health & safety – Page 95

May 6, 2007

hike the Devil’s Garden in Utah

The most famous attraction in Arches National Park is Delicate Arch.

But the best hike, I feel, is Devil’s Garden – Primitive Loop. That’s 7.2mi (11.5km) plus extra sidetrips.

The feature attraction is possibly the longest and certainly the most “impossible” arch in the world.

It seems Landscape Arch could fall anytime. (Several pieces have dropped since 1991 and the trail under the arch has been closed.)

Anyone can make the easy day hike to walk to Landscape Arch and back. Confident hikers should continue at least as far as Double O Arch. (Some like the sidetrip to Dark Angel tower, some do not.)

And best of all is to add the Primitive Loop rather than backtrack.

larger map on Climb-Utah.com

It might take as long as 5hrs to do everything adding off-trail rock scrambles above some of the arches.

I returned via Primitive Loop. But reversing direction would have been even better, I think, saving the arches for last. Start at first light when animals are active and the trail still cool.

Primitive Loop is well named. I managed to get lost once or twice. It is challenging. And gorgeous. In some ways this is the best part of the walk.

Be sure to carry a map and desert survival gear. You don’t want to end up like Aron Ralston.

The excellent Utah.com site posted a video: Hike the Devil’s Garden.

May 1, 2007

first Hayduke Trail thru hike

Steve Sergeant of Wildebeat.net pointed me to a very professional trip report posted by Brian Frankle on his ULA (Ultralight Adventure) website.

Perhaps Hayduke is not so dangerous after all.

This was the first ever thru hike of the 800mi+ route. Brian seems to have handled it with ease. (Of course he is an accomplished long distance hiker.)

I tackled the Hayduke Trail in typical long-distance hiker fashion: frequent re-supplies, higher daily mileages, and with a focus towards lightweight equipment.

This presented some challenges and resulted in a longer distance hiked than the described route, but I think this strategy is critical to implement if you plan to tackle this rugged and demanding route… especially so in the context of thru-hiking the Hayduke.

ULA – Hayduke Trail 2005

Brian’s trip report (including resupply points).

Just last night in Moab, Utah I met a hiker setting out for just a short section of the Hayduke.

He was worried. Worried about water supply. Worried about getting lost.

April 28, 2007

dangerous Hayduke Trail, Colorado Plateau

Click on the thumbnail for a larger version of the map.

I’m not sure I’m man enough for this monster, invented and laid out by Joe Mitchell and Mike Coronella over an 8-year span.

It starts in Arches National Park. Finishes in Zion.

Named after a character from Edward Abbey’s The Monkey Wrench Gang, The Hayduke trail is an 800 mile long backcountry route that travels through some of the most scenic and remote terrain in the United States.

It showcases some of the natural wonders of the Colorado Plateau region of the American southwest, linking together six national parks, as well as national monuments and recreation areas, state parks, wilderness areas, and wilderness study areas. Exclusively on public lands in southern Utah and northern Arizona, this out-of-the-way route will lead you through deep desert canyons, over high mountains, across rivers and ridges, always revealing pieces of the personality of this unique region.

Beware! The Hayduke Trail is made up of pre-existing trails, routes, unpaved roads, cattle and game trails, ridges and drainages. The trail is not always apparent or obvious; strong navigational skills are necessary to safely and happily complete a trek in this beautiful, rugged region.

This is a backcountry trail. It is not a beaten trail like the Appalachian Trail. There are no towns ahead to find supplies in; there are no shelters. The trail involves hiking and wading through rivers, often dealing with quicksand and tight brush. It involves scrambling over or around rock falls, and climbing up, down, and across steep talus slopes. There will likely be no one around, perhaps for days at a time. This is a desolate region, and care must be taken to enjoy (and survive) trekking through this occasionally harsh land. This is not “beginner” terrain: getting in over your head in this region can easily end your life.

Deep Desert

The Hayduke Trail: A Guide to the Backcountry Hiking Trail on the Colorado Plateau

April 27, 2007

video – surviving freezing water

This clip is from a show called Man vs Wild.

Bear Grylls is surviving in the French Alps with only a water bottle, flint, and knife. In this excerpt he jumps into a frozen lake and shows how to deal with it. Hopefully this wonâ€™t ever come in handy.

This actually happened to Andrew Skurka during his 7700 mile hike across North America. Stuck in the middle of nowhere with no change of clothes, Skurka stripped down and ran to keep his body heat up.

Think or Thwim

Click PLAY or watch Man vs Wild – Episode 3 European Alps Highlights on YouTube.

This is very much like Les Stroud’s Canadian reality TV show Survivorman.

April 24, 2007

hiking for weight loss – Former Fat Guy

I prefer hikes 5-days or more as I need that long to see a significant fitness gain. I lose a few pounds and feel trim and toned.

The secret to successful weight-loss might just come with hiking boots and a backpack. And we have scientific proof. According to a study from the University of California that studied a whopping 31 diets, cutting back on calories short-term doesn’t help you from packing the pounds back on long-term.

“If dieting worked, there would be a bunch of skinny people walking around,” said obesity researcher Dr. David Katz at Yale in an Associated Press release earlier today.

Since 1970, the number of obese people has swelled to epidemic proportions in America. And even though weight-loss promises come packaged in bottles, expensive diet programs and fat actresses going skinny for their public, there really is no magic bullet.

Nomadik has a suggestion. …

Want to feel better fast? Dig out those hiking boots and take them for a walk.

The Nomadik Fanatiks : Get Outside and Get Skinny

The best example I know is Rob, the Former Fat Guy. He was 175lbs in Grade 5, 320lbs in Grade 12, and eventually topped out around 500lbs at age-21.

Here is Rob hiking the West Coast Trail in 2004:

How does he look to you?

Former Fat Guy – weight loss story

Former Fat Guy – WCT 2004 trip report

West Coast Trail information page. (Opening late due to storm repairs, about May 15th in 2007)

April 18, 2007

build an emergency kayak

Warren Long saw the 4lb Alpacka raft (US$800+) but wants instead to try building a kayak on a wilderness trip.

(He watches Survivorman on TV.)

Warren’s looking at the Grip Clip Kayak! ($25)

You can build a kayak of green willow shoots, a blue tarp in just four hours!

You’d strap the paddle to your ultralight pack. Or carve one from a fallen tree.

Four-Hour Kayak Boat Instruction Kit

April 17, 2007

lost on a glacier in Pakistan

Ben Tubby and partner Kerry had problems on a trek to Snow Lake guided by Vertical Explorers Expeditions.

Ben’s detailed photo trip report is recommended reading for anyone â€” like me â€” considering an adventure in Pakistan.

Bad roads, cold rooms, disgusting toilets, illness, crevasses, rain, sunburn, freezing river crossings, communication problems with guides, …

Sounds like fun!

Northern Pakistan is beautiful. Amazing mountain scenery, honest, friendly people and lots and lots of ice. We spent 18 days wandering up the biggest slab of ice outside of the polar regions and then got lost in a white-out on the top, surrounded by crevasses.

Tubby: Lost on a glacier in Pakistan

(trip report)

Snow Lake Hispar La Experience – Vertical Explorers (a longer tour than Ben’s)

(via Nothing adds up)

Biafo Glacier

Ogre’s Thumb

April 16, 2007

puncture-resistant Therm-a-Rest

If you use a Therm-a-Rest long enough, you invariably wake up one night on a deflated mat. If itâ€™s a slow leak, youâ€™ll re-inflate it every two hours when your violent shivers wake you up. Then youâ€™ll probably forget to patch it when you get back home making your next trip just as much fun.

But now Therm-a-Rest is selling ToughSkin mats with a layer of foam between the air pocket and face fabric that blocks thorns and broken beer bottles from poking through. What took so long?
Backcountry.com: The Goat Â» Puncture-Resistant Sleeping Mats – Rocky Thompson

ToughSkin by Therm-A-Rest

On the same topic, I heard an excellent audiocast interview with Greg Garrigues, GM of award winning Pacific Outdoor Equipment. (Who knew mat technology was so sophisticated!)

Greg is quite knowledgeable about the materials and technology that goes into making comfortable sleeping mats. And he explains the season, gender, size, and genre-of-user specific features that are available in the Pacific Outdoor Equipment line of sleeping mats.

Practical Backpacking podcast #26

I’m still using the ExPed 7.

April 15, 2007May 15, 2013

bushwhacking Olympic Peninsula, Washington

On the Freezer Bag Cooking blog I learned of an amazing hiker named Mike.

Mike does trips I don’t even want to dream of. The thought of fording the Queets River in the Olympics multiple times in a day, to find an elusive waterfall is something I don’t think I will ever be capable of!

Mikes spent 31 days in 2004 crisscrossing rugged, remote wilderness, often solo, often off trail.

He’s put up an excellent new website called Mike’s Rain Forest Treks.

The first of a series of planned photo trip reports is already posted. Detailed and inspiring.

My big-picture plan for the next month will take me on a disjointed spiral around the west side of Olympic National Park’s million-acre wilderness. My route is varied enough to explore all the major ecosystems of the world’s most ecologically and geologically diverse slice of land.

Starting out in typical northwest spruce and fir forests, I will see the park’s high alpine playgrounds, its extensive coastline beaches, its uncannily immense glaciers, and it’s most prized treasure… the finest remnants of old-growth temperate rainforests left in the world.

The route has been split into three manageable “legs,” ending with a 16-day mega-trek through the most remote and untouched off-trail wilderness in the entire park. These first two legs (each a week-long trip) will be a fantastic “warm-up,” a way to strengthen my legs and awaken my soul before testing my limits.

2004 Olympic Solo Trip

April 14, 2007

daunting remote trails in Fiordland, New Zealand

Fiordland (like S.W. Tasmania and Patagonia) on the S.E. corner of the South Island is astonishingly unvisited. For good reason.

… Fiordland National Park, which has an area of 12,120 square kilometres, making it the largest national park in New Zealand and one of the larger parks in the world. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the Southern Alps and its ocean-flooded, steep western valleys. Situated within Fiordland are Browne Falls and Sutherland Falls, which rank among the tallest waterfalls in the world.

The name “Fiordland” comes from the now-common variant of the Norwegian word “fjord”. Fiordland features a number of fiords often misnamed sounds, of which Milford Sound is the most famous, though Doubtful Sound is even larger and has more and longer branches.

Fiordland has few human inhabitants and is the least-populated area of New Zealand … and many areas almost inaccessible except by boat or air. Te Anau township, the only larger settlement close by, has under 2,000 permanent habitants, though it boasts around 3,000 tourist beds.

Fiordland – Wikipedia

This region is ideal for those who are looking for a real trekking challenge. (The sandflies alone were enough to drive me off.)

An article called Hidden Valleys of Fiordland, a bushwhack to George Sound, may be enough to scare you off, as well:

It all began on the shores of Lake Te Anau at a pessimistic looking information sign. The town of Te Anau is shown to sit in a rain shadow, with an average rainfall exceeding that of the legendary Milford Sound. We then knew the full extent of what to expect, as one trip member, John, put it “This is possibly the wettest trip we could attempt, except maybe a traverse of the lake bed!”

Hidden Valleys of Fiordland

Fiordland is drenched. Even the well established hikes (Hollyford, Kepler, Routeburn, Milford, etc.) are challenging in the rain.

Choose a more remote track â€” Doubtful Sound and Dusky Sound would be our first choices â€” and you are up for a memorable trip.