health & safety – Page 83

February 14, 2008

warn LOVED ONES – the dangers of coastal hiking

(… trying to tie-in a Valentine’s Day theme. Pitiful.)

The “dangers of hiking” are almost always exaggerated in my opinion. Not so the dangers of coastal hiking.

I have a friend who was once caught in a surge channel, lucky to survive.

Uncooped has a good post on the hazards of California coastal hiking including this warning:

Never turn your back on the ocean. I have a good friend who got slammed by a freak wave while hiking on a coastal trail. When she regained consciousness, she needed over a hundred stitches in her face to repair the damage. Now she’s got hella cool scars, but still – that’s no fun. So watch your back.

more tips – Uncooped

Reminds me of the terrible Lost Coast Trail school trip where two students and a parent chaperone drowned in 2000.

Coastal hiking can be VERY dangerous. Experienced hikers need educate the general public. And boneheads like the guy in the photos below:

close-up screenshot

a photographer risking his life at the inland side of the jetty to get a close shot… rogue waves at this time of the year can completely cover the spot where he is standing.

original – flickr – Mike Baird

February 11, 2008

paddling and hiking Alaska mid-winter

My favourite travelogue over the past few months has been Erin McKittrick and Bretwood (Hig) Higman’s Journey on the Wild Coast:

“From the Puget Sound to the Bering Sea: Four thousand miles along the edge of the Pacific, by foot, raft, and skis.”

After 8 months, they are only half way finished. (The original plan was 9 months for the entire 4000mi.)

The text and photos are terrific. But it was this video that really brought home to me the difficulty of travelling Alaska in winter.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

It’s well worth checking out Erin’s post: Midway Reflections

February 8, 2008

remember your car keys when out hiking

We are usually VERY careful with the keys to the vehicle. (It’s best to have two or more sets with you and hide one set close to the get-away vehicle.)

In some cases, it’s the difference between life and death.

… Sandra Ordner, 47, of Daphne, whose body was found last week outside her locked SUV at a North Carolina mountain parking lot, died of hypothermia hours after she told her husband she was going hiking, the local sheriff said Thursday.

Macon County, N.C., Sheriff Robert Holland said that it had been extremely cold and raining in the hours before Ordner’s body was discovered in the parking lot of the Whiteside Mountain Trail.

Ordner’s keys and cellular telephone were locked inside her 2002 Land Rover sport utility vehicle, Holland said. …

Daphne woman dies out in cold

February 7, 2008May 15, 2013

do you like hiking boardwalks?

I must say I do. Though not “natural”, there’s something classic about walking a rotting wooden sidewalk in the wilderness.

Frank in Oz edits the wonderful Our Hiking Blog.

A recent post included some of my photos from a 2007 Overland Track hike in Tasmania. It’s a series of photos showing the wooden boardwalks.

see more – The Overland Track – Track images

Frank’s post got me thinking about other boardwalk hikes.

The West Coast Trail, for example:

original – flickr – Christine Rondeau

On flickr, I found more. Atop Whistler Mountain in Canada:

original – flickr – sbat

And the famed Milford Track in New Zealand:

original – flickr – amy&kimball

Leave a comment if you have a favourite boardwalk walk.

February 4, 2008

Lost City hike in Colombia – now safe(er)

I loved the Lost City (Ciudad Perdida) hike when I was there in 1997. But it was somewhat dangerous.

No worries if you want to do it today. From a recent trip report:

… Darren and I took an overnight bus to Taganga, a tiny town on the Caribbean coast. We wanted to go on the famed Ciudad Perdida hike, which travelers in Colombia rave about. Ciudad Perdida (Â¨Lost CityÂ¨) is a series of ancient ruins nestled deep in the jungle of the Sierra Nevada mountains, accessible only by foot. You are required to go with a licensed guide, so we signed up with Turcol and ended up in a ragtag group of nine with a people from London, Los Angeles, Seattle, Bogota and France. …

The trip cost $230 for the six day hike, all food and accommodation (hammocks) included. Every day except the fourth day (which was spent wandering around the ruins) we woke up around 7am, ate breakfast, and hiked until about 2pm through steamy hot jungle and crossed the river many times. In the afternoon we would have lunch and usually jump into a pristine swimming hole. This left us with a LOT of free time. …

Ciudad Perdida itself was pretty stunning, lots of circular stone ruins set into the green, green jungle. I think we definitely appreciated the effort it took to get there. About forty soldiers patrol the area, and they are all young, friendly and very bored. We heard them shrieking as we climbed the last 1200 steps to reach Ciudad Perdida. When we got to the top we realized what was causing all the commotion – they were taking turns swinging on a vine into the trees, Tarzan style (not paying much attention to their M-16s). Since the last incidence of guerrillas kidnapping tourists in 2003, the government has stationed soldiers there around the clock and it is extremely safe now.

I loved the fact that we saw almost no other travellers during the entire hike. Generally speaking, the only people we passed were indigenous people living in the area. If Colombia continues becoming safer and safer, this hike is going to explode in popularity.

Lost in the Jungle – perpetualwanderlust

Lost City Ruins – flickr – Gavin Rough

Lost City trek – besthike information page

February 4, 2008

jump off the waterfall – are you crazy?

Would you jump from here?

… With myself and 4 others gathered at the top of the fall, our guide dutifully pointed out the best angle at which to jump so as not require the services of either a stretcher or neck brace. Then, whilst waving his arms wildly and delivering something akin to an war cry by an Apache with Touretteâ€™s Syndrome, he promptly disappeared over the edge. I stood for a moment, stunned by what I thought I had just seen. It just didnâ€™t add up. Yâ€™know, for a moment I could have sworn that he just jumped off the edge â€“ but surely he canâ€™t have, that would have been incalculable stupidity.

…

As our guide swam toward the shallows (which, I must say, took a reassuringly long time) he flipped over onto his back and shouted up to the 5 bewildered gringos AKA â€˜Team Terrifiedâ€™ yet to make the jump.

â€œYou must jump out far as you canâ€¦!â€ he hollered, looking exceedingly chuffed with himself and wiping the spray from his hair and face. Almost as an afterthought he followed up with â€œâ€¦And watch out for the rocks!â€ as if we werenâ€™t already well aware of their unyielding, body-busting presence.

To see if he survives, read this trip report from a trek in El Impossible National Park, El Salvador: Wetter and Wilder: Impossible Thrills in El Salvador – UberTramp

If that fall looks too dangerous, consider this leap on the Great Ocean Walk in Australia instead:

Frank in Oz

January 24, 2008

hiking the Canadian Rockies in October

Any guidebook will tell you yer crazy to consider hiking the Rockies in “winter”. Too dangerous.

Of course that’s nonsense. Tough Canadians ski, snowshoe and even hike year round.

For example, from Ewen on the Outdoor Video magazine site:

Length: Approx 23km
Time: 2 Days
Elevation Gain: 900m total (excluding sidetrip)
Max Elevation: 2330m, (2500m side trip up Saddleback Mt)
Rating: 7/10, some tedious spots though it was overcast and cloudy
Done: End of October 2007
Book: Classic Hikes in the Canadian Rockies, Graeme Pole

Route: From Lake Louise Chateau over Saddleback Pass, into Paradise Valley, up Paradise Valley via river bottom (lower trail), return via Lake Annette and Paradise Valley Junction.

Towards the end of October 2007, UAOC (University of Alberta Outdoors Club) headed to the Lake Louise area of Banff National Park for a late-season two-day backpacking trip. The target: Paradise Valley.

…

We finished off the drive along the Icefields Parkway and registered at the Park Office in Lake Louise. Then, after a quick drive to the trailhead at Lake Louise Chateau, we were ready to get going (you can start from Morraine Lake in summer, but the Morraine Lake road is closed to cars in autumn, winter and spring). Having assessed snow conditions, we decided to leave the snowshoes at the carâ€¦a good choice seeing as we barely had to hike through any snow at all! Yet at the same elevation on the Skyline a few weeks before, we had several feet.

There’s something about Ewen’s trip reports I like. They are succinct, honest and entertaining all at the same time.

January 21, 2008

which ultralight hiking pack?

Do I deserve a new hiking pack? Lighter than my Granite Gear Virga (photo).

Yes. Because I’m worth it.

But which?

The G6 Whisper Ultralight Backpack was designed in response to Ryan Jordan’s desire for a freakishly light, subcompact, overnight pack. The G6 Whisper Ultralight Backpack is a cornerstone of Ryan’s Super-UltraLight Backpacking (overnight backpacking with less than five pounds of gear) strategy. …

The G6 Whisper, at only 3.7 ounces (99 g), is the lightest commercially-available rucksack with enough volume for overnight backpacking by the accomplished ultralight backpacker. With more than 1800 cubic inches (30L) of main packbag capacity, an expandable rear pocket, and a short extension collar, the G6 Whisper Ultralight Backpack provides enough volume for virtually any serious ultralighter out for two or three days, and enough volume for the extraordinarily disciplined ultralight hiker with a very low equipment kit volume to spend several days to a week in the backcountry. …

NO WARRANTY WHATSOEVER IS PROVIDED FOR THIS PRODUCT

Gossamer Gear G6 Whisper “Uberlite” Backpack @ Backpacking Light

What about the GoLite Ion?

The epitome of ultra-lite simplicity, the Ion was designed for ultra-lite fast-packing, summit bids, and adventure travel. Constructed of super durable DyneemaÂ® gridstop fabric and a single watertight zipper at the opening, this top-loader features spacer mesh shoulder straps for comfort, an adjustable sternum strap and webbing hip belt, a hydration tube opening and a haul loop. Extremely compact and a true minimalist piece, the Ion is a featherweight 9 ounces!

GoLite Product Detail

As the Crow Flies linked to home made gear by Samurai Joe Valesko. He uses cuben fiber.

Joe Says:

“I carried a single Blast 26 backpack my entire PCT thru-hike (2,663 miles). I carried a base weight of around 5 lbs (gear list), and generally 12-20 lbs with full food and water.

At one point I carried 35 lbs for an 11 day stretch without re-supply through the High Sierras of California. My shoulders weren’t happy about that much weight, but the pack took it like a champ! (Under 20 lbs is a more comfortable weight with frameless packs)

By the end of the five month trip the pack was quite a bit frayed, but still in very usable condition. Not bad for a 3.5 ounce backpack!”

Zpacks.com Ultralight Backpacking Gear

That water bottle side pocket is excessive, don’t you think? Could shave some grams there, Joe.

(Incidentally, Kraig, I recall pooh poohing your suggestion to use an air mattress as the frame of a backpack. But now I do it all the time with my Virga.)

Leave a comment if you have other recommendations. Thanks!

January 19, 2008

bears in Europe?

And moose?

Where have I been hiking all my life?

From Laplandica.com:

I followed the incident with my binoculars. The bear was getting closer and closer as they both came downhill and closer to the river bank and brush across from me. As the moose entered into the brush, the bear was right behind her. The brush slowed the moose down giving the bear the advantage of the situation. And, more suddenly than one would expect, I watched the bear jump up from behind onto the moose and, holding hard onto her back loins with his paws and claws, tackled and dragged the moose down into the bushes. Both disappeared.

I saw a lot of rustling in the bushes, but everything went very quickly and soon these stopped moving. For a long time I sat there and waited, watching for any movement, but there was none. As I watched, I realized how swiftly the chase, and then the kill, happened. I was awed with how fast the bear could run and the strength and power he had when pulling the moose down to kill it. And, to have sat there alone and be a witness to the whole event was something I felt almost blessed with. …

Laplandica Â» Unexpected things can happen in Laponiaâ€¦

Ah, of course. In the NORTH. That’s real wilderness.

Next, in a flash of Google magic, Philip Bethge’s article appeared on the reintroduction of bears to the Alps:

The brown bear is returning to the mountains of Central Europe, thanks to resettlement projects in Italy, Austria and France. Biologists celebrate the animals’ return as a success in endangered species protection. But the general population has mixed feelings about welcoming back the predator.

Brown Bears in the Alps: The Great Bear Comeback – SPIEGEL ONLINE

They have a long way to go …

Brown bears were once found throughout Europe and even inhabited the British Isles until the 10th century (Curry Lindahl 1972, Servheen 1990). Populations in Europe have been severely reduced and habitat has been fragmented by human modification.

GrizzlyBear.org

January 17, 2008

guided hikes in Israel

Israel Hiking offers guided walks “stressing landscapes, nature and historic sites.”

Sounds like a great way to visit the Holy Land.

… Israel is not a big country, but the range of landscapes is diverse. You can experience steep mountains, the Jordan River and the Sea of Galilee, the Judean Desert, the Arava and the Negev, and of course, Jerusalem. The stories of the bible and the antiquities from various periods can be seen wherever you go. We will do our utmost to produce a trip filled with experiences that you will talk about long after you return home. …

Our guides are English speakers, who are certified guides and have experience in the regions of the trip. If you are interested in a tour in a language other than English, we will make every effort to find a guide who speaks the language and masters the professional terms so that you will be able to enjoy the trip.

About

I greatly enjoyed hiking in the Sinai and even more so in Jordan. But I’ve never been to Israel myself.

The first trip that jumps out at me is a 7-day section of the much longer Israel National Trail:

From Tel Hay to Meron on the The Israel National Trail crosses Israel from the very north to Eilat through the Countryâ€˜s principal, most beautiful sites. …

The hike ends at the Amoud River as it approaches Lake Kinnereth. From there, we will travel by car to the youth hostel on Lake Kinnereth.

The difficulty level of the hike on the Israel National Trail is medium. …

Full price: 600 Euro. See the map.

Makhtesh Ramon (Ramon Crater) – Wikipedia

Other more difficult treks that appeal are Ramon Crater to the Arava valley and the Eilat Hike from Timnah.

I assume security is not much of an issue when hiking in Israel. But it might be a good idea for a first time visitor to go with experts and learn the ropes.