Nootka on the northleft of Vancouver Island is like the West Coast Trail. But unofficial. And wilder.
Esperanza Ministries does a youth adventure program every year for 3 weeks (one week hiking the Nootka Trail, another week camping at Ferrier Point and another week canoeing back to Esperanza).
I just got another batch of Summit Stones from DSD.
The philosopher blogger at Summit Stones collects special stones while out on the trail. Paints them. And then returns them to the wilderness accompanied by a tiny booklet of poems & prose inspired by the outdoors.
… Sometimes another hiker passes by and collects the souvenir.
Nice.
🙂
DSD links to a number of sites promoting good causes. I’d like to pass that list on to you, too.
If you like to hike, Mammoth is a great base camp. You can pretty much walk out your door and just go.
1. The John Muir Trail runs a few miles from Mammoth. If you have the time and desire, you could hike south all the way to Mt Whitney or north to Yosemite.
2. Lakes area – there are a number of trails that leave from the lakes area that offer unlimited day hikes and connections to much longer journeys.
3. White Mountains – from Mammoth, you can’t miss these huge mountains to the south. The hiking is outstanding for two reasons – you get a great view of the Sierra and you get to see some of the oldest living things on earth, the Bristlecone Pines.
4. Yosemite offers hundreds of hikes that max out the wow scale.
If you like to camp, the possibilities are endless. Just point yourself toward the mountains and walk until you are tired. Wherever you end up, it will be a spectacular camp site. I am especially fond of the Duck Pass area. …
In May 2012, Dan will embark on his biggest journey to date, as he attempts a Global Triathlon – swimming, cycling and running around the world. This will include a grueling 5700km swim, as Dan attempts to become the first man in history to swim the Atlantic. …
The Müllerthal trail is definitely one of the most and perhaps even the most beautiful trail in the whole of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Strong hikers can hike the 35km long trail number 2 in a dayhike but I recommend to do it as an overnighter as there are so many interesting spots to explore along the trail.
Wonderful photos …
… I’m getting stuck with my backpack. I need to take it off and wring through the corridor while pushing my backpack ahead of me. After this first small corridor a second much longer and deeper one follows. At the end of the tunnel it gets so dark that I’m first thinking I must have missed the trail as the corridor seems to end in a dead point. While returning it still seems to be the right route. I get back into the corridor, now with my head lamp shining ahead. The corridor keeps going. It looks more lake caving what I’m doing. This is perhaps the finest passage of the Müllerthal trail. Passed the long corridor I leave the trail for a while to explore the underground circuit of the Kuelscheier cave. Yes, it’s not only corridors to explore here, there are small real caves too! …
the “largest gathering of backpackers in the United States” …
… someday …
National Parks Traveler:
… Damascus, Virginia is rightly called “Trail Town USA.” …
This year the fest runs May 18th through 20th but events start Saturday May 12th and continue through the 17th for early arrivals. …
The festival includes everything from lectures to a beauty pageant, a talent show, free gear repair and more. It’s a truly trail focused cultural convergence, and every year the schedule of events is worth a close inspection for events that any hiker would want to attend. …
… The Virginia Creeper Trail—a former logging railroad, now without the tracks and trains—starts near Mount Rogers on the lofty heights of White Top, the state’s second highest peak, and runs across scenic rolling foothills 33.4-miles to Abingdon, one of Virginia’s oldest mountain towns …
besthike.com 