Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
George pointed us to high resolution “wallpaper” outdoors photos. A couple of samples:
Trees amid the waters near Taponas, Rh̫ne region, France Рoriginal wallpaper
Glacier de la vallée Blanche au pied de l’aiguille du Midi, massif du Mont-Blanc, Haute-Savoie, France – original wallpaper
See them all: Earth from Above.
(It defaults to photos from France. But click the pulldown menu top left to choose other countries. There are hundreds or thousands of amazing photos.)
Kraig linked to some fantastic pics:
… head over to the National Geographic Adventure website and take a gander at the winners of their “Life’s An Adventure photo contest.
Kraig’s favourite was taken on Mt. Kilimanjaro.
I like this one: Climbing California’s Mount Humphreys
(… trying to tie-in a Valentine’s Day theme. Pitiful.)
The “dangers of hiking” are almost always exaggerated in my opinion. Not so the dangers of coastal hiking.
I have a friend who was once caught in a surge channel, lucky to survive.
Uncooped has a good post on the hazards of California coastal hiking including this warning:
Never turn your back on the ocean. I have a good friend who got slammed by a freak wave while hiking on a coastal trail. When she regained consciousness, she needed over a hundred stitches in her face to repair the damage. Now she’s got hella cool scars, but still – that’s no fun. So watch your back.
more tips – Uncooped
Reminds me of the terrible Lost Coast Trail school trip where two students and a parent chaperone drowned in 2000.
Coastal hiking can be VERY dangerous. Experienced hikers need educate the general public. And boneheads like the guy in the photos below:
close-up screenshot
a photographer risking his life at the inland side of the jetty to get a close shot… rogue waves at this time of the year can completely cover the spot where he is standing.
original – flickr – Mike Baird
I must say I do. Though not “natural”, there’s something classic about walking a rotting wooden sidewalk in the wilderness.
Frank in Oz edits the wonderful Our Hiking Blog.
A recent post included some of my photos from a 2007 Overland Track hike in Tasmania. It’s a series of photos showing the wooden boardwalks.
see more – The Overland Track – Track images
Frank’s post got me thinking about other boardwalk hikes.
The West Coast Trail, for example:
original – flickr – Christine Rondeau
On flickr, I found more. Atop Whistler Mountain in Canada:
original – flickr – sbat
And the famed Milford Track in New Zealand:
original – flickr – amy&kimball
Leave a comment if you have a favourite boardwalk walk.
Tom Mangan, hiking columnist for the San Jose Mercury News, and popular blogger, took me out to one of his favourite hikes.
The forecast was for rain. Tom considered a dozen options for me, finally settling on Mt Tam. Beautiful in any weather. Year round.
First, look at Tom’s trip report and photos from that glorious day:
… So here’s where we went: Straight up the hill via the Ben Johnson Trail. We caught the Dipsea Trail in an open area looking out over the Pacific, above, then we dived down into another canyon till we got to Steep Ravine Trail, which we took to the Pantoll trail head. From there it was a short jaunt on the Alpine Trail and a steep dive back downhill along the Bootjack Trail, which was glorious, and back to Muir Woods. Nine or 10 miles of the finest hiking the Bay Area has to offer. Might even make Rick’s “Best†list.
I’ve added Mt Tamalpais to our list of the best hikes in North America.
(There are so many good hikes in California, it’s really quite difficult to name those that are “best”.)
A few more of my own pics:
original – flickr
I always enjoy Tom’s photos. This trip I got a chance to see the kinds of shots he looks for. And how he sets up, sometimes using his new “GorillaPod“:
original – flickr
Adding challenge to the beautiful, appropriately named, Steep Ravine Trail, is a 10ft ladder.
original – flickr
(Note how much superior is Tom’s photo of this ladder. I still have a lot to learn.)
more of my Mt Tam photos on flickr
If you love great outdoor photography, take a few minutes to check out this portfolio:
Paradise Meadow, Mt. Rainier National Park
more like these – Ewert Nature Photography on SmugMug, the one photo sharing site which might be better than flickr.
Daniel won Photographer of the Week on All Day I Dream About Photography.
(via Modern Hiker)
In decades of hiking, I’ve only seen lynx footprints. This might be the closest I ever get.
Fred Paulsen, a Xanterra Parks and Resorts employee, took this photo of a lynx near Beryl Springs in late November in Yellowstone National Park. It’s one of two, or perhaps three, photos of a lynx ever taken in Yellowstone.
… Colorado Division of Wildlife officials said it’s probably one of the 218 collared lynx from Canada released in southwestern Colorado between 1999 and 2006 as part of a reintroduction program. …
BillingsGazette.com :: Rare lynx photographed in Yellowstone
(via GOAT)
We named New Zealand the best hiking destination in the world on Christmas day.
I was expecting some heckling from the “California is the center of the Outdoor Universe” crowd. (Perhaps they’re still hung over from the holidays.)
Here’s more evidence that New Zealand is the real centre of the Outdoor Universe:
Looking across at Mt Tutuko and Madeline across a cloud filled Hollyford Valley. This is during a rest on the traverse from Lake Nerine to North Col …
Location – Mount Aspiring National Park. By pmcke, 30 December, 2007.
more gorgeous pics from this tramp – Photographs | New Zealand Tramper
New Zealand Tramper is, overall, the best source of photos from that country. Unfortunately they post only one / page and the RSS feed does not include the image. Due to those barriers, I only have time to look at a few of them.
Good news.
Daylight where I live in the northern hemisphere is getting longer. The hiking season closer. This is a psychological turning point for me.
larger photo – winter solstice – NASA
… Depending on the shift of the calendar, the event of the Winter solstice occurs sometime between December 20 and 23 each year in the Northern hemisphere, and between June 20 and 23 in the Southern Hemisphere, and the winter solstice occurs during either the shortest day or the longest night of the year …
Winter solstice – Wikipedia
Istvan Hernadi has travelled over 30,000 kilometers in Northern BC, Yukon, NWT and Alaska during the last 3 years to the most remote and desolate places of the Far North in search of the Masters, in order to meet them and to learn their teachings.
He sought out mountains, trails, rivers and lakes for hiking, biking, and paddling his small Alpacka packraft. He met strange characters during his wild adventures, people who live amazing lives in these remote places.
photos – flickr
the author’s blog
Istvan’s even published a book of photos:
besthike.com 