besthike.com

March 30, 2008

Queen Charlotte Track, New Zealand

Love in a Tent loved the QCT, posting a detailed trip report:

… We randomly decided to spend 4 days doing the 3-5 day trip, without having first checked on details like, say, the distance. So we were a little surprised to see that it was 71km long – that’s longer than our 5-day trek on the St. James Walkway! In order to complete it in 4 days, we would have to walk an average of 18km per day. That’s pretty far for us, with full packs on. But we figured it must be such easy terrain that it wouldn’t be a problem. …

There are five Dept. of Conservation campsites along the track (no huts though), and a few private ones. The track is very popular because there are also a range of other accommodation options, ranging from budget hostels to fancy resorts. So lots of people stay in comfortable rooms with hot showers and restaurant meals while they experience the walkway. One of the other convenient features of the track is that you can arrange to have your pack (or suitcase I suppose) transferred to your next overnight stop by boat, so that you can walk with only a day pack. Both resort-stayers and campers tend to use this service, which makes walking longer distances easier and more pleasant.

But being gluttons for punishment, we opted to carry our big, heavy packs the whole way. Why? Ostensibly so that we weren’t tied to any specific destination on a given day. But really, I can’t think of any good reason why we did it. If I did the track again, I’d certainly opt for the pack transfer service. It was the same price as the water taxi with no pack transfers, so why the hell not! …

Love in a Tent

Author Peter Potterfield and local expert Ray Waters hiked it last November:

… Most people take four days to do this impressive 71 kilometer route up the spine of the peninsula separating Queen Charlotte Sound from Kenepuru Sound, but if you make the long trek out to Punga Cove on day one you can do it in three long days, about 23 kilometers per day. A unique feature of the route is that it’s a bit like trekking in Nepal–you can do it with a day pack, while the boat, and not a yak or a porter, takes the rest of your gear onto the next stop. The light load makes the long days no problem. …

New Zealand Hikes: The Queen Charlotte Track – Great Outdoors

This is a fantastic destination for all levels of experience.

besthike.com information page – Queen Charlotte Track

March 29, 2008

Simpsons on Alaska – funny

From the movie.

Simpsons DVD / Alaska

March 28, 2008

best hikes in Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas

Every time I get to Lost Wages, I spend at least one day at Red Rock. It’s only a few miles from the strip to 197,000 acres of beautiful desert wilderness.

While most outdoors folk go for the bouldering, you can quickly access great hiking, as well.

Branch Whitney posted his favourite hikes there:

Easy Hikes

Calico Tank

Fern Canyon

Las Vegas Overlook

Moderate Hikes

Juniper Peak

Boot Boulder

Terrace Canyon

Advanced Hikes

Bridge Mtn via Ice Box Canyon

Mt. Wilson via Cleaver Crack

Rainbow Peak without the Ledges

It’s Prime Time for Red Rock Canyon! – Hiking Las Vegas blog

larger original

That excellent website content is available to members only. But non-members can still read their blog in advance of a trip to Sin City.

I am hoping to get there in April, myself.

March 27, 2008

trekking in southern Africa

On The Adventure Blog, Kraig linked through to a terrific hiking site:

screenshot

Click through to the interactive map on Adventure Zone. You will be impressed with the amount and detail of information on hiking in Namibia, Swaziland and South Africa available.

My #1 destination in South Africa is the Drakensberg. But clearly there are many, many more great hikes.

March 26, 2008

dangerous spikes on the hiking trail

There are manuals on “how to build trails”.

I wish the guys who built Canyon Trail on Kauai, Hawaii had read one.

Have you seen this “danger” on the hiking trail in the past?

The spikes are used to hold the step logs in place. Works great … until the rains come.

Here the kids were simulating a “worst case scenario” injury.

March 26, 2008

pedal across the Atlantic Ocean

Shout out to my old friend Greg Kolodziejzyk.

He made a fortune in the early days of the internet selling fonts to Adobe. Went on to more successful business ventures.

But these days Greg’s passion is extreme adventure. He wants “To conquer the world by human power.”

He has several sites including these two:

Adventures of Greg

Pedal the Ocean

Here’s a Discovery Channel interview describing Greg’s world record attempt to cross the Atlantic by pedal power.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

You’ll see he’s still in the testing phase of the home-made craft. Greg’s trip is scheduled to start in December this year, and is expected to take around 40 days.

He’s considering alternative itineraries, including Canada to Hawaii. Since I’m enjoying the “Garden Isle” of Kaua’i so much right now â€” my vote is for Hawaii.

Good luck buddy!

about Greg Kolodziejzyk

(via Straight to the Bar)

March 25, 2008

hiking Waimea Canyon, Hawaii with kids

The most popular way to see the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific” is Canyon Trail, 3.6mi (5.8km) with a short side trip on Cliff Trail to the lookout.

The goal is Waipoo Falls where Kokee Stream drops into the canyon.

I thought the “moderate difficulty” trail might be a bit much for the kids, but there is so much to do and see, they were entertained throughout.

Our only problem was worrying about any of them falling hundreds of feet off the edge of the cliff.

In the end, they all made it back to the trailhead, almost under their own steam.

more photos of our Waimea Canyon Trail hike – flickr

Guidebook: Hiking Kauai, the Garden Isle

March 25, 2008

Democracy comes to Bhutan

Will this help open up the country to independent hikers?

A political party seen as the more royalist of two groups seeking power swept the first parliamentary elections ever held in this secluded Himalayan kingdom, Bhutan’s election commissioner said Monday.

The Bhutan Peace and Prosperity Party took 44 of the 47 seats in the new parliament, Election Commissioner Kunzang Wangdi said. …

Turnout was slightly more than 79 percent of the 320,000 registered voters, Wangdi said. Even in remote corners of the largely rural country â€” in tiny hamlets where voting machines were delivered by yak â€” the election went smoothly, officials said. …

The vote ended more than a century of absolute monarchy in the mountainous land long known as a quirky holdout from modernity, allowing television and the Internet only in 1999.

The election came with a twist: It was the king, not the people, who pressed for democracy. …

Royalist Party Wins Election in Bhutan – AP

photo Paula Bronstein/Getty Images – About.com

March 24, 2008

North Coast Trail vs West Coast Trail

The only person more excited than me about the new North Coast Trail on Vancouver Island, Canada, is BluePeak editor Rogier Gruys.

Rogier linked to an article in Wild Coast Magazine in which the authors claim the NCT is even better than the famed WCT, our #1 hike in the world.

High praise!

We’ll need to hike the North Coast Trail during the summer of 2008 to see for ourselves. The article includes an excellent map:

screenshot – original

Don’t start packing yet. The official website today still states:

The Trail is not complete. Hikers are requested to avoid using any part of the route until after construction is finished.

Northern Vancouver Island Trails Society

March 24, 2008

KauaÊ»i – Hawaiian hiking paradise

I’ve finally done it.

Made the trekker’s pilgrimage to the volcanic island of KauaÊ»i (also spelled Kauai). My first trip.

There are more miles of hiking trails here than on the rest of Hawaiian islands combined. It’s the “Garden Isle”. The one used in the opening fly-in scene for Jurassic Park.

The most useful website I’ve found is Hawaii Trails:

Hawaii Trails – Kauai map

The second highest peak is Mount WaiÊ»aleÊ»ale near the center of the island, one of the wettest spots on Earth with an annual average rainfall of 460in (11.7m). The resulting floods have eroded deep canyons, including what Mark Twain dubbed the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific” â€” Waimea Canyon, 10mi (16km) long and up to 3000ft (900m) deep.

NASA