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October 7, 2011October 7, 2011

hiking Big Island, Brazil

Ramon Luiz da Cruz Inacio Quevedo writes to ask what we’ve got against Brazil?

We have a amazing hike, next to Rio de Janeiro / São Paulo. …

WHY YOU DO LIKE THIS HIKE

– Beaches almost wild on rain forest;
– It is not only hike: you do can just relax on beach when you want;
– If you fell tired, you can pause and relax some days on sand with a cold bear;
– You can stop your hike at any moment. If you want, there are small local boats in each place to hire and go to another place without hike;
– There are montains to view the sea and around, the major is pico do papagaio (means parrot summit);
– There is a lot kayaking and snorkeling;
– Birds, little monkeys, etc are common.

CONSIDERATIONS

– The biggest problem is the language: Knowledge some words in Portuguese may help.
– The weather is predictable some days forward but it’s possible one week later your sunniest beach vacations turns to a week wettest on mud.
– Watch out with snakes and spiders
– Camp on beach is forbidden, you must camp next a local house or camp site.
– Summer (dec-mar) is hotter, but there are more rain. Winter is drier and tiny cold, but with some luck maybe hot like summer.

Summit Post:

Ilha Grande ( Big Island ) is one of the Brazilian paradises.

The Island is covered almost 90% by original Atlantic Forest, one of the last places preserved. Majestic trails, mountains, wild beaches, the perfect place to feel the Nature. Today, Ilha Grande receive more than 8.000 visitors every month. 20 years ago, the number was 600 people per month. …

Mountainous topography with several peaks. … These areas are extensively vegetated and you can also find dense forests, headlands, steeps, plains, rivers and caverns.

It’s very easy to go to Ilha Grande!

… from Rio de Janeiro.

Barcas S/A is the official company to make traverses from the Island, two times, every day. The ticket costs US$ 3 and 8 ( weekends ). The ship will go to Abraão beach, the main village. All the trails start in this place. All the trailheads are very well marked with plates and maps. It’s very easy and pleasant to hike and walk by beautiful trails close to the Atlantic Ocean. …

Summit Post – Ilha Grande

I’m convinced. No doubt we’ll hear much about ILHA GRANDE in the lead up to the 2016 Olympics.

October 7, 2011October 6, 2011

Stephen Mather – National Parks hero

Stephen Mather (1867–1930) was manic-depressive, self-made American millionaire who took it upon himself to build the National Parks system.

… Beginning in 1913, when Mather wrote to the Secretary of the Interior, Franklin K. Lane, and deplored the state of the parks, he began building support for better management of the system by the federal government. In 1915, Lane appointed Mather as his assistant to work on the parks issues …

In fact, Lane told him that if he didn’t like the parks, to come to Washington and fix them himself.

Mather did, originally agreeing to stay only 1yr.

It became his life’s work.

Though he’s celebrated in every Park, I only learned of Mather in The National Parks: America’s Best Idea by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns.

That’s the book, not the DVDs.

October 6, 2011October 6, 2011

Merrell supports Breast Cancer Awareness

Sarah Timms is a hiker. And Media Relations Officer for Breakthrough Breast Cancer in the U.K.

As part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month they’ve partnered with Merrell. For every pair of Siren Breeze hiking shoes sold, a percentage goes to charity.

Shopping via breakthroughbreastcancer.org helps the cause.

In 2011 I wear nothing but Merrell shoes on the trail.

October 6, 2011October 1, 2011

wikiexplora – World’s TOP 10 Treks

I’m impressed.

wikiexplora has the best TOP 10 and TOP 50 treks list I’ve seen online, aside from our own. 🙂

1 Chile Torres del Paine Trek, Patagonia Spanish | English
2 Perú Inca Trail
3 Tanzania Mt. Kilimanjaro
4 France-Italy-Switzerland Haute Route
5 Nepal Everest Base Camp
6 New Zealand Routeburn track, Fiordland-Mount Aspiring Nationals Parks, South Island
7 Pakistan Snow Lake/Biafo-Hispar/Lupke La Region
8 Pakistan Baltoro glacier / Concordia
8 India Zanskar river, Ladakh
10 USA Kaibab trail, Grand Canyon (Rim-to-Rim), Arizona

(Disclaimer… Inca Trail doesn’t deserve to be in the top 50, the most overrated walk in the world.)

That list was arrived at via recommendation of these 9 guidebooks:

Book 1: A Journey along the World’s Great Treks by Jeff Salvage and Kirk Markus

Book 2: Classic Hikes of the World: 23 Breathtaking Treks by Peter Potterfield

Book 3: Top Treks of the World by Steve Razzetti

Book 4: The World’s Great Adventure Treks by Jack Jackson

Book 5: Outside Adventure Travel: Trekking by Outside Magazine

Book 6: Ultimate Adventures a Rough guide to Adventure Travel by The Rough Guides

Book 7: A Year of Adventures by Andrew Bain

Book 8: Lonely Plante’s 1000 Ultimate Experiences by Lonely Planet

Book 9: Classic Treks, The Most Spectacular Hikes in the World by Bill Birkett

wikiexplora.com is mostly in Spanish, but the treks list is in English.

I’ve added a permanent link in the right hand navigation. It’s a fantastic resource for hikers.

October 5, 2011October 5, 2011

boil water to charge your phone

A JAPANESE COMPANY HAS come up with a new way to charge your mobile phone after a natural disaster or in the great outdoors – by heating a pot of water over a campfire. …

Australian Geographic

$A284.55

Thank Colin Lorback for the link.

October 5, 2011October 1, 2011

fleeing Mt Yari, Japan

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Day 2

I awoke before dawn in one of the best tent sites of my life.

This truly is the land of the rising sun.

Dozens of hikers were already atop nearby Mt Yari. It’s tradition to climb in the dark.

Personally, I was in no rush. The crowds were gone by the time I headed up.

In fact, I had the summit to myself. Nice.

I left a Summit Stone at the Yari summit shrine.

A helicopter arrived. That’s Fuji in the distance.

An elderly gentleman was evacuated. He looked OK to me but had been on oxygen earlier in the morning.

I’m hoping he had insurance. Choppers are very expensive in Japan.

Here are the famous Yari ladders, trickier on the descent than the climb.

Though the weather could not have been finer, the forecast was for rain next day. I gambled, hoping it would hold off long enough for me to finish the Kamokochi – Yari – Hotaka circuit early next morning.

It was too tempting to spend the day walking the ridge towards Murado. Can you blame me?

This region is wrongly compared with Yosemite. In fact, it’s much like the GR20 in Corsica.

The nearest water to Yari I could find was at Sugoruko-goya.

They have quite an elaborate system ensuring a drinking supply for the hiking season. (But you may need to filter out the insects.)

2pm was my turnaround time. It was even prettier on the way back.

I did not see much wildlife. A pair of Rock Ptarmigan were the highlight.

Can you believe this stunning view from Yari-dake-sanso at sunset?

Here’s my last photo of the day — my tent.

_____

In fact, that was my last photo of the trip.

Going to sleep at 8:30pm, I was awoken at 10:30pm. The storm had arrived.

Wind and driving rain all night kept me up. I listened to an audio book until first light.

It was all I could do to stuff my wet gear and flee back the way I came, the easy way down. This means I MISSED the infamous Diakiretto:

… hole in the ridge
… ladders, chains, big drops …

This is, without doubt, the most exhilarating (or the scariest) bit of hiking in Japan that doesn’t require any specialist skills.

Lonely Planet

That route is too dangerous when wet. I’d been warned by Wes Lang, editor of the Hiking in Japan blog.

See all my photos from day 2 of this adventure on Flickr

Or check Day 1 if you missed it.

October 4, 2011October 4, 2011

climbing Mt Yari, Japan

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

I’m in Japan for up to two months — including 3wks with an all-you-can-ride Japan Rail pass.

First up — Kamikōchi:

… a remote mountainous highland in the western portion of Nagano Prefecture …

… the entire highland is protected as part of the Chūbu-Sangaku National Park, access is only granted to bus, taxi and local workers’ vehicles. …

Off to climb Mt Yari.

Lonely Planet tells me that the cheapest and easiest way to get there is by night bus from a big city.

We arrived 5:30am.

I was one of the few who took breakfast. Most dashed off up the trail. Japanese love to hike early.

The most popular trail to Yari starts leisurely.

Trees are starting to change colour end of September, but not as spectacularly as I had hoped.

Little of the signage is in English — mainly WARNINGS.

This walk along the Asuza-gawa river is famous in Japan.

The “spear” of Mt Yari compels. But it’s not nearly as close as it appears.

It seemed to take forever to reach my destination — the hugely popular complex called Yari-dake-sanso — every step getting steeper. It seems the 1500m (4500ft) elevation gain all happens over the last few kms. 😦