Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
Backpacker magazine:
Of course there’s the Triple Crown—the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and Continental Divide Trail—and dozens more, spanning tens of thousands of miles. Whether you want to hike for six days or six months, start your search here. …
(via Adventure Blog)
trip report by site editor Rick McCharles
I took the Sandia Peak Tramway trip on one of the snowiest days of the year.
It’s one of the top tourist attractions in New Mexico.
I first tried hiking to the top. Planning to ride down on the Cable Car. That would have been GREAT.
The La Luz Trail (Trail 137) … on the west face of the Sandia Mountains near Albuquerque, New Mexico. The trail begins at the La Luz Trailhead and proceeds approximately eight miles to either Sandia Crest or the Sandia Peak Tramway. The hike is strenuous, with 3,775 ft (1,151 m) of elevation gain and a grade of 12%. …
I started at the Tramway parking lot on the Tramway Trail (82). Planning to connect to the La Luz.
It’s a pretty traverse above lovely residential homes.
I’d heard a foot of snow had fallen up top. It did not look good for me getting up there.
I – happily – backtracked to my vehicle.
At one point I stumbled off trail. Easy to do in the desert. While scrambling an arroyo to regain the trail I kicked a cactus and drove a spine into my foot.
Lesson learned = STAY on the trail in the desert.
The main reason to go to Albuquerque are the 200 miles of Sandia hiking trails many of which are off limits to mountain bikes.
We’ve added the La Luz Trail to our list of best hikes in North America.
trip report by site editor Rick McCharles
I’d hoped to do the short guided hiking tour of part of the rim, but arrived too late in the afternoon. I missed the last one by minutes.
Meteor Crater is a meteorite impact crater approximately 37 miles (60 km) east of Flagstaff …
Despite its importance as a geological site, the crater is not protected as a national monument, a status that would require federal ownership. …
… some 170 m (560 ft) deep, and is surrounded by a rim that rises 45 m (148 ft) above the surrounding plains. …
Meteor Crater is a popular tourist attraction …
During the 1960s and 70’s, NASA astronauts trained in the crater to prepare for the Apollo missions to the Moon. …
Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.
Management of this natural treasure is excellent. I doubt the National Parks system would do better.
The video is complete. On what some call the toughest hike in Europe.
This is an indiegogo campaign.
Three weeks of filming in one of the most amazing location in the world was breathtaking. We walked the route in real time, as we did all filming, with all the obstacles and beauties. Now we can present the authentic story. …
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Click PLAY or watch a teaser on Vimeo.
trip report by site editor Rick McCharles
Climbing to the rim has been closed for decades. Hikers were doing too much damage.
I did the partly wheelchair accessible 1-mile (1.6km) trail Lava Flow Trail and some of the 1-mile (1.6km) Lenox Crater Trail. Both were snowy.
But if you are passing anywhere close to Flagstaff, Arizona, any time of the year. I recommend you make this stop. The Visitor Center is excellent.
The date of the eruptions that formed the 340-meter-high cone (1,120 ft) was initially derived from tree-ring dates, suggesting the eruption began between the growing seasons of A.D. 1064–1065. However, more recent geologic and archaeological evidence places the eruption around A.D. 1085. …
On the same road trip visit nearby Wupatki National Monument.
If you book in advance, Rangers offer guided hikes from October through April. Anywhere from two hours to two days.
Jan Kozlowski is trekking the world. He’s next off to southern Africa.
We’re now following his website which includes his trip reports. Jan welcomes YOU to post your trip reports on his site, as well.
Here’s a sample – Chile – Torres Del Paine
I met up with my friends from Couer d’Alene, Idaho. Their gymnasts were competing at the Lady Luck Invitational.
Branch Whitney:
Red Rock Canyon (20 miles west of Las Vegas) is home to the best scrambling (climbing up, over, around, and down rock) routes in the world. If you liked mazes when you were a kid, you will love Red Rock Canyon. …
Las Vegas’ best kept secret: Hiking and rock scrambling just minutes from the Strip
We’d never seen Red Rock Canyon so busy. Seems my favourite tourist destination in the city is no longer off the radar.
Entry fee.
Support Patagonia and Black Diamond.
The company this week threatened to pull out of Salt Lake City’s biannual Outdoor Retailer Show, a trade show that brings in 45,000 visitors spending more than $40 million each year. …
Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes (R) vowed to sue the White House last month after Obama set aside 1.35 million acres, including sacred tribal lands, to become Bears Ears National Monument. The Navajo Nation and conservationists alike hailed the designation as a victory. But Reyes, later joined by the state’s Republican governor and lawmakers in Washington, D.C., denounced the move …
Patagonia Is Gearing Up For War With Utah Republicans Over National Monument
Most Republicans in the USA seek to sell of public lands to the highest bidder. 😦
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