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climbing Mt Baldy, Los Angeles

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Mount San Antonio, commonly known as Old Baldy or Mt Baldy, at 10,068 ft (3,069 m), is the highest peak in the San Gabriel Mountains, and the highest point in Los Angeles County. …

Hiking trails access the summit from three sides of the mountain and one route is assisted on summer weekends by the availability of a running ski-area chair lift …

I checked Modern Hiker for details:

– Distance: 10.33 miles
– Elevation Gain: 3950 feet

… Most of the trails are very clearly marked and easy to follow. There are a few places where you might get off the beaten path, but generally you can find your way back with ease. The Devil’s Backbone Trail has a few dangerous spots that deserve extra attention. Do not attempt this trail when there is ice or snow present. A single slip on the Backbone when it’s icy could spell serious trouble …

I was concerned about snow on May 5th, 2011. People have died here.

I was ready to switch to a safer trail, if advised to do so at the Visitor’s Center. … Unfortunately, due to budget cuts, the office is currently closed Tue/Wed/Thur. (I arrived on a Thursday. Merde.)

… I decided to climb as high as possible, turning back if unsafe.

The most popular trailhead for those not CHEATING by taking the lift is Manker Flats, Antonio Falls road. It’s relatively easy to get up to Mt. Baldy Ski Resort, (not to be confused with the one in Canada).

The weather was perfect. Very little wind.

The highlight for me, though, were the ridge walk sections. Happily, all clear of snow.

Conditions were safe. I found myself on the summit in 3hrs.

I’m not saying there was no snow. Rather that there was almost no snow in any position of exposure.

I stashed a Summit Stone at 10,064 feet. (PHOTO)

This hike is highly recommended. I loved it.

more photos

A much better trip report than mine is posted on Modern Hiker. 🙂

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Canyon Hiking Guide to the Colorado Plateau

Buzz recommends this guidebook, though it’s not been revised since 1999. The author’s been called controversial.

This is a canyon hiking guide to the Colorado Plateau, which covers the southeastern half of Utah, the northern half of Arizona, the western 1/5 of Colorado, and a small part of NW New Mexico. …

Amazon

Michael R. Kelsey

… on June 9, 1970 he put a pack on his back and started traveling. Since then he has seen 223 countries, republics, islands, or island groups. When not traveling the world he is seeking out and exploring the canyon countries of the Southwest’s Colorado Plateau. All his wanderings have resulted in a very successful series of 16 self-published books. …

Michael R. Kelsey

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Chilkoot Trail eGuide

The Chilkoot Trail, which begins on tidewater in Alaska and climbs up over mountains in British Columbia, presents a unique backpacking opportunity, as this is a trail rich with history.

It was the main trail used in the famous Klondike Gold Rush of the late 1800′s, one of the biggest rushes the world has ever seen.

An international crowd of literally tens of thousands, fueled by dreams of riches, used the Chilkoot Trail to chase the gold in the Yukon. Most suffered incredible hardship, many never even made it and only a few got rich. Today on the trail you’ll find plenty of reminders of their epic journey.

sample page ...

Download a FREE Trail eGuide from the Hike Bike Travel Free Adventure Guides page. There are plenty more just like this one.

They download as .ZIP files that then need to be opened as PDFs.

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Dientes Circuit, Patagonia

The Patagonia You’ve Never Heard Of

Backpacking southern Chile’s obscure and wild Dientes Circuit

By Michael Lanza

As our 20-seat, twin-engine Otter DHC-6 prop plane drops through the ever-present Patagonian cloud cover, the Beagle Channel comes into view. On both sides, green hills rise to craggy, treeless mountains. To the north, the jagged Fuegian Andes of Argentina push into the sky. To the south looms our destination: the sharply pointed spires of the Dientes de Navarino. With a steep banking turn, the plane glides down onto the airstrip in the southernmost town in the world, Puerto Williams on Chile’s Navarino Island. …

read the trip report on The Big Outside

22.7-mile (36.5k) circuit

If you are not confident to go on your own, you can do this one guided, 6 days, 5 nights ($1300+) , by aonikenk.

I keep posting Dientes, the most southerly established trek in the world, because I’m still frustrated at having missed it myself on my one trip to the tip of South America.

I’m seriously considering going back in 2012.

Check out Dientes information page.

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Sprawson – Overland Track

A new guidebook for our favourite trail in Australia.

The Overland Track: Cradle Mountain to Lake St Clair

by Warwick Sprawson

details on Red Dog Books. ($39.99) Check also the website for the book.

Just the other day I recommended the classic hiking guidebook for The Overland by Chapman. About half the price.

On the other hand, this new competitor by Sprawson garnered some praise from Frank in Oz. His site is definitely the best source of information on the Overland, online.

In fact, you might simply want to download Frank’s Overland eBook, and refer to that PDF from your mobile device. It’s also less expensive than Sprawson.

All good options.

Check our Overland Track information page. It’s one of the top 10 treks in the world.

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new FUNNY video – The Naturist

The Naturist has been called a lot of things. Hack. Jackass. Oaf. Bumbling, uninformed mouth-breather. Genius. (That was his mom).

But one thing he’s never been called: dead. That’s because even after all he’s been through, he’s survived. Sure, he may have a few completely unnecessary scars and a horrible, degenerative kidney disease, but he’s still ticking. That’s why we thought that it was Teva’s duty to bring his unique and unorthodox viewpoints to you for another round of informational videos. His tactics may not align with “survival experts” or “common sense,” but he’s still breathing, so he must be doing something right.

…Right?

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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Ultralighter than Thou

Ryan Jordan:

Ultralight, simplicity, minimalism – these are not the goals.

So you get your pack weight down to five pounds, your possessions down to a count of 99, and your debt down to zero.

So what.

Now what?

Shouldn’t “going ultralight” be a prerequisite for some sort of greater end? I’ve read all the minimalist books, and followed all of the minimalist bloggers, and most of them seem pretty confused about the role that minimalism should play in their lives, and in the betterment of the world. …

read more – The Futility of Going Ultralight for Ultralight’s Sake

photo by Sam Haraldson on flickr

… I post this photo assuming some of those are Granite Gear packs, my choice too. … We’re cooler than you, I’m just saying. 🙂

_____

If you’re still hiking with a 7lb expedition pack, you need not read Ryan’s post. Instead find religion here:

Alastair Humphreys – Travel light, live cheap

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best hiking guidebooks

by site editor Rick McCharles

I’ve updated this list, my first revision since 2007.

At besthike we are assessing hiking guidebooks all the time. Most are poor: too much dense text, lousy maps, too few photos and graphics.

The worst of the worst are lists of dozens of hikes in a region with a short summary of each. There is no recommendation on “best hikes” because the author has (presumably) not walked them all.

Sadly, there’s no shortage of bad hiking guidebooks.

How do you find the BEST hiking guidebooks?

We often START by looking at the Lonely Planet walking guides.

Lonely Planet books are brilliantly succinct, have great maps and a high standard of quality control. And from the LP website you can buy just specific chapters as PDFs, if you wish.
And in some cases, the Lonely Planet guide is the best available. As an example, Lonely Planet Trekking in the Patagonian Andes.

The very best hiking guidebooks we’ve seen are the newest editions of Chapman’s guides to Australia.

Overland Track and Cradle Mountain Lake St Clair

The Overland Track guide, for example: 64 pages, 48 colour photos, 9 colour topographic maps, costs only A$17.95 including tax. Chapman is the undisputed expert on the region.

Chapman wrote the first editions of the Lonely Planet guides in Australia, later deciding to self-publish along with his wife and other co-authors. These guidebooks are near perfect, both informational and inspirational. Elevation profiles, history, climate, vegetation, geology, wildlife.

Other “best” guidebooks that come to mind include Blisters and Bliss, the beloved, venerable guidebook to the West Coast Trail. It uses humour to best effect.

The most compact format for a guidebook is published by Rucksack: waterproof, lightweight, open-flat with built-in map. (Exploring the Inca Trail, for example.)

But the VERY best format WAS The Canadian Rockies SuperGuide, by Graeme Pole, which WAS offered in a 3-ring binder (with a plastic sleeve for carrying only those pages you need).

It’s no longer available in the binder form. These days I’m back to photocopying the pages I need from his newest edition (2011).

Do you have a favourite guidebook? If so, leave a comment below.

… The future, obviously, is digital.

I’ve just bought a new iPod Touch (no GPS) and will be experimenting with Apps and other digital guides this season.

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photo essay – trekking Colca Canyon, Peru

Danny Milks & Kristin Tennessen posted some terrific pics from their hike to the bottom of one of the world’s deepest canyons:

Colca Canyon, at 4,160 meters (13,648 feet) from top to bottom, is twice as deep as the Grand Canyon …

see more on Backpacking Light

Here’s our besthike information page – Colca Canyon. And my personal trip report from 2005.

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hikingwithbarry – sensational hikes

LOVE these two posts by Barry . Terrific photos and trip reports.

• Twin Falls in Yoho National Park, British Columbia, Canada

Twin Falls, Yoho

• Fairy Falls and Imperial Geyser – Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
• Mount Allan – Centennial Ridge – Wind Valley, Kananaskis Country, Alberta, Canada
• Perley Rock – Rogers Pass – Canada’s Glacier National Park, British Columbia, Canada
• Asulkan Valley – Rogers Pass – Canada’s Glacier National Park, British Columbia, Canada
• Swiftcurrent Pass – Glacier National Park, Montana
• Grinnell Glacier – Many Glaciers – Glacier National Park, Montana
• Larch Valley and Sentinel Pass – Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
• Eiffel Lakes and Wenkchemna Pass – Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
• Turtle Mountain Summit Traverse – Crowsnest Pass, Alberta, Canada

Ten Sensational Hikes From hikingwithbarry – Volume 1

• Upper Antelope Slot Canyon – Page – Hiking Arizona
• Lower Antelope Slot Canyon – Page – Hiking Arizona
• Rats Nest Cave – Bow Valley Corridor – Hiking Alberta

Rat's Nest Cave

• The Pod – Crowsnest Pass – Hiking Alberta
• Mount Sir Donald – Rogers Pass – Glacier National Park – Hiking British Columbia
• Highline Trail – Garden Wall – Glacier National Park – Hiking Montana
• Grandview Trail – Grand Canyon National Park – Hiking Arizona
• Butch Cassidy Trail – Red Canyon – Hiking Utah
• Mount Burke – Cameron Fire Lookout – South Kananaskis – Hiking Alberta
• Stanley Glacier – Kootenay National Park – Hiking British Columbia

Ten Sensational Hikes from hikingwithbarry – Volume 2