An inspiring photo by Bill Hatcher for National Geographic.
(Photograph taken on assignment for, but not published in, “Biking Across the Alaska Range: A Wild Ride,” May 1997, National Geographic magazine)
The team of Carl Tobin, Paul Adkins, and Roman Dial completed a 775-mile (1250-kilometer) bike trip across the Alaska Range in seven weeks. Their aim was to travel light, with feather-light titanium bikes and less than 20 pounds (8 kilograms) each in food, clothing, and gear.
Just before dawn …, Richard Code disappeared into the darkness and lit out for the Ontario wilderness, bringing little more than a few supplies and the skills he had learned from watching Survivorman, a reality show about subsisting in the bush. …
Richard Code with father, Mel Code.
… Code’s body was found in a marshy, snowed-in area just north of Huntsville.
Police say Code’s death is not considered suspicious at this time and his brother Stephen Code said OPP have informed him that the cause of death was hypothermia. …
Contact World Expeditions and be specific in a request for information on the new Great Himalaya Trail adventure, if you are interested. They’ll take care of the logistics and paperwork.
In fact, Sierra Blogging Post says you can sign up for a 150 day Great Himalaya Trekking Thru Hike. If that happens, I’d have to declare it the “best thru hike” in the world.
Rosemary Kitchen on Gadling linked to 8 videos from 7 hikes.
Yikes!
I link to this one, the top of name, because a couple of days before I climbed up there, a Russian hiker was killed by lightning. On this exact spot! Now that’s scary.
Others on the list: Spain’s El Caminito del Rey (“The King’s Little Pathway”), Mount Hua in China, Tennessee’s Mount LeConte, Angel’s Landing in Utah, and Philippines’ Mount Pinatubo.
In my humble opinion, these are five of the greatest trekking adventures in the world’s greatest mountain range. I call these “gourmet” treks – off the beaten path walks in the nooks and crannies of the Great Range. You won’t see Mount Everest on any of these trips (or many people for that matter), but you will have the opportunity to wander through obscure mountainous regions, visit remote villages, pitch a tent in picturesque campsites and immerse yourself in some of the world’s last enclaves of pure Buddhist culture. Go with greatness!
This photo of Munch by Jill Goodell generated some discussion on the Yosemite Blog.
A commenter named Tom suggested he’d be within his rights to shoot a loose dog in Yosemite National Park. It’s illegal to be off-leash.
Seems to me Tom’s not actually threatening to shoot Jill’s dog, but rather was using exaggeration to make a point. Off leash dogs can wreak havoc with wildlife.
Click through to that post if you’ve an opinion to add: Yosemite Blog – The Last Straw
Mt Whitney, California
Salkantay Trek, Peru
Timberline Trail, Oregon
Everest Base Camp, Nepal
Appalachian Trail, North Carolina Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
Zion Narrows, Utah Haute Route, France/Switzerland John Muir Trail, California
Cinque Terre, Italy
Good choices! I’ve hiked six. The rest are on my personal to-do list.
He got it into his head to try to complete the 211mi JMT in only a week. Nuts.
Just to make it a little more challenging, he started with a pack weight of about 1/3 body weight. And climbed the highest mountain in the continental U.S. at the beginning of the adventure. (Sensible people finish on Mt. Whitney. They don’t start there.)
Many have done similar things. But none that I’ve seen have documented it so beautifully. Here’s Ryan’s 40min movie slide show of his week in the footprints of John Muir.
Hiking is a better activity than most for our Planet. But I’m no treehugger myself.
I grew cynical after hearing an NPR audiocast citing a study where 1,017 of 1,018 products that made environmental claims were found guilty of deceptive advertising.
What really makes me suspicious of strident environmental evangelists (I’m looking at you David Suzuki) is Greenwashing:
… (green whitewash) is the practice of companies disingenuously spinning their products and policies as environmentally friendly …
If I see a product with a green label, I normally avoid it out of fear of being duped.
Also, any product with a green label has an inexplicable mark-up in price.
Some good news?
The NY Times reports that the American” Federal Trade Commission is expected to crack down on “greenwashing” when it updates its environmental marketing guidelines for the first time since 1998.”
I hope this helps.
… letters were recently sent to retailers like Hanes, Jockey and Target as well as REI, Sports Authority and Altrec.com. Even companies like Bamboo Eco Wear, Footprint Bamboo and Green Earth Bamboo were included in the list. …
besthike.com 