besthike.com

October 2, 2008

paving the Annapurna Circuit, Nepal

Fears of road construction ruining our #8 trek in the world have been somewhat exaggerated.

Hikers are concerned when they see articles like this:

… Late last year, the Australian tour operator Peregrine Adventures, which has organised trips to Nepal for more than 30 years, abandoned the “classic” Annapurna Circuit, which stretches for 300 kilometres and reaches altitudes of more than 5000 metres.

“We’ve dropped that trip altogether because of the road,” operations director Tietse Stelma says. “Ten years ago it was such a beautiful trek going up into the mountains with the Annapurnas in front of you. Now you have more and more traffic on the road and building activity – when you go on a trek, you don’t want to hear that.” …

Rocky road for trekkers – The Age

Annapurna is still a wonderful adventure. But you might want to skip the Jomson Trek, the section where a new roadway is under construction.

Here’s a terrific documentary titled Paving Shangri La which paints the worst case scenario:

Click PLAY or watch it (Part 2) on YouTube. (7.29min)

Part 1 = watch it on YouTube. (7.42min)

The narrator is Andrew Stevenson, author of A Nepalese Journey: The Essence of the Annapurna Circuit and Annapurna Circuit – Himalayan Journey.

I have friends trekking Annapurna in October. I’ll report back on just how much the road construction “ruined” the experience.

Not much, I expect.

October 1, 2008

the Bogley Outdoor Community

Bogley found me through Twitter. And I’m glad they did.

It’s an American social network of outdoor enthusiasts. They love mountain biking, hiking, climbing, kayaking, canyoning. Just about anything outside.

They have a blog, forum, over 10,000 photos on flickr and a Youtube video channel.

They network using MySpace, Facebook, Friendster, Digg and LinkedIn.

screen shot

The best jumping off point to check them out is their main website: Bogley.com

I’ve subscribed to several Bogley feeds and will be linking to them in future.

September 30, 2008

Death Valley photos – James Gordon

Death Valley: The name is forbidding and gloomy. Yet here in the valley, much of it below sea level, you can find colorful badlands, snow-covered peaks, beautiful sand dunes, rugged canyons, and the hottest driest spot in North America.

Just a few of James’ wonderful pics:

Death Valley California photo set – flickr – James Gordon

September 29, 2008

thru hike the American Discovery Trail

We are Jennifer and Stacy. We have chosen Shaman (stacy) and Weck (jennifer) as our trail names. Our primary goal is to hike the United States starting with the American Discovery Trail.

Because we are both out of shape and overweight, we are spending the next several months, planning, training, and preparing to take to the road. We have started by hiking local state parks and trails. We plan to journal and photo document everything we do as a record for ourselves and anyone else out there that is interested in doing the same thing.

Part of the plan is to sell our vehicles, our home, and nearly everything in it. The only things we want are the things weâ€™ll need on the road. For us, this isnâ€™t just a trip, or a vacationâ€¦ it is a lifestyle change. …

They’ve put together a nice looking blog dedicated to this major life change.

ThisTrek.com

September 28, 2008

rescuing a drowning bear

… Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologist Adam Warwick just couldn’t let the bear drown, so he took off his shirt and dive after it. The 375 lbs black bear had been spotted in a residential area, obviously looking for food, and was shot with a tranquilizer dart. Unfortunately, before it went under, it jumped in the water of the Gulf of Mexico. …

click through for more photos and a video – Man Saves 375 lbs Black Bear from Drowning – Treehugger

September 28, 2008

Bike Friday Folding Bicycle

Andrew Posner searched for a bike for a frequent traveller:

… It had to: be reasonably light (between 20 and 24 pounds); have a steel frame; fold down small enough to fit into a suitcase that can be checked in at the airport; have a wide enough gear ratio to be used for long training rides and hill climbs; and cost no more than around $1,300.

…

I eventually settled on the Bike Friday Pocket Rocket, a $999 dollar bike that comes with a beautiful fire-engine red paint job, drop handlebars, a steel frame, and easy folding capabilities. The 20 inch wheels roll fast enough to make long rides possible, while still being small enough to fit into a suitcase. For another $250 you can purchase a special suitcase designed for the bike; the suitcase can be checked in at the airport as standard luggage (read that: no extra charges). Traveling with a bicycle couldn’t be easier. …

A Review of my Bike Friday Folding Bicycle

This is the best travel bike I’ve found, so far.

Bike Friday – details

September 27, 2008

Fall foliage photos

Fall is the most beautiful time of the year in the outdoors, I feel.

larger original – flickr – starmist1

larger original – flickr – Idle Type

larger original – flickr – Just-Us-3

More “interesting” Fall foliage photos.

Gadling posted the best locations for Fall foliage in North America.

Leave a comment below if you have your own favourite hiking destination in the Fall. Mine is Lake O’Hara in the Canadian Rockies.

September 26, 2008

hiker Andrew Skurka on tour

Sadly I missed the world’s greatest hiker when he spoke in my city last week.

He’s on tour following his 11,000-kilometre Great Western Loop in 208 days, a blistering pace of 53 kilometres per day.

Next on his calendar:

Thurs, Nov 20 — National Geographic Adventurer of the Year — Washington DC

Sat, Nov 22 — Explorers Festival – Lodz, Poland

Fri, Jan 9 — Cuyahoga Valley National Park — Brecksville, OH

Thurs, Jan 15 — Mystic Seaport — Mystic, CT

events will be updated on his services page.

September 25, 2008

trekking across Iceland

Hardcore hiker Jonathan Ley has done the Continental Divide Trail and Pacific Crest Trail.

But I was most interested in his unique adventure in Iceland:

larger version

The photos are terrific:

more photos

I really want to trek Iceland after seeing them!

Why Iceland?

When I was hiking the CDT, I had a lot of time to dream-up other hiking trips all over the world. One of those was a hike across Iceland… No particular reason, it sounded like it’d be interesting. When my friend Dave mentioned that he had the same idea, it seemed meant to be. The trip was a lot more enjoyable and safer with a traveling companion.

Iceland is a unique place. It is located along the Atlantic rift, where the earth’s crust is separating. As a result, there are a lot of geothermal features (volcanoes, hot springs, etc) all over the country. Iceland is quite far north – the Arctic circle was just offshore from our starting point – but, the climate is kept somewhat temperate by ocean currents. The land is one of stark beauty, shaped by ice, wind, and volcanoes.

How long was the route?

Even after completing the hike, I’m still not sure. Our best estimate was somewhere around 360-380 miles.

When did you hike?

We started on June 23, 2006, and finished on July 11, 2006.

…

Where / how did you resupply?

The population of Iceland is a sparse 300,000, and most of those live near ReykjavÃk. Virtually nobody lives in the interior. Still, we passed through a couple areas where we could resupply. There is a small town near the lake MÃ½vatn in the north, and a summer “backpacking village” at Landmannalauger in the south. We sent packages to both places, but it’s possible to buy provisions “as you go”.

…

Has anyone else done this?

People have hiked across Iceland via a number of routes, but each trip has probably been somewhat unique, and the total number is likely small. Since returning from the trip, I’ve been contacted by at least one other American who completed a similar trip a number of years ago… I’m not sure if there are more. …

FAQs

September 24, 2008

climbing Via Ferrata in 1 Minute – video

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

This is the Via Ferrata Peille, France.

There are many others:

A via ferrata (Italian for “iron road” … is a mountain route which is equipped with fixed cables, stemples, ladders, and bridges. The use of these allows otherwise isolated routes to be joined to create longer routes which are accessible to people with a wide range of climbing abilities. Walkers and climbers can follow via ferratas without needing to use their own ropes and belays, and without the risks associated with unprotected scrambling and climbing. They are found in a number of European countries, including Italy, Germany, France, Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland, Spain and Sweden; and a few places in the United States, Canada and England. The first via ferratas were built in the Dolomite mountain region of Italy during the First World War, to aid the movement of mountain infantry. …

Wikipedia