Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
I heard the best hike close to Atlanta was Stone Mountain.
Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis
Some say this is the largest exposed granite ‘stone’ in the world.
LOVED it.
Started with a climb 825ft (251m) to the summit.
Continued with a 5mi (8km) trail run around the varied, pretty base of the rock.
I made good time as I was desperately late trying to catch a flight at the airport.
all my Stone Mountain photos on flickr
Me, I’m a slave to fashion.
My palmcorder / camera is well hung from my fanny pack — like batman’s utility belt — at all times.
But if you are not quite so cool as I. Or have a bigger equipment than I … check out this variation of a bicycle messenger bag recommended by Trailspotting.
… We’ve been testing out Kata’s T-214 Torso Pack for the past six months we love how rugged, secure compact and comfortable it is, plus it’s easy to swing it around from back to front for easy access to the double-zippered top. Much better than other sling-bags we’ve tried. …
Related: Two-Heel Drive – Fanny packs: who’s got one?
Pierre Dehaene wrote to tell us of an EU supported local trekking company.
Sheikh Sina offers hikes and excursions in the Deserts and High Mountains of South Sinai. With 25 different routes to choose from, there is something for all levels, from adventure seekers to leisure vacationers. Customers may enjoy 10 day, 5 day and 3 day excursions in various regions.
Sheikh Sina, a Bedouin run trekking company, strives to offer the best hiking and trekking experience in the South Sinai Mountains. We remain sensitive to the local environment and its people by promoting responsible travel in protected areas that have been selected as World Heritage sights by UNESCO.
Start on their Treks page. It details options in the Galt Region and the Umm Shomar Region. Some are open year round.
I was there once in 1994 and — foolishly — went snorkeling and scuba diving instead of hiking. Friends set off to Saint Catherine’s Monastery. I went to the beach.
I love the desert.
I’d love to get to the top of the world’s highest waterfall.
original – flickr – MaurÃcio Marques
Two teams at least have climbed the Rainbow Jambaia route up behind the Falls.
Far easier would be to hike up, rapel down.
more photos of this adventure – flickr – Cathy Beloeil
Cathy did climb nearby Roraima (photos), as well, on that same trip.
Need additional incentive to book a flight to South America? See more wonderful Angel Fall photos on Dark Roasted Blend.
A great video previews Todd Carmichael’s November 2008 attempt alone over the “cruelest territory on the planet”.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Expedition Earth Mission 2008 The South Pole – blog
Perfect for the hiking blogger.
… It’s a stand-up desk integrated into a treadmill. …
I tried it and it’s not as awkward as you might think. You have to get the speed on the treadmill just right, so you can walk without thinking, but once you do it is actually possible to read and type while walking.
Despite the turmoil and controversies of the Olympic Torch being carried up Everest, it’s been a relatively “good” year for successful climbs from the Nepal side. And comparatively few deaths.
I have no interest in climbing the world’s highest peak myself. But hiking in Nepal is back in full swing.
The peace accord signed by Maoist rebels seems to be holding.
Here’s the kind of articles that are being posted in 2008:
… The tourism industry has much to celebrate as foreign travelers are reappearing in the once almost deserted mountain destination with the return of peace.
Consider this. It is late night at the Shisha Bar in Thamel. The band is playing at full blast rocking the tightly packed dance floor. Tourists could be seen swaying to the music, dragging on hookahs or swilling exotic drinks. Thamel, the major tourist hangout, was in an upbeat mood. And so are Kathmandu’s restaurants, shopping districts and cultural and heritage sites as the tourists are coming back.
Nepal’s tourism industry is seeing a return of the good old days. Tour operators, trekking agencies and handicraft sellers are doing increased business. Hotels are reporting a surge in bookings. And foreign airlines are crowding into Nepal’s skies with the growth in tourist traffic.
Nepal’s tourism industry bounces right back
In fact, Nepal’s government has announced a public holiday for three days, from May 28th to May 30th, to celebrate the country becoming a Republic. They’ve abolished the monarchy that had reigned for 240 years.
I’m looking for my next chance to get back to Nepal, the favourite country I’ve visited. … OK, tied with New Zealand.
Gandruk – flickr
from the top of Gokyo Ri – flickr
A 32-year-old Perth trekker has died from a suspected heart attack, soon after setting out on the gruelling Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea.
The Kokoda Spirit trekking company says Shane Green died last Sunday, during the steep ascent to the Deniki campsite, several hours south from Kokoda.
It says the young man just keeled over, and trekking masters tried CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
The company says every walker has to have a doctor’s certificate that proves they’re fit to walk. …
This year around five thousand Australians are expected to take on the challenge of the historic 96 kilometre track, where Australian troops resisted invading Japanese forces during World War Two.
History of the Kokoda:
Between 21 July and 14 September 1942, 2,000 Australian troops defended the Kokoda Track leading to Port Moresby against 10,000 elite, battle-toughened Japanese troops. The Australians were ill-equipped, poorly supplied, and facing an enemy determined to brush them aside … These circumstances forced the Australians to stage a fighting withdrawal lasting four weeks across the ridges and valleys of the Kokoda Track …. During those four weeks of bloody fighting on the Kokoda Track the Australians suffered very heavy casualties.
This cross-section map of the Owen Stanley Range may assist viewers to gain an appreciation of the rugged terrain …
… conditions on the Kokoda Track were appalling. The narrow dirt track climbed steep heavily timbered mountains, and then descended into deep valleys choked with dense rain forest. The steep gradients and the thick vegetation made movement difficult, exhausting, and at times dangerous. Razor-sharp kunai grass tore at their clothing and slashed their skin. The average annual rainfall over most of the Kokoda Track is about 5 metres (16 feet), and daily rainfalls of 25 centimetres (10 inches) are not uncommon. When these rains fell, dirt tracks quickly dissolved into calf-deep mud which exhausted the soldiers after they had struggled several hundred metres through it. Sluggish streams in mountain ravines quickly became almost impassable torrents when the rains began to fall. …
A mountain pine beetle infestation has already killed off billions of trees in British Columbia, Canada.
The mountain pine beetle epidemic in British Columbia is coming to a close, but only because the pests are running out of food, a forestry representative says.
The latest figures from the B.C. government and the Council of Forest Industries estimate the beetles have infested more than half of B.C.’s marketable pine forest. …
In 1998 there were only a few infected trees in my Province, Alberta. It’s a big problem here today as the beetles move in from BC.
The beetles kill the trees by boring through the bark into the phloem layer on which they feed and in which eggs are laid. Pioneer female beetles initiate attacks, and produce pheromones which attract other beetles and results in mass attack.
The trees respond to attack by increasing their resin output in order to discourage or kill the beetles, but the beetles carry blue stain fungi which, if established, will block the tree resin response. Over time (usually within 2 weeks of attack), the trees are overwhelmed as the phloem layer is damaged enough to cut off the flow of water and nutrients.
In the end, the trees starve to death, and the damage can be easily seen even from the air in the form of reddened needles. Entire groves of trees after an outbreak will appear reddish for this reason. Usually older trees die faster. After particularly long and hot summers mountain pine beetle population can get out of hand and that’s when there starts to be a problem. There are too many beetles and they start killing off big areas of trees.
Prince George, British Columbia – dead and dying trees – flickr – D&J Huber
Is there any hope?
I don’t know. I would think some predator would take an advantage of the infestation.
Cold winters can stifle infestations. But we’ve had record warm winters of late where I live. (A cold snap we had in 2008 might help.)
Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado used selective burning to try to stem the beetles.
Alberta is trying some preemptive prescribed burns. Others regions are clear cutting though there’s very little demand for the wood.
No cougar would take on a full-size Grizzly. …
Right, a Moma cougar would.
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