Category: health & safety

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7 trekkers die in the mountains


Himalayas?

Andes?

Nope. The UK.

Icy conditions in the fell country lead to seven trekker deaths on Wales’ Mt. Snowdon and the English Peak and Lake Districts.

Terrible.

I had no idea that winter walking in the United Kingdom was so dangerous.

tents-mt-snowdon

The lesson here? Easy is all about conditions. When the slopes and trails are wet, or muddy, or icy, or the lightning’s flying and the wind’s howling, your easy hike just turned into a big deal. Whenever you go into the woods in winter, never scrimp on safety and travel equipment like poles, crampons, axes, skis, snowshoes, gaiters, goggles, bivy gear and clothing.

You have two choices out there: If you’re ready for the conditions, have fun. If you’re not, turn around. It’s a simple decision, but one that people often have a hard time making. If you let desire pull you onward when you’re not prepared….well, you can learn from the examples above, or learn it on your own. Always do your suffering vicariously.

Hike safe. – Steve Howe

Backpacker – Danger in the British Isles

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Best treks in Africa

Anouk Zijlma on About.com posted a terrific list of the Best Hikes and Treks in Africa.

… Africa’s most popular trekking destination is Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain on the continent. Lesser known ranges like Uganda’s Rwenzori Mountains offer an incredible array of snow-capped peaks right next to the equator.

Other fantastic hikes in Africa that don’t necessarily involve great heights include the Wild Coast (South Africa) and the Fish River Canyon (Namibia). …

Others on the list:


Mount Kenya

Simien Mountains, Ethiopia

The Drakensberg, South Africa

Mount Meru, Tanzania

Mount Elgon, Uganda and Kenya

Mount Cameroon, Cameroon

Mulanje Mountain, Malawi

Click through for more information, links and recommended guides – About.com Best treks in Africa

Most foreign trekkers prefer to go with a guiding company to ensure their safety.

mountstanleyMt. Stanley – Sylwia Duda/Creative Commons

mulanjeMulanje Mountain, Malawi – larger original – flickr – fffriendly

Compare this About.com list with our own Best Hikes in Africa

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Torres del Paine Circuit trek, Chile


Hank Leukart posted a magazine quality essay on one of our top treks in the World, the Paine Circuit.

Adopted by Kiwis in Chilean Patagonia. How to hike the Torres del Paine Circuit on someone else’s family vacation

… The only thing standing between us and views of 270-square-kilometer Glaciar Grey was Paso John Garner, a steep and rocky pass through the Patagonian Andes Mountains. My brother Brian and I looked up nervously at the severe mountain crags and glacial ice surrounding us, and though we hadn’t been able to substantiate the rumors of a lost hiker’s death during a blizzard in the pass three days before, the gossip made us uneasy. We knew that some hikers had turned back, failing to conquer the pass due to dangerous weather. …

glaciar-grey

read the 3-part series article on Without Baggage

Especially if you want to find out why Hank decided to climb on to an iceberg.

hank

related posts – more Without Baggage trip reports

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World’s Most Dangerous Hike – Hua Shan


The best video of this hike I’ve seen yet.

Robin takes off to China to find the source of one of the web’s most amazing photos, and see if Mount Hua is indeed the world’s most dangerous hike. More gonzo madness at www.moderngonzo.com

Travel Writer Robin Esrock now has a TV Show, as well, called Word Travels showing in Canada on OLN, and in dozens of countries worldwide on National Geographic Adventure.

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FATTEST cities in the USA


Where will you find this guy?

fat-man

Fattest Cities (according to Men’s Fitness)
1. Miami
2. Oklahoma City
3. San Antonio
4. Las Vegas
5. New York

Fittest Cities
1. Salt Lake City
2. Colorado Springs
3. Minneapolis
4. Denver
5. Albuquerque

Outside Blog

source – USA Today

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trekking Manaslu and Annapurna, Nepal


Wow. Check out a 39-day mega-trek photo trip report posted by Tubby.

And this is only PART 1 of their adventures in Nepal.

Tubby’s group connected a trek around Manaslu with the Annapurna Circuit. AND the sidetrip to Annapurna Base Camp.

They had wondrous moments. And many challenges.

Here’s the receipt from Maoist rebels for the group “donation”:

rebel.jpg

This extortion is supposed to be ended. But I expect the odd local in Nepal will still be asking for cash for the cause.

As always, the charming people were a highlight:

kids.jpg

I can’t find a way to summarize this monster trip in a short blog post. You need to check it out yourself: Trekking our arses off in Nepal #1

manaslu.jpg
Manaslu

Annapurna Circuit information page.

Annapurna is one of our top 10 hikes in the world.

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adventurer rewarded for stupidity?


map-of-brooks-rangeDavid Roberts was air rescued in Alaska this past summer at a cost of over $90,000.

Though he had a lot of experience with arctic wilderness in Saskatchewan, the media is reporting that he was totally unprepared, and a “goofy guy”.

Roberts, a 54-year-old Australian, was trying to walk almost 100 miles across the Brooks Range wilderness when he set off a long-distance distress call on Friday. He’d been out there alone for two months.
…

He hauled a 140-pound sled full of supplies behind him, he said. A persistent stomach bug left him dehydrated while frequent, stabbing pains pierced his cold feet.

He traveled fewer than 40 miles in two months — far less than he’d expected.

…

Alaskans have little patience for seemingly ill-prepared adventurers, and news of the rescue prompted comparisons to another explorer who trekked into the wilderness 16 years ago — Chris McCandless. McCandless starved to death after trying to survive on his own for more than three months near Denali National Park.
…

Roberts didn’t know who would have to pay for his rescue when he made the decision to get help, he said. “I didn’t presume that somebody else was going to pick up the tab on that.” …

Anchorage Daily News – Adventurer’s wilderness trek ends with air rescue, free hotel

Roberts will not be billed for the rescue costs.

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Israeli hikers lost, again

Israeli hikers are the most adventurous of all, in my experience.

That’s why I’ve so often joined up with them on treks around the world.

Unfortunately, they often get themselves in trouble. Like these two who decided to leave their group and strike out on their own for an easier itinerary:

hikers

Happy ending: Romi Givon (21) and Tal Bar (21), the two Israeli hikers who went missing for two days in the Villarrica National Park in Chile were found safe and sound on Tuesday afternoon, according to Tami Bar, Tal’s mother.

…

Ran Givon, Romi’s father, along with an Israeli rescue team, was scheduled to fly to Chile in the evening to assist in the search.

The 138,600 acre Villarrica volcano is dominated by the Villarrica volcano, which towers at an altitude of 9,338 feet and in considered most active volcano in South America. The weather in the area is notoriously fickle, and is characterized by heavy rain, fog and low temperatures. …

YnetNews

The story of Omri Kidron did not end happily.

When I hiked the Huayhuash Circuit in Peru, two Israelis were shot resisting bandits. At least one died of his wounds.

Please, please be careful out there.

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is that a cougar in your back yard?

I lived in the Canadian prairies for years. Every once-in-a-while a cougar would be sighted. They can travel long distances along river valleys.

mbcougar.jpgTwo this year have been conclusively confirmed far outside their current range. This one was captured by a cottage surveillance camera.

An extremely rare sighting of a cougar has been confirmed in the Lac du Bonnet area of Manitoba. …

CBC

Cougars have seen me in the wild many times. But I’ve never spotted any of them. They are very elusive.

Here’s is the “normal” range:

cougar-range.jpg

Pumas (Puma concolor), also called cougars or mountain lions, are large wild cats, … mainly tan-coloured, and can be up to 1.85 metres long.

Wikipedia