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
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. …
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.
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 …
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
It’s been mostly inactive since 2010. Might remain dormant state for the next 600 or 800 years.
I was free for a half day. This is one of the few FREE hikes in Monteverde. So I tried it.
There is some signage. Not great.
If you hadn’t been told by a local to zig rather than take the obvious zag, you’d be lost.
I got lost.
Eventually I did find the service road up.
Whenever the clouds momentarily clear above Monteverde and Santa Elena you can see the radio, television and phone towers topping Cerro Amigos. (1842m)
The access road to the top is used by the occasional maintenance crews but it’s also a great route for a short steep hike – free and open to the public. …
besthike.com 