urban – besthike.com

February 1, 2020January 21, 2020

HIKE the Dragon’s Back, Hong Kong

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles (2011)

The Dragon’s Back is more than a hike, it’s a “tourist attraction”.

The Dragon’s Back (Traditional Chinese: 龍脊) is a ridge in southeastern Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong, between Wan Cham Shan and Shek O Peak. It lies within the Shek O Country Park. In 2004 the Dragon’s Back Trail was selected by TIMEasia as the best urban hiking trail.

See reviews on Trip Adviser.

Despite all that popularity, I loved it.

Who wouldn’t love a ridge walk on a tropical island?

Many start up the Hong Kong tram and hike down to Big Wave Bay, but I followed the longer and more difficult 8.5km route recommended in The Inside Guide to Hikes and Walks in Hong Kong, a free publication from Hong Kong Tourism.

If you get to Hong Kong, the Dragon’s Back is a must hike.

Friends, loved ones and unloved who don’t want to go can wait at the finish, Big Wave Bay Beach.

see more photos from my day hike

related – Hiking the World trip report (2016)

October 28, 2019

day hiking Peace Pagoda, Pokhara

One popular destination close to Pokhara, Nepal is Shanti Stupa, a Buddhist pagoda-style monument.

There are great views of the Annapurna range on a clear day.

Though you can taxi, cycle, or walk — best is crossing Fewa Lake by local boat.

A long paddle, Josh helped out the boatman.

From the bottom it’s a steep climb on stone stairs. Perhaps 45 minutes.

It’s 115 feet tall and 344 feet in diameter.

We’d come up for sunset not knowing that it closes about sunset. We didn’t get the chance to see Buddha.

So the highlight for me was the flower gardens.

We returned by boat, as well. It was dark by the time we got back to Lakeside.

The Diwali festival was ramping up. We happened upon three fire dancers at landing.

Worldwide, there are many similar Peace Pagodas. Check out any you come across on your travels.

May 20, 2019May 14, 2019

Washington Park, Portland OR

One of the best urban hiking areas in the USA.

Washington Park is the #1 TripAdvisor attraction in Portland.

It includes a zoo, forestry museum, arboretum, children’s museum, rose garden, Japanese garden, amphitheatre, memorials, archery range, tennis courts, soccer field, picnic areas, playgrounds, public art and many acres of wild forest with miles of trails.

I walked from my hostel and then did about 10km of run / walk between some of the attractions.

The trails are excellent. No bikes allowed.

Early April blossoms are the highlight. There were plenty of cameras out.

The Oregon Holocaust Memorial was dedicated in 2004.

It’s very well maintained. Public picnic spaces superb.

Giant Sequoias.

Don’t miss this park if you get to Portland.

May 3, 2019April 29, 2019

Hiking to Bob Hope’s estate, Palm Springs

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

Known as the Araby Trail, a short day hike takes you up to the Bob Hope estate, a saucer-shaped home once owned by Hope and also at different times by Steve McQueen and William Holden.

Not far from the airport, the trail starts above a trailer park — somehow symbolic of the divide between rich and poor.

It’s about a 1,000-foot ascent over 1.6 miles one way to get to the top.

May 22, 2018May 21, 2018

Hiking St. George’s, Bermuda

trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

St. George’s was the first part of Bermuda to be extensively colonized, and the town of St. George’s contains many of the territory’s oldest buildings.

It’s claimed to be the oldest continuously-inhabited English town in the New World.

While visiting I walked all parts of the island many times. Here are some highlights.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

That footage is shot using the Osmo Mobile 2 gimbal with an iPhone X.

Though the gimbal weighs 485g (17oz) I’ll be carrying it on many future hikes.

May 16, 2018May 8, 2018

walking Forest Park – St. Louis MO

Forest Park is in western St. Louis, Missouri. It … covers 1,371 acres (5.55 km2). …

Opened in 1876, the park has hosted several significant events, including the Louisiana Purchase Expositionof 1904 and the 1904 Summer Olympics. …

… features a variety of attractions, including the St. Louis Zoo, the Saint Louis Art Museum, the Missouri History Museum, and the St. Louis Science Center. …

I spent two half days walking the Park and visiting attractions. Easy access via MetroLink.

It’s part of the River Ring, a 600+ mile web of parklands and trails being developed by the Great Rivers Greenway. Ideal for cycling, by the looks of it.

March 19, 2018March 19, 2018

walking Vina del Mar to Valparaíso, Chile

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

People from the BIG CITY of Santiago love to escape to Valparaíso on the coast.

Valpo is popular with tourists who enjoy the city’s labyrinth of cobbled alleys and colorful buildings.

It has a a mild Mediterranean climate.

In 1996, the World Monuments Fund declared Valparaíso’s unusual system of funicular lifts (steeply inclined carriages) one of the world’s 100 most endangered historical treasures.

Valparaíso is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I decided to walk to Valpo along the coast from Viña del Mar, an upscale suburb to the north famed for great beaches.

Having walked the beaches the previous evening, I started near the castle.

There were plenty of runners and cyclists, but not many walkers.

Birds are always a highlight in Chile. Pelicans have always been some of my favourites.

Originally a port and fishing centre, much of the coast has not been improved for pedestrians.

Some has.

Fishermen use mobile phones now.

There’s a lot of traffic on the coastal road. At one point you are pushed inland by train tracks.

Parts of this 3 hour walk I did enjoy.

Other sections I found annoying. Graffiti EVERYWHERE was starting to bother me.

A real highlight near Valpo is watching sea lions close up on this abandoned concrete structure. It’s amazing they can get up there. It’s entertaining to watch them negotiate who gets the prime real estate. And who gets pushed off back into the sea.

The best part was arriving in Valparaíso and joining a free (for tips) walking tour. The daughter of one of the gentlemen in our group had tons of fun sliding down a cement ramp.

All in all I wished I’d — instead — spent my time hiking out at Parque Nacional La Campana.

March 5, 2018March 4, 2018

climbing Piltriquitrón out of El Bolson, Argentina

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Click PLAY or watch my HOW TO video on YouTube.

As many do on this popular hike, I walked from El Bolsón, centro. Three hours of dusty, but tranquil road walking to get to the parking lot.

(Actually, I tried a trail alternative recommended on my Maps.me app. Bad idea, as it turned out. Coming down I stuck to the road.)

Taxi would cost at least $25. Drivers don’t like going up here. You MIGHT be able to join up with others to split the cost at a collectivo office near the Via Bariloche bus station.

It took me about 4 hours to reach the Piltriquitrón hut and campground.

After a brief siesta I headed over to the nearby El Bosque Tallado (carved forest). $5 entrance.

There are over 50 crude wooden sculptures with new ones being added. A fire in 1978 inspired lead artist Marcelo López to initiate this tourist attraction.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

The refuge has a superb location. People can’t get enough of the vistas.

I enjoyed dinner at sunset, myself, overlooking El Bolsón.

Alpenglow was lovely this evening. I didn’t edit this photo.

I was on the summit trail by 9am next morning.

Pack horses were grazing free.

Easy going until the final scramble before the top.

There’s a 360 degree vista from the peak.

A German living in El Bolson just spend 5 days up in those craggy, intensely glaciated peaks. Because there are no alpine huts, he had that wilderness to himself.

I could clearly see Tronador volcano about 100km distant.

I had done the 1800m ascent over 2 days.

I was back down to the hut by Noon. Back to town, very tired, by 3pm. That’s 1800m of descent.

Supposedly it’s easy to hitchhike back down from Piltriquitrón. I had no luck.

February 4, 2018February 2, 2018

Buenos Aires Ecological Reserve

Buenos Aires Ecological Reserve, Reserva Ecológica de Buenos Aires, also known as Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve, Reserva Ecológica Costanera Sur, is a 865-acre (3.50 km²) tract of low land on the Río de la Plata riverbank located on the east side of the district of Puerto Madero in Buenos Aires CBD, Argentina.