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Compression socks for hiking

Speed-hiker extraordinaire Jennifer Pharr Davis this weekend set a new overall thru-hike record on the 2,181-mile Appalachian Trail. Her time of 46 days, 11 hours, and 20 minutes, is the quickest recorded completion of the iconic East Coast trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine. …

Note that she wore compression socks for some of her (average) 50mi days.

Salomon EXO IV Calf — Salomon’s EXO technology supports calf muscles, improving blood flow for better performance and recovery. …

Gear Junkie – Speed Hiker! Pharr Davis sets Record on Appalachian Trail

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Sierra High Route 2012

When Andrew Skurka says a trail is tough, it’s tough.

The Sierra High Route (SHR) is a 195-mile trekking route that runs north-south across the heart of the Sierra Nevada Range, through Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park, John Muir Wilderness, Ansel Adams Wilderness, and Yosemite National Park.

It is a rugged alternate to the John Muir Trail (JMT)– it boasts about 100 miles of cross-country travel, numerous Class III scrambles, and endless miles of boulder hopping. SHR hikers are rewarded with pristine alpine settings, long stretches of solitude, and a sense of true adventure.

I hiked the SHR in early-July 2008 with famed ultra runner Buzz Burrell, who at 56 years young is still going really strong. We were both taken back by the immensity of the High Sierra — its alpine regions are vaster than any other place we’d been in the Lower 48, in both length and girth, which is not necessarily the impression given by the JMT. I would have to imagine that this trip with Buzz will be just the first of several trips on the SHR. We comfortably did the entire route in 8 days and 4 hours, an average about 23 miles a day. …

AndrewSkurka.com

Skurka’s site links to the best guidebook and Andrew’s personal Mapset & Databook.

I’m going to want GPS coordinates and a SPOT Satellite Messenger device.

Leave a comment if you might be interested in doing this trip summer 2012.

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Venables – Higher Than the Eagle Soars: A Path to Everest

Stephen Venables is one high altitude mountaineer you’ve heard about, since he didn’t die young.

I really enjoyed his 2008 career retrospective – Higher Than the Eagle Soars: A Path to Everest.

It won Best Book — Mountain Literature at the 2007 Banff Mountain Book Festival.

In 1988, Venables became the first Briton to ascend the summit of Mount Everest without bottled oxygen. His ascent, as far as the South Col, was by a new route up the Kangshung Face from Tibet, with just three other climbers, Americans Robert Anderson and Ed Webster, and Canadian Paul Teare.

All four reached the South Col but Teare decided to descend from here, concerned about incipient altitude sickness. The other three continued up the final section of the normal 1953 route, but Anderson and Webster were forced to turn back at the South Summit.

Meanwhile Venables reached the summit alone, at 3.40 pm.[1] Descending late in the day, he decided to bivouac in the open at about 8,600 metres, rather than risk a fall by continuing in the dark. Anderson and Webster spent the night slightly lower in an abandoned Japanese tent. In the morning all three were reunited and continued down to their own tents on the South Col. It took them a further three days to complete an epic retreat down the Kangshung Face. All three climbers suffered some frostbite, with Webster affected worst. …

Venables is a fine writer. A better writer than climber if his autobiography is to be believed.

An early letter of recommendation from one Dr. Buxton:

Dear Sirs,

Stephen Venables shows little aptitude for academic work, so he might as well spend the summer climbing.

He recently injured himself falling off a cliff in Bristol, so I should imagine that some alpine training would be a very good idea.

Yours sincerely,

John Buxton

His life story is one of one underfunded, under-planned, over-enthusiastic misadventure after another. I’m very happy to be a hiker, not a climber after reading the life & death tale of Kangshung.

Venables as a young man hung out at Snell’s Field in Chamonix while his American contemporaries were living on a shoestring budget at Camp 4 in Yosemite.

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Nepal – Bringing Progress to PARADISE

The publisher sent me a review copy. Here’s my REVIEW.

In October 2008, climbing expedition leader and attorney, Jeffrey Rasley, led a trek to a village in a remote valley in the Solu region of Nepal named Basa. His group of three adventurers was only the third group of white people ever seen in this village of subsistence farmers. What he found was a people thoroughly unaffected by Western consumer-culture values. They had no running water, electricity, or anything that moves on wheels. Each family lived in a beautiful, hand-chiseled stone house with a flower garden. Beyond what they already had, it seemed all they wanted was education for the children. He helped them finish a school building already in progress, and then they asked for help getting electricity to their village.

Bringing Progress to Paradise describes Rasley’s transformation from adventurer to committed philanthropist.

… offers Rasley’s critical reflection on the tangled relationship between tourists and locals in “exotic” locales and the effect of Western values on some of the most remote locations on earth.

Rasley presents a thoughtful, honest account of his moral struggle with the dilemma. That struggle is framed in the story of a one week guided fund-raising trip to the village in Oct. 2008.

By books end, I’m no more decided than the author on whether or not their good works are a net gain for the village. It has proceeded, in any case. The school was renovated by 2009, two new teachers hired and budget in place for 3yrs. The composting toilet had been delivered (but not installed).

Next step … Electricity and Internet.

As an independent hiker, the plot of the book is a cautionary tale of the many things that can go wrong on a guided Himalayan trek. (In fact, everyone who considers signing on with a group should be required to read this book first.)

The highlight of the trek for me was Chapter 21 – Basa Magnetism. One of the trekkers, Karen, had an intense day, physically and spiritually. It got me thinking about my own tough days in the mountains.

I recommend it. And recommend trading it in a mountain hostel for another outdoor adventure book. 🙂

details on Red Wheel – Bringing Progress to Paradise
What I Got from Giving to a Mountain Village in Nepal

Jeff Rasley
$15.95
238 pages
October 1, 2010

Jeff answers the question: Is Nepal A Safe Place To Visit?

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Amazon Waterfalls Association hike

Charles Motley sends news of a new trek to some of the highest waterfalls in the world. It’s in northern Peru and could be visited in conjunction with a visit to Machu Picchu north, the fortress of Kuelap.

Gocta Cataracts … Spanish: Catarata del Gocta) is a perennial waterfall with two drops located in Peru’s province of Chachapoyas in Amazonas, approximately 700 kilometres (430 mi) to the northeast of Lima. …

Although the waterfall had been well-known to locals for centuries (it is in full view of a nearby village), its existence was not made known to the world until after an expedition made in 2005 by a German, Stefan Ziemendorff, with a group of Peruvian explorers. …

On 13 March 2006, the Peruvian government announced to the press … that the area surrounding the falls would be developed as a tourist attraction … A small hotel was built 6-miles from the base of the waterfall, with all rooms having views of the waterfall. Tourists can now hike the trails by foot or horse to the misty base of the waterfall. The nearby town of Chachapoyas is located at an altitude of 2235 meters (7657 ft).

There are other waterfalls, one perhaps even higher.

Here’s a link to a guided adventure:

… a 2-day trek of about 10 km with a night half way along the trail. This is limited to no more than 12 people and one group starting daily.

Charles tells that there’s also a one day hike offered. The cost is only about $3. Visit this new attraction as soon as possible, as the north of Peru is bound to become increasingly popular in future.

About the Amazon Waterfalls Association.

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besthike editor back in the NEW world

Let’s say you’re a hiker in Lausanne, Switzerland. In July. Those mountains look very appealing from Lake Geneva.

Would you go … HIKING? … Or pop in to the nearest Travel Agent to buy an expensive flight home to Canada? (Double the cost of the same plane flying the other direction.)

It’s a long, sad story 😦 … but due to a series of failed computer repairs in inefficient Italy, I cut short my European ramblings and will be hiking the Pacific N.W. in August, instead.

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survived Corsica’s GR 20 …

by site editor Rick McCharles

I grossly underestimated the difficulty of “Europe’s toughest trek“, the 180km long GR 20.

The second night was my low point, both hamstrings cramped. … I thought I’d need to quit, following two other hikers who decided to limp out due to blisters.

But each day I got stronger, the pack lighter. I ended up doing about 100kms of the tougher ‘half’ of the total route over 6 challenging days.

The last day was a long scramble to the summit of Monte d’Oro.

That was FUN. Perfect weather.

Less fun, from there (7837ft / 2389m) … it’s about 1400m straight down to the narrow gauge railway line at Vizzavona, where I made my escape.

That’s my toughest hike ever, by far.

Trip report and photos coming SOON.

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Great Himalaya Trail

The ultimate long trek in the world, I reckon, is the Nepal section of the GHT.

The Great Himalaya Trail is one of the longest and highest walking trails in the world. Winding beneath the world’s highest peaks and visiting some of the most remote communities on earth, it passes through lush green valleys, arid high plateaus and incredible landscapes. Nepal’s GHT has 10 sections comprising a network of upper and lower routes, each offering you something different, be it adventure and exploration, authentic cultural experiences, or simply spectacular Himalayan nature. …

read more on The Great Himalaya Trail

2011 guidebook – Nepal Trekking & the Great Himalaya Trail (Trailblazer)

Thank Richard for the update. And for the link to an interview with thru hiker Shawn Forry (trail name Pepper). He and Trauma did 57 days carrying their own gear cache to cache. Some harsh sections.

One big problem with Nepal is the complexity and cost of trekking permits. They tried to do it legal, relying on Adventure Alliance in Kathmandu to organize the paperwork.

Respect guys.

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hike Wells Gray Park, B.C.

Wells Gray Park has a summer adventure for everyone! The best hiking trip in BC- Hut to hut through alpine flower meadows, lakes and old growth forests. Canoe the pristine waters of Clearwater and Azure Lakes and relax on the beaches.

Hike the incredible Wells Gray Park wilderness in an environmentally sensitive way with only a small pack and stay in the comfort of a wilderness cabin. This trip is one of the best hikes in British Columbia. The all inclusive fully guided and catered outdoor adventures start at only $130/day. …

details on skihike.com

For more information call 1888 754 8735 or email info@skihike.com

Thanks Ian Eakins for the link. Sadly I’ve never hiked that Park myself.