American human rights activist and hiking guru Marinel de Jesus moved to Peru full-time.
Right now she’s fundraising to put together a documentary on mistreatment of porters on the Inca Trail.
KM 82 is the documentary that will tell the porters’ stories directly to the world and reveal the inequities behind the trekking tourism industry.
The women porters have recently become a part of the trekking industry and we want to support their voices to ensure that porter conditions improve and that they can work safely on the trails.
The Inca Trail is one of the world’s best hikes. But this is one of many problems which makes us prefer the Salkantay Trek to Aguas Calientes followed by a visit to Machu Picchu. Salkantay can be done independently carrying your own backpack. For the Inca Trail you must be guided.
Theend of the Khopra Ridge trek (according to Lonely Planet) is Tadapani.
Unexpected rain resulted in a power failure for most of the night.
For trekkers that means Kindle light dinner.
Did you see what I did there? 😀
As usual on this trip, next morning skies were clear.
Annapurna South
This has been the best vista so far of my favourite peak – Machapuchare.
“Fishtail”
After evening rain, the village was washed clean.
Lodges in Nepal are very similar. There’s not much difference between yours and HOTEL MAGNIFICENT.
From Tadapani it’s easy to get back to Pokhara in a day. But I decided, instead, to spend one more mountain night in Ghandruk, a Gurung village, famed starting point for many treks.
Ghandruk was only a couple of hours downhill stroll. A very easy day for me.
Lonely Planet recommended Hotel Trekkers Inn in Ghandruk which had won many hospitality awards over the years. It’s good, but not much different than any other IMHO.
As prices are fixed at all lodges in each village, they try to match each other in features, as well.
Hotel Trekkers Inn did have good food including some menu items I’d not seen anywhere else. I tried the Moussaka … tasty, but unrelated in any way to Moussaka.
And also the local smoked, dried, spiced meat called sukuti,
In the restaurant I met a young American who will be volunteer teaching at the largest school in the area. She’ll be living at Hotel Trekkers Inn for the next 2 months.
We both met a Brit who’s an old Nepal hand. This trip he’s come to photograph the Kulung’ honey hunters‘, men who climb bamboo rope ladders to harvest the world’s largest bees. An interesting man.
Pro tip – bring a tiny luggage lock for your room. What they provide are bulky and awkward.
The Khopra Ridge Trek I just finished is excellent.
In fact, Nepal needs more like it. And there is plenty of opportunity to develop more trails in higher, less developed spurs of the Annapurna massif.
Widely circulated in local lodges is this 2014 article by Donatella Lorch who lives in Kathmandu:
… The tea-houses and lodges are packed. Hikers have to share the stone steps with Nepal tourism’s unsung heroes: the unending series of mule convoys, loaded down with everything from water and food to cooking propane, kerosene, mattresses, stones and bags of cement to feed the mountain region’s lodge construction boom. …
ACAP faces socio-economic, ecological and political challenges. New roads have jeeps and trucks competing with trekkers and brings with it increased risk of landslides. There is little variety as the vast majority of trekkers stick to a small number of routes that are at times crowded walking highways …
Many trekkers along the route are willing to pay more for a more Nepali experience, and were in search of less crowded trails. …
20 years after her first Appalachian hike, Jamie, her husband Chris, and their four daughters, Maya,13, Harper, 11, Josie, 8, and Sabina, 6, camped in snow, and hiked across rivers and up mountains, all with blistered toes and homework assignments to complete. …
Meet Sabina, AKA "Trail Bunny." Her family believes she is the youngest person to hike the entire Appalachian Trail, but her favorite part? Finding bunnies, of course! 🐰 @KateABC7 has more on this sweet story NOW on ABC7 News. pic.twitter.com/rx6uCTtK7y
As I travel much of each year, I use packable daypacks nearly every day on those trips. Often it carries my laptop and other essentials for short trips.
Often I use it to carry my daily groceries.
The Matador Freefly16 has replaced my my Sea to Summit Ultra-Sil® Dry Day Pack. The Matador is slightly heavier and bulkier, but much more robust and full-featured.
This 16 liter backpack is built from waterproof Cordura® with sealed internal seams and sealing zippers. Incredibly light and seriously equipped, Freefly16 is ready for whatever’s ahead.
Though not as bad as Trump’s first Secretary of the Interior, Zinke, the current guy in the position — David Bernhardt — is a former oil industry lobbyist. A Petro-toxin defender.
He’s supposed to be defending America’s natural resources; Bureau of Land Management, United States Geological Survey, and the National Park Service.
16 miles (25 km) from Chamberlain’s Ranch to Temple of Sinawava
June through October best months
in places chasm up to 1,968 ft deep and 20 ft wide
walk in water about half the time
9 – 13 hours. Confirm the time of the last shuttle out of the park!
a long, tiring day or you can camp overnight. Be aware that there are only 12 campsites available and they book quickly. Start as early as possible if you are doing it in a day.
water walking shoes, long hiking stick and dry gear recommended
National Park Service closes the hike when flow rate is over 150 cubic feet per second (cfs). And might close it at any time in case of Flash Flood Warning.
70,000 members and growing rapidly. And it’s free to join.
Established in December 2015, Girls Who Hike is a nationally recognized hiking organization based in the United States. …
We have 57 chapters throughout the nation with additional chapters on the radar for 2018. Our closed communities are reserved for individuals who identify as female.
besthike.com 