Category: photos

John Fedak just came off the Tahoe Rim Trail. He advised me:

… Hands down the best TRT leg is the 35 miles between Barker Pass to Echo Lake in the Desolation Wilderness over Dicks Pass. (With a side trip to summit Mt Tallac for its unparalleled Tahoe view)

To get to 50 miles you’d want to extend that to either Tahoe City or Big Meadow (North and South respectivly) Tahoe City is logistically better (The trail goes right into town) but the latter is probably a bit more scenic. …

I’ve decided to hike the section marked in red:

Starting Echo Lake and hiking up to Tahoe City. I’ll begin Monday, September 22nd. (I’ve got an Adventure Race on the 26th in Tahoe.)

John posts a hiking site rich with annotated hiking photos. Check his most recent trip: Tahoe Rim Trail: Echo Lake to Big Meadow

One of his pics from that trip:

Stairsteps in a manmade section of the trail.

Leave a comment if you have any more advice. This is my first hike on the TRT.

Easiest access to Strathcona Provincial Park on Vancouver Island.

I finally found the time to hike this very popular destination, only 1hr from my parents house in Parksville, B.C.

… The gently sloping sub-alpine terrain is broken by small, rugged hills and pitted with small lakes. Much of it is contained within Strathcona Provincial Park, and a network of trails facilitate hiking, cross country skiing, and access to Mount Albert Edward.

wikipedia – Forbidden Plateau

Highlights include lakes and alpine meadows (former lakes). In fact, the most popular trailhead is Paradise Meadows at Mount Washington Alpine Resort ski hill. Most famous for ski and mountain bike trails, the Forbidden Plateau draws thousands of hikers each year, as well.

I camped at Circlet Lake. This is the best campground basecamp for those who plan to scramble off-trail routes in Strathcona. (The most popular being Albert Edward and Castle Crag.)

I feared the trails would be tree locked. Not so. The views are quite open. It’s consistently pretty. A section close to the ski resort is even wheelchair accessible. There are good options here for hikers of all ability levels.

See the rest of my annotated photos on flickr – hiking Forbidden Plateau, B.C.

related post: walk up, ride down – Mt Washington, B.C.

Another excellent post on Our Hiking Blog shares a very cool adventure. They reposted Nick’s pics of a winter tramp on the most famous hiking route in Australia:

Pelion Hut in winter

See more photos – Winter in Tasmania – Snow on the Arm River and Overland Track

Here’s how the same gorgeous alpine hut looks in summer:

Pelion Hut in summer. (from our February 2007 trip report)

Looking for an excuse to hike Australia? Check our Overland Track information page. It’s one of our top 10 hikes in the world.