volcanoes – Page 21 – besthike.com

February 11, 2009

Incredible Crater Lakes

Another amazing photo article from Environmental Graffiti – 12 Most Incredible Crater Lakes On Earth

… While popular belief is that crater lakes are formed after water fills up meteorite impact craters, very few such lakes actually exist. Most of them are formed in volcanic craters – but all offer spectacular sights for sore eyes!

Fascinating, spectacular, stunning and at times deadly, this is a trip into the extraordinary world of crater lakes. …

see the rest – 12 Most Incredible Crater Lakes On Earth

related post – hiking Earth Impact craters

February 6, 2009February 4, 2009

Best treks in Africa

Anouk Zijlma on About.com posted a terrific list of the Best Hikes and Treks in Africa.

… Africa’s most popular trekking destination is Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain on the continent. Lesser known ranges like Uganda’s Rwenzori Mountains offer an incredible array of snow-capped peaks right next to the equator.

Other fantastic hikes in Africa that don’t necessarily involve great heights include the Wild Coast (South Africa) and the Fish River Canyon (Namibia). …

Others on the list:

Mount Kenya

Simien Mountains, Ethiopia

The Drakensberg, South Africa

Mount Meru, Tanzania

Mount Elgon, Uganda and Kenya

Mount Cameroon, Cameroon

Mulanje Mountain, Malawi

Click through for more information, links and recommended guides – About.com Best treks in Africa

Most foreign trekkers prefer to go with a guiding company to ensure their safety.

mountstanley Mt. Stanley – Sylwia Duda/Creative Commons

mulanje Mulanje Mountain, Malawi – larger original – flickr – fffriendly

Compare this About.com list with our own Best Hikes in Africa

January 12, 2009

climbing Mt Shasta, California

Friends tell me this is the best climb in CA. May – July.

summit-shasta
larger version – flickr – Darcy McCarty

And that it’s quite doable for a non-mountaineer.

The The Mozmonkey Blog is planning for summer 2009, as well:

… Typically the climb and decent will take two days, although, some people do it in one.

Day 1 starts with a 4 – 6 hour hike from the parking lot up to Helen Lake (which is really just a glacier) where you setup base camp. The rest of the day is spent admiring the view, making food (yay, dehydrated meals!) and preparing your day pack for the next morning.

The summit ascent begins somewhere between 12 AM – 3 AM the next morning. You’ll want to start super early while the snow is still firm and solid and get to red banks before the sun starts making it soft and slushy.

When you reach the summit stop to enjoy the view, regain your energy and prepare for the best part of the journey — glissading down the mountain! This literally means you will sit on your butt in the groove created by the people before you and slide down the entire mountain; stopping briefly at base camp to collect the rest of your gear. Not to worry, you will have an ice axe with you as a safety device that will help you regulate your speed down the mountain.

So that’s it, 2 days to get to the top and and 3 – 4 hours down. …

Climbing Mount Shasta

more photos tagged Shasta on flickr

Sounds something like our climb of Mt Adams, Oregon last year.

January 6, 2009January 6, 2009

Ruapehu Around-the-mountain, New Zealand

Tongariro Northern Circuit is one of our top 10 hikes in the world.

Just next door is the much less tramped Ruapehu Around-the-mountain track.

ruapehu
flickr – larger version – Rich Childs

Maple Kiwi just completed the adventur during the New Zealand summer:

… As you may deduce from the name, the track loops around Mt Ruapehu, an active volcano in the centre of New Zealand’s North Island. Ruapehu hasn’t had any serious indigestion since 1996, but knowing what bubbles beneath does add a bit of excitement to the tramp.

I’m not sure what possessed us to do a six-day tramp after nothing more than day hikes all spring. Luckily we made it through without too much pain.

We began the walk at Whakapapa Village …

read more – Love in a Tent – Ruapehu Round-the-mountain Part 1

January 5, 2009January 3, 2009

climb Indonesian volcanoes

RING OF FIRE ADVENTURE ZONE is a fairly new site.

The editor has since 1994 hiked up more than 20 volcano’s peaks around Indonesia archipelago, mostly in Java Island. And now has set up this blog to share his knowledge.

He recommends:

SUMATRA ISLAND
1) Volcano Kerinci
2) Volcano Tujuh
3) Volcano Sibayak

JAVA ISLAND
1) Volcano Merapi
2) Volcano Bromo-Semeru-Ijen

LOMBOK ISLAND
Volcano Rinjani

BALI ISLAND
Volcano Agung

… Others interested volcanoes in Indonesia are Tambora and Krakatau. Tambora was recorded as volcano which has biggest eruption in the history of world volcano eruption. Now, Tambora is already quite and frequently visited by volcano trekkers to admire it’s natural uniqueness, that impossible to be witnessed in others places. …

Intro To Indonesia Mountains

Personally I’d love to visit Krakatau, East of Java. A mythic destination that’s been in my mind since I was a small child.

An early 19th century illustration of Krakatoa

December 1, 2008

trek to Mt Tronador, Argentina

As usual, the best trip report was posted by Photodiary of a Nomad.

Their 3 day traverse of Nahuel Huapi National Park in Argentina â€” on an unusual route â€” without meeting any other hikers on the trail, appeals to me. (They did have a dog or two tag along.)

… it was hard to decide the highlight – was it the glinting granite slabs of Cerro de las Cristales, the amazing blue of Laguna Azul, the perfect form of the green-clad glacial valleys, the richness of the wetlands, the great vistas of Tronador glistening in the sun – was today better than yesterday? – did it really matter? – tonight we would have some very pleasant dreams.

Personally, I want to see Mt Tronador.

larger version – flickr – fainmen

Check the trip report for yourself: Nahuel Huapi Traverse

Our besthike Nahuel Huapi Traverse information page.

November 30, 2008

trek Easter Island

Easter Island truly is in the middle of nowhere.

Everyone has heard of the monolithic human figures carved from rock called Moai.

larger version

But I also want to hike Rano Kau in Rapa Nui National Park world heritage site.

larger version

David Stanley, author of Moon Handbooks South Pacific (Moon Handbooks), says Easter Island is the Pacific Island that “offers most to the hiker“. That’s surprising since the island is only 11km wide, 23km long!

I will get there. Sooner or later.

November 24, 2008October 1, 2009

volcano trek in the Canary Islands

Santa Cruz de La Palma, Spain

Volcanic landscapes, jungle-like laurel forests, lava deserts and thick pinewood: La Palma is not only the greenest island of the Canaries, it’s also the most diverse.

… a hiker’s paradise. …

What’s the best hike there?

(perhaps) … the hikes in La Caldera de Taburiente National Park, a volcano crater with a diameter of about eight kilometres and one of the most fascinating regions on the Canary Islands.

The network of trails is about 70 kilometres through the park. One of the trails with the most beautiful panorama views snakes along the crater’s edge. It leads to Roque de Los Muchachos, rising 2,426 metres, the highest point on the island. The view from there trails off deep into the crater. …

Isla Bonita’s hiking trails offer diverse experience

279141912_cdc0f87e36
larger size – flickr – untipografico

… The northern part of La Palma is dominated by the Caldera de Taburiente, with a width of 9 km and a depth of 1500 m. It is surrounded by a ring of mountains ranging from 1600 m to 2400 m in height. Only the deep Barranco de las Angustias (“Valley of Fear”) canyon leads into the inner area of the caldera which is a national park. It can be reached only by hiking. The outer slopes are cut by numerous gorges which run from 2000 m down to the sea. Today, only few of these carry water due to the many water tunnels that have been cut into the islands structure. …

Wikipedia

related post: hiking the Canary Islands, Spain

November 14, 2008

hiking the GalÃ¡pagos Islands

The GalÃ¡pagos is a protected enclave.

Right?

Actually, 40,000 people live there!

Some of those were lucky enough to join in on a trek to Sierra Negra crater on Isabela Island, the largest of the chain.

From a trip report by Ruth Holliday:

… Looming over the island is Sierra Negra, a vast and active crater volcano. Its last eruption in 2005 churned out enough ash and lava to threaten several species of giant tortoise, not known for their powers of speedy escape.

I am one of 12 volunteers living in this uncanny and exquisite setting. We are mostly British, share a single house and divide into two groups â€“ one helping at the island’s tortoise sanctuary and the other teaching basic English at a local school.

Together, we decide to tackle the trek to the crater. …

Telegraph – The grown-up gapper: trekking the Sierra Negra crater

larger version – flickr – massulo

The caldera of Sierra Negra has a diameter of 10 kilometers and is one of the largest in the world. The crater walls and bottom are covered by low growing plants and only a few small animals inhabit this environment.

more interesting Sierra Negra photos on flickr