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off-road motor vehicles vs hikers in Utah

I spent 2wks last year hiking out of Moab, Utah. Then got grief after criticizing the ethos of the “adventure destination” in this post: Moab, Utah – living a lie?

Comments like this offended:

Moab reminds me more of Mad Max than a desert oasis.

That town is a hub and a flash point for the off-road vehicle debate.
Two rangers are charged with policing 1.8 million acres of Utah wilderness. How well is that working, do you think?

off-road-vehicle-utah.jpg

This issue has finally hit the popular media. Most importantly in a series of New York Times articles including this one: Surge in Off-Roading Stirs Dust and Debate in West

Now in an accompanying video. Click here to watch it.

Personally, I vote to confine motor vehicles to the smallest geographic area possible. And to restrict jeeps and Hummers foremost as they cause far more damage than, by comparison, snowmobiles.

AND I would start in Moab, Utah. That town has it’s priorities wrong. It’s time to force the issue.

(via GOAT)

Related post: motorized vehicles ruin the Utah desert

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best list of best hikes – Enrico Forte

When I first saw an excellent post by Enrico Forte I thought, “Besthike should have written that.”

He titled it: World’s best hiking trails and trekking tours for individuals

Congratulations Enrico. And Happy New Year.

It’s basically a list of lists of best hikes from around the world.

Here are a few of the best of those included. (Those in bold are specifically included on our top 10 list.)

Have a look and use it as inspiration to find new travel ideas for your next vacation.

Which trail is the world’s classic hike?

  1. The Colorado Trail

  2. Buckskin Gulch, Utah
  3. John Muir Trail, California

  4. Kalalau Trail, Kaua’i, Hawai’i
  5. McGonagall Pass, Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska
  6. Fitz Roy Grand Tour, Patagonia, Argentina
  7. Kungsleden, Sweden
  8. Mount Everest Base Camp Trek, Nepal

  9. Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

  10. Routeburn Track, New Zealand
  11. Shackleton Crossing, South Georgia Island

source

Iexplore.com top 10 routes for exploring the world’s top adventures on foot.

  1. Hiking Annapurna Circuit, Nepal.

  2. Hiking Wildkirchli Trail Hiking, Switzerland.
  3. Hiking Havasu Canyon Trail, Arizona, U.S.A.
  4. Hiking Darién Gap, Panama.
  5. Hiking Crow Pass Trail, Alaska, U.S.A.
  6. Hiking to K2 Base Camp, Pakistan.
  7. Hiking Inca Trail, Peru.
  8. Hiking Appalachian National Scenic Trail, U.S.A.
  9. Hiking North Devon Coast Path, England.
  10. Hiking Torres del Paine Lookout, Chile.

source

Top Ten Treks

  1. Nepal’s Himalaya

  2. Gunung Tahan, Malaysia
  3. Ladakh Range, India

  4. California’s High Sierra

  5. Yukon-Charley Rivers, Alaska

  6. Patagonia

  7. Inca Trail, Peru
  8. Mount Kenya, Kenya
  9. South Coast Track, Tasmania

  10. Swiss Alps

source

The 10 ultimate treks to do before you die

  1. Mont Blanc Circuit Mont Blanc

  2. Lycian Way
  3. Pyrenees: The GR10GR10 route
  4. Mt Toubkal Climb, Morocco

  5. Climb Mount Kilimanjaro

  6. Everest Base CampMount Everest, Himalaya, Nepal
  7. Concordia and K2
  8. The Inca Trail Machu Picchu
  9. Huayhuash Circuit
  10. Fitzroy & PaineFitzroy and Paine, Patagonia, Argentina

source

Enrico’s site (posted in English, Italian and French) is Mandala Trek. Check it out.

His blog is linked to that site. Here’s the original post including many more hiking lists: World’s best hiking trails and trekking tours for individuals

Related post:

  • Enrico’s recommended hiking regions in Italy
    • Posted on

    Pindari glacier trek, India

    Ajay Shah signed on with a company called KMVN for the Pindari Glacier trek southeast of Nanda Devi in India.

    tn_dscn2531.jpg
    at the chai shop en route to the trailhead.

    I love the photos. From his trip report:

    Overall, the trip had height gain from Song (1300 m) to Zero point (3660 m), i.e. 2360 metres or 7740 feet. The linear distance of the entire trip Song – Zero Point – Song is 90 km. It was a grand trip and well worth it. …

    If you think of doing this trip, the following ideas will help:

    * Get the Survey of India Trekking Map Series map of Kumaon.

    * Dress in layers that are convenient to add and delete. The temperature can swing around by 10 degrees in a few minutes. It rains almost every day, so it’s useful to have a raincoat or a windcheater. Gore-tex would be ideal.

    * There is electricity at only one place: A generator at Khati. Carry spare charged batteries.

    * You don’t need the KMVN package trek. At Bageshwar, you can line up the unbundled components. The components are: Porter (can carry 30 kg, and costs Rs.200/day), beds at KMVN huts (Rs.150/night), a guide (who is voluble, unlike porters, and acts like a majordomo at the camps), transportation to and from Song, etc. This gives you more flexibility in designing your own trip, and making changes on the fly. The package treks are too restrictive; they are useful if you have never ever done a trip in the region before and have no clue about how things work.

    * The maps identify all KMVN huts. You can landup at a KMVN hut without any advance warning. If they have a bed, you’ll get it. If they don’t, they’ll spring a sleeping bag and/or a mattress and accomodate you anyway. They will make dinner for you. It’s cool.

    * The water is not clean when it is near human habitation.

    * If you must contract with KMVN in Delhi (or anyplace other than Bageshwar), be sure to have a written definition of what you have contracted. We experienced a serious failure of communications between Delhi and Bageshwar, where the things agreed-to by KMVN staff at Delhi (verbally) were not honoured by the folks at Bageshwar.

    * It is nice to have a tent, that gives choices other than the KMVN huts.

    * KMVN food planning is low on trail chow and protein.

    * There are leeches and flies-that-bite. Full sleeves and long pants make sense. Plan on DEET.

    You don’t actually get to see Nandi Devi on this trip. But the surrounding mountains are beautiful.

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    Pindari glacier trek – trip report – Ajay Shah

    besthike Indian Himalaya information page.

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    motorized vehicles ruin the Utah desert

    WildeBeat audio journal did a great piece this Fall on the problems of off road vehicles in the Utah desert.

    This wild places program examines the problems of trying to designate new wilderness areas in the central Utah desert. If it gets overrun by off road vehicles, can it still become new wilderness?

    This story was provided to us by guest reporter Kurt Repanshek, creator of the National Parks Traveler web magazine. Kurt tells this story of the struggle for wilderness designations in the desert canyonlands of central Utah with the help of:

    * Heidi McIntosh, conservation director for the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance
    * Wayne Ludington, assistant field manager for the Price district of the Bureau of Land Management
    * Liz Thomas, attorney for the Moab office of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance

    (A spokesman for the Blue Ribbon Coalition, the dominant advocacy group for off road vehicle enthusiasts, didn’t respond to our e-mailed requests for an interview.)

    The WildeBeat: The audio journal about getting into the wilderness.

    off-road-vehicles-utah.jpg
    Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance

    What a shame.

    We named the SW USA the #2 best region in the world for hikers. But seeing motorized vehicles welcomed into Canyonlands National Park is a huge downer.

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    Alaska Brooks Range Traverse

    Alaska wilderness guru Buck Nelson in 2006 made an incredible solo journey. Maximum pack weight was about 43 pounds.

    He’s made a 90min documentary of that adventure.

    My trip started June 18 at the border of the Yukon Territory and ended September 2nd at the ocean near Kotzebue.

    alaska_map.jpg

    The final mileage of my trip worked out to be an estimated 1,050 miles. 600 of those miles I covered while backpacking, with about 450 more miles covered on the Noatak River.

    I made countless crossings of small streams. The vast majority of these crossings were in very shallow water where I just waded across quickly in my lightweight Goretex lined boots, which usually kept my feet dry. For slightly deeper water, I “bloused” my rain pants tightly around the tops of my boots with rubber bands and crossed the shallowest spots as quickly as possible. This was also quite successful, depending on how deep the water was and how fast I crossed. At other times I just had to get wet and waded rivers thigh deep or more. On the Alatna, I made a raft for the crossing.

    I had grizzlies run towards me at least three times. In each case they ran as soon as they smelled me. (Presumably, they thought I was a caribou or moose at first.) I had bears walk into my camp at “night” about three more times. Again, each time they ran when they smelled me. I didn’t lose any sleep due to grizzly bear concerns.

    The mosquitoes were thick at times, but my long-sleeved shirt and pants were both mosquito proof, and along with repellant as necessary it wasn’t too bad. A lot of the time when it was breezy or cool there were few or no mosquitos around.

    The toughest unexpected part of the trip was perhaps the unusual amount of rain during the summer of 2006. The toughest part of the hike that I’d anticipated was the rough walking along many stretches.

    I followed river and creek drainages that ran east-west along the Continental Divide as much as possible.

    Alaska Brooks Range Traverse

    A video preview featuring many of the animals encountered:

    Alone Across Alaska from bucktrack.com on Vimeo.

    Alone Across Alaska: 1,000 Miles of Wilderness – (DVD) $24.95

    (via American Hiking Society)

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    tips to make a good hiking trip, great

    In the cold Canadian winter, the only hiking I can do is on-line. I’m dreaming of warmer weather.

    On one of my favourite hiking sites (out of Australia), Frank posted this advice:

    What do you need to prepare for a multiday hike so you have a great time and enjoy the outdoors? We have put together a “Top 7” list of ideas we always use whenever we head out into the bush.

    Now the list, in no particular order……..

    1) Good food …

    2) Good companion(s) …

    3) Know your route and expected hiking times …

    4) Light weight …

    5) Comfortable boots …

    6) Let someone know where you are going and when you will be back …

    7) Take shared gear

    Our Hiking Blog: 7 tips to make a good hiking trip, great

    Another good, original checklist was posted by Tom Mangan. Essentials for dayhiking:

    1. NAVIGATION.
    2. SUN PROTECTION.
    3. INSULATION.
    4. ILLUMINATION.
    5. FIRST-AID SUPPLIES.
    6. FIRE.
    7. REPAIR KIT AND TOOLS.
    8. NUTRITION.
    9. HYDRATION.
    10. EMERGENCY SHELTER.

    The real 10 Essentials – Two-Heel Drive

    Tom neglected to include a product I got as a Christmas from Garth: TowTabs.

    Simply add water to a “tablet” … and it turns into quite a good towlet!

    12227bb.jpg

    details – TowTabs

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    finally, my days are getting longer

    Good news.

    Daylight where I live in the northern hemisphere is getting longer. The hiking season closer. This is a psychological turning point for me.

    winter-solstice.jpg
    larger photo – winter solstice – NASA

    … Depending on the shift of the calendar, the event of the Winter solstice occurs sometime between December 20 and 23 each year in the Northern hemisphere, and between June 20 and 23 in the Southern Hemisphere, and the winter solstice occurs during either the shortest day or the longest night of the year …

    Winter solstice – Wikipedia

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    #1 best hiking region in the world is …

    New Zealand

    There’s no debate.

    The Land of the Long White Cloud Aotearoa is by far the single best hiking destination on Earth.

    North Island? South Island? Both are great. And both much different.

    The most compelling evidence that New Zealand has EVERYTHING a hiker could want is with photos:

    Taraurua Ranges

    Ohau River

    Bealey Spur, Arthurs' Pass

    New Zealand is insanely great for hikers. It’s safe. It’s clean. Trails are not crowded. It’s terrific for kids.

    There’s no risk of altitude sickness as the glaciated peaks are at low elevation.

    Best months are mid-November through mid-April for most treks.

    More information on our New Zealand information page.

    Our favourite tramp in New Zealand is the volcanic Tongariro Circuit. You’ll feel like you’ve entered Mordor in Lord of the Rings.

    See our Tongariro Circuit Information page.

    Start planning your New Zealand hiking vacation right now.

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    #2 best hiking region in the world is the …

    South West USA

    Capitol Reef, Zion, Bryce, the Grand Canyon, Monument Valley, Glen Canyon, White Sands National Monument, Canyonlands and Arches National Parks. This part of the world is awesome.

    We hike the SW USA every year and have yet to be disappointed.

    Fascinating, diverse and mind-boggling. The best WOW geological zone we’ve seen anywhere.

    More correct would be to call this region the Four Corners.

    The high desert plateau intersection of the four U.S. states of Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.

    The Grand Canyon of the Colorado Plateau is not the deepest nor largest, but it’s by far the most stunningly beautiful on Earth.

    Most of the best slot canyons and natural stone arches in the world are here. A desert, your views are unobstructed. The light is perfect for photography.

    The best weather is Oct-Nov, Mar-May. Summers are too hot for most hikers.

    Most of the hikes in the Four Corners are short due to lack of water and the real risk of getting lost. People die in this wilderness every year.

    Our favourite hike in the Four Corners region is Paria Canyon on the border of Arizona and Utah. You enjoy many days beneath huge walls in a slot canyon.

    more from our Paria photo set

    if you hike Paria you’ll certainly add on a nearby day hike called The Wave.

    more Wave photos

    More information on on dozens more great adventures on our new SW USA information page.