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naked chef wins $100k TED prize

I’ve not been a fan of controversial British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

I find him strident. And not all that amusing.

But I’m thrilled he won the prestigious TED prize for 2010.

At the heart of Oliver’s work is an assault on the obesity epidemic: The CDC states that one in four Americans are considered obese. It is estimated that 43 percent of Americans, or 103 million people, will be obese by 2018. The cost of this epidemic is anticipated to reach $344 billion per year. It currently accounts for almost 10 percent of the yearly US health care costs, and that rate will rise to 21 percent by 2018. WHO’s latest projections indicate that, globally in 2005, approximately 1.6 billion adults were overweight and projects that by 2015, that figure will rise to 2.3 billion.” …

2010 TED Prize goes to Jamie Oliver

God knows he’s passionate. If interested, click over to TED to watch his scary 18min presentation.

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how do we fix Hawaii’s State Parks?

Hawaii is a paradise, many believe. I was as shocked as any other tourist to publish this rant last Fall:

the sorry campgrounds of Hawaii

Polihale State Park, Kauai, Hawaii

From Hawaii Island Journal, a detailed overview of the many problems – The State of the State Parks:

… Residents complained about drugs and vandalism, stray cats and homeless people, deteriorating facilities and filthy bathrooms, and an unresponsive bureaucracy that had allowed the parks to deteriorate and had failed even to follow up on volunteer offers to help.

“There are places so disgusting that you wouldn’t go there. You’d find a bush,” commented one resident at the Kona meeting.

Another quoted a letter from a visitor: “If I’d wanted a Third World experience, I’d have gone to Mexico. It’s cheaper.” …

read more – The State of the State Parks

It’s not impossible to have a wonderful State Park experience. I camped here (illegally) for example. It was gorgeous.

campground closed for some undisclosed reason

Solution?

I’d join an organization called “Friends of Hawaii’s State Parks“. If one existed. Volunteers could do more to solve the problems than legislators.

There are some volunteer “Partners” linked from this page. But they don’t seem to be very effective.

Suggestions? … Leave a comment.

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planning for The Wonderland Trail

Trail Cooking has a terrific overview page on The Wonderland Trail around Mt. Rainier close to Seattle, Washington:

… I have seen a lot of chattering about hiking plans for this coming summer, more than usual, especially about the Wonderland Trail here in Washington – our gorgeous 93 miles loop around (well more like up and down) Rainier’s flanks.

With the El Nino weather pattern this winter settling in good since Fall 2010 could be a prime year for thinking about thru hiking it. The snow levels are much lower than usual meaning an earlier hiking season and or not walking on as much snow in the higher altitude sections. Much of the destruction that occurred back in fall of 2006 has been fixed as well. …

Trail Cooking & The Outdoors – Winter Daydreaming: Planning A Wonderland Trip

more Wonderland Trail photos by siolanthe

I’m dreaming of Wonderland myself.

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Inca Trail closed until April

Via The Adventure Blog I learned the bad news:

… the Instituto Nacional de Cultura (INC), the agency controlling the Inca Trail, has informed them that no one will be able to operate treks on the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in March of this year due to the recent flooding.

INC will refund all permits purchased for trekking the Inca Trail in March. …

Detour

Actually, Machu Picchu may open. The Inca Trail itself will be closed.

If you were planning a trekking holiday in South America, don’t panic. Here are 4 alternatives in Peru we like better:

• Ausangate Circuit TOP 10
• Huayhuash Circuit
• Alpamayo
• Santa Cruz Trek

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Perky Jerky

Kate feels this disgusting product is just the thing to give a tired hiker a kick in the pants.

Perky Jerky is the world’s first all-natural performance enhancing meat snack. Put simply, we’ve combined the most tender and flavorful beef jerky, with an extra dose of energy (caffeine, from the Guarana we add) to provide a jerky experience you won’t find anywhere else.

Perky Jerky

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visit Aloba Arch, Chad

One of the top 10 natural arches in the world, I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to travel to see it in Chad.

It’s one of the poorest countries in the world, literally in the middle of nowhere.

But I’d love to see remote Aloba Arch, always included on lists of the Most Incredible Natural Arches On Earth.

Span: 77m; Height: 120m
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America’s 10 Most Spectacular Day Hiking Areas

Camping Tourist has a post somewhat misnamed – 10 America’s Most Spectacular Day Hikes

I like their choices, however.


Mt. Katahdin, Baxter State Park, Maine

Coyote Gulch, Escalante Subdistrict, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Utah

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Naples, Florida

Grayson Highlands State Park, Virginia

Lost Coast, King Range National Conservation Area, Northern California

Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness, White River National Forest, Colorado

Mount St. Helens, Washington

Na Pali Coast State Wilderness Park, Kauai, Hawaii

Wrangell St Elias National Park, Kennecott District, Alaska

Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, California

click through for details and photos – America’s Most Spectacular Day Hikes

Mount St Helens

As an aside, I note that the text from that post has been stolen and reposted on several other sites.

That’s a shame.

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why haven’t I hiked Crater Lake?

Crater Lake is a caldera lake located in the south-central region of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. …

I kicked myself for driving past, in the past, after I watched this video. It looks superb.

[clearspring_widget title=”Beautiful Places in HD” wid=”4818aa96925a19fd” pid=”4b685d30201387a6″ width=”425″ height=”271″ domain=”widgets.clearspring.com”]

Tony’s show is one of the top ranked video podcasts on iTunes in the “Places & Travel” section. The easiest way to get every one is to subscribe on iTunes. It’s free.

But you can check out the other videos first on the official website – Beautiful Places in HD.