besthike.com

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

We’ll head first to Waimea. I’m using Robert Smith’s hiking guidebook:

Hiking Kauai, the Garden Isle

March 23, 2008

Highest Elevation Tornado Ever Observed in U.S.

Tornado, Rockwell Pass, Sequoia National Park, California, July 7, 2004.

Elevation at Rockwell Pass: ~11,600 feet. Base of tornado at ground level probably at least at 12,000 feet.

Scott Newton, 2004

Scott Newton, 2004

details and more photos

We had hail and lightning on the John Muir trail in 2007 at very high elevations. But certainly nothing like a tornado.

Scary stuff.

Thanks Rocco for forwarding the link.

March 22, 2008

George Bush on Re-Arming Our Wilderness

There’s a move under way in the U.S. Senate to have Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne reverse the National Park Service’s ban against the public carrying concealed weapons in the national parks. …

National Parks Traveler

The president of the Association of National Park Rangers responded that Kempthorne’s rationale is “hypocritical in some cases and just plain wrong in others,” …

There is a very amusing audiocast currently playing on The Official Parody Site of George Bush’s Weekly Radio Address. Playing only for 1wk.

March 22, 2008

more Parks require bear-proof canisters

From National Park Traveler:

Grand Teton National Park … beginning this Saturday, March 15, all backpackers camping below 10,000 feet in the parkâ€™s backcountry will be required to use approved, portable bear-proof canisters for food storageâ€”except at certain designated backcountry campsites where food storage facilities are provided.

Although food canisters are not required for areas above 10,000 feet, proper food storage will still be compulsory in those locations. It doesn’t sound as if rangers will allow you to use the Ursack or UrsaLite food storage systems. …

Bear-Proof Food Canisters Mandatory for Most Backcountry Travel in Grand Teton National Park

Steve Sergeant of the Wildebeat is an expert. In a comment on that post:

Bear-resistant food canisters are also required in most of Sequoia/Kings-Canyon National Park as well. In addition, large areas of wilderness on Forest Service land in the Sierra Nevada also require you to use such canisters.

We explored the history and effectiveness of bear cans in a two-part edition of the WildeBeat:
The Story of Bear Cans, part 1
The Story of Bear Cans, part 2

Personally, I have learned to love my canister. I often take it on hikes even when not required. The extra weight is often worth the convenience.

This is the one I use:

Bear Vault Model BV400 Bear Can

March 21, 2008

hike the Chilcotin Mountains in Canada

Bluepeak recommended a terrific site: Chilcotin Mountains Trail System

As a start, check out the fantastic Photo Gallery. Some samples:

Tatlayoko Lake

Lower Taseko Lake

Jamison Creek Valley

Wilderness Mountain

more photos like these – Chilcotin Mountains Trail System Gallery

Here’s the Chilcotin, surprisingly little hiked.

Chilcotin Mountains Trail System – homepage

March 21, 2008

Scentists: Meteor Created Upheaval Dome in Canyonlands – I could have told them THAT

Elmar Buchner and Thomas Kenkmann say the key to their finding was tiny grains of “shocked quartz” — basically, quartz that has a different microscopic structure from normal quartz due to undergoing extreme pressure of some sort — that was created by the impact.

National Parks Traveler

Having hiked the superb Syncline Loop last year (trip report), it seems obvious it was a meteor crater.

Yet final proof was quite an accomplishment, I understand.

March 20, 2008

cost of trekking in Bhutan increasing

Bad news for me.

I’ve been waiting on Bhutan to open up for independent trekking. Planning on being one of the first to get a hiking permit.

It was Rogier Gruys of BluePeak.net who first got me interested in hiking Bhutan.

original – BluePeak on flickr – more photos

Now Kira Salak penned a wonderful Snowman Trek trip report / article for National Geographic.

A small excerpt:

… Then I saw the tiny fortress, Lingshi Dzong, sitting on a hilltop before the great audience of the Himalaya. I stopped. For some reason I never quite understood, I sat down and wept. Maybe it had something to do with the starkness of the distances, with the dramatic vying of sunlight and storm. Or perhaps it was subtler, harder to explain. As if, in that ancient dzongâ€”that speck of human proclamation sitting before the indifferent valleys and rise of the Himalayaâ€”it was my own voice calling out into the void. I found myself making an appeal of grief about my brother, who’d had his own history, his stories. What would happen to them now? Where do theyâ€”where do any of our storiesâ€”go? …

Lingshi Dzong – larger version – flickr – reddoggirl01

read the entire lengthy, intense travelogue – Trekking Bhutan’s Higher Planes

VISITING BHUTAN: Though there is no cap on the number of annual visitors, the Bhutanese government charges at least $200 a day for any in-country travel, and all tourists must book trips with one of 77 government-approved outfitters. Once you’re there, a guide accompanies you at all times.

National Geographic Bhutan Adventure Guide

In her article, Kira Salak states that she’s heard price will double in the near future. Go from $200 to $400 / day.

Leave a comment if you can confirm that rumour.

(via The Adventure Blog)

trekking in Bhutan

Snowman Trek, Bhutan

March 20, 2008

rock climbing in Joshua Tree National Park

Joshua Tree is NOT most famous for hiking. It’s set-up more so that casual day hikers won’t get lost and die of dehydration.

Nor is it most famous for Joshua trees.

JT is most famous for climbing. Photos I took close to Hidden Valley Campground:

larger version – flickr

Joshua Tree National Park is one of the most popular rock climbing areas in the world. More than 4,500 established routes offering a wide range of difficulty are concentrated within about 100,000 acres of park land.

Rock Climbing – National Park Service

Even for a manic hiker like myself, the most fun I had in the park was scrambling.