Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
We took a roll-up solar charging panel with us to Peru. And ended up neither needing it or using it.
But … if it was built into the backpack itself. We certainly would have.
TreeHugger.com posted a short video with Shayne McQuade, inventor of the Voltaic Solar Backpack. Very interesting.
Looking forward to hearing from those who have tried this technology on the trail.
There are a number of different models available. This pack costs about US$220.
I’m taking my new hiking boots to be “stretched”. Which of these foot problems is motivating my radical action (which might shorten the life of my expensive footwear)?
Answer? ….
Bunions. Mine are not genetic, rather built up after injuries.
Bunion pain is my biggest problem as a hiker. Any advice for me? (Leave a comment below.)
On a recent post I made fun of nude hikers — but added the disclaimer they were all German. Maybe the odd Brit.
What then pops up on flckr?
A nude hiking group in California.
If you suffer from chaffing, check out this product. Runner Trish Monks swears by it.
I have used Bodyglide Skin Formula on my lower back (when I wear my water belt over long distances it prevents my skin being worn away), on my feet to help prevent blisters, on my inner thighs to prevent skin on skin chafing and on my chest around where my sports bra rubs sometimes. It works miracles, and has prevented many a painful abrasion ‘injury’ – unfortunately it’s only when I forget to put it on, that I realise just how great it is!
… I have only had only moderate success with it protecting my feet.
My legs ached with cold, like a swarm of angry hornets had stung me with freezing venom they throbbed. Jen sobbed as our weary group of five sloshed through the turbid Paria River on the start of day 3. I stretched a nervous hand behind to feel how much the holes abraded by the red sandstone in my pack had grown since the day before. I swallowed hard when I felt my gear poking through.
“Once the sun gets into the canyon it is going to be a beautiful day,” I said almost convincingly. In truth, it was the lowest point of our five-day hike in the S. Utah and N. Arizona Paria Wilderness.
Paria – VenturingOutdoors.com
Wow.
Now this is a trip report!
Certainly the best we’ve seen for Paria Canyon.
They detail problems with JetBoil stoves. and critique the rest of their gear. A new GoLite Infinity pack (made of lightweight silicone impregnated fabric) get holes in it the first day from rubbing against canyon walls and has a large tear by the end of the hike.
Paul Grube’s Buckskin and Paria trip report is a fascinating, honest look at the challenges and rewards of canyon hiking.
We’ve linked to the report in a number of places from Paria Canyon – on besthike.
Serious adventurer Jeffrey Poznanovic likes a new site called MyOutdoors.net.
“Map your outdoor activities. Journal your progress. Attach Photos. Share it all with friends and family.”
The map-based interface is not all that intuitive. Using a mash-up of Google Maps is touchy. Most people make mistakes using that AJAX technology.
But if you take the time to figure out how it works, MyOutdoors has some very cool features including: mileage distances, elevation profile, GPS waypoints, linked photos, and more that I do not understand.
No doubt about it, sites like this are the future of hiking. We’ll be linked by satellite on the trail, uploading video and photo directly to MyOutdoors in real time. (The rescue helicopter will have exact coordinates and visuals by which to confirm location!)
They need to simplify the interface. Or, at minimum, put up a friendly video tutorial to show me how to best use the site.
Want to try it out yourself? Check the Wind River Backpacking entry in Wyoming.
screenshot
Wind River Backpacking – MyOutdoors.net
For more information – Cirque of the Towers – besthike.com
Nearly 18in (45cm) of rain fell over 36 hours in November.
After seeing the Images of the Flood on the Mt. Ranier National Park website, I’m worried about next season. Will Wonderland open in 2007?
With millions of dollars damage to Park infrastructure, it may be some time before we know.
photo – landslide damage to highway SR123
(Thanks Park Remark – The Great Flood at Mt Rainier National Park)
The Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainier near Seattle, Washington is one of the best hikes in the world. Lets repair those trails as quickly as possible.
Leave a comment below if you hear anything the Wonderland trails.
How long can it be before I am blogging from the trail?
“Flashpacking is just backpacking, with an awful lot of tech gear going along for the ride,” said Lee Gimpel, 29, a writer from Virginia who “flashpacked” around India for a few months and recorded his adventures online.
“I sometimes felt that half of what I was carrying was tech stuff: digital camera and memory cards, USB memory drive, a laptop, cell phone, three battery chargers, a dozen rechargeable batteries, a power adaptor, blank CD-RWs and a handful of cables and cords,” he said.
A survey completed earlier this year by 2,561 visitors to the Hostelworld.com Web site found that 21 percent of them travel with a laptop, 54 percent with an MP3 player, 83 percent with a mobile phone and 86 percent with a digital camera.
Discovery Channel :: News – Technology :: High-Tech “Flashpacking” Catches On
Has anyone heard of such a route? Or do we need to pioneer one?
I’m looking at walking up to the Mt. Washington Ski Resort chair lift (marked A on map), then hiking across Strathcona Provincial Park to Hot Springs Cove via Della Falls.
After a good soak, we’d exit via private transport to Tofino.
Is this crazy?
Please tell me I’m crazy.
This line would necessitate, likely, a lot of bush whacking. (At least there are no trails marked on my Backroad Mapbook – Vancouver Island west of Strathcona Provincial Park.
I even considered carrying a light inflatable raft in case floating is easier than bush whacking.
Suggestions? (Leave a comment below.)
Hard to believe, but here’s a food bag a bear cannot penetrate. Amazing.
No worries at all about rodents and other pesky varmints.
Ursack – bear-resistant containers
A 10.5 litre Ursack is now in stock in a gear shop in my town for about US$65. Price seems a tad steep. But I’ll likely get one before my next major hike. This is a big improvement over the sturdy kayak bag I use now to hold food.
You can also buy an aluminum liner for extra protection, but the weight is prohibitive, I feel. (For example, “the Ursack TKO 2.0 weighs 6.2 ounces. The aluminum liner adds 14.2 ounces.”)
The Ursack alone sounds like it will turn away all but the most persistent bear.
besthike.com 