Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
Warren Long saw I was thinking of buying an $800 Alpacka for paddle hiking.
He offered to loan me his $20 raft.
Will a Cheap-O get me across the lake to the trailhead? Sure. In most cases.
I’m not on a 4000mi Pacific coast mega-adventure.
Well played, Warren. I’ll try a cheap raft first before buying an Alpacka.
One of the great joys of the outdoors is enjoying the changing skies.
From the pig with six legs to the Starship Enterprise – the amazing shapes people see in the clouds
Have you ever looked at a cloud and been convinced it looked exactly like a human face? Or a skateboarder? Or even the “Cloudship” Enterprise? Well, you’re not alone.
The Cloud Appreciation Society – which now boasts 8,000 members – has collected an extraordinary number of pictures of clouds from all around the world in a wide variety of different shapes.
Cloud Appreciation Society – photo gallery
Perhaps LL Bean should advertise on this blog after all. They are going to need some good will after this spoof newscast.
The CEO of L.L. Bean pleads with black leaders to forgive his company for whatever it’s done to cause this decades-long boycott.
Click PLAY or watch it on The Onion News Network.
African American Boycott of L.L. Bean Enters 80th Year
Having visited the Nazca Lines in Peru, George Novak believes he’s spotted another extraterrestrial image.
In the Tombstone mountains, do you see the spaceman waving in alien spacecraft?
hike trip report – Tombstone Range, Yukon
Not me.
That would be Rick of the Nudehiker blog.
I once on this site — like many others — made light of the sport of hiking sans clothing. Rick challenged me to try it first before mocking others who enjoy walking in the buff.
Well, Rick …
That’s me. I walked away from my tent one morning in the Sierra Nevada mountains feeling very … breezy.
Though there was almost zero chance of encountering (offending) others I still felt somewhat nervous and did not get comfortable at any time over the (admittedly brief) venture.
Seems to me that most aboriginal cultures cover their genitals, if only for safety.
But I do promise to try it again, Rick, in future. Perhaps, with time, I can get to relax and then enjoy the sensation.
I’ve only been there twice. But on those trips I’ve seen the best rainbows of my life.
(Is there any scientific support for this “crackpot at the end of the rainbow” theory of mine?)
Tombstones, Yukon
Just so you know, Mountain Hardwear, if you kit me out completely, I’ll be happy to do the PCT and report back on the extended field test.
From the Mountain Hardwear blog:
Our industry professionals have compiled a list of recommended gear which should get you through the Pacific Crest Trail in high spirits. …
* Sleeping Bag/Bivy
* Tent
* Baselayer
* Shells
* Backpacks
* Gaiters
What gear should I bring on the Pacific Crest Trail?
If they deny me that sponsorship, I’ll need to try their Mission Project Challenge (video). Post my trip report on their Mission Project blog.
How do you like my chances?
I’ve only done it twice — both times to Mt. Assiniboine — and can confirm riding the bird is … GREAT.
Sure I’m polluting the atmosphere. And distracting the teeny tiny hikers below, sweating the 8hr uphill slog with a full pack. (It takes me 8min.)
But on arrival it’s like you landed in Heaven. Fresh. Excited. Already at altitude.
Wow!
A little more thoughtful analysis from John Flinn in the San Francisco Chronicle arrives at the same conclusion:
I’ve known about heli-hiking for years, but stayed away until last fall because of three big concerns: Are the wilderness lodges a burden on the fragile alpine landscape? Do the frequent helicopter sorties spoil the solitude of those who walk into these mountains under their own power? And would I feel the same mountaintop exhilaration if I didn’t “earn” it through sweat equity?
In other words, is heli-hiking cheating?
By the end of my three-day stay, though, I was pretty much won over. Now my biggest concern is the cost: Unless you have the net worth of a CEO — and many guests do — the $700-a-day price puts it into the splurge-of-a-lifetime category.
Heli-hiking keeps high peaks within reach
Happily for the environment I can rarely afford the high fee. You’ll normally find me sweating on the trail, cursing the lazy so-and-sos that chopper past overhead.
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
Robert Jungst on a bet vowed to hike over the New Zealand Alps 4-days barefoot.
Robert’s with the Society for Barefoot Living.
Now, … I got in enough trouble with Rick the Nude Hiker for being flippant about “alternative” hikers. (In fact, I’ve promised to try nude hiking this year.) But it seems to me that my feet are the last part of my body I want nude when scrambling over a mountain!
The Rabbit Pass route is no Sunday stroll. It has a reputation as one of the most challenging alpine passes that can be done in New Zealand without climbing expertise. …
This part of the trip is the most demanding for Robert. Underfoot is painfully sharp scree that slides disconcertingly as we slip and skate down as if surfing angry waves. I see the odd bloodspot on a stone, a sign that Robert is having a tough time now.
Further down the terrain changes from scree to subalpine grasses, including the dreaded Spaniard’s spikes. It takes us several hours to get down, and Robert’s first comment on arrival to the East Matukituki campsite is: “Before someone asks, yes, my feet ARE sore!!â€
But despite the anguish of the descent, Robert chooses not to put on the Tevas from his pack. He does the whole trip in bare feet. He concedes, though, that if he was to repeat the Rabbit Pass descent, he would probably choose to wear the Tevas for that bit. “The trip in New Zealand has taught me there are SOME situations where shoes could be my preferred option.â€
… So why go barefoot? Robert’s been mostly barefoot for 15 years now and he says he initially rid himself of shoes, not for any desire to be different or reject society’s norms, but simply because his feet smelt. He also lost toenails regularly. It just made more sense for him to ditch the shoes – his feet felt like they’d been freed from a cage, and the foot odour and toenail problems instantly disappeared.
… Robert insists that barefooting is a healthier option – “without a doubtâ€. Without shoes, he says, there’s no chance for fungus or other infections to grow, and blisters are a distant memory. “It’s good for the circulation, too.â€
Thanks to Whit Thurlow of New Zealand Wild Walks for alerting us to this amazing feat (pun intended).
Wilt will organize an 8-day Gillespie / Rabbit Pass trek, the longest guided tramp available in New Zealand at 90km (56mi). Sounds varied and fantastic!
Gillespie Pass – TrampNZ
besthike.com 