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The North Coast Trail

The new North Coast Trail is close to the top of my MUST HIKE BEFORE I DIE list.

The North Coast Trail is a 43.1 km wilderness hiking trail in Cape Scott Provincial Park on northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

… in Cape Scott Provincial Park runs along beaches and in forest around the northern tip of Vancouver Island from Shushartie Bay to Nissen Bight. At Nissen Bight it links up with an existing 15 km trail which leads to the trailhead at San Josef River. The total distance for hikers between the trailheads is 61 km. The trail is in a wilderness area and hikers may see deer, elk, black bears, cougars, wolves, sea birds, seals, sea lions, grey whales and sea otters. In two failed attempts, Danish pioneers tried to settle the area at the turn of the twentieth century and the trail incorporates some of their original routes.

Detailed route information is available on the BC Parks – Cape Scott hiking page.

official website – Northern Vancouver Island Coastal Trail

I’ve added it to our list of best hikes in North America

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Kolby Kirk – 100 hikes

He did it. Kolby Kirk vowed May 4th, 2009 that he would do 100 serious hikes by Jan. 1st.

And he made it.

Congratulations.

Number of miles hiked: 417.4 miles
Longest hike: 15.9 miles (Hike #48 – San Gorgonio Mountain)
Hardest hike: Hike #21 (Telescope Peak, Death Valley)
Furthest hike from home: Hike #86 (Villarrica, Chile – 5,864 miles from Arcadia, CA)

click through for details – 100hikes.com

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best hikes in Norway

Recommended by Aasmund Godal by email:

Jotunheimen and Rondane are considered the classics for Norwegians.

Jotunheimen

Jotunheimen (English: The Home of the Giants) is a mountainous area of roughly 3,500 km² in Southern Norway. Jotunheimen is a part of the long Scandinavian Mountains range. The 29 highest mountains in Norway are in Jotunheimen, including the very highest – Galdhøpiggen (2469 m). …

The Jotunheimen area contains the Jotunheimen National Park, ….

Jotunheimen is very popular among hikers and climbers, and the Norwegian Mountain Touring Association maintains a number mountain lodges in the area, as well as marked trails between the lodges and to some of the peaks. …

Hikers normally stay in cabins. Some of the popular trails out of Bessheim:

traildatabase.org - click for larger version

What about nearby Rondane?

Rondane National Park

… Rondane is a typical high mountain area, with large plateaus and a total of ten peaks above 2,000 m (6,560 ft). The highest point is Rondeslottet (“The Rondane Castle”) at an altitude of 2,178 m (7,146 ft). The lowest point is just below the tree line, which is approximately 1,000 to 1,100 m (about 3,300 to 3,600 ft) above sea level. The climate is mild but relatively arid.

Apart from the White Birch trees of the lower areas, the soil and rocks are covered by heather and lichen, since they lack nutrients. The largest mountains are almost entirely barren; above 1,500 m (5,000 ft) nothing but the hardiest lichens grow on the bare stones. …

It would be convenient to hike both these National Parks on one trip.

And there are more great adventures listed on our list of best hikes in Europe.

I almost bought a ticket to Norway last Summer. Next time I cross the Atlantic it will be for Iceland and Norway.

Aasmund recommends the Norwegian Trekking Association website as the best place to start research.

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hiking Los Nevados, Colombia

Aasmund Godal recently hiked a privately managed region of South America.

Los Nevados (English: snow mountains) is a national park located in the central area of the Colombian Andes.

click for larger version
click for larger version

Less than 150km from Bogotá.

Nevado del Tolima
Nevado del Tolima
Paramillo del Quindio
Paramillo del Quindio

Aasmund drafted a WikiTravel page on Los Nevados to assist those planning for that trip.

Looks great.

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trekking in China

Szu-ting Yi, better known online as LittlePo, just hiked Tiger Leaping Gorge in southern China. One of our best hikes in Asia.

By email:

… I’d love to wish you a merry Christmas. I am right now in Lijiang, which is located at northwest of the Yunnan province in China. Two days ago, I hiked the trail overlooking the tiger leaping gorge, it was an amazing hike: sheer cliffs along the river, constant mountain views, and raging water. …

LittlePo is more of a climber than a hiker. But she’s in China doing research:

… My primary objective is to perform reconnaissance for my adventure travel business, LittlePo Adventures (a working title), and therefore I have been actively investigating aesthetic areas in China for active exploration and ultimate adventure. In the meanwhile, I have been making connections with local businesses and proposing collaboration projects with local residents.

Developing Business Ideas

I’ll be following this venture. Having trekked in China independently and illegally, I can assure you it’s a PAIN. Much better would be to sign on with a trekking company with guides who speak Mandarin and who have connections.

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Adventure Story of the Decade – Greg Mortenson

A dazed climber descending from a failed attempt on K2 got lost, stumbling into a remote village.

This week his story was named by the Outside Adventure Blog the Adventure Story of the Decade.

Kudos to Outside. That’s a gutsy and correct call. What Greg has done was the most inspirational story I’ve heard in recent years.

… Who is Greg Mortenson?

Greg Mortenson is the co-founder of nonprofit Central Asia Institute www.ikat.org , founder of Pennies For Peace www.penniesforpeace.org , and co-author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Three Cups of Tea www.threecupsoftea.com , and author of the bestsellerStones into Schools www.stonesintoschools.com.

In 2009, Mortenson received Pakistan’s highest civil award, Sitara-e-Pakistan (“Star of Pakistan”) for his dedicated and humanitarian effort to promote education and literacy in rural areas for fifteen years. …

About Greg Mortenson

This guy has done more by himself to help Pakistan than all the hundreds of millions spent by the U.S. government. I love the title of this article: He Fights Terror With Books

I highly recommend his first book. Greg Mortenson is my hero.

click for details on the book

Never has the failure to climb a mountain led to such success. After Greg Mortenson failed to climb K2 in 1993 to honor his dead sister, he picked a new mountain. He raised enough money so a small village in Pakistan could build their own school.

In 2006 he published Three Cups of Tea, a book chronicling his journey. By 2009 he had supported more than 131 schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. At a time when U.S. foreign policy is governed by military might that includes Shock and Awe and a flock of high-altitude drones, Greg Mortenson took a simpler, gentler approach. He traveled on rugged roads to small villages—in the same remote regions where the United States dropped bombs from unseen and unheard planes high in the sky—to deliver cash so locals could build schools from stones and have basic learning supplies for their children. He took the war against violence out of the sky and put it in the hands of young girls on the ground.

Outside – The Top 10 Adventure Stories of the Decade

(via RickMcCharles.com)

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trek Annapurna with Chris Bonington

Wouldn’t it be great to take a long hike with one of the great legends of mountaineering, Sir Chris Bonington?

You can …

ANNAPURNA 2010
THE 50th ANNIVERSARY TRIP with SIR CHRIS BONINGTON

This very special trip is the 50th Anniversary of Sir Chris Bonington’s first ascent of Annapurna II and the 40th Anniversary of his assent of the South Face of Annapurna I. Travelling a very special route, Sir Chris will be joining us for the entire trek.

Trek Leader: Joe Bonington
Duration: 23 days (Kathmandu–Kathmandu)
Departing: 5th May 2010 (Very Limited Places – Enquire)
Price: £5,000

Likely the most expensive Annapurna trek ever sold. I’d LOVE to be there.

details on BoningtonTreks.com

(via Wide World and The Adventure Blog)

Annapurna is one of our top 10 hikes in the world.

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dangers of the Lost City trek, Colombia

Ciudad Perdida (Lost City) in Colombia is one of our best hikes in South America.

It’s fantastic. But safety concerns have stopped many over the years from traveling to Colombia. And stopped others from doing the trek.

Bt82 joined a group of 11 hikers to do it in the Fall of 2009. No problema. Everything went great.

… Everything went great until the post-hike celebration. That evening was a disaster.

Tricked into a meal at an expensive restaurant. Porn movies and strippers at the bar. Prostitutes. One hiker caught with Marijuana. Police demanding a $1000 bribe.

Yeesh.

Click through to TravelPod to read the sorry details – Ciudad Perdida

Or our besthike Lost City trek information page.

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Everest trek – day 17

Last trekking day. Namche to Lukla.

by site editor Rick McCharles

It was a long but comparatively easy descent from Namche to the airport at Lukla.

The highlight was the series of suspension bridges.

I’ll miss the Buddhist culture and monuments.

But I was looking forward to a barber shave, “one of the best travel bargains in Asia”.

Are you interested in doing an independent Everest trek? … Some advice:

  • you need a minimum of 14 days. More is better.
  • acclimatization to altitude is the most serious danger
  • Oct-Dec weather is cold and clear
  • Mar-May the weather is warmer, but skies may be overcast
  • best hike is the 3 Passes, next best Everest Base Camp, third best Gokyo
  • if you fly, buy your flights Kathmandu-Lukla return in Kathmandu. You can change the date of your return, if necessary.
  • no need to bring camping gear, but warm clothing and sleeping bag are essential

Step 1 would be getting a book for planning. Both the Trailblazer and Cicerone guidebooks are excellent.

Farewell Lukla. The Everest region has the finest mountain scenery I’ve ever seen.

see all photos from day 17

days: 1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12-13|14|15|16|17| info page

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Everest trek – day 16

by site editor Rick McCharles

Gokyo to Namche

Renjo La should have been the last high alpine crossing on my Three Passes of Everest trek. … It starts with a steep climb from Gokyo over the ridge (5345m) at the top right corner of this photo:

A particularly grueling 10hr trek to Thame.

… Instead I turned south, deciding to end my trek as quickly as possible. I could make it to Namche from here in a long but easy walking day.

My 3 Passes route became a 2 Passes route. In the end, I did the lollypop loop in orange, skipping the Renja Pass in red.

Highlights of this day included 2nd Lake, Taujung Tsho …

… and the Brahminy ducks on Longponga Tsho, 1st Lake.

Nobody knows why these birds decided to make their home at such high altitude.

Gokyo Trek

Very quickly I left the snow behind.

The trail got busier and dustier as I descended.

I spotted a colourful male Himalayan Monal (Impeyan Pheasant), much less common than the female, it seemed to me.

Finally, large trees started providing some shade.

That night in Namche I enjoyed “civilization”, staying (I think) in the same room slept in by Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter in 1985.

Namche at night

It felt great to be finishing such a long hike.

see all photos from day 16

days: 1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12-13|14|15|16|17| info page