Category: health & safety

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hike Carthew-Alderson, Waterton, Canada

waterton.jpgWaterton Lakes National Park is the best kept hiking secret in Canada. YOU can go — but let the non-hiking hordes jam the roadways of Banff and Jasper instead.

Contributors Kelly and Lexi (getting married Aug. 4th in the Yukon, by the way) raved about their 2006 Carthew-Alderson hike in Waterton. Based on their recommendation, we added Carthew-Alderson to our list of the best hikes in North America.

Last Friday the weather was hot and clear so we made a dash to Waterton.

Unfortunately, Saturday morning the weather changed as we approached the summit, high point of the day hike.

To see what happened click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Stuck in the clouds, we missed most of the best vistas. We even got lost crossing the top of the ridge having to ask a marmot for directions.

Click PLAY to see how it looks on a “sunny” day. Or watch it on YouTube.

You might have noticed, the biggest drawback of Waterton is wind.

Carthew-Alderson 20km (12.4mi) from Cameron Lake to Cameron Falls. Highly recommended. Hiker’s shuttle C$10 / person available at Tamarack Mall.

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trek the remote Huayhuash Circuit in Peru

I’m jealous.

Frequent contributor Eu-Jin Goh is just returned from 12 days hiking my personal favourite trek in the World.

… the Huayhuash circuit is the most spectacular extended hike that we’ve done so far.

There were four of us on the hike, Emily Rains, Ray Woo, together with Serene and I.

I had contacted Chris Benway from Cafe Andino to organize our trip for us and he did an incredible job of making sure everything went smoothly; I highly recommend Chris to anyone going to Huaraz.

I arranged for a fairly deluxe trip this time; we had two arrieros, Fernando and Juan-Carlos, taking care of the ten (!) mules and two horses, together with our cook, Zacarias Carrera, or Zac.

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Zac did an amazing job showing us the way and also cooking great food for us; he has great instincts and would figure out what we wanted to do (and then organize it) without us even mentioning it to him. I thought he was head and shoulders above anyone I’d ever had for my trips. Despite all the luxuries, it still cost about 3 – 4 times less than an organized trip by a western agency. …

Peru – Cordillera Huayhuash and Blanca, 11 June to 3 July 2007

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more favourite photos from the Huayhuash Circuit – Eu-Jin Goh

The Huayhuash is big, high and potentially dangerous:

  • minimum 140km (87mi) plus numerous sidetrips
  • many mountain passes over 4600m (15,092ft)
  • this forbidding range was made famous when Joe Simpson & Simon Yates climbed Siula Grande in 1985. Simpson wrote Touching the Void.

    • how to hike the Huayhuash Circuit – besthike information page

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    video – closest black bear ever

    Just finishing the Wall Lake hike in Waterton, I commented to George: “We haven’t seen our bear yet today.”

    (One time in Waterton National Park my hiking group had seen at least one bear a day. They are easy to spot here. One day we saw 5 bears.)

    Right then a bear came strolling directly towards our car. George let the vehicle roll down a hill, quietly pacing the animal. You’ll see it was completely unconcerned by our presence.

    Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

    To Identify the mule deer, also in the video, I used the Road Watch in the Pass website.

    They are a non-profit organization monitoring animals on the roadways in the Crowsnest region of Alberta. Trying to improve safety for large animals including hikers.

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    Road Watch Wildlife Information Primer – Mule Deer

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    Road Watch photo contest winner

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    All-in-one Map Tool review

    It’s very rare for me to add any item to my “base” hiking kit. (It’s too heavy already.)

    The new essential must be very valuable. Or very light.

    The All-in-one Map Tool is both. I carry it with my map and compass.

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    Bob Moseley from Brooks-Range Mountaineering Equipment Co. asked me to test this award winning product.

    I took it with me on a solo kayak hiking trip out of Bamfield, British Columbia on the west coast of Canada. Since the weather was good, I was able to paddle directly to the Deer Island group, the closest to town.

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    It was a great, relaxing trip. I saw bear, seals, sea lions and nearly stepped on a baby puffin.

    Normally mornings on this, the “Shipwreck Coast” are fogged in. On a previous trip to the nearby Broken Group Islands we were a number of times confused in the fog. It’s essential to know where you are on the map, have an exact compass bearing, and a good estimate of your speed and distance to the next island.

    The All-in-one Map Tool is ideal in this situation as it has 6 different, easy-to-read map scale rulers to help estimate distance.

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    More photos from this trip – flickr

    Sadly I had atypically excellent weather and did not need to do any dead reckoning in the morning.

    So I’ll take it heli-hiking into the Tombstone Mountains in the Yukon in August. Certainly I should have a good chance to get lost there, having to rely on Topo, compass and map tool for survival.

    All-in-one Map Tool – US$18 – Brooks Range Mountaineering Equipment Co.

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    wheelchair hiker – 4WheelBob

    Tom Mangan hiked with the famous (Backpacker Magazine article) 4WheelBob Bob Coomber .

    For those who don’t know Bob’s story: Diabetes has made his leg bones so brittle they break if he tries to stand up on them. He has some use of his lower extremities; he can operate the pedals on his car, for instance.

    Don’t be complaining about your “sore feet” when on the trail with Bob!

    On Sunday we traveled to Portola Redwoods State Park, back to the hills of Bob’s youth. We hiked for about three hours in the cool shade of that wonderful redwood forest. First we headed up the Old Tree Trail, where I started getting a lesson in Bob’s technique. On easy grades he pushes forward, but on steep grades he reverses and pulls himself up.

    Two-Heel Drive: Travels with 4WheelBob

    Thanks for the trip report Tom. I’m inspired by Bob’s good example.

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    Incidentally, Tom has refocused his top-ranked hiking blog more specifically on his home turf out of San Jose, California.

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    (Now I need to watch the entire hike-o-sphere myself. Formerly I counted on Tom.)

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    should Angel’s Landing be closed?

    Good and important question:

    What should the National Park Service do, if anything, with Angel’s Landing in Zion National Park?

    This question arises every time there’s a fatality, and rightly so. The recent death of Barry Goldstein has rekindled the debate, with at least one reader believing the Park Service should, in essence, certify the ability of hikers determined to reach the landing.

    … How do you guard against canoeists, kayakers and rafters drowning while on park outings?

    What about those who are swept away by avalanches, who are attacked by grizzlies, die from the heat at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, or fall from Half Dome in Yosemite?

    National Parks Traveler: Should Anything Be Done With Angel’s Landing?

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    original photo – flickr

    details – our Angel’s Landing information page

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    Taklamakan – 150km across the Desert of Death

    A new company wants you to sign-up for a trek across the dunes.

    Taklamakan Desert, the Desert of Death

    A desert is a dangerous place. It is bleak, barren and inescapable. Sand storms are terrifying. Yet over the ages people have been drawn to the desert. Perhaps it is precisely this sense of fear that attracted explorers.

    Taklamakan desert lies within the Tarim Basin in XinJiang (China).

    Covering an area of 272, 000 km square, it is one of the largest sand-only deserts in the world. The ancient silk routes pass through this region along the northern and southern edges of the desert. …

    In this trip, you will trek 150km across the vast expanse of sand dunes spending 7 days and nights out in the desert.

    … Logistic support is provided.

    We will be doing this as an exploratory adventure. So join us today to be one of the first to experience desert crossing!

    SHANGRILA ADVENTURE: Taklamakan Desert-X-ing Trek

    Alvin Low – Founder and Operations Manager

    Taklamakan Desert – Wikipedia

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    Taklamakan up close – flickr – Kiwi Mikex

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    trekking Svaneti in Georgia, Asia

    Ever since speaking with a woman from Kazakhstan, I’ve been reluctant to recommend treks in the former Soviet Union.

    She told me, “Kazakhstan has wonderful trekking, but you will be robbed and possibly killed your first night in the mountains if you go alone.”

    But I found an impressive website from Georgia. I would happily hike with these guides in Svaneti, surrounded by 3,000-5,000m peaks, the highest inhabited area in Europe.

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    Lonely Planet

    Given the diversity of its relief and the richness of its history and the unique ethnic identity of its residents, Svaneti is one of Georgia’s most outstanding regions.

    It had long attracted many tourists, but the political and economic decline experienced by Georgia following the fall of the Soviet Union and independence has hampered efforts to revive and further develop Svaneti’s tourist and recreational potential.

    In order to achieve this, it is necessary to foster the development of the family-run tourism business, especially given that this business employs much of the population (host families, providing tourists with products and traditional crafts, vehicle transport, horses, guide services, museums, folk music ensembles and more), and provides the local people, many of whom live near the poverty line, with additional incomes.

    Svaneti Trekking – About Us

    They recommend a number of dayhikes in the region, all which look great. I’d love to get there.

    Their longest route recommended is a horse trek called ZHABESHI-USHGULI.

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    Svaneti Trekking – English, German, Russian and Georgian

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    Ushba (4710m) larger original – flickr – Patricia Scherer

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    trouble descending Mt Saint Helens

    Great trip report and photos on the Shot from the Hip blog.

    Mt. Saint Helens is the famous volcano close to Portland, Oregon.

    • 11.6mi (18.7km) return
    • 4565ft (1,392m) elevation gain
    • summit at 8365ft (2,550m)
    • 7-12 hours

    Ignoring good advice from Rangers, two hikers raced up the mountain without ice axes or crampons. Then got lost and separated on the descent.

    I’d like to smugly denounce them. But, instead, I relate.

    In June I too would expect to be able to get up and down without heavy mountaineering gear.

    Theirs were mistakes easy to make.

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    first trail marker on the scree

    The guys did get to the top quickly and enjoyed fantastic views.

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    Mount Adams as seen from the summit.

    On the way down the blue sunny skies we had at the summit quickly disappeared into a fog of clouds.

    Hmm… Where are those markers? …

    At one point, the boulders got bigger and more difficult to navigate. We then took a route that we thought would be an easier path. We had walked down the wrong side, but we did not know it. This side was definitely different. As we got farther down, we realized that it would be more and more difficult to go back.

    At one point Eric and I got separated as we could no longer navigate the rocks and had to try to go through the snow. He slid down a ways and from his vantage point, he saw the weather station and realized we were on the wrong side.

    Since we did not have crampons and ice axes, continuing to slide would not have been a good idea. So we decided to climb back up. …

    To make things worse it started snowing. Not just the soft fluffy stuff dropping from the skies, but the heavy kind that pelts you with stings as it flies horizontal. Something we did not need. If I had slipped, the drop would have been quite disastrous, and the snow only made matters worse. Eventually, by the grace of God I made it up to the top, but Eric was nowhere to be found. I called out his name and no answer.

    … Eventually Eric found his way up. This little adventure added about an hour to our trip.

    Mt Saint Helens trip report and photos

    Ah, no harm done — this time.

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    Our information page – Mt. Saint Helens – besthike

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    best view, best hike – Yosemite

    Chris is blogging his trip from Kansas City to the outdoor centre of the universe, California.

    He loved Yosemite.

    … all I can say is “wow”.

    But dear ol’ Jimmy put it much better when he said, “This place is amazing…It’s like your walking in a picture” which is true, cause Yosemite IS the place where all landscape pictures are taken. …

    My Favorite Hike and My Favorite View

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    My Favorite view is from where I stood in the above picture looking down 3000 feet into Yosemite Valley. …

    As for My Favorite Hike, and I do mean my favorite hike of ALL time, it was suppose to be a leisurely walk to the Cathedral Lakes cause this was the end of the week and by this time Jim and I were hurting more places than we care to think.

    So we thought we could handle the relatively flat walk to these picturesque lakes. We did managed to stick to the trail all the way to the gorgeous lakes but once we reached our destination and saw those tall, commanding, pointy little peaks we just could not resist a shot at the top.

    So we hiked along the ridge … and had some incredible views of Cathedrals lake on one side and Bud Lake on the other. Shortly we reached the base of the peak from which reaching the summit look quite doable so we hike on up as rain clouds gathered over head and scrambled within 50 feet of the pointy little summit …

    I would say that that 360degree view was second only to Yosemite Valley in its incredibleness.

    The Tulumne meadows in front Cathedral and Bud lakes to the sides and Yosemite Valley way off behind me all add up to the best hike I’ve ever enjoyed. Not even to mention that it was off trail which makes it better 🙂

    Hike Bike Climb: Yo Semite Nation Park

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