermia.
Rich posted a detailed account of how it happened:
Now, we didn’t really have much in the way of food. I had brought a few slices of bread, some saltines, a jar of peanut butter and, of course, plenty of water. We each had a similiar supply.
We planned on stopping at the grocery store on our way to Moab but, somehow that slipped our minds. …
So, we figure … we’d probably find a bit of trail food at the visitor center.
Well, we soon found out there was nothing at all in the way of trail food at the visitor center. The Island of the Sky Visitor Center is a little more than a Ranger Station. In fact, I really like Canyonlands because it doesnt have any amenities.
The desert is one place your really do need the 10 essentials. And extra water. Even if setting out only for an hour or two.
They made one last urgent scramble to get up and out.
… we saw … a potential exit. It was crazy and we were all really uncertain but, we pushed on. Every second getting closer to darkness.
Of course, as they do in the desert, temperatures plunged with the setting sun. Thankfully, we still had clear skies and little to no wind. We climbed higher and higher.
… It is endless!!!
For certain, that mile or so was the most intense and rugged hiking I have ever done in my life. Naturally, I loved every minute of it but, my lungs would argue otherwise. We had been on the trail for nearly 10 hours.
No pretty pictures on this post. Just three wiser hikers the following morning when the sun finally came up. Cold, but never in any real danger.
Canyonlands National Park – WikiTravel
Non-hikers assume that what I do is “dangerous”.
I always pooh-pooh the notion: “It’s more dangerous driving to the trailhead than hiking the trail.”
The only time I really got in trouble was in Venezuela. I learned important lessons the HARD way.
From my 1997 photo travelogue:
… Mérida boasts the world’s highest (4765m) and longest (12.5km) cable car. Unfortunately, in the 1980s a car on the top crashed killing an undisclosed number of tourists. The last section of the ride up was never repaired. …
Still, I could ride to 4000m and hike from there. Overnight camping is technically illegal so almost no one knew where I was going as I headed up the mountain.
I climbed a ridge. The vista was magic with clouds blowing in and out. I dropped my pack at the first possible tent site & continued up looking for a better spot. The terrain was steep, exposed & rugged. Not many options for a tent.
I knew that at the top of the mountain was The Virgin of the Snows, a statue of the Virgin Mary. She led me on.
On a whim I decided to kiss the Virgin — once the dayhiking tourists had departed for the day.
I was careful to note landmarks on my way up so I could return to the pack. Unfortunately they all disappeared in the clouds.
Blast.
Lost in the Andes above 4000m. I vainly searched for the ridge back down to my tent, pack and sleeping bag. Finally, as night fell, I resolved to take refuge in a grotto beneath an overhanging rock. I had water but no food.For 10 hours I huddled shivering, calculating the probability of death from hypothermia in just a t-shirt and fleece pants. I’d like to tell you I learned something from this experience — but I didn’t. It was a drag.
At first light I tried another long route down. What a relief when, four hours later, I bumped into an elderly Swiss couple on the trail! They gave me a cookie & directions. I had been hopelessly lost.
To add insult to injury, officials on the cable car wanted to arrest me for camping illegally.
Lesson learned? Never leave your pack.
Click through my annotated photos from that adventure
OK — hypothermia is no joke:
Early warning symptoms include intense shivering, fumbling hands and poor coordination. Shivering is the body’s attempt to generate heat. A simply field test for mild hypothermia is to try touching your thumb to your little finger on the same hand. If you have difficulty doing this, it’s time to seek shelter and warmth.
Later hypothermia symptoms include slurred speech, mental confusion and unconsciousness. Often victims do not recognize the symptoms and fully understand the dangerous situation they face. The victim needs warmth immediately and protection from further body heat loss. Hypothermia is a medical emergency that requires immediate attention.
(via My Outdoor Gear)
Honestly, I estimated that I could survive one more night of hypothermia. But not two.
I’ll never leave my pack again.
You won’t be surprised to learn that I want to return to Mérida, to hike La Travesia Mucuy – Mérida.
Here are hikers doing it right.
They posted a blog dedicated to organizing an upcoming trek on our #1 hike in the World. Good luck guys!
Some of their posts:
This can’t be right:
Maximum operating altitude: 3,000 metres (10,000 feet)
My Rio Cali flash drive MP3 player worked perfectly up to 5000m.
Leave a comment if you know of an iPod Nano on Everest or other high peaks.
Likely Apple is being overcautious.
UPDATE: Consensus of opinion is that flash drive Nano iPods should be OK at altitude. But that spinning disk drive iPods are at risk.
Fedak pointed me to a pilot’s blog: He had problems at 19,000ft unpressurized.
Hard drives work by levitating a head a very small distance from the media; unlike floppy or tape, where the media actually touches the head. The distance between the rotating media and the head is regulated using a very small wing on the head. The head literally ‘flys’ above the media.
When the pressure inside the drive is reduced, the wing will need a higher angle of attack, until finally the wing stalls, and the head impacts the media. The term in the industry for this behavior is called a ‘head crash’. Very apropos, no?
I’ll be trying the New Balance Men’s 902LW running shoe for hiking.
(The top ranked trail runner is the adidas Men’s J S3 M Trail Shoe. And adidas always fit narrow.)
Since I have bunions, New Balance and Dunham are my preferred brands as they offer wider versions.
New Balance 902 (10.1 oz)
1. A handful of shoes boast construction this light, but most are minimalist racing flats without much structure. Not so with the 902. Thanks to new-tech, lightweight materials—in the cushioning, foam, and even the breathable mesh of the upper—the 902 supports your foot better than many midweight shoes. …
Outside Online – gear of the year – Road Runners
I rushed out and bought this innovative product — a Nalgene bottle lantern — as soon as I heard about.
Having used it on my last hiking trip, my score is 2.0 out of 10.
A great idea, very badly executed.
There are several problems:
• special tool needed to attach the lantern lid to the bottle
• special screwdriver needed to change batteries
• it’s too heavy
• you are asked NOT to put the top in water
• it gives surprisingly little light
Would someone please manufacture a light-weight, washable version?
(It’s a water bottle, for cripes sake!)
And how many people are going to carry special tools for it on the trail?
(I actually had one. The eyeglass screwdriver from my Swiss Army Knife worked.)
==== original post March 20, 2007
gear I need NOW – water bottle lantern
This nifty little device acts first as the lid to a bottle of water. Press a button, however, and the lid emits an “integrated LED light” which turns the water bottle into an instant lantern. Hang it from a tree and you’ve got enough light to play that game of cards around the campfire.
Things can get really funky if the bottle is full of green Gatorade or pink lemonade. Just don’t fill it full of chunky soup.
Price: US$21.95
Like Russ at Trailcraft, I need coffee in the morning when I’m hiking.
He’s recommending a new one on me:
The Press-Bot Coffee Press by ventureDESIGNworks made great coffee. In fact, everyone in the group enjoyed it. The only complaint was that it was occasionally difficult to remove from the Nalgene bottle. …
As an added bonus, the PRESS-BOT only weighs 2.8 ounces!
No doubt Russ will be mortified with my preferred hiking coffee “system”. I buy tubes of Nestle sweetened condensed milk and mix it with instant coffee. Fast, easy and … surprisingly delicious.
In fact, I’ve even tried the coffee flavoured sweetened condensed milk. (Not nearly as good.)
This product is available throughout South America, in Australia and Europe. But I’ve not yet found it in Canada or the USA.
Leave a comment if you know where I can get it in North America.
(via Two-Heel Drive)
I like the look of a new site put up by Matt Hornsby.
Take a Load Off – Lightweight Backpacking
Backpacking adventures, missteps, stories, and advice.
Matt describes the process of cutting down his 50lb+ pack to something more … reasonable. And asks for advice on his gear list. Check it out:
Take a Load Off – Lightweight Backpacking: Packing
I’ve subscribed, of course, to Matt’s RSS feed.
UPDATE – I am LOVING this jacket after using it for a couple of weeks of cold desert nights in southern Utah.
==== original post April 27, 2007:
After doing a fair bit of comparison shopping on-line, I finally jumped for a new coat, the third in my hiking career.
It’s the inexpensive MEC Hydrofoil Jacket: C$99 (US$88). A bit heavy at just under 1lb (425gms).
Yet this jacket just felt “right” when I put it on. (Will report back how it handles the trail.)
Built to provide outdoor generalists with compact wet-weather protection and the comfort of breathability, at an affordable price. Lightweight and packable, this fully seam-taped, unlined garment is good for travelling in wet climates or where foul weather is expected.
The interior is coated with Toray’s Entrant® DT microporous polyurethane coating, which is waterproof, moderately breathable, and durable. Unlined garments are much lighter and pack smaller than lined garments. So you are more likely to bring them along in uncertain weather.
* Made of 50-denier mini twill ripstop100% nylon.
* Exterior is treated with Kudos Super Durable Water Repellency treatment.
* Hip-length, relatively loose fit for comfort and easy layering over light to mid-weight garments.
* Fully taped seams for maximum wet-weather protection.
* Integral, fully adjustable hood with reinforced brim for full weather resistance.
* Pits zips for added ventilation.
* Two zippered outer pockets.
* Velcro® adjustable sleeve cuffs.
* Elastic drawcord at bottom hem.
* All flaps stiffened to prevent them getting caught in zippers.
besthike.com 