besthike.com

January 31, 2009January 28, 2009

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.

more about "High Sierra HD – Backpacking the John…", posted with vodpod

BestHike JMT information page.

January 30, 2009January 28, 2009

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

January 29, 2009January 29, 2009

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.

January 28, 2009January 26, 2009

my boys need a house

Just bought 6 pairs of underwear, $12 each.

mec-underwear

Mountain Equipment Co-op – MEC Seamless Classic Briefs (Men’s)

These are perfect.

Quick dry. Extremely comfortable.

Just as good as the $29.00 a pair Patagonia Active Briefs (Men’s).

January 26, 2009

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

January 26, 2009January 25, 2009

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.

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.

January 24, 2009

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.

January 23, 2009

Reserve a Campsite Online

Camping Blogger has a series of excellent posts for those planning future adventures in the USA.

The Internet has been a real boon for people trying to find campgrounds with open campsites available. Online reservations sites, like Reserve America and ~~Reservations.Gov~~ Recreation.gov, allow you to find a campground by proximity to a city, town, or popular attraction. Let’s see what we can find around Monterey, California – one of the more popular destinations in Northern California, in the next two weeks. …

read the rest of this post – How to Reserve a Campsite Online

New to me was the use of Google Maps to check the exact location of specific campsites.

Good idea.

hiking Coyote Buttes in winter

Fantastic photos.

These rock formations are just “wow”

The hike was difficult at times. Not difficult as dangerous, just difficult as in trying to figure out ways of getting up the rocks without sliding and falling. Well, there was a bit of sliding as I mentioned before and yes, there was some falling too. We were not in any danger at any point and time.

… So having done this hike I have to say that this so far is one of the best hikes I’ve ever done. Hardly any people, tons of spectacular jaw dropping scenery – I must have taken over 400 photos during the hike.

122908_az_coyote_buttes40x

more gorgeous photos and the trip report – excessivelocity – Arizona: Hiking Coyote Buttes in the snow

January 21, 2009January 17, 2009

trekking South Africa

Very high on my life list.

The Otter Trail along the Tsitsikamma coast is probably the most popular hike in the country. Lush forests, rugged shorelines, mountain streams and waterfalls and fragrant fynbos make this a special one. It’s strenuous, with lots of ups and downs, but the distances aren’t too great.

otter-trail

larger version – flickr – South African Tourism

If you want the scenery and walking with less slog and more luxury, try the Dolphin Trail. It traverses similar terrain to the Otter – joining up with it in places – but instead of hiking huts you stay in fully catered guest houses with great views and good food. Your pack is transported to your next overnight spot by vehicle, and you carry only a day pack with lunch, water, camera and swimsuit.

The Wild Coast of the Eastern Cape offers similar trails but dramatically different scenery: miles of deserted beaches, wave-lashed rocks and occasional tropical forest.

Accommodation is in coastal hotels instead of huts. The usual is to carry your pack, but you can arrange to have it driven around, if you plan ahead.

Purists can tackle the Wild Coast rough as they like. There are miles and miles of unspoiled hiking trail traversing high mountains, deserts and forests, where the accommodation is the usual hiking hut, and the cuisine whatever you decided to carry.

For an even wilder experience, you can hike for days in the Cedarberg, near Cape Town, or the Drakensberg in KwaZulu-Natal, without seeing a hut or a route marker. These are designated wilderness areas, and you simply take a map and a permit and set off, sleeping under the stars or in convenient caves. …

larger version – drakensberg – flickr – jaejongkwak