A federal judge has dismissed most of a widow’s claims against the federal government after her husband was killed by a mountain goat while hiking in Olympic National Park …
Robert Boardman, 63, of Port Angeles was trying to protect his wife and other hikers when the 370-pound male mountain goat fatally gored him in the thigh on a trail at Klahhane Ridge on Oct. 16, 2010.
The goat is believed to have been one that harassed hikers in the park for years …
The mountain goat then stood over Boardman for about 30 minutes, staring and pawing at the ground, making it impossible for … hikers to reach him, according to park ranger reports of the incident.
Boardman died from blood loss in about five minutes, the reports said. The goat was later shot and killed by a ranger. …
A necropsy on the animal showed it was healthy and in rut for the mating season …
After Boardman’s death, park rangers warned hikers to keep at least 50 yards away from goats and not to urinate on trails.
The park said the urine creates a long salt lick, attracting the animals. …
Park Rangers have shot aggressive Elk in the past. But this is not typical of mountain goats.
I’m content the law suit was not successful.
This death has changed regulations, however.
… an Olympic National Park ranger operating under new mountain goat management rules shot and killed a mountain goat that had refused to leave a campsite near the park’s Upper Royal Basin for three days. …
But it seemed a no brainer to catch one of the many available Angel rides up to Mt Laguna at mile 43. And hike downhill to Lake Morena at mile 20 … rather than uphill.
Yet very few hikers did so.
Beautiful country.
I passed hundreds of sweaty, hot thru hikers climbing. It was interesting to check their gear. And their hiking systems.
No mountain bikes are allowed. But trail riders and beasts of burden are welcome.
Several hikers had seen Rattlesnakes. I saw 3 of these guys. A gopher snake, I believe.
click for larger version
It seemed to take FOREVER to get back to the Kick Off campground. Yeesh.
I grabbed a shower. Then enjoyed free chile provided by Trail Angels.
Feet sore. Some blisters. Confidence shaken. … I wasn’t at all sure I’d be able to hike day 3. 😦
Trail Angels on the PCT is a documentary currently in production. It will explore the generosity and kindness administered to hikers along the 2600 mile Pacific Crest Trail.
Most days I’d list ol’ Fishtail 6,993 m (22,943 ft) as my favorite mountain in the World.
Machapuchare or Machhapuchhre (माछापुछ्रे) Lit. “Fish Tail” in English, is a mountain in the Annapurna Himal of north central Nepal. It is revered by the local population as particularly sacred to the god Shiva, and hence is off limits to climbing. …
It’s easily seen from Pokara.
Here’s a 15 day lower elevation guided Himalaya Trek called Machhapuchhre Model Trek. Looks a lot easier than most in Nepal. And much safer vis-a-vis risk of altitude sickness.
… just want to want to enjoy a good trek without worrying about acclimatising?
Altitude sickness, which usually kicks in around 2500-3000 metres (8200-9850 feet) and higher, affects some (but not all) of us, no matter how healthy you are.
And while we love Peru’s Inca Trail and Tanzania’s Kilimanjaro, both of these iconic treks hit heights that can affect your health and prevent you from summiting.
So we’ve rounded up the five best treks that feature unique terrain and boast fantastic scenery …
• W trek, Torres del Paine, Chile
• Bathali village treks, Nepal
• Milford Track, New Zealand
• GR20, Corsica, France
• Grand Canyon: rim to rim, Arizona
Stretching for 4132 miles and crossing through ten countries, the Nile is the longest river on the planet.
… During the 19th century, the river inspired explorers to go in search of its headwaters. Numerous expeditions were mounted to map its length. But none of those explorers ever managed to walk the entire length of the Nile from source to sea.
That’s exactly what two British adventurers intend to do when they launch a 12-month long expedition later this year.
Levison Wood and Simon Clarke are in the final stages of planning for what they call the Walking the Nile expedition. The two men, who met and became friends while serving in the British military, say that they were inspired to undertake this epic trek by fellow countryman Ed Stafford. In 2010, Stafford famously completed a 4000+ mile long trek along the length of the Amazon. That journey helped Wood and Clarke come up with the idea of hiking along the world’s other great river – the Nile. …
read more on our new Ganden to Samye information page
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