… Rick Mercer visited Algonquin Park to do some work on Bear Tagging and research. The video was absolutely hilarious and well worth a look.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Thanks George.
#9 best hike in the world is …
The Haute Route
Also known as:
• The Walker’s Haute Route
• Chamonix-Zermatt Haute Route
• “High Route”
• Mt Blanc to the Matterhorn
• Chamonix to Zermatt
It’s official. The Haute Route in the Alps replaces the Tour de Mont Blanc at the #9 position in our list of the top 10 hikes in the world. The TMB is awesome, … but too crowded.
Long live the Haute Route!
“the greatest collection of 4000m peaks in the alps!”
Why we love it:
the best hike in Europe! Alpine charm: valleys, lakes, glaciers great food, history, culture from Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Europe (4810m, 15,781ft) … to the Matterhorn, the most beautiful peak in the alps staying in huts, and eating your meals there, you can hike with a very light pack see ibex and chamois in the wild finishes with the 2-day Europaweg – a true high-level path opened in recent years (and sometimes closed due to avalanche) some mountaineers use this trek for altitude acclimatization, climbing Mt. Blanc, the Matterhorn or, best, Weisshorn, after they finish
Considerations:
Rain is highly likely. It can even snow on high passes any day of the year. mid-July through August accommodation may be full mountain huts can be crowded & noisy (we prefer tenting, to be truthful) in 2009 cost was around $70 for bed, bedding, breakfast and an evening meal iron ladders bolted into the mountain en route, though there is a way to bypass them cable-cars and chair-lifts are cheating, but you certainly may want to use them to shorten some hiking days
German is the main language of the Haute Route though French is useful too. Anglophones may struggle.
Get our preferred guidebook long in advance of your trek – Cicerone – Chamonix to Zermatt: The Walker’s Haute Route by Kev Reynolds.
Details on our Haute Route information page.
Indian Himalaya – new trekking routes
High on my list of future hiking destinations is the Indian Himalaya.
Good news on Gadling:
Adventure travelers were given even more incentive to travel to India recently when it was announced that the government would begin allowing access to previously restricted areas in the remote Jammu and Kashmir provinces. …
Backpackers will find plenty to love in this remote and stunningly beautiful region as well. High altitude passes and trails that have previously been off limits are now open to foreign travelers, including a route that leads to the village of Turtuk in the Nubra Valley. …
Kraig Becker – India opens remote trekking and mountaineering routes
I’ll get a copy of Trekking in the Indian Himalaya (2009) and start planning.
The author’s favourite trek is Markha Valley in Ladakh. I’d like to do some of the recently opened region on the same trip.
If interested, be sure you get the most recent edition. It’s great to see Lonely Planet updating their excellent trekking guidebooks.
I may even buy, for the first time, the PDF version. You can “Pick & Mix“, buying only the chapters you need. I’d put those on my iTouch for the trek rather than carrying paper.
The PDF version has free samples including the Table of Treks (PDF).
Now … when will independent hiking be allowed in Bhutan?
AMERICA’S 10 MOST DANGEROUS HIKES
You can tell we are SERIOUS from the all caps typeface.
Kelly Bastone in Backpacker posted this list in 2008:
From a slippery Sierra catwalk to a treacherous Hawaiian paradise, we name the country’s 10 most hazardous hikes. Then we break down the dangers and provide local beta for conquering each route.
The Maze, UTBright Angel Trail, Grand Canyon, AZ
Barr Trail, Pikes Peak, CO
Mt. Washington, NH
Muir Snowfield, Mt. Rainier, WA
Huckleberry Mtn., Apgar Range, MT
Kalalau Trail, Kauai, HI
Buckskin Gulch, UT
Abrams Falls, Great Smoky Mtns., TN
Mist Trail, Half Dome, CA
click through for details on each – Backpacker
Flash flood is a greater worry to me than getting lost or being avalanched. Recall April 2008 when 7 of 12 “canyoneers”, most students, were killed in a flash flood in New Zealand.
Comox Glacier Trail, B.C.
Never climb underneath a glacier. It might collapse.
But, if you really, really want to check out the Comox Glacier …
Read an entertaining trip report on Pure Outside – Snow Cave at Century Sam Lake
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
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
best hikes in Norway
Recommended by Aasmund Godal by email:
Jotunheimen and Rondane are considered the classics for Norwegians.
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:
What about nearby Rondane?
… 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.
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.
Less than 150km from Bogotá.
Aasmund drafted a WikiTravel page on Los Nevados to assist those planning for that trip.
Looks great.
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.
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.
besthike.com 