health & safety – Page 89

September 5, 2007

Torngat Mountains National Park, Labrador, Canada

One of the classiest and best travel photo sites is BluePeak edited by Rogier Gruys.

He is one of the few who have travelled to remote Torngat.

Even better, Rogier created a superb landing page for the Park where the rest of us now have a chance to see that weird, fantastical landscape.

… The Inuit refer to the far northern tip of Labrador as Torngait, the place of the spirits. It is thought that it is the home of Torngarsuak, the Inuit Great Spirit. To outsiders it is known for its deep fiords, the highest mountains east of the rockies, some of the world’s oldest rocks, the only tundra-dwelling population of black bears, and polar bears. Lots of polar bears. …

Access

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 fericious 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.

Visiting the park

Due to the difficult logistics and its reputation for bad weather, there are currently very few if any organized treks into the park. Nature Trek has led expeditions into the park, but in the future they may only plan occasional treks, due to the extreme logistical challenges involved with organizing them. …

more photos – Torngat Mountains National Park – Rogier Gruys

August 25, 2007

wheelchair hiker CLIMBS 14,000er

Everyone except Bob thought it impossible. But I was there with him on the summit of White Mountain in California. Congratulations 4WheelBob!

Check Tom Mangan’s Two-Heel Drive blog for details.

August 20, 2007

climbing White Mountain with 4WheelBob

Rick McCharles, besthike editor

Tomorrow morning Tom Mangan and I head out to rendezvous with wheelchair hiker 4WheelBob …

Read the details on Tom’s Two-Heel Drive blog (which is far better written than this one).

4WheelBob thinks he can wheel himself to the summit of White Mountain in the Eastern Sierra near Big Pine, CA. I’m going to tag along and document the experience here when we get back.

… We’ll be car camping at the Grandview Campground near the Ancient Bristlecone Pine forest till Wednesday morning, when we head up to the approach to White Mountain. Bob has a pass to park at the Barcroft Lab, six miles — and about 1,800 feet of climb — from the summit. He’s planning on camping on the mountain, summiting and returning on Thursday (he can go much much faster downhill). …

Two-Heel Drive: Where I’m going next week

Tom and I are the safety support team. Though this is the easiest high mountain climb in the USA, it’s not easy. The odds are against us.

White Mountain – Wikipedia

August 19, 2007

hiking Alaska takes SKILL

Any idiot can hike in California.

But hiking the far North takes smarts. Route finding skills. Bush whacking skills. Survival skills.

GPS is essential, we feel.

Don’t count on calling in rescue with a satellite phone. They are far from 100% reliable.

If you plan to trek Alaska in future, start your research with Eric Molvar’s book. Published in 1996, it covers river crossings, snowfield travel, and glacier travel and wildlife very well.

Alaska on Foot: Wilderness Techniques for the Far North (Hiking & Climbing)

If we’d only studied this book in advance we’d have never crossed this snow bridge over a raging Alaskan creek above Whittier. Turns out it’s dangerous!

August 15, 2007

Lost City Trek – Colombia – now safer

I loved the Lost City Trek â€” Ciudad Perdida â€” when I was there in 1997. It’s a steep climb up a lost jungle city.

Ten years later the adventure is much safer as Brian Rudert reports:

Just did the hike in 4 days/3nights …

The trail is safe, very safe â€“ with a large Colombian military contingent at the top. …

Most tour groups spend 4 or 5 nights along the trail which is a total of 21 kilometers one way with 4 major (steep) descents and 3 descents along with 9 crossings of the Buritaca river before you reach the final 1,300 narrow and steep steps up to the city. The starting point is 340 meters in altitude and the final destination is 1,100 meters.

The 21 kilometers are broken up with sleeping points at kilometer 8 and 16 with guides preparing your food and mules carrying supplies. However, the mules cannot go beyond kilometer 16 because of the condition of the trail.

… A fascinating Kogui (local indigenous group) village is at around kilometer 15 and you will see them again further up the trail and in Ciudad Perdida.

There is a reddish-brown dog with yellow eyes named NiÃ±o with no home or owner who goes up and down with different hiking groups (whoever feeds him the best). NiÃ±o knows all the best river crossings and will whine when he sees you crossing at the wrong place.

Colombia is my favourite country in South America mainly due to the friendly people.

Check out photos from a 2007 trek to get an idea of the unique landscape at the top:

adman_as more lost city trek photos – flickr

Lost City Trek information page – besthike.com

August 14, 2007

more bear encounters due to global warming?

Is this another crackpot GOAT blog speculation?

Perhaps not.

Check the original post for links to the encounters mentioned:

The Aspen Times, in Coloradoâ€™s top resort town, calls this summer â€œThe Killing Fields,â€ because so many local black bears have gotten into trouble and been killed. The story has powerful photos of bears being â€œeuthanizedâ€ or driven out of town. …

The Aspen Times has more sad bear stories and photos … and an editorial â€” calling for a crackdown on people who get bears in trouble by offering easy garbage.

The Denver Post reports a larger wave of black bear conflicts around Colorado, and quotes a wildlife agent, â€œIâ€™m up to my eyeballs in bears.â€

Meanwhile, Nevada experiences a record year for black bear conflicts and executions.

In New Mexico, this summerâ€™s black bears have bitten at least two people.

In Montana, one black bear tried to claw into a pickup-truck camper, and another wrestled a guy in a tent.

In Wyoming, wildlife agents killed a mother bear when a tranquilizer dart failed to tranquilize.

As Iâ€™ve said, I think the surge in bear conflicts is caused by global warming/drought, and more people infringing on more bear habitat, as well as people acting foolish around bears.

GOAT – A High Country News Blog Â» Summer of growls: More black bears bother more people

Hiking in Alaska and the Yukon we’ve seen a fair few bears. (Two on the highway yesterday, for example.) Not sure if the incidence is up or down here. People are certainly bear aware here, however.

(Our biggest problem on the last hike was Dave losing the plastic safety piece on his bear spray and having it discharge by accident on his hands. He’s still trying to wash off the smell days later.)

August 10, 2007

BEWARE Devil’s Club when hiking

Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus, Araliaceae) is a large shrub native to the Pacific Northwest coastal forests of North America. Also known as Devil’s Walking Stick, it grows to 1-1.5 m tall normally, however instances exist of it reaching in excess of 5m in rainforest gullies, with the erect stems covered in short, stout spines. …

The brittle spines break off easily and contain a chemical that may cause dermatitis. The fruit is considered poisonous, …

Wikipedia

Photo is George negotiating the Devil’s Club near Whittier, Alaska. (Unfortunately he lost his shirt on this scramble.)

We were extracting spines for days afterwards.

August 9, 2007

hike Wrangel – St. Elias National Park, Alaska?

First MAPS:

In a huge and wild park such as Wrangell-St. Elias, you can never have too many maps

National Geographic – Trails Illustrated has produced a 1:375,000 (1 inch = 6 miles) scale map of Wrangell-St. Elias that is a great tool for initial trip planning.

It is waterproof, tear resistant, and covers the entire park, including detailed inserts of the Nabesna Road and McCarthy/Kennecott areas. This map is available at all park ranger stations, or online through the Alaska Natural History Association for $9.95

We highly recommend that backcountry hikers also purchase the highly detailed USGS 1:63,360 (1 inch = 1 mile) topographic maps, also known as 15-minute quadrangle maps of the particular route they plan to travel. Note: this part of Alaska is not covered by USGS 7.5-minute maps.

maps – National Parks Service

Next, GUIDEBOOK:

The best I can find is Hiking in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
by former mountain guide Danny W. Kost (2000)

Amazon

This Park is very intimidating.

Get all the information you can before you travel to hike here.

We will simply dayhike from the road access.

August 8, 2007

bigger than Switzerland, with much higher mountains

Flying in to Anchorage, Alaska from Juneau I was already worried.

How can anyone possibly hike Wrangell-St. Elias?

It looks the realm of mountaineers, not mere hikers like myself.

Because there are very few maintained trails within the park, travel through dense brush, along steep scree slopes, and across fast and cold glacial streams and rivers should be expected.

For most routes, map and compass reading skills are essential. Weather in these mountain ranges can vary to extremes in relatively short time periods. It is best to expect (and prepare for) almost any possibility with a variety of layerable clothing (polypropylene, wool or pile), raingear, and extra food. Summer snow storms may occur at elevations of 4,500 feet and above.

Trip Planning

A successful hiking trip requires adequate planning. You should be prepared for everything and should not count on aid or rescue from others. Here, you will be on your own. Caution and good judgment are key ingredients for a pleasant expedition. For many hikers, hiring the services of a local guide will make the trip safer and more enjoyable. In general, the areas above tree line (~3,000′) afford the easiest hiking and best views. These areas are often accessed by chartering a flight to one of the many possible “bush” landing strips. Note that there are many more places to land than are shown on maps. Air taxis will often land on gravel bars or on the tundra.

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve – Hiking & Backpacking in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

Wrangell-St. Elias is the largest National Park in the USA. Indeed, if you combine it with the adjacent Parks and reserves it’s the largest protected land mass in the world.

But how does one hike it if you have only a small vehicle, not a helicopter or light plane? (Perhaps I can find some gold nuggets to pay for this trip.)

This will take some reconnaissance.

Wish us luck.

August 5, 2007

slogging the Dusky Track in New Zealand

Adventurous Jenni and Nick are on an around-the-world trip with stops for some of the best hikes on Earth.

I asked Jenni which was the “best” so far. Instead she let me know which was most “challenging”:

The “epic”, and one we always refer back to as to judge how difficult a trek has been, has got to be the Dusky Track in NZ, a tough 8 days. In fact all the treks we did in NZ were great (Rees Dart, Banks, part of the Copland, Routeburn, Tongario Circuit …

Jenni on Day 1 of the Dusky Track

Fiordland in New Zealand (like Southwest Tasmania and coastal west Patagonia) is fearsome. Rainy, windy, cold and boggy. And buggy. Did I mention the deadly sandflies?

I was too “chicken” to try any of the more daunting, remote trails in Fiordland when I was there.

Happily, Nick and Jenni were able to complete the entire tramp:

So that was Dusky Track. Damn hard work – you had to concentrate on every step (we reackon we took about 250,000 over the 9 days and 84km) – up and over slippery tree roots, slippery mossy rocks, through mud, bog and rivers, across three wire walkwires to the end all for two good views – the rest was spent in the forest.

I made it, with a lot of help, and my limits were certainly tested.

Would I do it again – no – but Iâ€™m glad Iâ€™ve done it and Iâ€™ve learnt that I prefer the hard slog up the mountain and then spending time high rather than in the forest.

We were so lucky with the weather, it would have been 100 times worse in the rain and the mud would have been dreadful.

Dusky track for me = mud, blood, sweat and quite a few tears.

Dusky Track trip report – Jenni