Crater Lake is a caldera lake located in the south-central region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. …
I kicked myself for driving past, in the past, after I watched this video. It looks superb.
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Tony’s show is one of the top ranked video podcasts on iTunes in the “Places & Travel” section. The easiest way to get every one is to subscribe on iTunes. It’s free.
But you can check out the other videos first on the official website – Beautiful Places in HD.
Speakers include Ultramarathon Man Dean Karnazes, Royal Robbins, climber Chris Sharma, speed climber Ueli Steck, and extreme skier / BASE jumper Karina Hollekim.
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I spent a week at the 2007 festivals. My review:
Good, not great.
I’ll likely never return mainly because hiking is very under represented in Banff. It’s all about mountaineering … despite the fact that most of those attending are not mountaineers.
No need to spend money traveling to Banff in November: … too late for hiking, too early for skiing.
Instead, I recommend you try to get a ticket for both of the two “World Tours”.
1) Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour
A selection of the winning films tour North America and abroad following the event. To find out when it’s going to play close to where you live, check the calendars linked from the official website.
2) Radical Reels
The Radical Reels Film Tour complements the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour, and focuses on dynamic, high-adrenalin films featuring sports such as skiing, climbing, kayaking, BASE jumping, snowboarding and mountain biking. …
An unusual item shown was a waterproof “stash” bag. When day hiking, I dump everything into that bag and stash it in the rocks somewhere, taking only the things I needed for the day in the pack.
Using a therm-a-rest as a backpack “frame” was first suggested to me by Kraig Becker, of The Adventure Blog and Gadling.
George gave me my first Virga pack. Jane just gifted me my second. I purchased a new 3/4 length, 3/4 inch Therm-a-Rest (no longer available on the Cascade Designs website) as a “frame”. I’m good to go for the next 5yrs.
Granite Gear Virga backpack with Therm-a-Rest frame
=== UPDATE:
Critical for me is my pillow.
I wrap this pillow with a fleece top.
The waterproof orange bag is sold by MEC as a “Pack Liner”. It weighs only 86gms and fits up to a 40litre pack.
Most of the bag is filled with the folded, partly inflated 3/4in, 3/4 length therm-a-rest air mattress, no longer available.
Some loose clothing, down jacket and stuff sacks are added to the bottom.
The days of foreigners being “covered” for health costs in nations with socialized medicine are ending. In Switzerland you would pay the full cost of helicopter rescue if you are not a citizen.
Even in the developing world, hospital costs could crush you:
… Aussie tourist took an unlucky fall off a steep mountain track in India and ended up paralyzed in a hospital in New Delhi. And yes, you guessed it, this guy was traveling without any insurance, even though he was 64 years old and should have known better.
The result of this stumble is that his family back in Oz have maxed out their credit cards to pay the hospital bills and so far can’t afford to get him on a plane and home. …
You must buy travel insurance if hiking out-of-country. Most policies allow trekking, but do not cover climbing nor mountaineering. Double check your coverage.
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On a related issue, posted in Gadling – Should a medical exam be required before a major trek?
Physicians and politicians in Australia are calling for mandatory physicals for any trekkers preparing to hike the Kokoda Track according to Aussie newspaper The Age. The Kokoda is a difficult and remote trail in Papua New Guinea, which has claimed the lives of three hikers this year alone. …
My gut feeling is that regulation is going too far. The normal “release” form should be enough.
Adults must be responsible to make their own decisions in so far as adventure sport is concerned.
If a company voluntarily requires a medical, no problem. But a government should not impose this requirement.
For example, A Sierra Club Upper Dolpo Trek in Nepal requires a full medical and approval by the trip leader, but not because the government requires it.
… I’m personally shopping for travel insurance right now. Leave a comment if you have a recommendation.
#1 New Zealand
#2 Southwest USA
#3 The Rockies
#4 Sierra Nevada
National Public Radio has an interesting podcast called – On The Appalachian, Some Hike Off The Recession:
… For Rusty Towery, taking this much time away isn’t difficult at all. Nicknamed “Wheeler,” he was laid off in November from construction equipment manufacturer Caterpillar. He sees this as an amazing opportunity.
“I have no major responsibilities yet in life so [I] might as well do something like this while I can, instead of having to wait like the other half of the population on the trail,” he says.
Wheeler is 26 years old. After being laid off last year, he worked a series of odd jobs to save up a little money. He also ran each day to build his endurance. He says his friends were a little jealous the day he left, even joking that they wished they’d been laid off, too. …
