Category: health & safety

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section hike the Hayduke Trail, Utah

Backpacker magazine recommends a 55mi stretch of the infamous 800+mi Hayduke Trail in the American S.W.

hayduke-art.gif

The otherworldly terrain in southern Utah’s labyrinthine canyon country–slots, hoodoos, mesas, bizarre sandstone formations–is as confusing as it is captivating. Get off-track or miss one of the infrequent water sources, and you have real problems. This 55-mile, roughly eight-day stretch of the Hayduke Trail serves up both extremes. You’ll travel mostly off-trail, with steep, loose scrambles, deep sand slogs, and a paucity of distinctive terrain features. Long stretches are waterless–including the first 25 miles. In return, you get bragging rights for a spectacularly remote and rarely traveled journey.

Tech assist Use ExpertGPS (expertgps.com) to plot routes using topo and aerial photographs, then send data to your GPS. Plan best-case routes and alternates, since the complex terrain may present obstacles you can’t identify on screen. Example: See backpacker.com/hayduke for our custom file with multiple off-trail routes.

Start in Canyonlands’s Needles District, where multicolored sandstone towers stand like 200-foot candles above the desert. You’ll pass under Seldom Seen Bridge and trek by the cliff dwellings and rock art of Fable Valley. Mark water caches (drop one pretrip to avoid carrying three days’ supply at the start) and critical water sources (at miles 24.7, 34.1, and 42).

Tip: Waypoint your vehicle at trip’s end as well. …

read more – Backpacker

I’m currently reading The Monkey Wrench Gang (P.S.), the book that inspired this adventure.

I’m no Brian Frankle. This 55mi section for wimps sounds plenty tough enough for me.

(via The Adventure Blog)

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bear attacks trail runner

An incident in the Canadian Rockies opens once again the debate on whether to “play dead” when being attacked by a bear.

A trail runner attacked and bitten up to eight times by a black bear near Lake Louise serves as a chilling reminder of the dangers the public face at this time of year when sharing space with wildlife in the mountain parks. …

D’hamers, a Belgian who has been living and working in the Lake Louise area for more than a year, was no stranger to the 10-kilometre Great Divide Trail, regularly running on the decommissioned stretch of road.

She was running alone on the closed stretch of Highway 1A between Lake Louise Drive and the Trans-Canada Highway when she came face-to-face with the animal around 6 p.m.

The 23-year-old initially began backing up, but when the bear followed her for about 100 metres, she decided instead to lay face down on the ground, according to Morrison.

The attack is unusual, he said, with the last bear mauling in the Lake Louise area taking place in 1995.

The plan to play dead backfired as the bear continued to approach her, sniffing and licking the back of her legs and eventually biting her multiple times on her upper legs and back.

“The young lady showed considerable wherewithal in that she realized her strategy wasn’t working early in the game,” Morrison said. “Playing dead is not recommended in most situations.”

D’hamers jumped back to her feet, yelling aggressively at the bear and continuing to back away. After nearly 30 minutes of D’hamers reversing, yelling and waving her arms, the bear finally retreated. D’hamers continued the final few kilometres back to the main road, where she flagged down a Parks Canada warden. …

Calgary Herald

(via A Trail Runner’s Blog)

bear.jpg
larger original – flickr – jvh33

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Hiker Hell blog

Great entertainment at the campsite is sharing “hiking disaster” stories.

A new blog — inspired by Touching the Void — documents them.

This blog is about learning from other people’s mistakes, so you don’t make the same ones.


Some sample posts:

  • Man Spends Night with Bears in American Fork Canyon
  • Camp Fire Burns Man
  • 3 Hikers Struck By Lightning in Rocky Mountain NP
  • Man Bit Twice By Gila Monster in Arizona

    • gila.jpg
    original – flickr – justinbaeder

    (via Two-Heel Drive)

    I’ll send in my own worst hiking experience: lost and hypothermic in the Andes

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    wading and trekking Paria Canyon, Utah

    My favourite hike in the S.W. USA is Paria Canyon. It straddles the border between Utah and Arizona.

    In my trip report, I called it the best canyon walk in the world.

    Andrew and Sheila posted some wonderful photos of their March 2008 trip.

    … we backpacked the 62km length of the Paria canyon. Although wet and somewhat cold so early in the season (we waded in the river proper for at least half the hike, and encountered 1 freak snowstorm on the second day), the scenery was spectacular and well worth the effort. What’s more, the snow seemed to have scared a good many hikers away, and we saw only 3 others on the trail in the 5 days of hiking!

    Brilliant!

    sheila-paria.jpg
    Sheila

    sheila-wading.jpg

    They added the sidetrip to Wrather Arch, one of the world’s largest.

    wrather.jpg

    See the rest of their photos on Pbase

    our Paria Canyon information page

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    the top of Angel Falls, Venezuela

    I’d love to get to the top of the world’s highest waterfall.

    angel-falls.jpg
    original – flickr – Maurício Marques

    Two teams at least have climbed the Rainbow Jambaia route up behind the Falls.

    Far easier would be to hike up, rapel down.

    rapel-angel-falls.jpg

    more photos of this adventure – flickr – Cathy Beloeil

    Cathy did climb nearby Roraima (photos), as well, on that same trip.

    Need additional incentive to book a flight to South America? See more wonderful Angel Fall photos on Dark Roasted Blend.

    related: Roraima Lost World Trek information page

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    Nepal popular again with hikers

    Despite the turmoil and controversies of the Olympic Torch being carried up Everest, it’s been a relatively “good” year for successful climbs from the Nepal side. And comparatively few deaths.

    I have no interest in climbing the world’s highest peak myself. But hiking in Nepal is back in full swing.

    The peace accord signed by Maoist rebels seems to be holding.

    Here’s the kind of articles that are being posted in 2008:

    … The tourism industry has much to celebrate as foreign travelers are reappearing in the once almost deserted mountain destination with the return of peace.

    Consider this. It is late night at the Shisha Bar in Thamel. The band is playing at full blast rocking the tightly packed dance floor. Tourists could be seen swaying to the music, dragging on hookahs or swilling exotic drinks. Thamel, the major tourist hangout, was in an upbeat mood. And so are Kathmandu’s restaurants, shopping districts and cultural and heritage sites as the tourists are coming back.

    Nepal’s tourism industry is seeing a return of the good old days. Tour operators, trekking agencies and handicraft sellers are doing increased business. Hotels are reporting a surge in bookings. And foreign airlines are crowding into Nepal’s skies with the growth in tourist traffic.

    Nepal’s tourism industry bounces right back

    In fact, Nepal’s government has announced a public holiday for three days, from May 28th to May 30th, to celebrate the country becoming a Republic. They’ve abolished the monarchy that had reigned for 240 years.

    I’m looking for my next chance to get back to Nepal, the favourite country I’ve visited. … OK, tied with New Zealand.

    gandruk.jpg
    Gandruk – flickr

    ngozumpa.jpg
    from the top of Gokyo Ri – flickr

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    Aussie hiker dies on the Kokoda Track

    A 32-year-old Perth trekker has died from a suspected heart attack, soon after setting out on the gruelling Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea.

    The Kokoda Spirit trekking company says Shane Green died last Sunday, during the steep ascent to the Deniki campsite, several hours south from Kokoda.

    It says the young man just keeled over, and trekking masters tried CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

    The company says every walker has to have a doctor’s certificate that proves they’re fit to walk. …

    This year around five thousand Australians are expected to take on the challenge of the historic 96 kilometre track, where Australian troops resisted invading Japanese forces during World War Two.

    Live News

    History of the Kokoda:

    Between 21 July and 14 September 1942, 2,000 Australian troops defended the Kokoda Track leading to Port Moresby against 10,000 elite, battle-toughened Japanese troops. The Australians were ill-equipped, poorly supplied, and facing an enemy determined to brush them aside … These circumstances forced the Australians to stage a fighting withdrawal lasting four weeks across the ridges and valleys of the Kokoda Track …. During those four weeks of bloody fighting on the Kokoda Track the Australians suffered very heavy casualties.

    This cross-section map of the Owen Stanley Range may assist viewers to gain an appreciation of the rugged terrain …

    kokoda.jpg

    … conditions on the Kokoda Track were appalling. The narrow dirt track climbed steep heavily timbered mountains, and then descended into deep valleys choked with dense rain forest. The steep gradients and the thick vegetation made movement difficult, exhausting, and at times dangerous. Razor-sharp kunai grass tore at their clothing and slashed their skin. The average annual rainfall over most of the Kokoda Track is about 5 metres (16 feet), and daily rainfalls of 25 centimetres (10 inches) are not uncommon. When these rains fell, dirt tracks quickly dissolved into calf-deep mud which exhausted the soldiers after they had struggled several hundred metres through it. Sluggish streams in mountain ravines quickly became almost impassable torrents when the rains began to fall. …

    source

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    Afraid of heights? Do NOT watch this video.

    Thanks Dave Adlard. This freaks me out.

    Cliff walk El Camino del Rey (King’s pathway) in Spain.

    Originally built in 1901, this walkway now serves as an approach to makinodromo, the famous climbing sector of El Chorro.

    … The walkway has now gone many years without maintenance, and is in a highly deteriorated and dangerous state. It is one meter (3 ft) in width, and is over 700 feet (200 m) above the river. Nearly all of the path has no handrail. Some parts of the walkway have completely collapsed and have been replaced by a beam and a metallic wire on the wall. Many people have lost their lives on the walkway in recent years. After four people died in two accidents in 1999 and 2000, the local government closed the entrances. However, adventurous tourists still find their way into the walkway.

    Caminito del Rey – Wikipedia

    I want to do it!

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    does Tom Mangan walk the talk?

    Tom Mangan’s Two-Heel Drive is the most popular hiking blog on the Google.

    But does Tom Mangan actually carry Tom Mangan’s 10 Essentials for Day Hiking the Bay Area on the trail?

    I’ve assembled my version of the 10 things I need for a happy hike in the Bay Area, where the notable absence of such climate annoyances as blizzards and hurricanes means we don’t have to dwell on the 10 Essentials for Wilderness Survival unless we really, really screw up.

    1. A water supply
    2. A reliable map
    3. Comfortable socks
    4: Comfortable shoes
    5. Underwear that doesn’t chafe
    6. Something to keep crud out of your shoes
    7. Nylon hiking pants
    8. Something to block the sun
    9. Nourishment
    10. The real 10 Essentials

    I’d love to tell the world that Tom actually hikes barefoot — with only a Diet Coke for provisions. But it was not so on our hike last weekend.

    Tom Mangan hiking
    Tom Mangan

    Unfortunately for me, Tom walked the talk on the first 9 of 10. (I’m only assuming his underwear were comfortable.) Tom even had healthy snacks. (I stopped at Rotten Ronnie’s on the way to the trailhead.)

    Once again, Tom Mangan makes me, the best hiker, look bad by comparison.

    Dang.

    Here are a few of the 10 real essentials Tom left at home:

    3. INSULATION.
    4. ILLUMINATION.
    5. FIRST-AID SUPPLIES.
    6. FIRE.
    7. REPAIR KIT AND TOOLS.
    10. EMERGENCY SHELTER.

    Mangan’s 10 Essentials for Happy Hiking – Two-Heel Drive