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NEW – Three Capes Track, Tasmania

The official website says it will open November 2015.

The Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service’s largest and most ambitious track project, the Three Capes Track, will be a world class, multi-day walking experience on the Tasman Peninsula along a track up to 82 km in length.

The track will showcase Cape Raoul, Cape Pillar and Cape Hauy as well as stunning natural features and scenery including dolerite cliffs and ocean views. …

Parks and Wildlife Tasmania

Cape Pillar Peninsula from the Blade (Photo courtesy of Stuart Gibson)
Cape Pillar Peninsula from the Blade
(Photo courtesy of Stuart Gibson)

You can either walk the route independently or sign up for a fully guided experience provided by a commercial operator.

What will set this track apart from the many multi-day hikes in Australia is the standard of public facilities available. The walk will include huts at up to three sites with mattresses and cooking facilities, reducing the amount of things you’ll need to lug in your rucksack. Bye bye camping stove and fuel, tent and sleeping mattress. After trekking past the tallest sea cliffs in Australia and awe-inspiring ocean views, walkers will be snuggling down on a soft bed.

Lonely Planet – The world’s hottest new travel experiences for 2015

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hiking Mineral Ridge, Idaho

ID-courdalene

Mineral Ridge National Recreation Trail is a backcountry hiking area near Lake Coeur d’Alene …

Construction began on the trail in 1963 and the area was designated as a National Recreation Trail in 1982. There is a self-guided interpretive tour along the 3.3-mile (5.3 km) trail.

Summit of Mineral Ridge, 2,400ft (730m). Elevation gain is 600ft (180m).

Minaeral_Ridge_National_Recreation_Trail.-WidePar-00012-Image.WideParimage.1.2

We hiked it January 3rd after a snowstorm. With a 5yr-old. Late in the afternoon, slipping and sliding back to the trailhead in the dark.

Mineral Ridge

A bit more adventurous than usual. 🙂

Here’s a more typical lake view from the ridge.

americantrails.org
americantrails.org

Mineral-Ridge-Idaho-BLM-Area-of-Interest_large

Each winter from November through February a migrating population of up to 150 bald eagles visit the area to feed on spawning Kokanee salmon. An interpretive viewing program is offered annually from Christmas through New Years during peak migration.

We saw two bald eagles. 🙂

official Bureau of Land Management page

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Hike the Wakhan Corridor in Afghanistan

Kraig Becker linked to a trek I’d not known.

Remote and rugged, the Wakhan Corridor is an almost-legendary strip of land that extends from Afghanistan to China, with Tajikistan bordering to the north, and Pakistan to the south.

Surrounded by the snowcapped peaks of the Hindu Kush, Pamir, and Karakoram mountains, it is a spectacularly beautiful part of the world that remains virtually unknown to the vast majority of outsiders. Populated almost entirely by nomadic herdsmen, the Corridor is a realm of stark beauty, difficult terrain, and some of the most breathtaking landscapes on the entire planet.

Travel through the Wakhan Corridor in 2015 as part of an expedition led by Secret Compass. The trip is 21 days in length, and departs on July 20. …

adventuretravel.about.com – 10 Big Adventures For 2015

Click through to see that and the rest. 🙂

Wakhan

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El Balcon de Iberia, Cuba

Tom Mangan tipped us off to this well loved day hike.

The trail leads through the spectacular Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt (Alexander von Humboldt National Park), which UNESCO recognizes as “one of the most biologically diverse tropical islands sites on earth.” Careful where you step: you will pass some of the world’s smallest vertebrates on your way to the El Majá Waterfall, which cascades over 82 feet.

autentica Cuba

waterfall

The trail begins at the first narrow section of the Santa María River …

Your hike will take you to the source of the Santa María River—El Majá Waterfall, more tban 82 feet (25 meters) high—where you can rest in the shade before treating yourself to a refreshing dip.

Duration: 5 hours
Distance: 4.3 miles (7 kilometers)

Baracoa.org

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Snow Wolf Family and Me

A new BBC film, Snow Wolf Family and Me, explores the lives and habits of arctic wolves, revealing the family secrets of one of our most feared predators.

Ellesmere Island is one of the most remote and beautiful places on Earth. This is the only place in the world where wolves are naive to man and have no fear. It allowed wildlife cameraman Gordon Buchanan and scientists an unparalleled opportunity to form bonds with a wild wolf family, revealing the remarkable story of their relationships and behaviour.

Snow Wolf Family and Me will be broadcast on 29th and 30th December 2014 at 21:00 on BBC Two.

Meeting a wild wolf pack

wolf pack

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December, January & February hikes

Adventures Within Reach recommends some of the best hikes during each month of the year.

December

Our Top Trek Recommendation: Vietnam Trekking

Runner Up: Mount Meru, Tanzania

January

Our Top Trek Recommendation: Aconcagua, Argentina

Runner Up: Hill Tribes, Thailand

February

Our Top Trek Recommendation: Torres del Paine, Patagonia, Chile
Runner Up: Gorilla Trekking, Rwanda

A Trek For Every Month: Top Hikes Around The World (December, January & February)

Aconcagua
Aconcagua

While it’s possible to hike all the way to the top of Aconcagua, we’d recommend you hike around the great peak instead. 🙂