Category: health & safety

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interview – Aussie hiking author Frank Wall

by site editor Rick McCharles

Clayton Kessler of TracksAndTrails.ca posted an interview with Frank Wall, author of the Guide to Planning the Overland Track eBook.

Frank edits the often hilarious Our Hiking Blog, as well.

I’m a fan of both those sites and subscribe by RSS.

The Overland Track is one of our top 10 hikes in the world.

I was on Tasmania for only 2wks yet saw many poisonous snakes. I’m interested in how a Tassie vet like Frank assesses that risk:

Can you share any unique encounters with wild animals?

We don’t really have “wild” animals like bears in Australia. We do have lots of tiger snakes that can kill you. In Tasmania they are quite common and you learn to keep an eye out for them. They love to lie along the side of trail and bask in the sun. I always keep my eyes out for them and wear gaiters to at least protect my legs. The snakes, fortunately, are more scared of us then we are of them and usually disappear quickly. Bites are usually caused when someone (i.e. an idiot) tries to catch or kill one, which is illegal as they are protected species. …

read the entire interview on TracksAndTrails.ca

Tasmanian Tiger Snake

Frank has a new post discussing whether or not his favourite trail is getting too crowded …

… number of walkers had been trending up from 6360 in 2005-2006 to 7024 in 2008-2009 …

Click through to read his opinion – The Overland Track – hiking solo in season? Not likely

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thin jacket to climb Mt Everest

Would you wear this jacket to summit the world’s highest peak?

That’s what climber Jamie Clarke from my town, Calgary, Canada plans to do this Spring. He’s working with Champion Athletic Wear on a new technology that has “the potential to change the entire outdoor apparel industry.”

A big boast.

Jamie has tested the apparel and outerwear on Mount Pumori in Nepal.

This spring, Expedition Hanesbrands heads to Mount Everest. With good weather, hard climbing — and nanotechnology on their backs — Clarke and his crew are counting on the Supersuit to help them make it to the top.

Gear Junkie – Champion Supersuit Unveiled!

It’s super-insulating Zero-Loft Aerogel, more than 99 percent air, according to the company. The claim by Champion is that it’s four times as warm as goose down.

Details on Jamie’s Everest ascent is posted on ClimbeEverestWithUs – The Team

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want to hike Torngat, Labrador?

It ain’t easy …

Tourism Newfoundland and Labrador launched another ad in its already very successful ad campaign. This latest ad features Torngat Mountains National Park in northern Nunatsiavut. …

bluepeak.net – New Labrador ad

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

… The park, 9,700 sq.km, is probably one of the most difficult parks in Canada to reach. Even the parks in Nunavut are easier to get to. It’s not only the remoteness, but especially the weather and ferocious winds that make getting here an adventure in itself.

If the weather is good, then the park is about 1 hours’ flying or up to two days by fishing boat north of Nain, Labrador’s northernmost community. There are no scheduled flights or boats to the park, and once you arrive, there are no facilities.

Safety is a real concern, as polar bears roam throughout the park. Since only Inuit are allowed to carry arms, visitors should always be accompanied by an Inuit guide. A good idea in any case, as the area is also infamous for its quickly changing weather and strong “ghost” winds that can appear out of nowhere. …

bluepeak

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are running shoes ruining your feet?

UPDATE: Tony Rix recommends Vibram’s latest model, the KSO Trek. (see the comments)

That’s one of the themes of a fantastic book I’ve just finished:

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

I’m convinced that author Christopher McDougall is on to something.

For specifics, check this article: The painful truth about trainers: Are running shoes a waste of money?

His theory is that we evolved running barefoot. And became the dominant species on the planet because of that advantage.

Running barefoot … an advantage?

It seems counter intuitive. Yet the case laid out in his book seems irrefutable.

Shoe companies, especially Nike, seeking mad profits, have convinced us to buy technology that changes our natural technique.

In recent years I’ve been hiking and trail running in one of the cheapest pairs of shoes made by New Balance. I bought them because of bunions. Perhaps, by luck, this soft, flat-soled shoe is what I need.

I’m tempted to try hiking in Vibram Fivefingers. That’s what the author is using now for distance running.

… That might be going too far.

Instead, I’ll pull out my old sandals. I’ve hiked in those before, very comfortably. Those feel like “bare feet”, but keep the pebbles and grit out.

Leave a comment if you’ve experimented with tossing your hiking boots in the closet. And getting back to something more natural.

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book review – Born to Run

On the insistence of my Adventure Racing buddy, Dave Adlard, I bought a book.

Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen

A fantastic read, even for non-runners. The author, Christopher McDougall, (video) is a master story teller. I was gripped by this true life story.

Full of incredible characters, amazing athletic achievements, cutting-edge science, and, most of all, pure inspiration, Born to Run is an epic adventure that began with one simple question: Why does my foot hurt? In search of an answer, Christopher McDougall sets off to find a tribe of the world’s greatest distance runners and learn their secrets, and in the process shows us that everything we thought we knew about running is wrong. …

It’s available on Audible.com, as well as in a Kindle edition.

Get it!

Christopher Mcdougall reminds me of Jon Krakauer, another magazine scribe turned author.

Born to Run is as engaging as anything by Krakauer.

The culminating Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen is set in Mexico’s Copper Canyon. I visited as a tourist in 1999. Fantastic.

I’ve long planned to return for some serious hiking there. Unfortunately, as the book describes vividly, it’s very dangerous today as the Canyons are home to big marijuana plantations. You might get shot.

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tweet, facebook from anywhere on Earth

Here’s a system I would use. Posting my geolocation along with text trip report updates.

Details on Gadling:

… allow adventurers to more effectively communicate from locations that are not covered by cell service.

The new device pairs one of DeLorme’s GPS units with SPOT’s next generation Satellite Communicator, to send custom message from the backcountry. The Earthmate wil have all the regular features you’d expect from a GPS, including base maps, in this case covering the entire world, navigation, electronic compass, and so on. But it will also wirelessly pair with the Communicator, allowing the user to type text messages and send them to friends and family back home via satellite. …

It’s designed so you can call for help from anywhere, should an emergency develop.

… it also lets the user to share tracking information and custom messages that can easily be interfaced with Twitter, Facebook, Geocaching.com, and SPOT’s own SPOTadventures.com. …

Pricing not available until the Earthmate PN-60w is made available later this Spring.

If you are interested, click through to the article – New device will let you text, twitter from remote places

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Indian Himalaya – new trekking routes

High on my list of future hiking destinations is the Indian Himalaya.

Good news on Gadling:

Adventure travelers were given even more incentive to travel to India recently when it was announced that the government would begin allowing access to previously restricted areas in the remote Jammu and Kashmir provinces. …

Backpackers will find plenty to love in this remote and stunningly beautiful region as well. High altitude passes and trails that have previously been off limits are now open to foreign travelers, including a route that leads to the village of Turtuk in the Nubra Valley. …

Kraig Becker – India opens remote trekking and mountaineering routes

I’ll get a copy of Trekking in the Indian Himalaya (2009) and start planning.

The author’s favourite trek is Markha Valley in Ladakh. I’d like to do some of the recently opened region on the same trip.

If interested, be sure you get the most recent edition. It’s great to see Lonely Planet updating their excellent trekking guidebooks.

I may even buy, for the first time, the PDF version. You can “Pick & Mix“, buying only the chapters you need. I’d put those on my iTouch for the trek rather than carrying paper.

The PDF version has free samples including the Table of Treks (PDF).

Now … when will independent hiking be allowed in Bhutan?

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AMERICA’S 10 MOST DANGEROUS HIKES

You can tell we are SERIOUS from the all caps typeface.

Kelly Bastone in Backpacker posted this list in 2008:

From a slippery Sierra catwalk to a treacherous Hawaiian paradise, we name the country’s 10 most hazardous hikes. Then we break down the dangers and provide local beta for conquering each route.

The Maze, UT

Bright Angel Trail, Grand Canyon, AZ

Barr Trail, Pikes Peak, CO

Mt. Washington, NH

Muir Snowfield, Mt. Rainier, WA

Huckleberry Mtn., Apgar Range, MT

Kalalau Trail, Kauai, HI

Buckskin Gulch, UT

Abrams Falls, Great Smoky Mtns., TN

Mist Trail, Half Dome, CA

click through for details on each – Backpacker

Buckskin Gulch

Flash flood is a greater worry to me than getting lost or being avalanched. Recall April 2008 when 7 of 12 “canyoneers”, most students, were killed in a flash flood in New Zealand.

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Kolby Kirk – 100 hikes

He did it. Kolby Kirk vowed May 4th, 2009 that he would do 100 serious hikes by Jan. 1st.

And he made it.

Congratulations.

Number of miles hiked: 417.4 miles
Longest hike: 15.9 miles (Hike #48 – San Gorgonio Mountain)
Hardest hike: Hike #21 (Telescope Peak, Death Valley)
Furthest hike from home: Hike #86 (Villarrica, Chile – 5,864 miles from Arcadia, CA)

click through for details – 100hikes.com