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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

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MODERN HIKER – San Antonio (Mt Baldy), California

By far the best source of information on hiking in Southern California is Modern Hiker.

And just possibly the best trip reports on-line anywhere. Here’s the perfect example post:

A leg-busting ascent to the highest point in Los Angeles County, with a neighboring mountain thrown in for good measure. This is a classic hike through some incredible subalpine scenery, and is a MUST HIKE for anyone who lives in or is visiting Southern California.

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For a 6hr scramble, they’ve posted detailed trail information, fantastic photos, video clips, highlights, specific warnings, links to other trip reports, GPS coordinates with a link to Google Earth, …

And graphics like this:

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Wow.

It’s far more detailed than any hiking guidebook.

See for yourself – Hiking Mount San Antonio (Mount Baldy) and Mount Harwood at Modern Hiker

Note that the site has a new URL: now it’s modernhiker.com

Check you have the right bookmark and/or RSS feed.

At besthike we are responsible for the entire world. We search out blogs that are most expert in specific geographic areas. Like Two-Heel Drive in the Bay area, California. And Modern Hiker in Southern California.

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how can I blog from the hiking trail?

Circumnavigate the world by bike and boat?

… better them than me.

Simon Evans and Fearghal O’Nuallain are planning an adventure called Revolution Cycle 2009. Team Geared Up has the details.

But I’m always looking for state of the art technology I might use for updating hiking trip report and blogging from the trail.

Here’s what Revolution Cycle is planning to use:

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As the expedition will cover over 25,000km and last for over 14 months, durability is the key requirement for our bikes and equipment. All of the kit used en route will have to be of the highest quality as it will have to function in extreme and varied environments- from the subzero Andean passes to the baking heat of the Libyan desert and everything in between. …

Revolution Cycle – gear page

Too heavy for hiking. Ideally, I’d want to take a photo on something like a satellite camera iPhone — and have it automatically posted on this blog.

Any suggestions? Leave a comment.