besthike.com

November 7, 2009October 30, 2009

Keanae Arboretum, Maui

I’m a sucker for great trees. Botanical gardens.

But I skipped the Garden of Eden ($5 entry) instead walking the nearby Keanae Arboretum (free).

Around half-mile beyond mile marker 16 on the Hana Highway …

The Ke‘anae Arboretum lies alongside the Pi‘ina‘au Stream on leveled terraces built hundreds of years ago by Hawaiians for growing taro, a mainstay of their diet. A 0.6 mile paved walkway takes visitors through timber, fruit, and ornamental trees from tropical regions around the world, many of which are marked with name plates. Inside the arboretum you can find some 150 varieties of tropical plants (including taro). This is a great location to see some indigenous flowers and the painted bark eucalyptus trees.

An upper section of the arboretum features plants cultivated by the Hawaiians for food and other uses. This arboretum appears to have undergone a major renovation as of our last visit. The renovation included an expansion on the previous path that now leads into beautiful small taro fields not previously located in the arboretum.

There are no facilities or amenities at this stop. Expect to spend 30 minutes to an hour here.

The Aussie Gum trees were my favourites.

Hawaii-Guide

November 6, 2009October 30, 2009

up the Kaupo Trail, Maui

Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles.

I did an unpopular route listed in Maui Trails by Kathy Morey, but not in any other hiking guidebook.

She calls this the “Kaupo to Halekala Park Boundary“, an awkward moniker it seemed to me.

Kaupo-map

A far more common use of this trail is as the Kaupo Gap exit from the volcanic crater above. I was walking it backwards, uphill rather than downhill.

On the bright side, it’s well signed.

I suspect many hikers in the past arrived at remote Kaupō Ranch in rough shape from the 6000ft+ descent.

From GORP:

… Kaupo Trail can be an experience in misery: blistered feet, tortured knees, intense sun or torrential rain, and no available drinking water. The steep, rocky terrain in Kaupo Gap makes it essential that you be in good physical condition. Weak knees, bad backs, and new boots are not compatible with this trail. …

Actually, crossing a working cattle ranch was interesting.

Wild pigs are a bit of a pest. I saw many.

Here’s a working trap, set to capture the bacon.

I stepped on over ripe avocados.

There were no signs any other hikers had ever been on this trail. Only myself, a few farm hands, and these onlookers.

Views back to the wild Kahikinui coast were nice.

But for me the biggest attraction of this walk was that it felt an authentic Hawaiian experience, not a standard tourist cattle trail.

I recommend it.

See the rest of my Kaupo to Halekala Park Boundary pics.

November 5, 2009November 5, 2009

Departing Nov. 3rd from Maui, I don’t arrive into Kathmandu until Dec. 6th. … And I don’t cross the international date line as I decided to fly the long way around the world. Perhaps 60hrs in transit. (I’m at 32hrs, so far.)

… Don’t ask.

Nepal

I’ll have about 3wks during prime trekking season in the Himalayas.

November 4, 2009October 24, 2009

best S.W. USA desert peak scrambles

From Branch Whitney of the excellent Hiking Las Vegas blog:

I am not a big fan of the typical desert peaks. Most have boring approaches, crappy rock, and long drives. I do not consider the peaks in Red Rock or Mt. Charleston as desert peaks. The rock there is much different. So I “cherry pick” the desert peaks I do climb. Here’s a list of my favorite:

Mopah and Umpah Points

Eagle Mountain

Moapa Peak

details – My Favorite Desert Peaks

All of the routes to these peaks and another 350 routes are available for members of HikingLasVegas.

November 3, 2009

hiking the Tour de Mont Blanc

Carol gives a shout out for Alpine Exploratory, a company specializing in walking and trekking holidays in the Alps.

They did the “self-guided” version of the tour.

I think self-guided is a nice compromise. You don’t need to follow behind your group (like sheep). But you have experts who speak the local languages setting your itinerary for you.

+ Trek all the stages, completing the whole route
+ Start on any day you choose
+ Expert, unlimited advice on all the options

The Tour du Mont Blanc is a trek of superlatives: the most famous trek in Europe, forming a circuit of Western Europe’s highest mountain Mont Blanc (4,808m). Our circuit takes the standard 11 days, starting and finishing in the Chamonix valley. …

Tour du Mont Blanc – Self-guided trekking holiday

tourdumontblanc-map

What does all this cost?

14 nights, staying in:
3-star hotels (4)
2-star hotels (5)
Auberges (2)
Mountain huts (3)

Included
Accommodation and itinerary
Breakfasts and 6 evening meals
Expert and unlimited advice
Routecards, maps, local info
Emergency card, language card

Dates
July to mid-Sept 2010 …

Prices
£860 per person
(Single supplement £140)

£860 = US$1,410

===

UberFit is blogging their TMB from this past summer. Great photos. (Especially food pics.)

• MBT Stage I – Chamonix to Les Contamines

• MBT (Stage 2: Les Contamines to Bonhomme de la Croix)

TMB-guidebook

besthike TMB information page

November 3, 2009October 23, 2009

Black Butte Trail, California

I love the look of this volcanic scramble …

Black Butte Trail

Length: 5.2 miles round-trip

Hiking time: 4 hours

High point: 6,325 feet

Total elevation gain: 1,850 feet

Difficulty: moderate

Season: mid-May through mid-November

Water: none; bring plenty …

Black Butte from the west slope of Mount Shasta. (Photo by John Soares)

The Black Butte Trail is Hike 45 from 100 Classic Hikes in Northern California, third edition. I discuss the same route in Hike 63 of 75 Hikes in California’s Mount Shasta and Lassen Volcanic National Park Regions, revised edition.

Click through to John’s site, Northern California Hiking Trails, for links to his guidebooks.

November 2, 2009May 15, 2013

Waimoku Falls / Pipiwai Trail, Maui

Trip report by site editor Rick McCharles.

Most tourists in Maui drive a rent-a-car to Kipahulu Visitors Center in Haleakala National Park, the end of the famed Road to Hana.

The main attraction are the so called “Seven Sacred Pools“, a name invented by some overzealous tourism marketer. In reality, the ʻOheʻo Gulch has dozens of pools and a number of waterfalls, a few very welcoming of swimmers.

Welcoming if you’re not scared off the warning signs posted everywhere.

warning-sign

I spent only a few minutes at the pools, instead quickly beginning the climb up Pipiwai Trail. I knew it would be fantastic as Trailspotting calls it their “favorite hike on Maui”:

Distance: 4 miles
Type: Out & Back
Difficulty: Medium
Elevation gain: 900ft (from 200 – 1,200ft)

Beginning at the rugged and remote eastern Maui coastline follow the Pipiwai stream inland and you’ll soon be surrounded by dense jungle, heading towards a series of waterfalls each increasingly more impressive than the last. En route you’ll cross bridges and streams, and negotiate an unforgettable boardwalk journey through a dense bamboo forest that towers so far above your head that daylight struggles to reach you. And since the Hawaiian islands are some of the wettest places on earth, you’re sure to be impressed with the towering 400 foot wall of water at the end of the trail that is Waimoku Falls. …

Pipiwai Waterfalls & Bamboo Trail

The bamboo was the highlight for me, too.

Actually, this kind of bamboo is one of those dread invasive species. But it’s an invasive species I love. I’m an invasive species, myself.

You’ll be warned about mosquitos. I never saw even one during 2wks on Maui in October.

Pipiwai gets better and better the closer you get to Waimoku Falls.

Click that last photo to see a larger version of a true Hawaiian paradise.

The other highlight of this hike for me was tenting at Kipahulu Campground right at the trailhead.

Waimoku Falls Pipiwai Trail map

I spent two nights. It’s free after you pay for your National Parks pass. Authorities are frantically improving the visitor center right now. I expect the primitive campground will be improved, as well.

Walking the shoreline here is highly recommended. A half mile stretch is called the KAHAKAI TRAIL.

See all my photos from Pipiwai, one of the very best hikes in the world.

Or, better, check out Stuart’s photos – Trailspotting: Hawaii, Maui: Pipiwai Waterfalls. Click on his trail map for a larger view.

Leave a comment if you’ve done Pipiwai and have something to add.

November 1, 2009October 29, 2009

Hoapili Trail, Maui

Trip Report by besthike editor Rick McCharles.

I first heard of this hike on Trailspotting.

… the Hoapili Trail will take you across … 200 year old lava beds to a secluded beach.

From the trailhead hike through patches of kiawe woodland and beaches scattered with sand and white coral, contrasting starkly with the black of the lava outcroppings. Eventually and suddenly the vegetation stops – a telling sign that you’re on the newest of the lava beds – and take a sharp left turn through a gate before proceeding on through fields of barren lava formations. …

I was intrigued.

You can see how far the lava had to flow from the volcano to the sea.

This is part of what is called the Hawaiian “King’s Highway”.

Past the beach I saw a four-wheel drive truck and people camping. One reference tells that wild camping is allowed there. Tempting.

Instead I only enjoyed a short break on the log swing at Keoneoio Beach.

All the Maui hiking guidebooks include Hoapili. But many references wrongly calculate the distance from La Perouse Bay to Kanaio Beach as 5.5 miles. It’s about 2mi (3.2km) one way.

I’ll not include Hoapili on our list of the best hikes in the world. I liked it. But many would find it too hot, too desolate. The jagged lava is tought on the feet, as well.

There’s definitely no water or other facilities. If you are hiking the Hoapili, you must be self-sufficient. Like this guy.

feral-goat

more photos from this hike

Hoapili-map

November 1, 2009October 31, 2009

57 signs you might be obsessed with hiking

A funny post by Frank Wall on Our Hiking Blog:

It’s a repost of a thread from Trailspace.com forum.

…

17. You use your 90L pack to carry the groceries

18. You sleep on a thermarest

19. Your keychain is a Swiss army knife/fox40/flint combo on a biner/ climbing loop

…

You get the idea. You’re a hiking MANIAC.

geocacher