Category: health & safety

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if you love sun, hike Australia

In February I did some bushwalking in Tasmania.

Locals were effusive in their warnings about the dangers of the sun. Everyone there knows people who have skin cancer.

But if you LOVE the sun …

The map shows irradiance that reached the ground in the world, for the years 1990 to 2004…

The dark red spots getting the highest degree of solar energy. …

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“I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of rugged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rain”

Excerpt from a 1904 poem about Australia, by Dorothy McKeller.

A Sunburnt Country’s Embarrassment of Energy Riches (TreeHugger)

Our list of best hikes in Australasia.

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do NOT throw away your Nalgene

16 Oz. Colored Narrow Mouth Nalgene Water Bottle - In Your Choice of ColorsChris on the Hike Alberta blog has been researching the dangers of Nalgene bottles leaching bisphenol.

Goodbye to my Nalgene Bottles | Hike Alberta

Click through if you want to see the details.

It’s the first I’ve heard of this hazard. I normally carry one Nalgene, one soft drink bottle.

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UPDATE: Turns out Sarah on the Freezer Bag Cooking blog has already debunked this myth.

Leave a comment if you are throwing away your Nalgene bottle. But first read the other comments.

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Ryan Jordan – Wilderness Trekking School

I wish I could have atteneded Backpacking Light’s Wilderness Trekking III Course.

From super hiker Ryan Jordan’s blog:

… food, water, avalanche gear, group gear, snowshoes, and all clothing worn and items carried. Our pack weights to start actually averaged in the 12-14ish pound range.

If I had to sing praise for the most merit-worthy benefits of this course, it was the cross pollination of experience, the joy of camaraderie in the face of wilderness stress, and the satisfaction of having achieved something meaningful as part of a group. …

Ryan Jordan’s Backcountry: Wilderness Trekking School Featured in Billings Gazette

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see all the wonderful photos – Wilderness Trekking III Course

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Alone across Australia – John Muir

One man and his dog, 128 days and 1553mi (2500km), the first person to walk solo and unassisted across the continent of Australia.

Adventurer of the Year Andrew Skurka just completed 6875mi on his Great Western Loop, but I reckon John Muir’s trek across Australia in 2001, on his fourth attempt, was even tougher.

Mainly because there is no water in most of Australia.

My favourite, the People’s Choice favourite, from the Banff Mountain Film Festival 2005 was the emotional story of Jon Muir and his Jack Russell, Seraphine.

This is a survival epic. The psychology of pushing yourself to the brink.

Alone Across Australia

Alone Across Australia

The distributor of the documentary posted a 10min trailer on YouTube. Well worth checking out. I love this film.

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how to be found when you’re lost

I’ve been lost. And I like to think I know what I’m doing in the woods. Some good reminders here.

Freelance writer Dan A. Nelson, of Puyallup, is an author of several outdoor guides, and a frequent contributor to Northwest Weekend and Backpacker magazine.

Here’s a summary of the post:

Wilderness legend Daniel Boone once wrote, “I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks.”

When lost:

First off, Williams says, stop where you are. Have a snack and something to drink and calmly check your map, consider your options and figure out what needs to be done.

The difference between not knowing exactly where you are and being lost generally comes down to this: panic. As anxiety and panic creep into the mind, rational thought fades away, which is when bad decisions are made.

• Seek out shelter

• Leave a detailed itinerary with someone

• Be prepared

• Stay put

• Carry a cellphone and GPS, but don’t rely solely on them

• Mark your location

• Be prepared

• Carry and know how to use a map and compass

• Carry and use a GPS device

• Familiarize yourself with the area before heading out

Check out the entire post:

How to be found when you’re lost : Lenarte Artesanato

A good article on the risks of relying on electronic devices: High-tech solutions to getting found. GPS devices often fail.

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lost hikers – flickr – misocrazy

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Backpacker magazine – Global Warming

Once a month or so I head for the library to catch up on magazines.

Of course I had seen many references on-line to the Sept. 2007 Backpacker Global Warming Issue.

I like Backpacker — but am suspicious of any magazine with a GREEN issue. Are they simply pumping sales with the G word?

In this case, no. This issue is excellent. And scary. The “Future of Wilderness” projection will affect all hikers.

Climate change, Parks at risk, desertification, species extinction, forests dying, degraded water supply. It is depressing.

Some solutions are suggested. But buying a hemp pack somehow feels too little, too late.

Backpacker, September 2007 Issue

Backpacker, September 2007 Issue

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Rick Deutsch – Half Dome, Yosemite

Rick is expert on one of the World’s great scrambles, the author of One Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome.

His opinion has been much in demand as 3 people died in 2007.

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original – flickr – tjk

Rick points out that an estimated 50,000 climb it every year. And no one has ever fallen using the cables until this year.

Still — you must be physically and psychologically ready for this hike. (Get his book.)

We feel there is no need to regulate Half Dome. But it’s essential that less experienced day hikers are warned of the dangers.

Listen to Rick interviewed by Steve Sergeant on the Wildebeat audiocast.

Yosemite's Half Dome

One Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome

HikeHalfDome.com – official website

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trekking 4 women – Asia and Africa

annyoung.gifAnn Young is the woman behind a New Zealand based company providing quality guided adventure trekking trips.

Uniquely, these treks are designed for women in the 40+ age group.

Tours are available both “less strenuous” and “more challenging”.

Challenging is right. Upcoming: Everest Base Camp, Annapurna Circuit and Sanctuary, Annapurna Circuit, Kilimanjaro and Mount Meru.

Are you a woman who has a sense of adventure for the outdoors or wants to explore wild and wonderful places?

Are you fascinated by other cultures of the world?

Have you dreamed of trekking to far off places and seeing the highest mountain in the world or being on Safari on the African plains?

All Trekking 4 Women trips are non technical. You do not have to be a mountaineer or experienced climber, trekker, or traveller to enjoy an experience to last a lifetime with
Trekking 4 Women. If you are an absolute beginner or seasoned traveller, all you need is a sense of adventure to share with other like minded women who come from many destinations and cultures of the world. …

trekking 4 women – Home

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“Fishtail” or Machhapuchhre, Nepal

(via Women Travel the World)

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Ed Viesturs – No Shortcuts to the Top

After seeing Ed speak at the Banff Mountain Festival, I immediately got his book.

He’s one of the few normal people in high altitude mountaineering. (The only other that jumps to mind is Chris Bonnington.)

I, probably wrongly, assume serious climbers are egocentric risk takers. And most often masochists.

Ed Viesturs is none of these. He’s known as a “nice guy”.

There are very few new insights into what happened in the disaster on Everest 1996. Ed was with the IMAX film Everest team.

I highly recommend it though it’s written for the general public, not the outdoors elite.

Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks

No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World’s 14 Highest Peaks

PS

I did not enjoy my one and only true mountaineering adventure, guided to the top of 6000m (20,000ft) Huayna Potosi in Bolivia. Being connected by rope was tedious. Having no input into the speed of the climb, annoying.

Much better are trekking peaks. I scrambled independently 5822m (19,101ft) Misti in Peru. And trekked close to 6000m on the Rongphu glacier off Everest.

Kilimanjaro 5896m (19,344ft) appeals in the same way.

On the rare perfect day you can walk up Aconcagua 6962m (22,841ft), the highest peak outside Asia.

Serious mountaineering above that I’ll have to do vicariously.

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when will I hike South Africa?

… some day.

One of our contributors, George Novak, lived in South Africa and is always urging me to get there for “trekking”.

Top of my list — the Drakensberg Mountains in Kwa-Zula Natal.

img47.jpgGarth and Lee-Anne from GoVertical Mountaineering Adventures guide routes including:

  • DRAKENSBERG TRAVERSE (5-10 days)
  • AMPHITHEATRE TO CATHEDERAL PEAK OR TO GIANTS CASTLE
  • SENTINEL TO SANI (16 days)

    • The uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park is a World Heritage site of incredible basalt cliffs, giant peaks, dramatic pinnacles, pristine rivers and ancient San Rock Art. Join GoVertical for a guided backpacking experience along the Drakensberg Great Escarpment, a wilderness area which separates South Africa’s coastal lowlands from the highveld plateau.

    All Drakensberg Traverse Treks include:

    GoVertical Mountaineering guides, all meals & necessary restocks, Park fees, general camping gear, a celebratory dinner & B&B accommodation on the last night at a local mountain lodge

    GoVertical Trekking

    I’m tempted to sign on for a guided hike on my first trek in South Africa. Security is a bit of an issue in that country. It’s safe — but you need to know which areas to avoid. Tourists sometimes make the mistake of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

    Related post: Trekking the Drakensberg in South Africa (photos)