Category: people

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fastest PCT ever – Heather Anderson

High Country News:

Heather Anderson, 32, arrived in the dark around midnight on Aug. 7, exhausted and alone.

… she set two even more impressive records, becoming the fastest woman to hike the PCT (in 60 days), and the fastest self-supported hiker – male or female – breaking a 2011 record by nearly four days. …

Anish

HCN: What motivated you to try to set a speed record?

HA: I first thru-hiked the PCT in 2005, and it’s one of those funny things you think about while you’re out there. I saw people attempting speed records and wondered how fast I’d be. I like the idea of seeing how far I can push my body. (I had) a lot of fears and weaknesses that I wanted to address, and there had never been a woman that had done a self-supported attempt of this length. …

HCN: How many miles a day were you hiking?

HA: Between 40 and 50 miles every day. I hiked a lot in the dark. That was one of the challenges that I knew I wanted to overcome. I was scared of mountain lions, and I’ve always been terrified of being out at night. In the past, if it was starting to get dark and I hadn’t found a place to camp, I’d literally be running down the trail almost crying. So on this trip I made myself hike three or four hours each night. I saw four mountain lions. …

Woman breaks an all-time fastest Pacific Crest Trail record

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Why Nepal is the world’s best destination for solo trekking

That’s the sub-title of an August 2012 post by Mark Horrell:

Mark

So the government of Nepal has u-turned on a decision made earlier this year to ban solo trekking in the country. It’s a victory for common sense. Nepal is currently the best place in the world for solo trekking, and to ban it would have been a bit like the Jamaican Olympic team forgetting to register their athletes for the 100 metres. …

The ban was supposedly intended for security reasons after the decapitated remains of a female Belgian trekker were found in the Langtang region in June. This followed a number of other incidents involving solo trekkers in the area.

But leaving aside arguments that a solo trekking ban punishes the victims rather than targets the criminals, not everyone thinks security was the only consideration behind the decision. TAAN represents trekking agencies who provide porters, guides and logistics to trekkers. The biggest cash cow for agencies are organised trekking groups with many clients, and some independent travel bloggers have suggested the government may have been under pressure from organisations such as TAAN to implement a solo trekking ban in the misguided belief that it would encourage solo trekkers to hire guides or sign up for group treks instead.

A ban on solo trekking would certainly have been bad for Nepal’s tourism industry …

Why Nepal is the world’s best destination for solo trekking

I hiked Everest independently in 2009. No problem.

But there’s some Nepali confusion in 2013 as to exactly where one can trek independently. And where you can trek solo.

If I get to Nepal in November I’ll check current regulations in Kathmandu. Most likely end up starting independently and solo in Langtang & Helambu.

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Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail

Here’s ANOTHER (fairly) new long distance trail.

The Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT), now designated as the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail, is a 1200 mile hiking trail running from the Continental Divide in Montana (connecting it with the Continental Divide Trail), through the northern panhandle of Idaho, to the Pacific coast of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. It traverses the Rocky Mountains, Selkirk Mountains, Pasayten Wilderness, North Cascades, Olympic Mountains, and Wilderness Coast. The trail crosses three National Parks and seven National Forests. The trail was designated a national scenic trail in 2009. …

The trails route was first conceived and explored by Ron Strickland in 1970. …

click for LARGER map
click for LARGER map

related:

Ron Strickland – The Pacific Northwest Trail, a National Scenic Trail

Pacific Northwest Trail Strip Maps

Ron Strickland’s book: Pathfinder – Blazing a New Wilderness Trail in Modern America

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NEW – Oregon Desert Trail

A 33-year-old hiker has just become the first person to hike a proposed trail that spans roughly 800 miles across Oregon’s high desert.

The trail runs from Bend to the Owyhee Canyonlands near the Idaho border. The Oregon Desert Trail — as it’s being called — connects many wilderness areas and proposed wilderness areas. …

read more – 800 Miles Of Juniper And Jack Rabbits: First Hiker Completes Oregon Desert Trail

Click through that link to hear an audio interview with Sage Clegg.

Clegg

Water was her biggest problem. She cached some in advance in order to complete the mission.

click for FULL SIZE map
click for FULL SIZE map
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Kolby Kirk – 100 hikes

Back in the day, I followed Kolby’s 100 hikes project.

Very creative.

He’s back for more.

“I resolve to hike one hundred times and seven hundred trail miles by 2014.”

Kolby Kirk

100 hikes

When I saw him in April, he’d already reached 50 hikes.

Looks good. Right?

… A new job might be slowing him down a bit for the last 50. 🙂

2013.100hikes.com

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Kolby Kirk – trail journaling

I’ve been a fan of Kolby Kirk for years. He’s certainly one of the most entertaining and creative hiking bloggers.

TheHikeGuy.com

100hikes.com

In person, he’s even better. 🙂

Likable. Personable. Self-effacing.

I grabbed a front row seat for Kolby’s ADZPCTKO 2013 presentation on JOURNALING a hike.

Rather than try to explain what I got out of his talk, here’s Kolby himself explaining the journaling he did for a hiking documentary, MILE… MILE & A HALF.

Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.

And I was convinced. I’ll be carrying a hard cover Moleskine journal on future long hikes. A mechanical pencil. And carrying the journal some place easy to reach on a whim.

related – The fools ( Mahe Drysdale, Tamati Coffey, Cate Helm, James Gibson) selecting hikers for an Air New Zealand contest — 9 Great Walks in 9 weeks — did NOT choose Kolby Kirk.

The criteria: “… personality, creativity and skills that may be useful on the trip …”

Do as I do. Boycott Air New Zealand, if you can.

I’m planning to travel to New Zealand next year. I’ll choose a different airline.

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Race me to the Pole

Here’s a twist to the charity Adventure theme:

In April 2013, Gavin Bate will be trekking 550km from Resolute Bay in Canada to the Magnetic North Pole.

You can race him to the pole by donating to the charity Moving Mountains Trust.

Every £1 you donate equates to 25 metres of progress by Team MM! The target is £22,000. The aim is to beat Gavin to the Pole!

map

Gavin’s the real deal.

He’s already climbed the Seven Summits. And is planning for the ‘Explorers Grand Slam’.

The 7 — and both Poles. 🙂

details on the official website – racemetothepole.com

Thanks Hannah.

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rest in peace Mark and Rob

Lifelong friends, Rob and Mark Glaser, were killed in an avalanche on Saturday, January 15, 2011 in the area of Burstall Pass, Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Kananaskis Country, Alberta.

The families of Mark and Rob Glaser are in deep shock at the news of their tragic passing. Both were loving husbands and fathers and will be greatly missed by their families and legions of friends. Both were seasoned back country hikers and skiers who shared a deep passion for the outdoors.

Mark lived in Calgary and was in the oil and gas industry for over 25 years including senior management positions in recent years. Rob lived in Bragg Creek and was a captain in the Calgary Fire Department.

Mark Glaser

Rob was a firefighter, expert in all things backcountry. They had left their avalanche beacons in the car making family speculate that this ski was intended to be simply a short warm-up.

Saskatchewan Glacier

Over 30 years (1978–2007), avalanches have been responsible for 329 deaths in Canada, with a recent rate of 14 deaths per year. …

Avalanche accounts for over 90% of outdoor recreation deaths, most of those in Alberta or B.C.

Be careful out there.