health & safety – Page 48

August 30, 2013

best hammock shelter ever?

Looks like it to me.

The Nubé (new-bay) is more than just a hammock shelter, it’s a safe haven for you and your gear wherever you are.

With it’s patent pending 3 in 1 system the Nubé is the most complete hammock shelter ever produced.

The Nubé protects you from torrential down pours, pesky insects, and keeps your gear elevated and protected …

The Nubé is designed to be compatible with any camping hammock …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Nubé Weight (no stakes): 2 lbs (0.90 kg)

Total Weight (with stakes): 2.24 lbs (1.01 kg)

kickstarter – Nubé the Perfected Hammock Shelter
by Sierra Madre Research
– Richard G. Rhett Jr.

This should be available next year. They’ve already raised more than triple the money needed to start production. 🙂

related – How to Set-Up the Nubé (VIDEO)

August 23, 2013August 23, 2013

Grizzly Bear eats Black Bear

Banff’s Sundance Canyon trail has reopened after a grizzly bear ate a black bear in the popular hiking area west of Calgary earlier this month.

“Bear 122 is the largest, most dominant grizzly bear on the landscape,” the park official said. “Last fall, I would estimate his weight at 650 to 700 pounds, which is enormous for the Rocky Mountains — about as big as grizzly bears get around here.”

Michel said the black bear was likely a fifth the size of the grizzly. …

read more – Grizzly bear eats black bear in Banff

Thanks Peter.

I’m hoping to get out to the Rockies over the next week.

August 16, 2013August 13, 2013

North Coast Trail 2013

scenes from the trail has a detailed trip report on the new North Coast Trail on Vancouver Island. These ladies found it easier than I did. 🙂

Distance: 59.5 km (including about 16 km which is part of the Cape Scott track).

Recommended number of days: for average parties 5.5-7, for fast and very fit parties 3.5-5.

Location: Near Port Hardy, BC. Part of Cape Scott Provincial Park.

Logistics: A water taxi is necessary to get to the starting point at Shushartie Bay. The North Coast Trail Shuttle offers a water taxi from Port Hardy and a pick up at the Cape Scott trailhead (about 60 km from Port Hardy).

Bookings: At this stage, it isn’t necessary to book the track. You should book your shuttle/boat in advance. You must also pay a back country fee to BC Parks of $10 per person, per night.

Further Considerations: Make sure you consult a tide chart before leaving, and have one with you. There is only one short section that is truly impassable at high tide, but many of the beach sections are much easier at low tide. Also consider that this is an area in which there is a lot of wildlife, particularly wolves and bears. …

read more – scenes from the trail – The North Coast Trail

related – Club Tread – North Coast Trail

August 9, 2013August 6, 2013

trekking the Indian Himalaya

by site editor Rick McCharles

We’ve moved and updated our Indian Himalaya introduction page.

If you’ve trekked there, check it for errors and omissions.

I’m hoping to do some personal research this Autumn.

Fly Dehli to Leh mid-October. Do Ladadh.

If possible, next do at least one trek in the Nandi Devi region.

Third priority is Nepal (my 5th trip) or Sikkim (my 2nd trip).

My preference is to trek independently. Carrying my own pack.

Wish me luck. 🙂

August 3, 2013

How to talk to your daughter about her body

This blog post by Sarah is going NUTS online. Already 700+ comments as I post.

… step one: don’t talk to your daughter about her body, except to teach her how it works.

Don’t say anything if she’s lost weight. Don’t say anything if she’s gained weight.

If you think your daughter’s body looks amazing, don’t say that. Here are some things you can say instead:

“You look so healthy!” is a great one.

Or how about, “you’re looking so strong.”

“I can see how happy you are – you’re glowing.”

read more …

August 2, 2013

researching Manaslu Circuit

The Manaslu Trek (or Manaslu Circuit Trek) is a 14-day tea-house trek which circumnavigates the 8th highest peak in the world (8,156 m). …

The trek is much easier than it used to be with greatly improved trails along the Budi Gandaki river gorge. In terms of difficulty, it is comparable with the Annapurna Circuit Trek or Everest Base Camp trek. Its highlight is undoubtedly the spectacular unhindered views of Manaslu.

Just over 2,000 people complete the trek per year with more than half visiting in October. This is substantially fewer than visiting Annapurna, Everest or Langtang. There are two main reason for the fewer numbers.

The first reason is that the trek used to require camping, as there were too few tea-houses …

The second reason is that the trek has restricted area status. This means it requires a special permit … that the group have two or more members and that a registered trekking guide accompanies the group.

wikitravel

I’d like the option to trek alone. Therefore, Manaslu is probably out … though I’ll double check if and when I go to Nepal in November.

Some hikers with permits manage to do it independently.

The best website I’ve found is Manaslu Circuit Trek.

August 1, 2013July 31, 2013

Alaska swarming in mosquitoes

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

… So why is Krause, a student at the University of California, Davis, subjecting himself to these swarms of monstrous, hungry bugs in Alaska?

He’s actually studying how birds react to seasons. In this case, he’s looking at how climate change could affect when spring arrives at the North Slope and how that will affect the birds that migrate there. …

Luckily, this year’s mosquito season might be on its last legs. Alaska.org reports that mosquitoes are “only really an issue for Alaska visitors from the second week in June to the last week in July.

Mother Nature

See how Koby Kirk defended himself from flying vampires with his Buff.

And check midges plastered on Brad “MrFox” White’s vehicle in Oregon. Yeesh.

July 30, 2013July 30, 2013

Ladahk trekking research …

I bought two books:

Cicerone Trekking in Ladakh

Lonely Planet Trekking in the Indian Himalaya

Looks fantastic.

Mid-October I’ll fly Delhi Leh 3524 metres (11,562 ft) in Ladahk. Spend some days acclimatizing to altitude.

Most likely start with the Markha Valley Trek, carrying my own food, tent and pack.

Any advice for me?

… Leave a comment.

*****

Now the BAD news … 😦

The end of guide books? Lonely Planet lays off one-third of editorial staff

Venerable travel guide brand Lonely Planet, which has bounced from owner to owner in recent years, just announced some bad news: They’re slashing staff on three continents and getting rid of much of their content staff. Almost 100 jobs were slashed in Melbourne, Australia alone, and additional layoffs were made at Lonely Planet’s London and Oakland offices. …

Update: According to an email from a Lonely Planet publicist, “Print will continue to be part of the mix” for the company.

END OF AN ERA: LONELY PLANET SLASHES CONTENT JOBS

July 17, 2013July 16, 2013

Gros Morne National Park – what the frack?

The UNESCO world heritage committee says a monitoring mission should be sent to Gros Morne National Park to assess fracking risks.

… it’s seriously concerned about plans for potential oil exploration near the site. …

CTV – Fracking risks in Gros Morne should be assessed, UNESCO says

State of Canada’s Parks:

Among the good news: a huge new park in Québec which is now eastern North America’s largest protected area and Canada’s largest provincial park!

The bad news? We’ve identified numerous emerging threats to some of our most iconic parks. The threat of oil fracking metres from Gros Morne National Park heads the list, along with ongoing concerns about federal budget cuts and inappropriate commercial developments in our national parks. Also, some provincial and territorial governments are backtracking on promises to create new parks and protected areas. …

read more from CPAWS – One step forward, two steps back for Canada’s parks: CPAWS’ 2013 State of Canada’s Parks Report

July 13, 2013July 9, 2013

Klahhane Ridge, Olympics WA

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

If you are talking to experienced Olympics hikers, you’ll very soon be talking about this rugged, interesting — very accessible — route.

The ridge is reached by a variety of hiking trails off of high Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park and offers spectacular views of the Olympic Mountains and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. In good weather.

Klahhane is a Chinook word meaning “outdoors.” It’s often misspelled. 🙂

I started from the Visitor’s Center up the Sunrise Trail. And followed the signs for Lake Angeles.

Soon I side tripped a mad scramble up Mt Angeles. Good fun.

The pretty trail winds steeply up and up.

The roadway up to Hurricane falls away below.

The higher you climb, the more rugged it gets.

At points you must guess where the trail lies, under the snow. I took the chance to do some glissading.

Klahhane is pretty. No doubt about it.

I was sorry to see the climb end.

Finally. A glimpse of Lake Angeles far below.

During the slippery, steep descent I fell once. Landing (correctly) on my backpack. No injury.

I’m no real fan of mountain lakes, mainly because of mosquitoes. The flying mini-vampires of Lake Angeles were the first that had pestered me in 5 days.

But I’m happy to have tented there. For some reason the campground was overrun by mountain goats. Altogether we saw 8. Mothers with new born young.

I speculated that some predator might have driven them towards humans for protection … Bears and cougars don’t want to be anywhere near people if they can help it.

Just above was where the only hiker ever died from mountain goat attack. A slight cause for worry.

Next morning I strolled out of the mountains on a quiet old growth trail.