Posts

Posted on

2014 Ursack S29 AllWhite

Though the Ursack is not allowed in many American National Parks, I often use mine on other hikes.

Ursack

The 2014 Ursack S29 AllWhite has been given IGBC (Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee) certification number 3738. It may take a bit of time before that information shows up on the IGBC website. 2013 and earlier models of the AllWhite are not certified. …

… we baited an Ursack S29 AllWhite, knotted it securely and placed it on the ground with no aluminum liner and not tied to a tree. The first two grizzlies went at it for an active 57 minutes. One of the bears was nick-named “The Destroyer,” but neither he nor his sister were able to compromise the Ursack. …

Ursack

Posted on

Wilsons Promontory, Australia

Wilsons Promontory is a peninsula that forms the southernmost part of the Australian mainland …

Most of the peninsula is protected by the Wilsons Promontory National Park. …

A trip report.

WilsonsPromAustraliaMap … for the northern prom you need to complete a “Wilderness permit application” . Whilst I can understand the need to ensure that hikers in this area can navigate along poorly marked trails (which are often overgrown) ford or swim rivers which can be over head height, navigate trackless swamps but the area is not wilderness, as the there are marked trails and designated campsites. …

We descended to 5 Mile Beach and the occasional trees provided us with some respite from the winds as we descended steeply to Miranda Creek and the campsite. …

beach

read more – Tin Mine Cove to Five Mile Beach: A wander across northern Wilsons Promontory

(via Hiking in Finland)

Posted on

Surviving New Zealand’s Hardest Hike – Dusky Track

Eric Leifer of National Geographic Young Explorers :

Fiordland National Park, tucked away far within New Zealand’s South Island, has the notorious claim to fame as one of the wettest locations in the southern hemisphere; and with a mean annual rainfall of 268 inches …

Throw yourself off the deep end by accepting the challenge of the country’s hardest trail, the infamous Dusky Track, an 84-kilometer route that impossibly forces its way through this impermeable landscape. …

Nat Geo

dusky-track-walk

Posted on

Yosemite Adventures: 50 Spectacular Hikes, Climbs, and Winter Treks

Josh Williams from Triumph Books sent me a review copy.

Author Matt Johanson is a lifelong outdoors enthusiast with extensive knowledge and experience in the Yosemite area and having personally completed every outing in his book, Johanson provides this great resource for Yosemite visitors.

Unlike the average Yosemite guide, Johanson offers a unique approach to the park. Instead of focusing solely on the popular summertime trips, Johanson presents the park as a year-round playground and includes winter adventures. Highlights include:

  • 50 intricate maps and over 100 beautiful color photos and graphics of Yosemite
  • Five categories of activities – Winter Treks, Hiking, Backpacking, Mountain Climbing, and Rock Climbing
  • A guide to hiking atop the legendary, 3,000 foot high El Capitan
  • The path to the tranquil glacier-carved Elizabeth Lake, in the shadow of Unicorn Peak
  • Details of the arduous climb of the tallest mountain at Yosemite – Mount Lyell

    • yosemite-adventures

    Looks great.

    It’s available in 4 different formats starting at $12.99.

    Posted on

    Outside magazine – BEST new Trail

    Via Dinarica, the Balkans

    The Dinaric Alps have 8,000-foot stegosaurus spines, fairy-tale meadows, and stone guesthouses. Decades of conflict made them tough to experience, but the area is amping up its tourist offerings, and access is improving on the new Via Dinarica. Our favorite stretch: the 600-mile White Trail, which stitches together old routes from Slovenia to Albania and follows the highest peaks. …

    2014 Travel Awards: Best New Trail

    trail-vic-dinarica_fe

    Posted on

    on Tibetan Buddhist Prayer Flags

    ramblin’ boy:

    The Tibetan belief is that  the winds blow the positive energy of the prayers and chants imprinted on the flags into the world- and into all sentient beings they touch.  As a result you’ll usually see the flags strung in high places where they can have maximum effect.

    view from the top of Kala Patthar above Everest Base Camp
    view from the top of Kala Patthar above Everest Base Camp

    … a collection of my pix with prayer flags in them. Most are taken from hikes in the Annapurna and Khumbu region of Nepal, but you’ll also find flags fluttering in Patagonia, near Jasper in the Canadian Rockies, above the heads of chanting monks in Bohd Gaya in India, in the Christiania area of Copenhagen in Denmark, and in my neighbourhood above the eastern banks of the Don River in Toronto. …

    ramblin’ boy – Blowin’ In the Wind: An Appreciation of Tibetan Buddhist Prayer Flags

    ramblin’ boy is an excellent hiking blogger. I’m working my way back through all his old posts. 🙂

    Posted on

    lessons learned surviving 6 days solo with broken leg

    Hiker Gregg Hein of Clovis “entertained the idea” of possibly dying in the high Sierra of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks as he lay severely injured for six days.

    But he said the thought only crossed his mind a few times. The 33-year-old experienced hiker, rock climber and rafting guide was determined to live — and he did.

    From a wheelchair Tuesday at Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, Hein talked about breaking his leg on July 5, hiking down from 13,600-foot Mount Goddard, and his eventual rescue Thursday by a National Park Service helicopter. …

    … he dislodged a boulder that plowed into the back of his right calf, breaking bones in three spots. The impact forced bone to protrude about an inch and a half through the skin, Hein said.

    His foot was soon “dangling,” Hein said. “I had to grab it so hopefully it wouldn’t rip off.” …

    Fresno Bee

    Click PLAY or watch the interview on YouTube.

    related – Hiker Survives on Moths and Melted Ice