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book an independent TOUR de MONT BLANC online

The Tour of Mont Blanc is one of the best hikes in the world.

Duncan Boar, a guide with Tough Mountain UK, sends news that there is now a website that helps you plan a self-guided route on the TMB. It has a list of accommodation in each of the villages with prices and email/phone contacts.

It looks pretty good. And is posted in 5 languages: French, English, Italian, German and Spanish.

click for larger, original version
click for larger, original version

Check it out montourdumontblanc.com

The Tour du Mont Blanc is a unique trek of approximately 200km around Mont Blanc that can be completed in between 7 and 10 days passing through Italy, Switzerland and France.

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Kilimanjaro Experience

Like every year, I’m still looking to find the right time to do Kili.

KILIMANJARO-EXPERIENCE leads 4 different routes: Marangu ‘Coca- Cola’, Machame, Lemosho, Rongai.

“More than 85% of our clients successfully reach Kilimanjaro’s summit.”

Click PLAY or watch a promo on YouTube.

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my hiking gear 2005

Oh my GOD.

I stumbled on to this old packing list from a hiking trip to South America in 2005. How embarrassing. Today I’d take less than half that stuff. And it would weigh about 1/3 as much. ____

For South America I am taking two packs (one 7 pounds, one 3.5 pounds) so I have options. To hike with the light pack I try to get down to 21 pounds plus food. When not hiking the light one is my day pack. Lightweight pack & accessories for hiking (optional items in red)

  • MSR Hubba 1-man tent
  • passport case, passport, birth certificate, yellow international certificate of vaccination
  • first-aid kit (Coghlan’s Trek II from MEC $15)
  • pack = Granite Gear Nimbus Latitude 3800 T-PEX (smoke blue) 3.5 pounds, US$200
  • pack rain cover = MEC large (no extra large available)
  • 3-4 stuff sacs (10-15 litre Seal Line kayak Kodiac Window with purge valves) for food and clothes
  • 2 small stuff sacs made of silicone injected nylon
  • small mesh stuff sacs
  • ziplocs bags of various sizes
  • clear large trash bags (strong bag with closure)
  • flashlight = Petzl Tikka
  • spare flashlight = Petzl Tikka & batteries
  • Camera = Kodak easyshare cx7300 with 256 meg card, extra batteries
  • fanny pack with Elura 60 camcorder, extra battery & tape
  • Rio Cali 1.256 Mb flash MP3 player, extra batteries
  • Swiss Army knife, Swiss Champ
  • Emergency money = US$50
  • 2 pair Dunham waffle stomper approach shoes & extra laces
  • down vest MEC Tremblant 575 large (compress to make a pillow)
  • 4 pairs of identical black socks (Wright Double Layer Running)
  • 1 pair underwear
  • 1 Speedo bathing suit
  • 1 pair MEC running shorts (double as underwear), … and/or new 2005 North Face Flight Trail Short
  • 1 Patagonia capelene t-shirt
  • 1 Nike dryfit t-shirt
  • 1 pair MEC quickdry pants, unlined nylon
  • 1 pair thin fleece pants
  • 1 MEC thin polartec check fleece long sleeve top
  • 1 light fleece vest
  • Marmot Precip Gore-Tex rain jacket C$100
  • Sugoi MicroFine Corsa bike jacket C$60
  • gloves, thin (C$18 Polartec power stretch MEC)
  • bandanas
  • ball cap for protection from the sun
  • Sunglasses
  • Fleece cap (or touque)
  • metal spoon
  • GSI 32 fl. oz. “boiler” pot and 20 fl. oz. mug pot (anodized aluminium)
  • 2 stoves, ultra lightweight
  • Dish wash bandana
  • Pot scrubbing “tuffy” pad
  • lighters
  • toilet paper, alcohol gel, lighter in ziplock bag
  • Sleeping Bag Mountain Hardware Phantom down +32F “blackberry” (regular size) US$200
  • Ultralight therm-a-rest = 1 pound, the lightest they make, three quarter length
  • Sea to Summit (Aussie) “Silk Traveller” sleeping bag liner with pillow insert (teal colour) US$60
  • Quixote pillow 550 fill goose down (fleece vest pillow instead)
  • Silva Tool 625 (compass, whistle, thermometer) US$10 and extra
  • wooden hand fishing reel, line & trout lures
  • Biodegradable laundry soap
  • tiny hotel shampoo bottles
  • Light weight nylon laundry line
  • Plastic clothes pegs
  • Katadyn water filter $180 & …
  • GSI H2O wide mouth 1 litre water bottle
  • plastic coke bottle (as second bottle)
  • water bag (10 litre)
  • Katadyn Micropur tablets for emergency water purificatioin
  • mini Toothbrush & small tubes of paste
  • small mirror (emergency reflector)
  • Dental floss
  • Lip balm with SPF 15+
  • Sun screen SPF 15+
  • Insect repellent with DEET (BEN’S 30%)
  • comb
  • Nail clippers
  • sunglasses
  • Note pad & pens
  • Paperback novel(s)
Navigation
  • Map
  • Wrist watch
  • Guide book (or photocopied pages)
  • (Compass)
Food
  • Earl Grey tea
  • Werthers hard candies
  • smarties or M & Ms
  • salt & pepper shaker
  • small containers for spices, etc.
  • new 2005 bear vault food cannister (2.5 pounds)

Main pack (North Face) left back at the hostel for storage with items not taken on the hike, including:

  • huge duffle bag with small combo lock
  • second combo lock for hostels
  • flashlight extra bulb, extra batteries
  • (KEEN sandals)
  • mini-gifts for kids
  • clothing to donate
  • electric razor
  • Repair kit
    • Tent repair kit
    • (Therm-A-Rest repair kit)
    • Parachute cord (replacement shoe laces)
    • Duct tape
    • (Sewing kit)
    • (Heavy-duty needles or awl & thread)
    • (Large locking safety pins)
    • (Rip-stop nylon patches)
    • (Rip-stop tape)
    • (Wire)
    • (Dental floss)
    • (Nylon twine)
    • (hose clamp, for splinting)
    • (spare buckles for pack)
    • etc
Carrying much of that stuff in the Colca Canyon, Peru
Carrying much of that stuff in the Colca Canyon, Peru
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Colorado hiking store wins makeover

I hiked Nepal a couple of years ago with Betsy and Brion After. They run Independence Run & Hike in Carbondale, Colorado.

Great news. Their store was chosen for a free makeover. 🙂

Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.

https://vimeo.com/126621763

I’m hoping to get out Carbondale for some hiking myself this summer.

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Five Passes Route, New Zealand

This Hiking Life:

Distance : 40 miles (64 km)

Avg.Time : 4 or 5 days

Start / Finish: Lake Sylvan car park / Routeburn shelter.

The Five Passes Route is a wilderness tramp (Kiwi speak for ‘hike’ or ‘trek’) that requires good route finding and map reading skills. If you are looking for a well marked, easy to follow trail, you may want to try the nearby Routeburn Track. …

There are no huts, except for the somewhat dilapidated Rock Burn Shelter, situated a few kilometres north of Lake Sylvan car park.

There are rock bivvies at Beans Burn, Olivine Ledge, Parks Pass and Theatre Flats. See Moir’s Guide for details of exact locations. The Beans Burn and Parks Pass bivvies are the pick of the bunch.

It is possible to spend all of your nights under the rock bivvies, however considering the challenging terrain and unpredictable nature of the weather, you would be wise to bring your own shelter.

A challenging trek for experienced hikers only. Scenically stunning from start to finish. …

The Hiking Life – Five Passes Route

5-Passes-Route

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10 Backpacking Gear Myths

1. Two people can fit in a 2 person tent.
2. You’ll sleep warmer if you sleep naked in a sleeping bag.
3. You need to wear hiking boots to go backpacking.
4. You need a backpack rain cover to hike in the rain.
5. You need a tent footprint to protect the floor of your tent.
6. Waterproof breathable rain jackets are breathable.
7. You need a 4 season tent to camp in winter.
8. Biodegradable soap is ok to wash with in streams and ponds.
9. Waterproof hiking boots will keep your feet dry.
10. You don’t need to carry maps and a compass because you have a GPS.

Section Hiker

Yep. I agree with all 10.

I carry a 1-man 3-season tent. (Hubba). No pack cover. No footprint. No GPS.

I never sleep naked (in my 1-man tent). Wear approach shoes everywhere.

AND I’ve always called Gortex the “fabric of deceit”. 🙂

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hiking Arenal Volcano National Park

 

Arenal Volcano National Park (Spanish: Parque Nacional Volcán Arenal) is a Costa Rican national park in the central part of the country …

The park encompasses the Arenal Volcano, which “was” the most active in the country, which had previously been believed to be dormant until a major eruption in 1968. …

The park also contains a second volcano, Chato, whose crater contains a lagoon. It is also called Cerro Chato (literally Mount Chato) as it has been inactive for around 3500 years …

Arenal_Volcano_as_seen_from_Monteverde

Arenal map

Looks great. Unfortunately I got rained out May 9th, 2015. May is the start of the rainy season. 😦

The most popular trails are short day hikes. Perhaps 4 miles in total.

jungle section
jungle section

It’s been mostly inactive since 2010. Might remain dormant state for the next 600 or 800 years.

Independent hikers still manage to get lost.