health & safety – Page 38

November 2, 2015October 29, 2015

“stupid light” hiking

Andrew Skurka :

Ten- or fifteen-thousand miles ago I believed fervently that “light is right” and “lighter is better.” I proudly considered myself a “lightweight,” “ultralight” or “super ultralight” backpacker, and I believed that the weight of my pack was linearly correlated with the quality of my experience — the lighter my pack got, the better the hiking became.

But in my blind pursuit to shed weight, I made decisions that compromised my efficiency, thus negatively impacting my trips. In other words, in an effort to “go light” I ended up going “stupid light.” (Special thanks to Phil Barton and Pat Starich for sharing this expression with me.)

I went “stupid light” by:

Not taking gear and supplies that were necessary given the conditions, and …
Taking gear and supplies that were too light.

read more – “Stupid light”: Why light is not necessarily right, and why lighter is not necessarily better

October 27, 2015October 29, 2015

hiking the Camino del Rey

I was in Spain recently, one of my main goals to hike the newly reopened Camino del Rey.

Unfortunately you can only access the trail after booking through the official portal page.

The portal shows up 3 months in advance. But it’s ALWAYS booked. 😦

I couldn’t get a reservation.

Update: It turns out that the Garganta Hotel, near the train station in Alora, will sell you an expensive lunch for 25 euro … with a “free” ticket for the hike. Other restaurants may do the same.

Here’s a May 2015 trip report (tickets from Garganta Hotel).

I wished I’d known. The official website does not mention this option.

El Caminito del Rey (English: The King’s little pathway) is a walkway, pinned along the steep walls of a narrow gorge in El Chorro, near Ardales in the province of Málaga, Spain. The name is often shortened to Camino del Rey.

The walkway had fallen into disrepair and was partially closed for over a decade. After four years of extensive repairs and renovations, the walkway re-opened in 2015. It has been known in the past as the “world’s most dangerous walkway” following five deaths in 1999 and 2000. …

October 23, 2015October 25, 2015

DAY 2 Sierra Nevada Traverse

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

day 1 | day 2| day 3 | day 4

Happily the sun appeared around 8:30am. It had been very windy all night. (I’d not slept much.)

It was still windy. As you can see.

This guy didn’t make it.

The scenery up here is otherworldly. Reminded me of New Zealand and Iceland.

Most of these photos were taken by Josh. I was impressed he managed to catch the rainbow. 🙂

Once up on the cliff edge summit ridge, the wind was even more severe.

But it was fun to be well above some of the clouds.

From up here we could see some of the other 7 lakes (tarns).

We managed to somehow lose this very well traveled pathway, sticking close to the cliff instead.

Josh had to keep moving just to stay warm. He and I pushed ahead over several false summits. To the top of Mulhacén.

We made it!

Josh huddled in the rocks at the top to warm-up while I rushed back to help Alisha. On the descent (somehow) I missed her coming up. So I rushed back up to the summit, missing her again. She’d been there already and seen Josh.

Unfortunately she’d left her backpack close to the cliff edge. And wasn’t sure exactly where.

The three of us – once finally reunited – went searching for it together. We asked one Spanish climber if he’d seen it. He had! And it was finally recovered.

In the end I summited Mulhacén 5 times that day!

Josh really needed to get down to some place warmer. Here’s the scramble down from Mulhacén on the Traverse route.

We had lunch at this crowded “Refuge”. Not all that warmer than the summit, to tell you the truth.

The route would stay above 3000m for the rest of the day, mostly along the Sierra Nevada Road. (Looks great for mountain biking.)

Lonely Planet recommended we sleep at the Cariguella Refuge atop the Sierra Nevada Ski Resort.

We had an hour of daylight left and thought we might make the next Refuge instead, shortening our day 3 back to civilization. That same Spanish walker who found our backpack happened past. He seemed to know where he was going. So we followed.

Big mistake. We ended up off route. Lost. Facing steep cliffs. Eventually we were forced to backtrack to Cariguella.

It was cold. But clean. We shared common bunks with about 6 other hikers who were planning to climb the 3rd highest peak next day.

Unfortunately a loud, obnoxious group arrived after 10pm. Absolutely no consideration for those trying to sleep. They left very early next morning, all their trash on the table. 😦

I dislike European Refuge huts. This was only the second time ever I’d tried to sleep in one.

Remind me never to sleep in one again.

day 1 | day 2| day 3 | day 4

October 13, 2015October 9, 2015

Suspension Bridge SNAPS as Hikers Cross River

New Zealand.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

(via unofficialnetworks)

September 9, 2015September 2, 2015

Cocuy Circuit, Colombia

Cam was warned off this (supposedly) dangerous part of the world. But decided to go anyway based on local information.

The Colombian Andes.

The most northern part of the world’s longest mountain range.

The hiking highlight of this month’s trip to the region was a circuit of the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy …

59 miles (95 km approx.) …

Cocuy Circuit | Colombia, 2015

related – best website – pnncocuy.com

August 31, 2015August 26, 2015

dispersed hiking in Alaska

If you’ve been to Alaska, you know hiking there is challenging.

Distances are HUGE. And there are not all that many established trails.

Turns out, that’s partly by design.

GearJunkie in Denali:

The park’s 2006 Backcountry Management Plan … “Except as otherwise specified… backcountry access and travel in Denali will continue without designated routes or constructed trails to allow for freedom to explore and to minimize signs of human presence.”

Similar trail-less wilderness areas exist within Alaska, which contains more than half of all the country’s wildernesses, but Denali is by far the most popular, totaling more than 38,000 backcountry campers last year. According to Burrows, the relative ease at which visitors can access Denali’s backcountry (it’s split in two by the park road) has spurred increased exploration and cause for increased measures to keep the wilderness as Murie intended.

Very quickly after starting hiking from the park road, we ran across our faint trails, and like many of Denali’s visitors we opted to take the path less traveled, spread out to disperse our impact and take advantage of a wilderness experience unlike anyplace else.

Bushwhacking Encouraged: Denali Strives To Eliminate Ad Hoc Trails

Matt Zimmerman - Grizzly bear in Denali National Park — Matt Zimmerman – Grizzly bear in Denali National Park

August 24, 2015August 20, 2015

Copper Canyon Traverse, Mexico

In 2013 Justin “Trauma” Lichter and Cam “Swami” Honan completed a 381 mile (613 km) traverse of Mexico´s Copper Canyon region. A first thru hike.

Justin Lichter at the base of Basaseachi Falls

The traverse was a combination of hiking, packrafting, swimming, bushwhacking, scrambling, crawling and weaving our way around clandestine drug fields.

Our route linked together the six major canyons (along with numerous minor ones) that constitute the Copper Canyon region. It took us from the region’s northwest corner (Basaseachi Falls) to its southeastern limits (Sinforosa Canyon). In the order in which they were traversed, the canyons were as follows:

Candamena
Oteros
Copper
Urique
Batopilas
Sinforosa

The Hiking Life

August 21, 2015August 15, 2015

Hadrian’s Wall Path

6-7 days
camping, hostel, hotel
you can hire people to haul your luggage to the next hotel
May – October

Walk 84 miles from coast to coast following the World Heritage Site of Hadrian’s Wall, past Roman settlements and forts. There’s history every step of the way, and cosy pubs, bustling market towns and great views too.

National Trails

August 14, 2015

West Coast Trail getting upgrades

The WCT is our favourite hike in the world. 🙂

The 75-kilometre West Coast Trail is getting repairs to bridges, ladders and other sections, as part of $33.6 million in funding announced for Parks Canada.

The money is the largest federal infrastructure investment in Parks Canada since its formation 104 years ago, said Vancouver Island North MP John Duncan. …

Sooke News

August 11, 2015August 12, 2015

Colorado Trail – Silverton to Durango – day 3

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | day 4 | info page

Straight Creek – seasonal Spring

No rain last night. I hadn’t needed to put the fly on the tent!

Mixed forest hiking. Often the Colorado Trail here traverses high on the mountain between alpine meadows and scattered trees. With more good weather, I’d planned to push hard again and hike perhaps 26mi to Taylor Lake. Otherwise I’d need to stop before the last available water at around 20 miles. I met an older couple from Nebraska riding the Continental Divide over a number of years. They’d camped near the first serious bear scat I’d seen in Colorado. Water is short on this high, ridge walking section. Trail angels had left this behind (empty) … … and somebody up day biking left this. At many downhill fallen logs, I took a short rest. One of the few complaints I have about this trail is road walking. Old mining and logging roads are everywhere. There are very few motor vehicles, but I’d be happier if they’d route actual trail to avoid them completely.

Signage is quite good. But it’s possible to get lost for short periods of time. Some hiker had taken the time to post this helpful note. The best sections have open views for long periods. A lovely day to be walking in the mountains. Wildflowers a constant delight. These guys are camped here with motor vehicles. As feared, the skies darkened above the high, exposed ridge I hoped to cross. There’s not much trouble with bears here. But lightning kills hikers every year. When it started to rain about 4pm, I decided to give up my attempt to make it to Taylor Lake.That decision was probably for the best as shinsplints (?) in one leg started to act up. (An old gymnastics injury from my youth.) I’d been pushing too hard with too heavy a pack, I guess.

This would delay my return to Durango by a day. But no big deal. I’d no plane to catch.

Charcoal I’d found on the trail wasn’t actually all that much help getting my fire going. So I cheated with my camp stove. 🙂 more high resolution photos of day 3