Category: health & safety

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female trekking guide – East Africa

George and I had a female guide on the Choquequirao trek in Peru. We made no special request. She simply happened to be the next experienced guide available.

Cool.

Increasingly the world’s top trails are seeing more female guides. They’re in high demand by female hikers who, understandably, feel more comfortable.

I was happy to see this post on the Women Travel blog:

Mary “Mumbi” Kariuki has been guiding on the trails of Mt. Kenya, Kilimanjaro, and other East African mountains for 8 years – and she’s not over the hill yet. In 2001 Mary officially became the first, and only, rated female guide serving these mountains. Before she was a guide, Mary worked her way through the ranks as all African guides should have, as a porter. …

Mumbi – female trekking guide in East Africa

Leave a comment if you’ve more stories of female guides on the world’s great treks. 

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11th hiking essential – duct tape

From Hiking Trip Reports:

… Duct tape is probably the most versatile item you can carry when hiking. It can mend and repair almost anything from blisters to holes in air mattresses. …

Hiking Trip Reports – Duct Tape: The Hikers Friend

related – 10 hiking essentials

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Alaska-Yukon Expedition – Andrew Skurka

Andrew Skurka is the greatest hiker of all time. His 6,875-mile Great Western Loop was only one of many fantastic hiking accomplishments.

What could he do to top the Great Western Loop?

4,700 miles in 7 months via skis, foot, and a packraft

official Alaska-Yukon Expedition home page

… On Saturday, March 13, a small plane will land early morning in Kotzebue, Alaska. Andy Skurka will get off the airplane, put on his headlamp in the pre-dawn darkness, pull on some clothes in the zero degree temperature, and start skiing. He would ski for 12 hours straight, and do at least that every day for the next month and a half. Then he’ll hike and packraft 16 hours every day for the next 5 months.

He’s circumnavigating the entire state, crossing the entire Alaska Range, Brooks Range, and parts of the Yukon. An estimated 4,720 miles, in hopefully 6 1/2 months. Almost all off-trail. Plenty of bears, brush, snow, raging rivers, glaciers (and mosquitos). …

read more from Buzz on the Adventure Running Blog)

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win a SPOT GPS Satellite Messenger, easy

Joe Mueller wants to give you a free SPOT GPS Satellite Messenger along with one year of service.

product details on Amazon – SPOT Personal Tracker

It’s a contest … but I can’t think of an easier contest.

All you need to do is make a comment on his blog stating why you would want one:

GPS for Today – Win A SPOT GPS Satellite Messenger

… Be sure to make a comment inferior to my own. I want to win this device!

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self-styled Survivorman found dead

Just before dawn …, Richard Code disappeared into the darkness and lit out for the Ontario wilderness, bringing little more than a few supplies and the skills he had learned from watching Survivorman, a reality show about subsisting in the bush. …

Richard Code with father, Mel Code.

… Code’s body was found in a marshy, snowed-in area just north of Huntsville.

Police say Code’s death is not considered suspicious at this time and his brother Stephen Code said OPP have informed him that the cause of death was hypothermia. …

The Star – Survivorman fan found dead in Muskoka wilderness

I don’t think anyone could blame Survivorman himself, Les Stroud.

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7 crazy, scary, dizzying hikes (VIDEOS)

Rosemary Kitchen on Gadling linked to 8 videos from 7 hikes.

Yikes!

I link to this one, the top of name, because a couple of days before I climbed up there, a Russian hiker was killed by lightning. On this exact spot! Now that’s scary.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Others on the list: Spain’s El Caminito del Rey (“The King’s Little Pathway”), Mount Hua in China, Tennessee’s Mount LeConte, Angel’s Landing in Utah, and Philippines’ Mount Pinatubo.

Click through to see them – Gadling – 7 of the craziest, most dangerous, most dizzying hikes in the world (VIDEOS)

(via The Adventure Blog)

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dogs in the back country?

This photo of Munch by Jill Goodell generated some discussion on the Yosemite Blog.

A commenter named Tom suggested he’d be within his rights to shoot a loose dog in Yosemite National Park. It’s illegal to be off-leash.

Seems to me Tom’s not actually threatening to shoot Jill’s dog, but rather was using exaggeration to make a point. Off leash dogs can wreak havoc with wildlife.

Click through to that post if you’ve an opinion to add: Yosemite Blog – The Last Straw

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naked chef wins $100k TED prize

I’ve not been a fan of controversial British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

I find him strident. And not all that amusing.

But I’m thrilled he won the prestigious TED prize for 2010.

At the heart of Oliver’s work is an assault on the obesity epidemic: The CDC states that one in four Americans are considered obese. It is estimated that 43 percent of Americans, or 103 million people, will be obese by 2018. The cost of this epidemic is anticipated to reach $344 billion per year. It currently accounts for almost 10 percent of the yearly US health care costs, and that rate will rise to 21 percent by 2018. WHO’s latest projections indicate that, globally in 2005, approximately 1.6 billion adults were overweight and projects that by 2015, that figure will rise to 2.3 billion.” …

2010 TED Prize goes to Jamie Oliver

God knows he’s passionate. If interested, click over to TED to watch his scary 18min presentation.

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Santa hikes the Grand Canyon

Hank Leukart calls his Without Baggage blog posts “Essays“.

Magazine quality writing. One of my favourite sites.

I’m one of those readers who believes Hank’s secret motto is, “Whoever dies on the craziest, most dangerous adventure, wins,”

This time Hank was frustrated he couldn’t get a permit to hike the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim.

Solution? Do it late December when no sane person would want a permit. Who cares that the North Rim is closed in winter.

Starting at the south rim Bright Angel Trailhead, Hank and his brother couldn’t find the biggest hole in the U.S.A. with both hands. They were lost immediately. Not an auspicious start.

And why not put a Santa Claus suit in with your lightweight winter camping gear?

Why not?

In the end, it turned out that the Santa suit was the best decision they made.

… Early the next morning, Brian puts on the Santa suit and goes to fill his Camelbak with water. A twenty-something-year-old woman interrupts him.

“Santa! Do you mind if I sit on your lap and get a picture?” she asks.

“Of course not,” my brother says. “It’s my job.”

Highly recommended.

part 1 – santa claus snowshoes the grand canyon, rim to rim to rim.

part 2 – hiking in santa claus’s bright celebrity spotlight.

part 3 – how i came to believe in santa claus.

… hardest single trekking day of their lives …

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JakPak = jacket, sleeping bag, tent combo

My Adventure Racing captain, Dave Adlard, wants me to test a DEMO model of this new product.

JakPak™, the world’s first all-in-one waterproof jacket, sleeping bag and tent, …

JakPak – Our Story

Looks very cool. I’m IN.

The specs aren’t definitive. But I’ve seen cited on other blogs an approximate weight of 2lbs. At that I’d carry it as survival gear even on day hikes.

Available late Spring 2010. Guesstimated price, $250.