Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
Jiankou Cliffs is the steepest, most vertiginous, most dangerous section of the entire Great Wall of China. But would we at Walking the Wall let a few sheer hundred-metre dropoffs stop us?
I’m going to miss this blog when the trip is done. It’s one of my favourites.
This somewhat tongue-in-cheek post is well worth the read. As usual, Skyler Baguta’s aim is true.
She doesn’t name Tom of The Trout Underground as specifically destroying the Park. But we get the idea.
(Come to think of it, I seem to recall Tom telling me he doesn’t fish Yellowstone.)
I have a bit of pity & some sympathy for the poor journalists in this part of the country. I just plain pity the journalists in the rest of the country.
When it comes to reporting about Yellowstone National Park they have a long list of topics that they cannot report about. They have, after all, advertising and public sentiment to deal with. The scribes, either through fear or ignorance refuse to address the problems caused by the Sacred Cows of Yellowstone.
Read the rest of this article: The Sacred Cows Of Yellowstone « A Step Apart
Non-hikers assume that what I do is “dangerous”.
I always pooh-pooh the notion: “It’s more dangerous driving to the trailhead than hiking the trail.”
The only time I really got in trouble was in Venezuela. I learned important lessons the HARD way.
From my 1997 photo travelogue:
… Mérida boasts the world’s highest (4765m) and longest (12.5km) cable car. Unfortunately, in the 1980s a car on the top crashed killing an undisclosed number of tourists. The last section of the ride up was never repaired. …
Still, I could ride to 4000m and hike from there. Overnight camping is technically illegal so almost no one knew where I was going as I headed up the mountain.
I climbed a ridge. The vista was magic with clouds blowing in and out. I dropped my pack at the first possible tent site & continued up looking for a better spot. The terrain was steep, exposed & rugged. Not many options for a tent.
I knew that at the top of the mountain was The Virgin of the Snows, a statue of the Virgin Mary. She led me on.
On a whim I decided to kiss the Virgin — once the dayhiking tourists had departed for the day.
I was careful to note landmarks on my way up so I could return to the pack. Unfortunately they all disappeared in the clouds.
Blast.
Lost in the Andes above 4000m. I vainly searched for the ridge back down to my tent, pack and sleeping bag. Finally, as night fell, I resolved to take refuge in a grotto beneath an overhanging rock. I had water but no food.For 10 hours I huddled shivering, calculating the probability of death from hypothermia in just a t-shirt and fleece pants. I’d like to tell you I learned something from this experience — but I didn’t. It was a drag.
At first light I tried another long route down. What a relief when, four hours later, I bumped into an elderly Swiss couple on the trail! They gave me a cookie & directions. I had been hopelessly lost.
To add insult to injury, officials on the cable car wanted to arrest me for camping illegally.
Lesson learned? Never leave your pack.
Click through my annotated photos from that adventure
OK — hypothermia is no joke:
Early warning symptoms include intense shivering, fumbling hands and poor coordination. Shivering is the body’s attempt to generate heat. A simply field test for mild hypothermia is to try touching your thumb to your little finger on the same hand. If you have difficulty doing this, it’s time to seek shelter and warmth.
Later hypothermia symptoms include slurred speech, mental confusion and unconsciousness. Often victims do not recognize the symptoms and fully understand the dangerous situation they face. The victim needs warmth immediately and protection from further body heat loss. Hypothermia is a medical emergency that requires immediate attention.
(via My Outdoor Gear)
Honestly, I estimated that I could survive one more night of hypothermia. But not two.
I’ll never leave my pack again.
You won’t be surprised to learn that I want to return to Mérida, to hike La Travesia Mucuy – Mérida.
Outdoor Video Magazine have posted their best video to date. (That’s one nasty avalanche caught on film.)
A stunning trail featuring close-up glacier action, the Canadian Rockies Highest Peak (a staggering 2.5 vertical kilometres above the trail), blue-blue lakes, and more than one fantastic waterfall.
Berg Lake Trail – Mt Robson Provincial Park (with Video) · Outdoor Video Magazine
Though the trail was officially closed in May, these hikers braved a night walk, a glacier creek water ford in Crocs and snow storm. Snowshoes were needed for some sections.
We’d never recommend this to anyone … but I wish I’d been with them.
Our information page details how to organize a hike to this area in summer. Highlights: Valley of a Thousand Falls, Emperor Falls, Snowbird Pass, Toboggan Falls and the mass of Mt. Robson. One of the best hikes in the world.
Mount Robson: Berg Lake Trail – flickr photo set – Fotos de Canada
Falcon has more hiking guidebooks than anyone else in North America, some of them not very good.
Here’s their pitch:
FalconGuides are leading the way with more than 800 titles in over 30 series. Our 500-plus authors have personally hiked, climbed, pedaled, paddled, and recorded a total of more than 11,000 published FalconGuide trails, rides, and waterways and as many as 50,000 climbing routes in nearly every state in the nation and in nine European countries. All are documented on the more than 6,000 maps we produce every year for outdoor enthusiasts.
I’ve often seen the brand as an “impulse” buy. Available almost everywhere at a low cost. But not all that usable in the real outdoors.
To my happy surprise, on a 2-week hiking trip out of Moab, Utah, the Falcon was by far the best guidebook available. I bought Hiking Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, 2nd edition 2005.
It is written by Bill Schneider, founder of Falcon, now the retired President. It looked pretty good. Bill obviously loves this region. The text is well written, without conspicuous errors.
After my trip I emailed Bill to give him some feedback on the book.
First day we encountered two big snakes on the trail.
I whipped out my guidebook to check if they were a dangerous species. What? There is no section on animal dangers! What about scorpions, black widow spiders, rattle snakes and centipedes?
Ask a Ranger. It’s not in your guidebook.
A bigger frustration I have with this book (and others) many others is lack of an index. Bill tells me that creating a good index is far more difficult than people think. He would love to have one, but it is a lot of work for the publisher.
The most important part of any hiking guidebook to me are the maps. And, happily, the second edition maps are a HUGE improvement. They look very “clean”.
Too clean. Imagine my disappointment to discover that not all backcountry campsites are included on these Falcon maps.
Specifically I was looking for CP5 in Chesler Park. It’s not in my guidebook though it is on all the NPS on-line maps:
Bill pointed out that “no hiker should rely on the maps in any guidebook”. His book clearly states that it is to be used with a proper map.
Happily, I had bought a map at the trailhead. But when I opened my $3 Trails Illustrated Canyonlands-Needles National Park … I found it also left off the backcountry campsites.
You need to buy the $10 Trails Illustrated, Canyonlands National Park – Maze District of the entire Park if you want to be able to locate your campsite.
Bill explained, ” … listing designated campsites is a moving target for guidebook authors. Virtually every year, the NPS has to change campsite locations, close campsites, open new campsites, etc. for management reasons, but a guidebook is in print for many years.”
I sheepishly asked each hiker I met if they had any idea where I could find my campsite.
Despite my problems, we’ll be recommending Hiking Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. And I look forward to 3rd edition improvements. In the meantime, I recommend Falcon check some of the best hiking guidebooks in the world for inspiration.
I went to Moab to hike.
When I told other tourists that Moab had been awarded a major environmental award as a “green town” they thought I was joking.
Located on the Colorado River near the state line between Utah and Colorado, is the 4-square mile City of Moab. A desert oasis, the 5,000 or so Moab residents host over a million tourists annually. Visitors come to enjoy the adjacent National Parks Arches and Canyonlands, the Dead Horse Point State Park as well as biking, hiking, water sports and gorgeous vistas.
To most tourists who pass through Moab annually, it’s a hot, noisy highway lined with junky, over-priced souvenir shops.
Moab is perhaps less known for being the Nation’s first EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Green Power Community and a steward for clean energy. Under the leadership of Mayor Dave Sakrison, the town began purchasing wind power for 50% of the City Office building electricity demand in 2003. Local electricity customers were encouraged to purchase pollution-free wind energy through Utah Power’s Blue Sky voluntary wind program. As a result Moab became the region’s first Blue Sky Community.
I hope Mayor Sakrison is not buying his own press. If Moab is the model of a town of the future, we are all in trouble.
Moab reminds me more of Mad Max than a desert oasis. The road warriors here ride gas guzzling jeeps. Or modified Hummers if they can afford the rental.
Another opinion:
Can’t say I am thrilled to be in Moab other than to get my final resupply box and get out of town. Never much cared for this place despite trying to like it. The community here is great, certainly friendly folks, but something about the constant marketing vibe that runs through town just bugs me…Adventure This! and Adventure That! Extreme! I know it is a tourist based economy and one that caters to thrill seekers (whether motorized or not) but it just is a bit over the top.
I’m overstating the problems. Likely Moab is on the right track. The boom there is relatively recent.
If you turn off the highway into town you’ll find great school grounds, fantastic bike trails, an award winning library. And some amazing facilities for a town of this size.
If you are ready to pack up and move to Moab, speak up and leave a comment.
El Misti (5827m / 19,117 ft), in Peru is perhaps the easiest way to hike HIGH anywhere in the world. We think.
I did it solo myself in 2005.
It looks so tempting from the hotel roof in Arequipa.
But it’s not always that easy, as Eu-Jin Goh from California found on his adventure.
We signed up for a trip to El Misti with Zarate Expediciones. It cost more than the other agencies but we were quite keen to go on the trip with Carlos Zarate (84 years old at the time) who discovered a number of Inca sacrifices at the top of volcanoes near Arequipa.
… Carlos was full of information about his climbs in the area, he would frequently point at something and tell us that he found x number of mummies and Inca artifacts x number of years ago. In fact, our trip was his 384th summit of El Misti!
For a walkup, El Misti was physically strenuous for several reasons:
1) we were barely acclimitized for those heights after spending two nights at 2000 meters (Arequipa) and one night at 3600 meters (Chivay), and no real physical exertion at those altitudes.
2) This period was the second day of my 12 day bout with food poisoning and a bad cold that plagued me through the trip.
3) The trailhead was at 3415 m (11,204 ft) and the summit was at 5827 m (19,117 ft), translating to an elevation gain of almost 8,000 ft to be covered over two days.
4) There’s no water on the mountain and we had to carry 12 liters for both of us for 2 days.
5) I forgot to pack my energy drinks to Peru, which would have been quite helpful since I couldn’t eat any solid food. On hindsight, I think a better choice for acclimitization is Chachani because, although higher, it is an easier climb since from trailhead to summit is only 1000 meters over 2 days.
When we reached the crater rim, it started to snow, and Serene and I hurried to make the summit before the weather broke completely. We ended up descending at the start of a snowstorm that plastered the upper part of the mountain with snow that was visible from Arequipa the next day.
El Misti (5827m / 19,117 ft), Peru – Eu-Jin Goh photos
Details on how to organize a trip there for yourself on our Misti information page.
If you opt for Zarate Expeditions and/or climb Chachani instead, know that not everyone is happy.
The best section of Canyonlands National Park for hikers is The Needles. No question.
…named after the red and white banded rock pinnacles which dominate it but various other forms of naturally sculptured rock like canyons, grabens, potholes, and a number of arches similar to the ones of the nearby Arches National Park can be found as well.
Unlike Arches National Park, however, where many arches are accessible by short to moderate hikes or even by car, most of the arches in the Needles district lie in backcountry canyons and take long hikes or four-wheel-drive trips to reach.
Canyonlands National Park – Wikipedia
Of 60mi (96km) of great trails, the most popular section of the Needles is Chesler Park, a lovely grassy valley surrounded by colourful sandstone spires.
larger image – flickr
I was lucky to get one of the 5 backcountry Chesler Park tent sites (CP5) and accessed it from the Elephant Hill trailhead.
NPS map
From there I dayhiked the astonishing Joint Trail. It’s a “mountain” that split leaving a fracture just wide enough for a hiker (sideways at some points). Is there no end of natural marvels in this part of the world?
The highlight for me personally was a late afternoon trail run to Druid Arch. Late, scrambling the steep slope up to the view point, I was blown away by the size and location of this wonderful mass of stone.
I got lost on the run back to my tent, arriving an hour after dark.
If I went back to the Needles, I would do Salt Creek from Cathedral Butte to Peekaboo via Angel Arch. Likely 3 days, 24.2m (39km), a wonderful canyon walk with permanent water.
I’d need a high clearance vehicle to get to the trailhead. Or would hire a shuttle vehicle in Moab.
Angel Arch – Bob’s Arches
photos from my 2007 hike – flickr
We nearly tripped over two 4ft-long snakes, very close together, in Arches National Park, Utah.
Click PLAY or see the snakes on YouTube.
Later I had another snake close to my camp in Canyonlands. (It’s a good idea to keep your tent zipped in this part of the world.)
At the time I hoped that this nonpoisonous big boy — the Gopher Snake or Bullsnake — was a mortal enemy of the Rattler. (I read that error in Edward Abbey’s 1968 book.)
Turns out the two species sometimes fight. Other times the snakes may even nest together.
Happily, I’ve still never seen a Rattler.
A tongue-in-cheek article by Bill Schneider, founder of Falcon Guidebooks, sends a message to a Montana congressional delegation — “it is time they supported mandatory global warming pollution reduction policies.”
I love it.
GLOBAL WARMING POLITICAL STATEMENT
Group Wants to Rename GlacierAfter 97 years, is it time to give Montana’s Glacier National Park a new name?
Yes, says a national green group.
Why? Because of climate change, scientists say all of the park’s famous glaciers will melt away by 2030.
So, says the National Environmental Trust, we need a new name, perhaps something like Used-to-have Glaciers National Park or Formerly Glacier National Park. …
Group Wants to Rename Glacier | Travel & Outdoors | New West Network
(via Two-Heel Drive)
I am worried. Not sure what really can be done about it though. How do you trigger an ice age?
source – Politics Blog
besthike.com 