Category: humour

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BAREFOOT hiking in New Zealand?

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!

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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!!”

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.”

… 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 doubt”. 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.”

New Zealand Wild Walks

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!

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Gillespie Pass – TrampNZ

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Light Backpacking says abandon Swiss Army Knife

Sacrilege! They say:

I have two beautiful Swiss Army Knives and love them.

BUT they weigh four ounces each and I don’t need all the extras they offer.

So I purchased for 99 cents a small knife with plastic handle I found in a clear plastic bin on the counter of my local hardware store. It was put there to be an impulse buy. But it’s been a trusty little friend, weighing a half ounce. Great for cutting cheese, salami, or cord.

LightBackpacking.com Make Your Backpack Light in 2007 – One of the “Ten Essentials”

Personally, I can’t bear to leave behind my Swiss Champ.

In fact, I may upgrade to the Wenger Giant Collector’s Swiss Army Knife. (Let’s see a bear try to swallow this.)

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Practical Travel Gear

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hiking Hollywood – the M*A*S*H trail

OK, it’s not one of the world’s great hikes.

But if you loved M*A*S*H as much as I did, …

It’s not so often that one can combine Hollywood sightseeing with a hike in the mountains. And yet, if you happen to be in Los Angeles (naturally) there is a wonderfully challenging and beautiful hike that takes you deep into the Santa Monica Mountains and into the heart of Korea.

Well, actually, the hike takes you to the location where the classic M*A*S*H television series was filmed. Remember all those tents, jeeps, and helicopters dropping off wounded American GIs? Yep, Santa Monica, California. Not Korea.

The movie location is located in Malibu Creek State Park. The 4.5 mile hike follows Malibu Creek past Rock Pool (where Planet of the Apes was filmed), Century Lake and eventually onward to the M*A*S*H site itself where fans of the series can reminisce over a stripped-down jeep and ambulance. Not much else remains from the show.

Hiking Hollywood: The M*A*S*H Trail – Gadling

M*A*S*H - Season One (Collector\'s Edition)

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movie – A Walk in the Woods

Essential reading for all hikers is A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail, by Bill Bryson.

It’s the hilarious, somewhat fictionalized recounting of a failed attempt on the AT. Everyone loves Bryson’s buddy, the anti-hiker Katz (Matt Angerer).

Without question the immense popularity of Bryson brought thru-hiking to the attention of the world and even increased numbers on the AT.

There’s been a bit of buzz about a movie:

In 2005 Robert Redford announced that he was interested in adapting Bryson’s book into a film, and in playing Bryson himself. He also hoped that his erstwhile co-star and friend, Paul Newman, would team up with him to play the role of Katz, although he jokingly expressed doubt as to whether the health-conscious Newman would consider putting on enough weight (and eating enough donuts) to accurately portray the rotund Katz.

Wikipedia

Personally, I would cast John Hodgeman as Bryson, and Jack Black as Katz.

Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail

A Walk in the Woods

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gear – “kitchen sink” for hiking

Over at Backcountry.com, Rocky Thompson’s making fun of hikers who want to haul the “kitchen sink” with them on the trail.

GRANITE GEAR OUTBACK KITCHEN SINK… But I have friends who would buy this.

Get two of Granite Gear’s Kitchen Sink and you can haul them from the creek to your campsite by balancing them on a stick over your shoulders. Better yet, get your kids to do it. You can tell them it’s “ninja training” after they see Kill Bill. Or you could just get one Kitchen Sink and end up spilling water inside both your shoes while trying to scramble back to camp with an awkward bucket.

Backcountry.com: The Goat » Bringing the Kitchen Sink

GRANITE GEAR OUTBACK KITCHEN SINK – BUY IT NOW (and prove me right)

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Scoutmaster: The World of Spoons and Sporks

spoon.jpgMy only utensil is a metal spoon which I keep handy in my hip pack. (Of course I have the Swiss Army Knife too for slicing.)

Scoutmaster posted a comic round-up of more expensive alternatives if you want to impress others at the campground:

… a spoon is a spoon – one of the few things in life that cannot be substantially improved upon- although we try. Do we really need this many sporks (or over priced specialty camping spoons) in the world?

Scoutmaster: The World of Spoons and Sporks

(via Two-Heel Drive)

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who will be first to the lunar South Pole?

National Geographic, amongst others, are reporting that NASA has announced plans to build a base at one of the moon’s poles. The base will be solar powered, and is scheduled to be permanently staffed by 2024. By 2025 someone will announce the first solo, unsupported trek to either the North or South Lunar Pole I’m sure. Odds are, right now, that that person will be British.

With tourists going into space soon, and a permanent base on the moon announced, how long before I’m blogging on adventures from space? Or IS space the next big adventure? I can just see reports of summit bids on Mount Olympus on Mars, which for the record stands 15 Miles high. I’m guessing it won’t be done without bottled oxygen.

The Adventure Blog: Polar Exploration… On The Moon!