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Andy Strangeway – Scottish Island man

Walking and camping the remote Scottish islands?

Are you crazy? The weather is TERRIBLE.

andy.jpgIn September 2003, I started my attempt to become the first person to sleep on all of the 162 Scottish islands over forty hectares.

On 29 August 2007, I completed the UK’s greatest ever challenge, when I left Soay St. Kilda. …

I do not believe that what I have achieved will ever be repeated.

Island Man – Adventurer Exploring Scottish Islands | Island Man

Andy is planning an even bigger island adventure.

Decorator bags all 162 in four years – and throws down the gauntlet to others


After Munros, a new challenge: a night on every Scottish island – Guardian

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Radical Reels Tour – Banff Mountain Film Festival

This is a spin-off of the regular Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour. But is also highly recommended. See both, if you can. Radical Reels tours much less widely.

The Radical Reels Film Tour complements the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour, and focuses on dynamic, high-adrenalin films featuring sports such as skiing, climbing, kayaking, BASE jumping, snowboarding and mountain biking.

Radical Reels Tour: Mountain Culture at The Banff Centre

The upcoming promo video trailer has not yet been posted. But you can click PLAY or watch last year’s promo on YouTube.

More information for those who can tolerate long blog posts:

… the Banff Mountain Film Festival has included the Radical Reels night, which is a special screening of the wildest high-adrenaline films entered in the Banff Mountain Film Festival. So many action films were being submitted to the film festival that they could not fit into the regular screenings, resulting in the creation of the hugely successful Radical Reels evening presentation.

Now you don’t have to journey to Banff each fall to see these exciting films! Since 2004, the Radical Reels Tour has also been out on the road. The established Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour has been thrilling audiences since 1981.

Most World Tour screenings include a range of different themes (adventure sports, environment, mountain culture, heritage, etc.) and styles (action-filled shorts; longer, more comprehensive films; amateur and professional productions; etc.). The Radical Reels Tour presentations incorporate all these elements, but the focus is on dynamic, high-adrenaline films featuring sports such as skiing, climbing, kayaking, BASE jumping, snowboarding and mountain biking. These activities continue to be included on the World Tour, but Radical Reels Tour is for audiences who prefer all action films.

The Radical Reels Film Tour visits approximately 19 states and provinces, reaching over 35 different locations. Most screenings take place in the September to October and February to May time periods. …

locations visited linked from this page – more information

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hiking in Slovenia

Tom Mangan on Two-Heel Drive peaked (pun intended) my interest in Slovenia.

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source – National Geographic Adventure

From the rest of the slide show, the Slovenian Via Alpina looks something like the Dolomites. (Brilliant.)

Little known, superb hiking destinations rank high on our radar.

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Slovenia is probably one of the best-kept secrets of Europe. Beautiful environment, ranging from Alps to hills, flatlands or seaside make it an excellent country to explore on foot, more so as you will easily find many well-maintained and marked hiking paths. Our pages contain photo galleries from over 100 excursions in Slovenian hills and mountains, some of them also have brief English descriptions.

Hiking in Slovenia

(via Two-Heel Drive)

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Banff Mountain Film Festival WORLD TOUR

Do what you have to to get tickets for the Film Festival if it gets anywhere close to you.

It’s brilliant. Highlights from the multi-day festival.

The Banff Mountain Film Festival is on the road across North America and around the world. Whether you are an experienced mountaineer or an armchair adventurer, this event is for everyone. Don’t miss the excitement!

The Tour Schedule is linked from the home page – World Tour: Mountain Culture at The Banff Centre

The event sponsors are prominently mentioned — OK, it’s a commercial — in the second half of the video. But it’s still worth watching. This is the kind of TV commercial I like.

Click PLAY or watch the promo trailer on YouTube.

Frequently Asked Questions

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children’s hiking book

Hiking is an activity that appeals more to adults than children.

On the other hand, when I’ve volunteered to take groups of kids on day hikes, I estimate about a third really get into it. They tell me they’d like to do more and longer trips.

Perhaps children simply have too little exposure to hiking. And too much exposure to TV.

Are there any gift giving holidays coming up?

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Anna Goes Hiking: Discover Hiking and Explore Nature (Bur Bur & Friends) – Amazon

Bur Bur and Friends blog

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snow is beautiful …

Well said, Laplandica.

I lived 10yrs in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Cold, clear and snowy is the norm during the long winters there. Beautiful.

I’m planning on New Year’s Eve at Emma Lake, SK.

The best way to learn about snow is to play with it, doing this often. By playing with or in snow, one gains experience with the different types of snow and one can readily and enjoyably adapt to snowy conditions allowing more opportunities in being outdoors.

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Laplandica » Snow Is Often Considered…

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Hawaii hiking trails

There are a number of good Hawaii hiking sites. But I like best the map interface used by Na Ala Hele – Hawaii Trail System & Access. (It’s far better than the one we use on besthike.)

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If you click Kauai:

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Click on one of the numbers and you get quite a good information page on the specific trail.

It could not be simpler. Check it out for yourself:

“Na Ala Hele” is the State of Hawaii Trail and Access Program. Established in 1988 in response to public concern about the loss of public access to certain trails and the threat to historic trails from development pressure. Na Ala Hele has become increasingly engaged in trail management and regulatory issues due to both public and commercial recreational activities and emerging legal issues.

Administered by the Division of Forestry and Wildlife – Department of Land and Natural Resources

Na Ala Hele – Hawaii Trail System & Access

Now … Why don’t they add a list of “best hikes in Hawaii”?

Related: Hawaii State Parks

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Happy Thanksgiving from Hiking Las Vegas

I’ve really been enjoying this frequently updated blog. Las Vegas is one of the best, least appreciated, hiking destinations in the World.

10 hikers spent part of Thanksgiving Day on top of Shark Boulder in Red Rock Canyon. This was the first group hike to The Shark!

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Hiking Las Vegas: Happy Thanksgiving from Shark Boulder

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good news – Canada protects 25 million acres

OTTAWA, Nov. 21 — The Canadian government plans to announce today that it will convert 25.5 million acres of northern woodland into a new national park and wildlife protection areas.

The result will be one of North America’s largest conservation areas, about 11.5 times the size of Yellowstone Park, and ease pressure from the mining and energy industries on an area that is important for wildlife, if sparsely populated by humans. …

boreal_map_bsi.jpgThe lands are within the boreal forest, a band of trees about 1,600 miles wide that sweeps across much of Canada and continues in northern Scotland, Scandinavia and Russia. About 77 percent of Canada’s forest is in the boreal band and its trees, mostly evergreens, are believed to play an important role in offsetting the rise in gases related to global warming created by burning fossil fuels. Large numbers of migratory birds and waterfowl make their summer home with the forest.

Under the plan, 8.5 million acres surrounding the Eastern Arm of Great Slave Lake, Northwest Territories will become a national park. Another 15.3 million acres between the new park and an existing wildlife refuge will be designated as conservation land under the management of native groups Further to the northwest, near the Mackenzie River valley, 3.7 million acres will turned into a national wildlife area. …

Canada to Announce Vast New Park – NYT

I’ve been up there a couple of times. It’s a vast wilderness with limited hiking potential. You want to be paddling, not walking.

Still, a good move forward. Kudos to the Conservative government. Congratulations Environment Minister John Baird.

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source – Lutsel K’e, Northwest Territories, Canada

(via Tennessee Trailhead)

Expect more announcements like this in future. The will of Canadian voters is for for more environmental protection.

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Gray Jay – the flying thief

Our old friend, the Whiskey-Jack, is my favourite bird in the Canadian Rockies. Pretty, and brazenly courageous, many days you have at least one at your campsite during breakfast.

range.jpgThis Camp Robber, the Gray Jay, is also known variously as venison-hawk, grease-bird, lumberjack, meat-bird, Canada Jay or even Moose Bird in various parts of it’s range.

Crow wants a wild Gray Jay as a “pet” at her cabin. She had had a magic experience with those birds on the trail:

One morning, high up a pass in the North Cascades, I woke up on a wide section of trail that I had decided was as far as I could go the night before. Lying in my bag, looking out at the glorious view and the morning sun, I reach into my food sack and pulled out a bar for breakfast. As I unwrapped it, a Gray Jay lighted by me. Even though I don’t approve of feeding animals, I held a piece of my bar between my fingers; it hopped on over and took it. Then two others showed up. One landed on my pack that was laying next to me; we finished off the bar together. When the bar was gone, so were they. …

as the Crow flies

I’ve had them alight on me. Here’s a hiker who had one land on her head:

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Image – Wikipedia