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revealed – besthike editor LOVES desert off-road vehicles

by Rick McCharles

I was critical of off-road enthusiasts out of Moab, Utah. Clearly they do a lot of damage to the environment.

Related post: motorized vehicles ruin the Utah desert

But I’ve driven off-road myself in Huacachina, Peru. In the highest sand dunes in the world.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube:

That’s not me in the video. But we did exactly the same things there as do all tourists.

It was fantastic fun.

But there is a difference. Those vehicles do very little damage to the dunes or to the plant and animal life of the dunes. Next morning after a windy night, you’d never know a human had been there.

I still want to restrict off-road vehicles in the deserts of the SW USA.

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besthike editor Rick McCharles

Huacachina, Peru – Wikipedia

(via Think or Thwim)

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best hiking blog published in French

Vincent edits an excellent, classy hiking blog, publishing in French. It’s called Journal du Trek.

I used Google Translate to read it, and the result is surprisingly good:

For those who like walking, trekking, hiking equipment, shipments to all destinations, travel agencies and the news of the outdoor.

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I’ve subscribed in French and will translate just those posts I want to read.

Merci, Vincent!

(The language translation is not much of a problem, but the partial RSS feed is a barrier for this subscriber. I like full feeds.)

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Mt Lafayette, NH – Bridle Path Loop

At besthike we are western snobs. No doubt about it.

But there really are fantastic hikes east of the Rocky Mountains. For example:

Where: Bridle Loop Path, Mount Lafayette, New Hampshire

What: The nine-mile Bridle Path Loop in New Hampshire’s White Mountains takes in two of the state’s tallest peaks, Lafayette and Lincoln. I love this particular trail because it rewards you with all the best elements of hiking in the Northeast: an extended traverse along an exposed ridge, a series of roaring waterfalls, and breathtaking views of the Presidentials and Pemigewasset Wilderness all the way to Mount Washington.

…

Here’s how I described it in the September 2006 edition of my American Adventurer column: “The trail climbs, steeply and steadily, over exposed rocks and up through a forest of beech, birch, and maple to the knife’s edge of rocks and windswept ledges that is Franconia Ridge … There you stand, a mile high, with the world spread before you and nothing between you and the next peak but a narrow, undulating ridge. The next mile and a half is all ups and downs, all jagged rocks and tumbled boulders, with every step of the way punctuated by loose rubble, patches of dwarf pines, and vast stretches of hardy alpine scrub.”

If that doesn’t sound like fun, I don’t know what does. I love hiking!

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The Tuesday Traveler # 5: Mount Lafayette, New Hamphire « chapter11studios.com

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The Ordinary Adventurer – recommended hiking book

A review by Jeffrey Hunter convinced me to add a book to my “to read in 2008” list.

Let me start by saying that The Ordinary Adventurer” Hiking Vermont’s Long Trail; A Primer for Baby Adventurers and Other Musings on the Nature of Journey, is no ordinary book. It is a gem!

What makes this book such a fun read is Jan’s ability to capture the subtleties of the hiking experience. As an experienced backpacker, I could totally relate to the mental aspect of Jan’s hike. The frustration that can arise from poor weather, a stiff climb, or from a recalcitrant hiking partner (sorry Clyde). The splendor of being alone in the woods, lost in your thoughts, or listening to the ethereal song of the Hermit Thrush. The joy felt when the sun emerges from behind a cloud, or when a stranger offers you a cold beverage or a much needed ride to town. The satisfaction from realizing that you have accomplished a goal, such as climbing Mt. Mansfield, even though that goal seemed insurmountable only hours earlier.

…

When I finished the book last night, I was saddened to put it down.

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Click through to see purchase information:

The Ordinary Adventurer

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Edmund Hillary dead at 88

Farewell Sir Edmund.

You’ve been a great inspiration to us all.

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When I lived in New Zealand we visited a museum housing all of his original mountaineering gear from 1953. He had kept it in his basement for decades.

Those men were tough.

Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, KG, ONZ, KBE (20 July 1919 – 11 January 2008) was a New Zealand mountaineer and explorer. On 29 May 1953, he and Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay became the first climbers known to have reached the summit of Mount Everest. …

profile piece – Everest legend Edmund Hillary dies – CNN.com

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Summit Stones & Adventure Musings

Besthike got a wonderful shout out on Summit Stones & Adventure Musings:

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Of the many (somewhat similar) outdoor websites I visit, this one is unique. Unique in format, poetic prose and philosophical outlook.

The only site I might compare it with is As the Crow Flies. Check out both.

Summit Stones & Adventure Musings…By DSD: “BestHike….!”

I’d like to subscribe to more philosophical blogs like these two.

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rare lynx photographed in Yellowstone

In decades of hiking, I’ve only seen lynx footprints. This might be the closest I ever get.

Fred Paulsen, a Xanterra Parks and Resorts employee, took this photo of a lynx near Beryl Springs in late November in Yellowstone National Park. It’s one of two, or perhaps three, photos of a lynx ever taken in Yellowstone.

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… Colorado Division of Wildlife officials said it’s probably one of the 218 collared lynx from Canada released in southwestern Colorado between 1999 and 2006 as part of a reintroduction program. …

BillingsGazette.com :: Rare lynx photographed in Yellowstone

(via GOAT)

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Branson treks Arctic – no mention of GLOBAL WARMING

Just kidding.

Would there be any point in a major expedition outdoors unless it was intended to cool the planet?

With the saturation media coverage of late, so many people have become “aware” of global warming that it’s tough to find anyone who doesn’t have an idea of what it is… But that doesn’t mean they’re all jumping up and taking action either. In fact, a recent poll showed that while overwhelming numbers of Americans agree that global warming is both real and human caused, 58% of those who think they understand the problem said no to a potential gas tax to help stop it.

And that’s why legendary polar explorer and lifelong environmental activist Will Steger is leading a team of top explorers out across the arctic ice this spring in an amazing journey to capture the arctic trauma while highlighting the need for immediate action…

The team includes Sam Branson, son of Virgin’s Richard Branson, and …… They’ll be documenting their journey in real-time, blogging and creating podcasts from the ice throughout the trip. They’ll also be leaving time-lapse video cameras in their wake to capture the ice as it melts away. …

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Steger, Branson, Ekran Heading Across Arctic in Bid to Demonstrate Drastic Change In Real Time for Schools, Public : TreeHugger

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best hikes – The Gear Junkie

Another (older) “best hike” list posted by nationally-syndicated newspaper columnist Stephen Regenold, The Gear Junkie:

BK: What are your five favorite camping or hiking places in the U.S. or Canada? And why?

SR:
1. Minnesota’s North Shore—Lake Superior views, quiet old mossy forests. My homeland!

2. Big Sur, Calif.—Giant redwoods, rushing rivers, waterfalls, fog, ferns, ocean. . .

3. Red Rock Canyon, Nevada—Otherworldly sandstone valleys and mountains 25 minutes from the Vegas Strip

4. Black Hills, South Dakota—Granite spires, deep piney forests

5. Central Colorado—This country’s version of the Swiss Alps, especially in springtime

And a bonus question:

BK: Let’s take water. What is your opinion on all the different ways to treat waterborne parasites and bacteria. What’s your ultimate recommendation?

SR: I use iodine and other chemical tablets. Have never had a parasite or an incident, though most of the places I go are pretty pristine. On the Primal Quest, however, we had to filter the silt out of river water with one of my teammates’ (Roy Wallack’s) underwear!

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Q-and-A with The Gear Junkie :: The Daily Dose :: The Gear Junkie

(via The Adventure Blog)

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trek Akshayuk Pass, Baffin Island

The Adventure Addict posted a great series of annotated photos of their trek south to the Arctic Circle.

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Wow! I’ve never hiked that far North. (If only I could afford to fly to Pangnirtung. And on to Qikiqtarjuaq.)

You can’t really see from the pic, but the vertical part of the face is actually overhanging at 105°. This mountain has the longest vertical uninterrupted face on Earth, and is a mecca for climbers and B.A.S.E. jumpers. The vertical part is 1250m tall — yes, that’s 1.25 KILOMETRES tall. …

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Thor Peak – flickr

Auyuittuq National Park, Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. 6 intrepid/crazy hikers go for a 9 day hike in a remote, mountainous landscape in the Canadian arctic.

Akshayuk Pass hike, Auyuittuq National Park, Canada – a photoset on Flickr

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Breadablik and Thor

Interested? Check an even better trip report with photos by Nestor and Lewycky.

More information:

Baffin Island. The Akshayuk Pass, formerly known as Pangnirtung Pass, is an extraordinary 100-km trek through a land recently vacated by glaciers – though they line the edges of the valley and send fingers of ice creeping into the edges of it. Mountains over 2000 metres high line a route through the finest scenery in North America. In 2004 Outside Magazine voted the Auyuittuq Backpacking trip one of the top “Trips Of A Lifetime”.

source

Friends are looking at Akshayuk for the summer of 2009. Leave a comment if you have deep pockets and might be interested in joining us. If bears scare you, we’ll need a gun. A bigger concern, actually, is drowning or death by hypothermia after river crossings.

Obviously Akshayuk is included on our list of the best hikes in North America.