Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
I met John at the bloggers meetup at Mt. Shasta.
He’s a blogger — Interesting to Cows (to opine is bovine) — but photography is his forte.
This is one of John’s favourite photos; near the summit of Tenaya Peak. He loves Yosemite.
see more of John’s favourite photos
John lists over 8500 in his photo archives! Check them out.
It was an honour to hook-up with some of the top outdoor bloggers on the www, drink excellent wine and enjoy the lovely trails around Mt. Shasta, CA.
The highlight was the excellent campsite gourmet Thai meal prepared by Russ, the Wine Hiker.
Check the trip photojournal posted by Tom Magnan on Two-Heel Drive.
We are already talking about a second annual meetup, perhaps in conjunction with Appalachian Trail Days, May 18-19-20 2007 in Damascus, Virginia.
These outdoor films shows are always fantastic. They present full features and “highlights” events — both are excellent.
Check the Banff Centre website for a showing in your region: Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour schedule.
Banff Mountain Photography Competition winner – Andrew Querner of Canmore, Canada, awarded 2006 Grand Prize for his photo Cirque of the Unclimbables.
Have you heard of such a thing?
Wood being used as a material to construct water “pipes”.
We saw these still used by the rustic Lake O’Hara Lodge high in the Canadian Rockies. It’s wonderful they have not yet been replaced by plastic.
more photos of this hike on Flickr
A week later I saw similar pipes in Parksville, BC on Vancouver Island — but in a museum. They were no longer being used.
Craig Heritage Park
Though I’ve lived most of my life in the shadow of the Canadian Rockies, I had never made the trip to see the season end changing of the Larch to golden yellow — one of the great natural displays in nature.
Until this Fall.
Friends had won a lottery for exclusive use of the Elizabeth Parker Alpine Hut close to Lake O’Hara. This is one of the very best spots in the world to see the changing of the colours. On the very best weekend of the year.
I tagged along as a guest, staying in the campground. And felt as if I won the lottery!
more photos of this hike on Flickr
The Alpine Larch is a fascinating tree which helps hikers determine altitude. It grows only between 1800-2400m (6000-8000ft) in the Rocky Mountains of Idaho, Montana, British Columbia & Alberta — normally the highest trees on the mountain.
The needles are as soft as fur, lovely to the touch.
details on how to organize a hike to O’Hara – besthike.com
Wapiti (elk) during the rut.
Note: click the thumbnails on the left of this page to see the other winning pictures: National Geographic News Photo Gallery: Best Mountain Photographs of 2006 Announced
(via The Adventure Blog – 2006 Banff Mountain Photography Competition)
I had never heard of Mammatus (breast) clouds until contributor George Novak sent in these amazing photos. They are associated with tornados.
A larger version of this photo and more
These photos were taken by Jorn Olsen from Nebraska. <official website>
Many proclaim the Torres del Paine Circuit in Chile the best hiking destination in the world — and we are hard pressed to argue.
It is unique & gorgeous in every way.
Is there any better photographer of the John Muir Wilderness?
We don’t know of any, Ansel Adams included.
Buck Forester (Brian Ernst) is the best.
Check the rest of his fine pics on Flickr.
besthike.com 