health & safety – Page 49

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.

Jeni rescued me. After 5 days, 4 nights … I finally departed Olympic National Park.

more photos

related – The Crossroad – Backpacking in Olympic National Park: Klahhane Ridge (2013)

July 12, 2013July 9, 2013

scrambling Mt Angeles, Olympics WA

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Mount Angeles is the highest point between Hurricane Ridge and the Strait of Juan De Fuca in Olympic National Park.

It offers incredible views from Canada to Mount Olympus.

It is only about 15 miles from the town of Port Angeles and is a very popular climb, both in winter and summer.

Summer offers a hike and a scramble to the top while winter offers a nice fairly easy snowclimb with a short easy chute at the end to the summit. Because this is so close to the ocean, the mountains tend to dump a lot of moisture with nasty weather. It is after all how Hurricane Ridge got its name. …

The main trail is the Mount Angeles Climbers’ Trail which switchbacks up the south side before switching over to the west side and then up a chute to the summit. There is an option on the East Ridge that offers some scrambling up the ridge to the summit. …

read more on Summit Post

I’d decided on a whim — after chatting with a descending runner on the Sunrise Ridge Trail — to try to climb the peak. Not knowing any better, I blasted straight up the face.

I took the “easy” way down. Slowly and carefully. Descending is far more dangerous than climbing.

No water. Some report mosquitoes though I had none the day I climbed.

Given its close proximity to the Hurricane Ridge Visitor Center, the climbers’ trail route is frequently climbed by determined hikers, and even a few tourists manage to reach the summit, although the mountain is far too craggy and exposed to recommend it to any but experienced scramblers.

Accidents due to slips and falls on loose rock and snow account for many accidents on Mount Angeles.

Climbing Washington

July 11, 2013July 9, 2013

hiking Hurricane, Olympics WA

At an elevation of 5,242 feet (1,598 m), Hurricane Ridge is a year-round destination. In summer, visitors come for views of the Olympic Mountains, as well as for superb hiking. …

Spectacular views of the Olympic National Park can be seen from the Hurricane Ridge viewpoint. The road leading west from the Hurricane Ridge visitor center is dotted with picnic areas and trail heads.

A paved trail called the Hurricane hill trail is popular with visitors, and is about 1.6 miles long (one-way) with an elevation gain of about 700 ft. It is not uncommon to find snow on the trails even as late as July. …

Hurricane Ridge is named for its intense gales and winds. The weather in the Olympic Mountains is unpredictable …

Don’t drive up the mountain before checking weather conditions.

Hurricane Hill is great.

Sadly I got the the more typical vista when looking north to Canada. Nothing but cloud.

It started to clear as I descended.

Most visitors drive up. Take one of the wheelchair accessible walks, consume 1000+ calories at the snack bar. And drive on.

The biggest problem at Hurricane ridge, is this.

Many wild animals get accustomed to humans. There’s supposedly never been a bear encounter in the park, but there have been animal encounters.

For example … A deer first followed. And then charged a leashed dog.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Owner not much help. 😦

In bright sunshine, however, it’s difficult to beat Hurricane Ridge. I like it even better than Logan Pass, the equivalent at Glacier National Park.

more of my photos from Hurricane Ridge

flickr photos tagged “Hurricane Ridge”

July 2, 2013July 1, 2013

Clever Hiker – video tutorials

Our 10 episode video series – Lightweight & Ultralight Backpacking Foundations – and our Gear Recommendations eBook are the complete learning package for any backpacker interested in lightweight backpacking, thru-hiking, or simply carrying a more comfortable pack.

$24.95
details

Click PLAY or watch an introduction YouTube.

June 26, 2013

don’t trek Pakistan

😦

The mountaineering community continues to be stunned by the events that took place in Base Camp on Nanga Parbat this past weekend. Late Saturday evening or early Sunday morning a group of armed militants stormed the camp, grabbed several foreign climbers, tied them up and shot them in the back of the head, execution style. This left 11 dead, including a Pakistani guide and a cook. The names of the fallen are as follows.

Ukrainian Victims:
Igor Svergun
Kashaev Magomedovich Badawi
Konyaev Dmitry Sergeyevich

Chinese Victims:
Rao Jianfeng
Yang Chunfeng
Honglu Chen (held dual US/China citizenship)

Lithuanian Victim:
Ernestas Marksaitis (ExWeb says he was the only member of his team in BC, the rest were in Camp 1)

Slovakian Victims:
Anton Dobes
Peter Sperka

Nepali Victim:
Sona Sherpa

Kraig Becker

June 17, 2013January 5, 2022

Huayhuash Circuit, Peru

I hiked Huayhuash in 2004. (annotated PHOTOS) It’s my BEST HIKE to date.

Extreme.

I recommend it only to the most experienced and adventurous trekkers.

Much better is a detailed 2010 trip report by ramblin’ boy:

… The satellite image above shows you the mini-range of Huayhuash in the shape of a T; it is about 30 kilometers from one end to the other with six peaks over 6000 meters and a couple of dozen over 5000. It’s like walking in Sagarmatha National Park but without the prayer flags!

Most of the 125-km long trek is on trails above 4000m and above the tree line so you have a very stark mountain scenery. …

Our trek began with a ride to the new trail head at Llamac in a mini-bus with room for the seven clients, the two guides and cook and his assistant and a whole lot of tenting equipement and food. …

At Llamac we met the arrieros (muleteers) and their burros, all ten of them. They would carry the bulk of our stuff for us; we would walk with day packs containing rain gear, cameras, and a water bottle. I cannot imagine doing this particular trek unsupported, weighed down by all the things you’d need to bring. …

read on – The Huayhuash Circuit: South America’s Finest High-Altitude Trek

Those marvelous 15 days cost only $1350 / person. A great deal since they had a larger group.

They did the Circuit plus climbs of two trekking peaks: Pumarinri and Diablo Mudo.

Sweet.

Check our Huayhuash information page.

June 10, 2013

erecting tents in the rain

Warren Long:

Figured that I might as well see how it was to set up our (expected) West Coast Trail tents in the rain. This was a good thing to do. The good tent got pretty wet inside, before I got the fly on. Next time I will be much faster getting the fly on correctly the first time….

The old tent is old, and the fly is no longer water tight. I ended up with puddles inside it after it had been in the rain for a few hours. I have now purchased and sprayed on some new waterproofing. Time for another test.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

June 9, 2013June 9, 2013

training to HIKE

We have 11 spots booked for August on our #1 hike — the West Coast Trail.

Four of us did it together in 1999.

Warren got us out today for a “TRAINING hike”.

We marched the bank of the North Saskatchewan river.

3.5km with full packs? … That ought to be enough. Right? 🙂

See more photos from this grueling training session.

June 6, 2013June 5, 2013

why I sleep in a tent, if I can …

… there may be a big disadvantage to sleeping in a shelter versus choosing a tent. Hantavirus! This nasty affliction is spread by rodents, especially mice. Mice habituate shelters, and hikers tolerate them. …

Take a Long Hike – Shelter or Tent?

Privacy – You aren’t a stuffed sardine when it gets crowded.

Warmth – A tent with a rainfly is warmer than an open shelter.

Better Sleep – You are not poked, or kicked, or outsnored.

No Mice – Those critters can drive you nuts!