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Donjek Route hike, Kluane, Yukon

Polly Evans posted a terrific trip report on Great Outdoors.

80mi, 9 days — this trip was epic.

… The Donjek Route, Parks Canada emphasizes, is not a trail. “Wilderness travel experience is essential, including excellent route finding skills, map and compass skills, and creek/river crossing skills,” the rangers insist in their literature. I had none of these estimable qualities. …

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read the entire article – Into the Yukon’s Kluane National Park

Polly recommends this guidebook:

kluane-hiking-guidebook

Kluane National Park Hiking Guide by Vivien Lougheed.

Polly Evans an award-winning travel journalist and author. Her latest book, Mad Dogs and an Englishwoman, tells the story of her attempts to learn to drive sled dogs in Canada’s Yukon Territory.

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Torres del Paine Circuit trek, Chile


Hank Leukart posted a magazine quality essay on one of our top treks in the World, the Paine Circuit.

Adopted by Kiwis in Chilean Patagonia. How to hike the Torres del Paine Circuit on someone else’s family vacation

… The only thing standing between us and views of 270-square-kilometer Glaciar Grey was Paso John Garner, a steep and rocky pass through the Patagonian Andes Mountains. My brother Brian and I looked up nervously at the severe mountain crags and glacial ice surrounding us, and though we hadn’t been able to substantiate the rumors of a lost hiker’s death during a blizzard in the pass three days before, the gossip made us uneasy. We knew that some hikers had turned back, failing to conquer the pass due to dangerous weather. …

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read the 3-part series article on Without Baggage

Especially if you want to find out why Hank decided to climb on to an iceberg.

hank

related posts – more Without Baggage trip reports

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Mongolia or Baffin Island?

Kraig on The Adventure Blog profiled two upcoming projects:

  • Expedition: Mongolia 2010
  • Expedition: Baffin Babes 2009

    • … former British solider Ripley Davis will set out on a solo, unsupported trek across Mongolia in an effort to raise funds and awareness of the Hope and Homes for Children project, and UNICEF.

    The expedition is slated to get underway next April, with Ripley pulling all of his supplies behind him in a wheeled cart. He anticipates that he’ll be towing more than 100kg (220 pounds) of gear over a 3000km (1865 miles) course between 47º and 50º north latitude. The journey is expected to take roughly 90 days. …

    //www.flickr.com/photos/tiarescott/33324648/sizes/l/">larger original</a> - flickr - tiarescott
    larger original - flickr - tiarescott

    Expedition: Mongolia 2010

    … And for the ladies:

    … 80 day ski expedition through Baffin Island beginning in March. The plan is to ski over 1400km (870 miles) as they survey the impact of climate change on the fragile environments on the island, while visiting three remote Inuit villages along the way.

    The team consists of Vera and Emma Simonsson of Sweden and Ingebjoerg Tollefsen, and Kristin Folsland Olsen of Norway. …

    baffin_babes_kort_fin_lowres

    Baffin Babes 2009

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    backpacking the John Muir Trail

    An entertaining 6min HD video by Pete Bell.

    … an end to end hike of the JMT this past summer. It features 5 high school students from Chapel Hill, NC and their experience along the trail. We took 16 days at about 15 miles of hiking per day to hike all 220 miles from Yosemite Valley south to Mt. Whitney. We had one resupply at Vermilion Resort where the group cleaned out the small store there trying to stock up with 9 days of food.

    It includes one bear encounter.

    Vodpod videos no longer available.

    BestHike JMT information page.

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    walk Pembrokeshire Coast Trail cliffs


    Geoff emailed a response to our UK – South West Coast Path post.:

    … if you’re going to add the Cornish Coast to your list, you really should consider the UK’s other great long distance coastal path, the Pembrokeshire Coast Trail in south Wales – the scenery is relatively similar, but being mostly within the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park is less developed, less touristy, a bit more rugged (and a bit wetter) – and overall I reckon a bit better. It’s also one of the best places in the country to see seabirds, too. I’ve only done sections, but the bits I have seen are stunning.

    It does look great.

    pembrokeshire-coast
    larger original – Wikipedia

    The Pembrokeshire Coast Path is a National Trail in southwest Wales. It was established in 1970, and is 186 miles (300km) long, mostly at cliff-top level, with 35,000 feet (11,000 m) of ascent and descent. …

    Wikipedia

    pembrokeshire

    official website

    trip report

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    World’s Most Dangerous Hike – Hua Shan


    The best video of this hike I’ve seen yet.

    Robin takes off to China to find the source of one of the web’s most amazing photos, and see if Mount Hua is indeed the world’s most dangerous hike. More gonzo madness at www.moderngonzo.com

    Travel Writer Robin Esrock now has a TV Show, as well, called Word Travels showing in Canada on OLN, and in dozens of countries worldwide on National Geographic Adventure.

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    UK – South West Coast Path


    Mark Owen, South West Coast Path National Trail Officer, emailed to recommend his “best hike” in the world:

    The South West Coast Path National Trail – 630 miles of superb coastal walking. From Minehead on the edge of the Exmoor National Park to the shores of Poole Harbour in Dorset it is the best way to enjoy the wonderful coastal scenery, wildlife and heritage.

    map

    He’s convinced us. We’ve added it to our list of the best hikes in Europe.

    We love coast trails. The vistas are non-stop. Unless it gets foggy.

    foggy-coast
    Trail Database

    Of course you need not hike the whole thing. It’s very easy to section hike.

    south_west_coastal_pathawb_158_h
    National Trails

    official website – South West Coast Path National Trail

    maps and guidebooks

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    best airfares for trekkers

    I travel a lot.

    Normally I search for flights on two sites:

  • Mobissimo
  • Yahoo Travel Farechase

    • Both are good in North America. Internationally Mobissimo is better.

    Recently Mobissimo has added a killer feature – Activity Search. One of the choices is Trekking.

    mobissimo-activity-search
    screenshot

    I was shocked at the excellent search results from my city, Calgary. These guys know trekking!

    mobissimo-trekking
    screenshot

    I shouldn’t be surprised.

    Blogger climb_ca on the Getoutdoors.com Outdoor Blog GoBlog is associated with Mobissimo.

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    cooking outdoors – Jetboil Flash PCS


    The best site by far for hikers who EAT FOOD is Trail Cooking & The Outdoors.

    Subscribe to that blog, for sure.

    Sarah posted a good overview article: The Many Methods Of Trail Cooking. The main categories:

  • Freezer Bag Cooking™ (FBC style)
  • One pot meals
  • No Cook Method
  • Insulated mug method

    • If you like one pot meals you should check out the recently announced Jetboil Flash PCS.

    will come in four colors—black, gold, purple, and blue …

    thermochromic technology (the decorative wave on the outside of the cup changes colors as contents inside heat up) …

    translucent lid to track cooking progress …

    The Flash PCS canister stove will be available for fall 2009 and will retail for $99.95.

    Trailspace

    I’ll be updating my current JetBoil. These are good improvements.

    Click PLAY or watch a demo on YouTube.

    Still … the entire system is dangerously unstable. (The centre of gravity too high for the small base of support.) I never use it without stabilizing the unit by burying the base in the sand, or bracing it with rocks.