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Ladahk trekking research …

I bought two books:


Cicerone Trekking in Ladakh

Lonely Planet Trekking in the Indian Himalaya

Looks fantastic.

Mid-October I’ll fly Delhi Leh 3524 metres (11,562 ft) in Ladahk. Spend some days acclimatizing to altitude.

View_of_Leh_from_Shanti_Stupa

Most likely start with the Markha Valley Trek, carrying my own food, tent and pack.

Any advice for me?

… Leave a comment.

*****

Now the BAD news … 😦

The end of guide books? Lonely Planet lays off one-third of editorial staff

lonelyplanet

Venerable travel guide brand Lonely Planet, which has bounced from owner to owner in recent years, just announced some bad news: They’re slashing staff on three continents and getting rid of much of their content staff. Almost 100 jobs were slashed in Melbourne, Australia alone, and additional layoffs were made at Lonely Planet’s London and Oakland offices. …

Update: According to an email from a Lonely Planet publicist, “Print will continue to be part of the mix” for the company.

END OF AN ERA: LONELY PLANET SLASHES CONTENT JOBS

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amazing GERMAN sky, not Irish

I was bamboozled. … Sorry about that.

original post:

Google Earth Pics:

Heavens Trail – A place in Ireland where every two years the stars line up with this path

Ireland sky

Photographer Thomas Zimmer tells the true story:

… It was at the west coast of the island Sylt, North Sea. …

That’s Germany, not Ireland.

I walked over the dunes and took the wooden stairs down. I took a last look back. An amazing view showed up. The Milky Way was right above the stairs. But I was so exhausted, hungry and cold. I almost wanted to give up, but then I made a last effort, and tried a final shot.

It looked good, but something was missing there. I first tried to light up the stairs with the flashlight. Looked better, but not what I wanted. It needed a human being in the image. Unfortunately, nobody was there for miles except me. So i set up the self timer, fired it and run up the stairs with the flashlight on. On top, I shut off the light and tried to stand still for 30 seconds, the exposure time. …

The making of „My God, it’s full of stars“

Thanks Dana.

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Mt Muller loop, Washington

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

In Day Hiking Olympic Peninsula (2007) by Romano, one adventure caught my eye:

Mount Muller
13mi loop
3200ft elevation gain

click for larger map
click for larger map

En route to the (easy to find) trailhead we stopped at the excellent Olympic Bagel in Port Angeles.

CARBO loading
CARBO loading

13 miles … how tough could it be?

Muller trailhead

… a low-elevation peak located in the northern region of the Olympic Mountains. … Clallam County …

Mount Muller is, however, the county’s point of greatest prominence (also known as the COGPP) and the county’s only peak with over 2000′ of prominence. …

… If the Mount Muller summit is the only goal, it can be reached in 5.3 miles from the west end of the trail system, or it can be reached in 7.5 miles from the east end of the trail system.

Many trail users opt to hike the entire 12.8-mile loop. The mountain is accessible year-round, and the Mount Muller Trail is open to non-motorized use only (i.e. hikers, bicyclists, equestrians, snowshoers).

… The ridgetop of the peak is primarily comprised of thick evergreen forests on its west side and rocky outcrops interspersed with forests on its east side …

ridgewalk

… views from the mountaintop can be spectacular. Mount Olympus, Lake Crescent, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Sol Duc Valley, among other notable areas …

Crescent

A recreational use pass is required for each vehicle parking at/near the Mount Muller Trailhead.

Summit Post

This hike was a labour of love for Forest Service employee Molly Erickson. She and a crew of friends designed and built the trail, naming many of the landmarks after themselves. 🙂

Jasmines

The wildflowers are GREAT. I was surprised to see beargrass this far west.

beargrass

Turns out it’s …

… found mostly in western North America from British Columbia south to California and east to Wyoming, in subalpine meadows and coastal mountains, and also on low ground in the California coastal fog belt. It is common on the Olympic Peninsula and in the Cascades, northern Sierra Nevada and Rockies. …

After the loop, James and I enjoyed a soak in nearby Sol Duc Hot Springs.

more photos

related – 6min horseback trip VIDEO

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Deer Park, Olympics WA

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

The incredibly GREAT July weather continues. James and I headed directly up the Deer Park road in Olympic National Park.

We’d heard automobile horror stories … but with good weather in July, most any vehicle could climb the 5400ft from sea level to treeline.

Deer-Park-Road

The excellent and unique tenting campground was full, not surprisingly.

tent Deer Park

Rangers had no wood — budget cuts I assume — but many were able to enjoy a campfire.

campfire

The 7.45mi Deer Park Trail to Obstruction was still … obstructed. Ice axes were recommended. So — instead — James and I took day hikes in every direction instead.

James
And it’s lovely in every direction.

We did the obligatory 0.5mi Rainshadow Trail to the top of Blue Mountain. Touristy. But the fantastic vistas made it all worth while.

From there we dashed out on seldom used trail onto two obvious adjacent ridges.

ridge

Views don’t get any better than Deer Park …

James Hammock

… unless you savour them from a HAMMOCK.

James Parent recommends you book a hiking holiday to Olympic National Park. 🙂

James mountain

No water is available at Deer Park. Toilets are excellent. No parking “pass” is needed. You can pay on arrival for campsites, first come – first served.

more photos

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Gros Morne National Park – what the frack?

The UNESCO world heritage committee says a monitoring mission should be sent to Gros Morne National Park to assess fracking risks.

… it’s seriously concerned about plans for potential oil exploration near the site. …

Gros Morne

CTV – Fracking risks in Gros Morne should be assessed, UNESCO says

State of Canada’s Parks:

Among the good news: a huge new park in Québec which is now eastern North America’s largest protected area and Canada’s largest provincial park!

The bad news? We’ve identified numerous emerging threats to some of our most iconic parks. The threat of oil fracking metres from Gros Morne National Park heads the list, along with ongoing concerns about federal budget cuts and inappropriate commercial developments in our national parks. Also, some provincial and territorial governments are backtracking on promises to create new parks and protected areas. …

read more from CPAWS – One step forward, two steps back for Canada’s parks: CPAWS’ 2013 State of Canada’s Parks Report

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Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail

Here’s ANOTHER (fairly) new long distance trail.

The Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT), now designated as the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail, is a 1200 mile hiking trail running from the Continental Divide in Montana (connecting it with the Continental Divide Trail), through the northern panhandle of Idaho, to the Pacific coast of Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. It traverses the Rocky Mountains, Selkirk Mountains, Pasayten Wilderness, North Cascades, Olympic Mountains, and Wilderness Coast. The trail crosses three National Parks and seven National Forests. The trail was designated a national scenic trail in 2009. …

The trails route was first conceived and explored by Ron Strickland in 1970. …

click for LARGER map
click for LARGER map

related:

Ron Strickland – The Pacific Northwest Trail, a National Scenic Trail

Pacific Northwest Trail Strip Maps

Ron Strickland’s book: Pathfinder – Blazing a New Wilderness Trail in Modern America

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NEW – Oregon Desert Trail

A 33-year-old hiker has just become the first person to hike a proposed trail that spans roughly 800 miles across Oregon’s high desert.

The trail runs from Bend to the Owyhee Canyonlands near the Idaho border. The Oregon Desert Trail — as it’s being called — connects many wilderness areas and proposed wilderness areas. …

read more – 800 Miles Of Juniper And Jack Rabbits: First Hiker Completes Oregon Desert Trail

Click through that link to hear an audio interview with Sage Clegg.

Clegg

Water was her biggest problem. She cached some in advance in order to complete the mission.

click for FULL SIZE map
click for FULL SIZE map
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Klahhane Ridge, Olympics WA

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

If you are talking to experienced Olympics hikers, you’ll very soon be talking about this rugged, interesting — very accessible — route.

The ridge is reached by a variety of hiking trails off of high Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park and offers spectacular views of the Olympic Mountains and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. In good weather.

Klahhane is a Chinook word meaning “outdoors.” It’s often misspelled. 🙂

Klahhane

I started from the Visitor’s Center up the Sunrise Trail. And followed the signs for Lake Angeles.

Sunrise

Soon I side tripped a mad scramble up Mt Angeles. Good fun.

The pretty trail winds steeply up and up.

steep trail

The roadway up to Hurricane falls away below.

Hurricane road

The higher you climb, the more rugged it gets.

rugged Klahhane

At points you must guess where the trail lies, under the snow. I took the chance to do some glissading.

snow

Klahhane is pretty. No doubt about it.

Klahhane pretty

I was sorry to see the climb end.

Rick Klahhane

Finally. A glimpse of Lake Angeles far below.

Angeles Lake

During the slippery, steep descent I fell once. Landing (correctly) on my backpack. No injury.

lake

I’m no real fan of mountain lakes, mainly because of mosquitoes. The flying mini-vampires of Lake Angeles were the first that had pestered me in 5 days.

But I’m happy to have tented there. For some reason the campground was overrun by mountain goats. Altogether we saw 8. Mothers with new born young.

mountain goats

I speculated that some predator might have driven them towards humans for protection … Bears and cougars don’t want to be anywhere near people if they can help it.

Just above was where the only hiker ever died from mountain goat attack. A slight cause for worry.

Next morning I strolled out of the mountains on a quiet old growth trail.

old growth

Jeni rescued me. After 5 days, 4 nights … I finally departed Olympic National Park.

Jeni

more photos

related – The Crossroad – Backpacking in Olympic National Park: Klahhane Ridge (2013)