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Best Gear Shop in Canada – GearTrade.ca

I was shocked on arrival at the GearTrade warehouse in Okotoks, Alberta near Calgary.

I made the trip to try on the new Hyperlite Unbound 55 Backpack.

Loved it. Bought it.

A big upgrade from my current Hyperlite 3400 Windrider.

Most of the GearTrade.ca business is done online. But you can make an appointment to visit in person if you want hands-on before making payment. It’s a terrific place to ask for advice.

Click PLAY or watch on YouTube.

Kane tours the store. And interviews Jesse on the most popular equipment they sell. And his recommendations for any new hiker who wants to get properly set up for overnight hiking.

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Serious Hikes in Australia

Lonely Planet recommends:

  • Overland Track, Tasmania
  • Kosciuszko Walk, New South Wales
  • Larapinta Trail, Northern Territory
  • Three Capes Track, Tasmania
  • Great Ocean Walk, Victoria
  • Border Track, Queensland
  • Heysen Trail, South Australia
  • Thorsborne Trail, Queensland
  • Bibbulmun Track, Western Australia
  • Coast Track, New South Wales
  • Great North Walk, New South Wales
  • Australian Alps Walking Track, Victoria, NSW and the ACT

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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Top 10 Coastal Hikes ➙ Kalalau Trail, Hawaii

Kalalau Trail, on the Na Pali Coast of Kaua‘i is one of our top 10 coastal hikes in the world.

Why?

  • 11mi (18km)
  • hike any month of the year
  • trail sometimes closed due to weather
  • maximum elevation gain 800ft
  • Keʻe Beach to the Kalalau Valley
  • can be done as a long day hike though officially you are only allowed to day hike as far as Hankapiai beach
  • 3 days, 2 nights recommended
  • most people camp at least one night at either Hanakoa Valley (6 mile mark) or Kalalau Beach.
  • in Nā Pali Coast State Park
  • limited number of permits issued for camping

Francis Hehle’s video will give you a good idea of what the trail is like.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

For details, click over to our Kalalau Trail information page.

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BEST Hikes in the World

According to one AllTrails list.

It includes both challenging multi-day and short single-day adventures.

Our favourites from this list are in bold.

These lists are far from definitive. They are more conversation starters to get you thinking where you might want to go next.

For example, the Tonquin Trail is a 4.0-km out-and-back trail near Tofino on Vancouver Island. I’m on the island right now and can name easily a dozen better hikes close by. 😀

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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Hiking Vancouver Island in January

by site editor Rick McCharles

The BEST thing about coastal Vancouver Island ➙ we can hike and cycle year round.

As I post in January, we’ve yet to have any snow in Parksville.

This YouTube #short was shot on iPhone 16 Pro in vertical. In and around Qualicum Beach.

Most of the clips were shot in the Heritage Forest, a 50-acre pocket of old growth coastal Douglas fir, western red cedar, grand fir, Sitka spruce, and hemlock.

Personally, the many wildly varied stumps I found most photogenic.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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W Trek In Patagonia

One of the best hikes in South America is the W Trek in Patagonian Chile.

Unforgettable.

The better alternative — in our opinion — is the longer Paine Circuit. It includes the W Trek.

If you can’t do the Circuit, do the W !

Zac and Ine had good weather — but typical high speed winds near the glacier.

They booked everything in advance.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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Juan de Fuca Trail, Vancouver Island

The West Coast Trail ALTERNATIVE.

The most famous hiking adventure in Canada is the West Coast Trail out of Port Renfrew on Vancouver Island.

Port Renfrew is also the trailhead for the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail — yet no reservation is required. It’s the best back-up plan if you can’t get a reservation for the WCT.

And it’s open year round, unlike the WCT which closes in winter.

Be prepared for serious mud and rain.

Vancouver Island experts MB Guiding have a Juan de Fuca Marine Trail Guide online.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

IF you plan to hike Juan de Fuca, be sure to read our Juan de Fuca Information page. Especially details on the tides.

This is one of our best hikes in North America.

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Top 10 Hiking Destinations ➙ Sierra Nevada USA

The longest, highest, most diverse mountain range in the continental United States is not the Rockies. It’s the Sierra Nevada range in California.

Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Yosemite … everyone loves these mountains.

In the summer of 2007 we met a hiker there who enjoyed 41 days in a row of perfect weather. Where else in the mountains can you get that? (Starting day 42 he had pounding hail and was at risk of death by lightning.)

The range is about the same size as the Alps, 430mi long, 40-80mi wide. It’s all great.

Many come here specifically to climb Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous States. Others come to see astonishing Yosemite Valley. And to scramble Half Dome.

Lower elevation hikes are accessible year-round. The Parks are within easy driving distance of major urban areas and, unusual for the USA, have good public transportation. Kids love this region.

In fact, everyone leaves John Muir’s “Range of Light” elated.

More information on our new Sierra Nevada information page.

Our favourite hike in the Sierra Nevada is the John Muir Trail, our #2 hike in the world. (Every photo of the JMT is a postcard.)

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

See our JMT Information page.

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Booking Canadian National Parks 2025

Every year it gets more difficult to get a reservation for hikes and front country campgrounds in Canadian National Parks.

Here’s HOW to make a booking for 2025.

The window is January 17 to February 12, 2025

Know that Parks Canada has already had problems with their online booking systems.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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Dangerous Trails Around the World

Here’s a list of some of the established hikes known to have caused deaths and injuries in the past.  

Of course if you are experienced and cautious, I’d call most of them ‘safe’.

Of the list, I’ve done these myself and would recommend them. 

  • El Caminito del Rey, Spain
  • Drakensberg Traverse, South Africa
  • Kalalau Trail, Hawaii
  • Huayna Picchu, Peru
  • Mount Washington, USA

El Caminito I’d call SUPER safe in 2025.

Huayna Picchu is a bit sketchy.  A couple of days before I climbed, a tourist from Russia was killed by lightning. 

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.