best SAFE hikes in Australia?


More often than not on our list of best hikes in the world we promote “challenging” adventures.

The very dangerous West Coast Trail is our #1 pick. One in every hundred hikers has to be evacuated!

What if you don’t want to be evacuated?

From Our Hiking Blog:

We have come up with a short list that meets the following criteria:

– No death defying stunts required to complete the trip
– Relatively mountain / drop off free
– Challenging enough to make you feel a sense of accomplishment
– Multi day with at least 3 nights camping required
– Generally isolated and away from too much infrastructure

Before we give you the list, recall that Australia is chock full of dangerous animals. My friend from Canberra found a poisonous snake in the back seat of his car while putting his infant daughter into the car seat. I’d rather risk a Grizzly than meet a Brown Snake on the Trail.

The walks, in no particular order, are:

  • Great South West Walk – Victoria
  • Wilsons Promontory Circuit Walk
  • Overland Track – Tasmania
  • Australian Alps Walking Track
  • Thorsborne Trail – Hinchinbrook Island – Queensland
  • Bibbulmun Track – Western Australia
  • Great Ocean Walk – Victoria
  • Read the entire entertaining post – Hiking with Bathmophobia – 7 hiking trips that won’t scare you to death (too much) !

    wallaby
    photo – besthike editor Rick McCharles – Overland Track, Tasmania – 2007 trip report

    iPhone Apps hit the trail


    One of Backpacker Magazine’s blogs, The Daily Dirt, has been my favourite in recent weeks.

    Here’s another interesting post:

    … In a new 30-second spot, the familiar hands demonstrate apps to replace a compass, identify bird species, and spot poison ivy. Add those apps to the already impressive list including the Google Earth and GPS systems and you’ve got a handheld, do-just-about-anything, outdoor genius machine. …

    Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

    Daily Dirt – IPHONE APPS HIT THE TRAIL

    Still, I’ll be taking my iTouch on the trail with me this season. Mainly for listening to Audiocasts and Audiobooks during the long nights in the tent.

    Where I hike there’s no free WiFi. So many of the apps will not work since the Touch has not phone service.

    Survivorman is back – Survive This

    … When Les Stroud announced his retirement from “Survivorman” last year, wilderness-TV fans shed some tears, but we all hoped he’d be back. We’re happy to report the time has come: Les Stroud returns to Canadian TV this week with “Survive This,” in which eight teenagers with varying levels of outdoor skill are thrust into the Northern Ontario woods to survive with no tools outside of their clothes. …

    Daily Dirt – SURVIVORMAN RETURNS—THIS TIME, FOR THE KIDS

    teenagers

    I’ve got some teenagers I want to nominate for next year’s series.

    YTV – Survive This

    === related

    The Pulse blog’s Steve Howe will be watching any TV show related to wilderness safety. Check his recent post: EASTER VANISHINGS AND RESURRECTIONS – A quick survey of the missing, the found, and the lucky

    hiking tips


    I’ve subscribed to an informative site called ideal-hiking-equipment.com.

    Check the outline of a sample post:

    UPHILL HIKING TIPS:

  • Take small steps going uphill
  • Look several footsteps ahead
  • Zigzag up steep ascents
  • Use Trekking Pole uphill technique
  • Use your hands
  • Take energy snacks and water more frequently
  • DOWNHILL HIKING TIPS:

  • Kick your heels in
  • Run with gravity
  • Use zigzag routes to slow the pace down
  • Use trekking poles to reduce pressure, wear and tiredness of your knees and legs
  • Use Trekking Pole downhill technique
  • GENERAL HIKING TIPS:

  • Do warm-up and cool-down exercises
  • Build and maintain your fitness levels
  • Read our Favourite Hiking Quotes by Famous Individuals Including Barack Obama and John Muir
    Even see what Arnold Schwarzeneggar had to say about hiking!

    logo

    Click through to see specifics on each tip.

    Hiking Tips for Mountain Walking You Won’t Have Heard Before

    Lake Vesuvius Lakeshore Trail, Ohio


    The WARNING SIGNS on this trail are over zealous. From one trip report circulated by email:

    It was a beautiful day, no rain and warm sun shining down on the steamy well watered ground.

    We decided to take full advantage of the rare sunny day in Ohio. Just a piece up the road is Wayne Forest State Park.

    We set out for the park and to our delight a hike around Lake Vesuvius. The map showed a fairly flat 8 mile trail all the way around the lake.

    Perfect!

    The fearless leader Scott jumped out in the lead and set a good pace, until……

    the WARNING sign……..

    warning-sign

    Would we be able to make it? Should we turn back now? OH MY 7 more miles to go EEKKK! I quickly calmed Scott down and told him we would be just fine! Let’s just enjoy the beautiful early spring flowers and push on ahead!

    So we hiked on looking for the perfect place to have lunch.

    We resisted the lunch recommended to us by the nice Forest Service man, Mr. Boggs. He said in a heavy Kentucky accent “Ain’t nothin’ better then sittin’ on a log with a good Balona’ sandwich, yew should russell yer selves up one”

    After lunch we continued hiking and then It hit us…..

    THE SECOND WARNING SIGN!

    warning-sign2

    6 MILES! Maybe we should turn back? The sign says it will take us another 5 hours! That’s about 1 mile per hour how could we ever do that?

    But the healthy lunch I made for Scott wasn’t full of Balona’ and this time he was the one to say we should press on!

    And so we did, up little hills, around big rocks, through a few mud bogs. The sun was warming up the ground and Canada Geese were defending their soon to hatch eggs.

    We never saw another hiker. I was sure it was because these Ohio hikers can’t handle the big miles. Look at us we’re doing just fine!

    But I spoke too soon! that was not it at all,

    And we soon found out.

    Now, I can’t say for sure. But maybe, the nowhere to be found, other hikers knew something we didn’t?

    like what was waiting up around the next bend!

    copperhead

    Now this California girl had no idea what this nice specimen of a snake was, but my fearless leader Scott knew just what it was. A COPPER HEAD!

    We turned around and headed back to the car. Not that we couldn’t do the miles, but just in case the warning was more about the snakes!

    Back at the Ranger Station, Mr Boggs informed that indeed that is a Copper Head, “Out early this year!”

    GREAT! I hope they like Balona’ Sandwiches better then hikers in shorts exposing bare skin for the first of the season bite!

    Therm-a-Rest NeoAir mattress

    The highly touted Therm-a-Rest NeoAir is now available.

    Backpacker 2009 Editors’ Choice Winner: Therm-a-Rest NeoAir review on YouTube.

    I just added this item to my Amazon.com Shopping Basket for the coming season. Details on Amazon.

    For now I’ll abandon my heavier Exped air mattresses. Both I’ve bought have leaked from the valve insertions.

    single speed mountain bike?


    My FARTS Adventure Racing teammate is an advocate of bikes with only one gear ratio.

    That’s NUTS.

    Or is it?

    From an Adventure Racer, Mike:

    A single speed will not only make you a stronger rider, it will improve your peddle stroke, improve your bike handling skills and teach you how to use momentum. Over all, your riding will improve in many ways. However, the most important thing is that it’s just plain fun.

    Riding a single speed is more a frame of mind then a piece of equipment. I ride a Gary Fisher Rig with 29 inch wheels. I never use an odometer or heart rate monitor when I ride it. I call it pure riding – the effort is measured by feel not electronics. The direct power, from peddle to the rear tire is the difference.

    Single speeds, especially with disk brakes are the only way to go in the winter. Geared bikes just get destroyed in the mud and wet. The single speed doesn’t have any of those problems and clean up is simple – just hose it down. Repairs also are simple.

    When you first start on a single speed, it may take a while to determine the gear ratio that is best for you. This will depend on your fitness, skill level and the terrain. I started with a 32 X 18 but now normally ride a 33X16. When you first start, you may have trouble keeping up with your geared friends. Over time, you will find that they have trouble keeping up with you. The only place I feel at a disadvantage is on a downhill road section. Then I have to really work on drafting and high peddle cadence, another bonus. …

    Why you should be riding a single speed

    <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/baumcycles/2806425502/sizes/l/">larger version</a> - flickr - Baum Cycles

    larger version – flickr – Baum Cycles

    Is hiking dying or not?


    I remember all the hiking blogs jumping on the gloom and doom prediction that “hiking was dying“.

    From Feb. 2008:

    … Since the late 1980s, the percentage of Americans taking part in such activities has declined at slightly more than 1 percent a year. … participation is down 18 percent to 25 percent from peak levels.

    NPR – Americans Spending Less Time in Nature

    I pooh-poohed it at the time.

    Now, a year later, what’s the buzz?

    take-a-hike-arizona
    Take A Hike Arizona – flickr – larger original

    Outdoor camping’s popularity jumped 7.4 percent between 2007 and 2008, according to a report from the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. Overnight backpacking is up 18.5 percent …
    Backcountry.com – The Goat – Camping Stock Rises in Weak Economy

    In our current economic crisis, more families are ditching the hotel room and learning how to pitch a tent …
    Backpacker – Daily Dirt – NEWBIE CAMPERS ON THE RISE

    Backpacker – Daily Dirt – BACKPACKING ON THE CHEAP

    Trail Space – Trend Alert: Camping is Chic!

    Let’s proclaim this year The Year of the Hiker.
    The Trailmaster