Category: people

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4WheelBob – Kilimanjaro next?

I tried. I tried.

On White Mountain I tried to persuade wheelchair hiker climber 4WheelBob to buy a kayak.

KayakBob … I like the sound of that.

Yet Bob’s persisting in his dream of ascending the highest mountain in Africa. Bob was quoted on Marion’s blog:

“I’m not a real publicity hound by nature, so my challenge the rest of the year is to assert myself to Corporate America, hoping some businesses find some PR value in sponsoring my planned Kilimanjaro summit next summer.” …

Marion’s Blog: Kilimanjaro after White Mountain

(LL Bean should sponsor Bob. They’ve got PR problems with minorities. : )

4wheel.jpgSo if you know anyone who would like to sponsor 4WheelBob, let him know.

He is strong. No one would bet against Bob on Kili.

4WheelBob – official website

4WheelBob – blog

Marangu route, Kilimanjaro – besthike information page

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Hiking with Chuck – Where to Hike

Chuck Bonner — of Hiking with Chuck — sent us recommendations for some “best hikes and hiking areas” out of New Hampshire:

  • Mine Falls Park in Nashua, New Hampshire
  • Suwannee Canal Recreation Area in Georgia’s Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge
  • Ripley Falls in New Hampshire’s Crawford Notch State Park
  • Saco Lake Trail in New Hampshire’s Crawford Notch State Park
  • Elephant Head in New Hampshire’s Crawford Notch State Park
  • Arethusa Falls, New Hampshire

    • One sounds particularly inviting:

  • Mount Willard in New Hampshire’s Crawford Notch State Park.

    • I’ve heard it called “the best view for the easiest walk in the White Mountains.

    chuck.jpgFor details check out Hiking with Chuck:

    General Considerations for Finding a Place to Hike

    The first thing to ask yourself is, what exactly are you looking for? Then, consider what places are within your reach, practically speaking. Be sure to find out if the activity you have in mind is permitted in the place you’re going to. Last and perhaps most importantly, consider what you can handle.

    Hiking with Chuck – Where to Hike


    More hiking trails in New Hampshire     – NHStateParks.com

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    4WheelBob’s ascent of White Mtn – VIDEO

    Previously I Iinked to photos by Tom Mangan and myself from the historic ascent by 4WheelBob Coomber to the summit of 14,246ft (4342m) White Mountain in California by wheelchair.

    This was the culmination of a 5-year dream of Bob’s, his third attempt.

    But photos cannot convey the difficulty of this feat. You need to see video to understand just how slowly one can progress on loose scree, even one as well-trained and dogged as 4WheelBob.

    Click PLAY or watch Bob’s triumph on YouTube. (8min)

    Incidentally, 4WheelBob has added a blog to his website.

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    travel the World by off-road wheelchair

    Andrew (Drew) Shelley contacted Tom Mangan after hearing about the successful ascent of 14,246ft (4342m) White Mountain by 4WheelBob Coomber in a standard wheelchair.

    Drew has Muscular Dystrophy and also locomotes by chair. But Drew’s is a high tech motorized off-road machine — much different than Bob’s.

    Instead of “hiking”, Drew goes off-roading on hiking trails.

    Check out Drew’s documentary video.

    Currently he is planning an Around the World journey. To extreme climates and trails.

    drew.jpg

    JourneyBeyondTheChair.com – official website

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    4WheelBob’s ascent of White Mtn – photos

    The historic ascent by normal wheelchair to the summit of 14,246ft (4342m) White Mountain is old news now.

    4WheelBob Coomber made the front page of the San Jose Mercury News.

    1285589165_6314187d1b_o.jpg
    Mercury News

    No doubt, the editors of Backpacker Magazine are kicking themselves they did not send someone to cover his third successful attempt. They had sent a crew on his two previous unsuccessful efforts.

    Tom Mangan of the Mercury News and the Two-Heel Drive blog was there. Tom took the photos, captions, wrote the headlines, and even wrote a sidebar piece called Bob wheels to the top, proving me way wrong:

    bob-to-summit.jpg
    Bob on summit day

    bob-crawling.jpg
    Bob crawling backwards (which he did 3 times on the final day when the chair could not get past a scree section)

    Two-Heel Drive: Favorite images from our White Mountain adventure

    The week prior, Tom had invited me to join the support team and I’m glad I did. Bob is an inspiration!

    bob-sign.jpg

    How hard could it be? Some poor military sods at some distant time in the past were ordered to build a ROAD to the top of a high mountain. Yeesh!

    road.jpg

    Bob kept reminding over the 3 days ascent that “he couldn’t do it without us”. He’s right. Bob did no more than 97% of the work himself.

    It’s much, much tougher than I expected. Much tougher than it looks in this photo. At times Bob could gain only an inch or two for each wheel stroke.

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    It was harsh. A monumental challenge, accomplished.

    Congratulations Bob. And thanks.

    I posted 50 photos of the climb on flickr.

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    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:

    ffg-wct.jpg

    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)

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    7-yr-old climbs 214 Lake District peaks

    kerryregansm2.jpgCongratulations Kerry.

    The feat has taken her four years, walking a total of 710 miles and climbing 230,000ft.

    Kerry followed in the footsteps of her big sister Ellen, who became the youngest person to climb them all last year when she was nine. The title then went to two boys who were a few months younger.

    Now Kerry’s parents David and Clare are proud she has grabbed it back for the family by scaling the last fell — 3,210ft Scafell Pike.

    Chuffed Kerry, of Caldbeck, Cumbria, said: “I’m really pleased to have beaten my sister.

    “My favourite was Rannerdale because we had a game of hide and seek with the crags up there.

    “I take jelly teddies and chocolate bars to help when I get tired.”

    A Welsh View: 7 Year Old Girl Climbs 214 Hills

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    great photos – Mono Andes

    Mono Andes from Concepción, Chile is a big time outdoors photographer on flickr.

    Here are just a few of his great photos.

    249384386_0176d0d3d3.jpg
    Volcano Villarrica

    358349031_fe3e6f7139.jpg
    Descanso

    more Mono Andes HIGHLIGHT photos – flickr

    He’s using every feature of flickr, including geotagging.

    Here’s the map of his Araucanía photo set:

    araucania-map.gif
    source – flickr

    You can see those photos and interact with the map on his Andes – Araucanía set page.

    A couple more, to inspire a trip to Chile.

    152499930_1d8658d9c4.jpg
    source

    203357396_d06e363758.jpg
    source

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    USA loses nuclear material in the Himalayas 1965

    This is one of the great stories of the outdoors. And I had never heard of it until today via The Piton.

    An award winning new book — An Eye at the Top of the World — details a CIA operation to plant a listening device atop Nandi Devi, one of the highest peaks in the world, in 1965.

    That mission was a failure. The device and its nuclear core disappeared!

    To get a quick overview of the story, check the trailer for a movie directed by Robert Schaller.

    If that peaks your interest, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer published an excellent article written by CAROL SMITH: Spy Robert Schaller’s life of secrecy, betrayal and regrets.

    Seattle PI also posted an excellent, short audio interview and slide show with Schaller.

    I think I need to read the book. This is fascinating.

    The Terrifying Legacy of the Cold War's Most Daring C.I.A. Operation

    An Eye at the Top of the World: The Terrifying Legacy of the Cold War’s Most Daring C.I.A. Operation

    Also recommended is Spies in the Himalayas: Secret Missions and Perilous Climbs by Kohli & Conboy. (2003)

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    3300 miles around the Alps

    We recently posted Andrew Skurka’s audacious 7000mi Great Western Loop. I doubt there are any unbelievers.

    In Europe Judy Armstrong has already begun a 3300mi quest she’s calling the Alpine Challenge, the first to attempt to circumambulate the Alps.

    alps.jpg

    Judy has a fantastic website — AlpineChallenge.info posted in four languages!

    Check the brilliant way she shows the map of her intended route.

    And her detailed gear list: 7.13kg (15lb 11oz).

    You look terrifically well organized Judy. Good luck!