Posts

Posted on

Hiking Wonderwall & Wonderland, UAE

If you get to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, consider heading out to the Western Hajar Mountains, which run alongside the border with Oman.

Perhaps the BEST hike / scramble is Wonderwall & Wonderland.

Others include:

  • White Wadi
  • Jabal Jais southside
  • Leopard Canyon

Add on abseiling, if you sign on with Adventurati guides.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Posted on

Durston X-Dome 1+ Tent

In 2024, the cool gear brand is Durston out of the Canadian Rockies.

They sell direct — saving you money that would normally be kept by the retailer.

For example, their Kakwa 55 backpack is much less expensive than comparable top end packs.

Durston has long had some of the best trekking pole supported tents. As I don’t use trekking poles, I wasn’t much paying attention.

The X-Dome 1+ (just now shipping late 2024) is Durston’s first free standing tent.

A loyal MSR Hubba fan, here’s WHY I might be soon switching to Durston.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. The MSR tent poles are much weaker.

Posted on

Winter Hiking Along the River

I grew up in Calgary, Canada, very close to Glenmore Park and the Weaselhead Flats Natural Environment Park. Lucky me.

We had record snow fall for the end of November. And a cold snap which froze the Elbow River.

I loaded up the backpack and headed out to enjoy the snow.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Posted on

Have you Hiked in the NUDE?

I’ve done it only once — on a dare.

I was on the John Muir Trail in California.

Camping in a remote spot — far from any other people — I took off for about 45 minutes wearing only my hiking shoes.

Nude hiking, also known as naked walking or freehiking, is a sub-category of the modern form of social nudity. More popular in Europe than anywhere else.

Personally, I didn’t particularly enjoy hiking naked. And have not yet been tempted to try it again.

But if you want to know more, there’s an article on Planet Nude that explains the benefits:

Freehiking through a watched world



Posted on

Visit British Columbia

For a hiker, B.C. is an ideal holiday destination.

  • Whistler
  • Garibaldi Provincial Park
  • Sunshine Coast
  • Vancouver
  • Okanagan Valley
  • Yoho National Park
  • Kootenay National Park
  • Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park
  • Vancouver Island
  • Gulf Islands
  • Squamish
  • Wells Gray Provincial Park
  • Mount Robson Provincial Park
  • Mt. Revelstoke National Park

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Posted on

A Day on the Portuguese Camino de Santiago

Campbell and Alya, the Stingy Nomads, are two of my favourite hiking bloggers. They live in Portugal and have spent a lot of time on the Caminos.

The Portuguese Camino Coastal Route – a guide & walking stages

Click PLAY or watch a typical day on YouTube.

Posted on

Undeniably THE BEST Backpacking Gear TODAY

#Clickbait 😀

If — like me — you are currently shopping Black Friday for Christmas, Steven’s video by will be of interest.

If in Canada, I recommend you browse GearTrade.ca — easily the best high quality gear shop in the nation.

In the USA, Steven recommends Garage Grown Gear.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Posted on

Hike the Westweg, Black Forest, Germany

The Westweg (“West Way” or “West Trail”) is a long-distance hiking trail in Germany, running north–south through the Black Forest from Pforzheim to Basel.

The trail is around 285 km long, and was founded in 1900. …

The route passes through or near numerous villages or small towns, so there is no difficulty in finding overnight accommodation and meals along the route.

It would actually require more planning to walk it while staying in youth hostel-type accommodation, or camping.

There are a number of services that will transport your luggage to the next accommodation by vehicle …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Don’t have time to hike the whole thing?

The Westweg can easily be divided into individual day hikes.

Due to the sheer number of beautiful trails in the Black Forest, it’s also very easy to add stages of the Westweg to circular hikes over a weekend. …

National Parks of Europe

Cicerone has a dedicated guide book.