My favourite photo site of late is Boston.com’s The Big Picture.
Check out their Earth Day 2009 pics.
awesome Earth Day photos
40 Favorite Hikes of All Time
Josh Steinitz on the NileGuide blog posted his 40 favorite hikes of all time.
larger version – Path of the Gods, Italy – flickr – fractalflow
It’s a good list. Click through for a photo and quickie description of each.
I’ve attempted to include a good balance of trails in North America and around the world, and to feature hikes that take in mountains, canyons, culture, jungle and tundra.
1. Buckskin Gulch/Paria Canyon
2. Kalalau Trail, Kauai
3. Cusin to Zuleta, Ecuador
4. Rae Lakes Loop, Kings Canyon NP, California
5. Virgin Narrows, Zion NP, Utah
6. Coast Walk, Tofino, B.C.
7. “W” route, Torres del Paine NP, Chile
8. Baseline Creek, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska
9. Mt. Whitney, California
10. Everest Base Camp, Nepal
11. Mt Kenya
12. Mt Kilimanjaro
13. Picos de Europa, Spain
14. Mt Lyell, Yosemite NP
15. Tombstone Mountains, Yukon Territory
16. Cinque Terre, Italy
17. Pico Espejo to Los Nevados, Venezuela
18. Queen Charlotte Track, New Zealand
19. Basaseachi Falls, Copper Canyon, Mexico
20. Tongariro Crossing, New Zealand
21. Path of the Gods, Amalfi Coast, Italy
22. Dusy Basin, Kings Canyon NP, California
23. Berg Lake Trail, Canadian Rockies
24. Cirque of the Towers, Wind River Mountains, Wyoming
25. Tomales Point, California
26. Payangan walk, Bali
27. Canyon Creek Lakes, Trinity Alps, California
28. Superstition Peak, Arizona
29. Peek-a-boo Loop, Bryce Canyon
30. Beehive Basin, Big Sky, MT
31. Bald Mountain, Jasper NP, Alberta
32. North Kaibab Trail, Grand Canyon
33. Taquesi Pass and Inca Road, Bolivia
34. The Lost Coast, California
35. The Haute Route: Chamonix to Zermatt
36. St. Marys to Lake McDonald, Glacier NP
37. Nelson Lakes, New Zealand
38. Wheeler Peak, Great Basin NP, Nevada
39. Devil’s Garden, Arches NP
40. Chicago Basin
see the details and a photo of each – NileGuidance: A Travel Blog – Top 40 Favorite Hikes of All Time
Basaseachi Falls, Mexico – larger original – Paco Espinoza – flickr
sibhusky2 – flickr – Superstition Mountain Arizona – larger version
Greg’s iPod graveyard
Long distance adventure racer Greg Kolodziejzyk posted a photo of all the disfunctional iPods he’s used for training over the years.
… I seem to blast through iPods as fast as I blow through sneakers. Last summer during training for the 24 hour human powered boat record I purchased a totally water proof enclosure for my iPod from OtterBox because my previous iPod got wet and eventually died. I was sick of buying new iPods so I decided to invest my money into a water proof and shock proof case.
Good idea in theory, but because this OtterBox case fits the iPod so tightly, inserting and removing the iPod for updating and charging wore out the headphones plug and now the sound is shorting out. So, Time for a new pair of shoes, and yet another new iPod. …
Adventures of Greg – Blew through another iPod
I’m only on my 3rd MP3 player. Though I use one almost every day.
The best accessory EVER for outdoor sport is Apple’s $29 Apple Earphones with Remote & Mic.
I can’t believe I used an MP3 player without them.
… dreaming of a desert hike
Outside my window it’s bloody SNOWING in Calgary.
This is what I need …
rickz – flickr – Great Sand Dunes National Park, CO – larger original
I’d best start shopping for cheap flights South.
2 hikers dead on Kokoda Track
The Kokoda Track is one of the best, and toughest, hikes in the world.
… a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs 96 kilometres (60 mi) overland — 60 kilometres (37 mi) in a straight line — through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The track is the most famous in PNG and is renowned as the location of the World War II battle between Japanese and Australian forces in 1942. ..
On Wednesday, a 26-year-old New South Wales man became the second Australian to die on the track in less than a week.
He died at Ioribaiwa village while trekking with Executive Excellence.
The company says it is working with authorities to have his body returned home as soon as possible. …
Last week 36-year-old Samantha Killen, from Hamilton in south-west Victoria, died on the trek.
The mother of two was trekking with her father when she collapsed and died on Friday afternoon.
Her father told police his daughter had developed sore legs and appeared to be dehydrated and disorientated in the lead-up to her death.
Just a coincidence?
Earlier, a Kokoda Track tour operator said it was inevitable more deaths would occur unless operators he has described as “cowboys” were banned.
The chairman of the Kokoda Ethics Committee, Aidan Grimes, said some companies skimp on safety by taking up to 150 people trekking and by failing to check their fitness levels. …
related – Kokoda death highlights safety concerns
Big Agnes Fly Creek UL 1 Tent
… just won Backpacker Magazine’s GEAR GUIDE 2009: best all-around solo tent.
Roomy, rugged, and light-as-a-feather
I’ll go test it out for myself.
… free-standing, three-season solo tent weighs less than many bivy sacks. The single hub frame design, together with a mix of clips and fabric pole loops, reduces both set-up time and weight. Mesh in the body minimizes mass while maximizing ventilation. Reflective guy lines and corner webbing prevent pratfalls during night exits.
The Big Agnes Fly Creek UL 1 Tent (CAD$293 at MEC in Canada)
The specs are a fair bit better than my current (beloved) 1-person tent, the Hubba.
Earth – the movie
Happy Earth Day.
The Walt Disney Studios will celebrate Earth Day 2009 (April 22nd) with the debut of “Earth,” the first feature-length nature documentary from its new production banner, Disneynature. …
Follows the epic migratory journeys of four animal families as well as the earth’s journey around the sun and the massive influence it has on all life on the planet, from the Arctic spring to the Antarctic winter.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
MEC Transparent PVC-Free DryBags
Mountain Equipment Cooperative (MEC) in Canada (my favourite gear shop) has a great new product.
I love being able to find things without digging blind into the bag. And they are good for the environment, too.
MEC Transparent Dry Bag – $13.00 – $26.00 CAD – Made in USA
MEC believe they are the only completely transparent PVC-free drybags available at a consumer level. Not only that, in selecting a 0.5mm thick clear polyurethane they’re convinced the bags are also more flexible and more abrasion resistance than standard PVC drybags.
Treehugger – MEC Become Transparent with PVC-Free DryBags
Banff Film Festival World Tour video
Trailer of the 2008/2009 Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour. The “highlights” of the original festival held in the FAll of 2008.
Much of it is an advertisement for the sponsors. But a thrilling advertisement.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Sadly I missed the World Tour this year.
(via The Adventure Channel)
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) !
photo – besthike editor Rick McCharles – Overland Track, Tasmania – 2007 trip report
besthike.com 