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February 4, 2010February 4, 2010

Santa hikes the Grand Canyon

Hank Leukart calls his Without Baggage blog posts “Essays“.

Magazine quality writing. One of my favourite sites.

I’m one of those readers who believes Hank’s secret motto is, “Whoever dies on the craziest, most dangerous adventure, wins,”

This time Hank was frustrated he couldn’t get a permit to hike the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim.

Solution? Do it late December when no sane person would want a permit. Who cares that the North Rim is closed in winter.

Starting at the south rim Bright Angel Trailhead, Hank and his brother couldn’t find the biggest hole in the U.S.A. with both hands. They were lost immediately. Not an auspicious start.

And why not put a Santa Claus suit in with your lightweight winter camping gear?

Why not?

In the end, it turned out that the Santa suit was the best decision they made.

… Early the next morning, Brian puts on the Santa suit and goes to fill his Camelbak with water. A twenty-something-year-old woman interrupts him.

“Santa! Do you mind if I sit on your lap and get a picture?” she asks.

“Of course not,” my brother says. “It’s my job.”

Highly recommended.

part 1 – santa claus snowshoes the grand canyon, rim to rim to rim.

part 2 – hiking in santa claus’s bright celebrity spotlight.

part 3 – how i came to believe in santa claus.

… hardest single trekking day of their lives …

February 3, 2010February 3, 2010

Fire Rainbow in the sky

The atmospheric phenomenon known as a circumhorizon(tal) arc, or “Fire rainbow”, appears when the sun is high in the sky (i.e., higher than 58° above the horizon), and its light passes through diaphanous, high-altitude cirrus clouds made up of hexagonal plate crystals. Sunlight entering the crystals’ vertical side faces and leaving through their bottom faces is refracted (as through a prism) and separated into an array of visible colors.

When the plate crystals in cirrus clouds are aligned optimally (i.e., with their faces parallel to the ground), the resulting display is a brilliant spectrum of colors reminiscent of a rainbow.

The example shown above was captured on camera as it hung for about an hour across a several-hundred square mile area of sky above northern Idaho (near the Washington border) on 3 June 2006. …

Oddee

Snopes confirms this is for real.

February 2, 2010February 2, 2010

BREAKING – CNN discovers lost city of Mirador

The City Of Mirador in Guatemala was found in 1926. Seems CNN finally discovered it, too.

Better late to the party than not to come at all.

Someone should have told Wolf to check Wikipedia:

… the remote site deep in the jungle had little more attention paid to it until Ian Graham spent some time there making the first map of the area in 1962. A detailed investigation was begun in 1978 with an archaeological project under the direction of Dr. Bruce Dahlin …

In 2003, Dr. Richard D. Hansen, a Senior Scientist from Idaho State University, initiated major investigation, stabilization, and conservation programs at El Mirador with a multi-disciplinary approach, including staff and technical personnel from 52 universities and research institutions from throughout the world. By August 2008, the team had published 168 scientific papers … and produced 474 technical reports and scientific presentations as well as documentary films in the History Channel, National Geographic, the Learning Channel, BBC, ABC’s 20/20 and Good Morning America, 60 Minutes (Australia), and the Discovery Channel. …

They’ve got up-to-date video of the latest excavation, however.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Direct link to the CNN video.

I guess OLD media needs to find deceptive ways to hold on to their viewers. This piece is clearly deceptive though there’s no outright lie.

February 2, 2010January 25, 2010

Beartooths traverse, Montana

Peter Potterfield was searching for the best hike in Montana:

The state is so rich in extraordinary wilderness that it’s actually hard to choose: Glacier or Yellowstone? The Bitterroots? The Bob Marshall Wilderness? One can hardly go wrong, but I was determined to find something special. For expert input, I asked fellow writer Mike Harrelson, a gung-ho climber and skier based in Bozeman, to help me decide. He was up for the challenge and after a few weeks of research called me with the verdict.

“We’re going to do a traverse of the Beartooths,” he said, “right down to the northern boundary of Yellowstone.

Potterfield’s trip report sounds great: “outrageous wildflower gardens”, a scramble of 11,480ft Mt. Dewey, the Fossil Lake plateau, fly-fishing for Cutthroat trout”, …

Oboz

Bozeman is the gateway to Yellowstone country, but for the Beartooths, Billings is a viable option for staging. The drive to East Rosebud Lake will take approximately three hours from either city. For information on conditions and regulations in the Absaroka Beartooth Wilderness, contact the Ranger District in Big Timber, Montana, 406-932-5155. or the Custer National Forest, 406-657-6200.

For a one way hike, you’ll need to stash one car at the Clarks Fork Trailhead near Cooke City before driving to the trailhead at East Rosebud Lake, or arrange a pick up. At the end of the hike, when you walk out of the Beartooths out to the trailhead on Highway 212, lodging options await a few miles to the west in Cooke City.

Read the trip report on Great Outdoors – Across Montana’s Beartooths

February 1, 2010January 27, 2010

South American trekking – best books

As usual, the best place to start is Lonely Planet.

Trekking in the Central Andes is brilliant, but has not been updated since 2003.

Lonely Planet Patagonian Andes has been updated:

This vast, varied region is home to some of the world’s great treks, with trails that take you through pristine forests to the rims of glaciers, under granite monoliths and over rickety suspension bridges, well beyond the crowds. Our expert author has chosen the best of Patagonia’s trekking, from the luxuriant rainforests of the Lakes District to the spectacular wildernesses of Tierra del Fuego.

Trekking in the Patagonian Andes (updated November, 2009)

Val Pitkethly’s book was updated, as well, September, 2008.

26 treks and 18 climbing peaks in the Andes, with coverage of the range from Venezuela in the north to Patagonia in the south. The treks included will introduce you to all aspects of the Andes, from the simmering volcanoes of Chile and Argentina to the high altitude Inca cities of Peru. Ranging between four days and two weeks, there is something for everyone.

The Andes: Trekking + Climbing

Leave a comment if you have other faves.

January 30, 2010January 30, 2010

JakPak = jacket, sleeping bag, tent combo

My Adventure Racing captain, Dave Adlard, wants me to test a DEMO model of this new product.

JakPak™, the world’s first all-in-one waterproof jacket, sleeping bag and tent, …

JakPak – Our Story

Looks very cool. I’m IN.

The specs aren’t definitive. But I’ve seen cited on other blogs an approximate weight of 2lbs. At that I’d carry it as survival gear even on day hikes.

Available late Spring 2010. Guesstimated price, $250.

January 30, 2010

Copper Canyon Ultramarathon documentary

Often called the “greatest runners in the world”, Mexico’s Raramuri Indians currently wear these sandals handmade from rubber tires.

They are much studied by researchers of the Running Barefoot or In Minimal Footwear movement.

Living in Mexico’s Sierra Madre mountain range, the Raramuri Indians are some of the best long distance runners in the world, but how far can they run in the face of problems like environmental damage, loss of native lands, and the drug war? An American ultra marathon runner known as Caballo Blanco is fighting to help the Raramuri preserve their culture and tradition of long distance running. The Copper Canyon Ultra Marathon is the result.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

January 30, 2010January 29, 2010

best solar chargers for hikers

Trailspace posted a review of the new solar chargers on display at the Outdoor Retailer show 2010 in Vegas.

Bill Straka is sticking with this Brunton, for now:

Brunton Solaris 12 – Solar charger (approx. $239)

But Brunton has a new, more compact system coming out this year. And it’s much cheaper.

Click PLAY or watch a Brunton Restore (7.2oz) demo on YouTube.

There are more options reviewed on the original post on Trailspace – Solar power in small packages

January 29, 2010January 29, 2010

throw away your hiking boots?

More research on whether Nike has caused all your foot and leg injuries.

A word of caution from Dr. Ross Tucker and Dr. Jonathan Dugas:

… I guarantee that the media are going to be all over this and they are going to tell you that you should be running barefoot or in Vibrams. You will hear how science has proven that being barefoot will prevent injuries, and that those of you who are injured should blame your shoes as you lob them into the garbage bin. …

If you wish to guarantee yourself an injury, then go out for a 2km run barefoot on a hard surface, and you will be asking your calf muscles and Achilles tendons to do work that for perhaps 30 years, they haven’t had to do. …

read more – Science of Sport blog.

That article led me to some cutting edge research …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Click PLAY or compare a runner wearing shoes on YouTube.

More caution:

Disadvantages of Forefoot Striking Barefoot or in Minimal Footwear

* Thick-soled shoes are much more forgiving when running over glass, sharp objects, ice and so on.

* If you have been a heel striker, it takes some time and much work to train your body to forefoot or midfoot strike, especially because you need stronger feet and calf muscles. Runners may be at greater risk of developing Achilles tendonitis when they switch from heel striking to forefoot or midfoot striking …

Running Barefoot, Forefoot Striking & Training Tips

This comes from a new blog by Dr. Daniel E. Lieberman of Harvard University: Running Barefoot or In Minimal Footwear

That’s likely the best site of all for those who want to research this topic.

(via Full Twist – Running Barefoot – The Debate)