besthike.com

September 11, 2007

GEAR – Leatherman lightweight multitool – Skeletool

Joel “Boing Boing Gadgets” Johnson has just posted this Leatherman Skeletool, a full-featured Leatherman tool whose every non-essential surface has been swiss-cheesed with holes to lighten its weight to a mere five ounces. It costs $72 — or you can go lighter with a carbon-fiber model for $96.

I miss my multitool days — after losing half a dozen to the TSA, I had to give up a years-long habit of always carrying one. Since there, there must have been one billion moments where I wished I had my pliers, knife, and hoof-pick still attached to my hip.

Leatherman Skeletool lightweight multitool — Boing Boing Gadgets

Thanks Warren.

September 10, 2007

4WheelBob’s ascent of White Mtn – photos

The historic ascent by normal wheelchair to the summit of 14,246ft (4342m) White Mountain is old news now.

4WheelBob Coomber made the front page of the San Jose Mercury News.

Mercury News

No doubt, the editors of Backpacker Magazine are kicking themselves they did not send someone to cover his third successful attempt. They had sent a crew on his two previous unsuccessful efforts.

Tom Mangan of the Mercury News and the Two-Heel Drive blog was there. Tom took the photos, captions, wrote the headlines, and even wrote a sidebar piece called Bob wheels to the top, proving me way wrong:

Bob on summit day

Bob crawling backwards (which he did 3 times on the final day when the chair could not get past a scree section)

Two-Heel Drive: Favorite images from our White Mountain adventure

The week prior, Tom had invited me to join the support team and I’m glad I did. Bob is an inspiration!

How hard could it be? Some poor military sods at some distant time in the past were ordered to build a ROAD to the top of a high mountain. Yeesh!

Bob kept reminding over the 3 days ascent that “he couldn’t do it without us”. He’s right. Bob did no more than 97% of the work himself.

It’s much, much tougher than I expected. Much tougher than it looks in this photo. At times Bob could gain only an inch or two for each wheel stroke.

It was harsh. A monumental challenge, accomplished.

Congratulations Bob. And thanks.

I posted 50 photos of the climb on flickr.

September 10, 2007

thanks Tom Mangan of Two-Heel Drive

The editor of super-popular hiking blog Two-Heel Drive hosted me in San Jose, California. Thanks Tom. Thanks Melissa.

Tom had invited me to join the support team for 4WheelBob’s 3rd attempt to climb 14,000ft+ White Mountain in a wheelchair. I was very proud to be there when Bob summited just before sunset.

And very happy to have met Tom via the blogosphere and tied into his vast network of contacts.

Tom Mangan – Two-Heel Drive

September 9, 2007

top 10 hiking trails Big Sur, California

As recommended by the GO Blog:

… Beautiful site with stunning photos and info, all nicely put together the way a website should be designed. Elegent, but useful. Their top 10 trails are:

1. McWay Waterfall Trail (.64 mile)
2. Ewoldsen Trail (4.5 miles)
3. Pfeiffer Falls / Valley View Trails (2.4 miles)
4. Limekiln Trails (3 miles)
5. Tanbark Trail & Tin House (5.6 miles)
6. Andrew Molera Loop (8.8 miles)
7. Mill Creek Trail (3.2 miles)
8. Salmon Creek Trail (6.5 miles)
9. Cruickshank Trail to Villa Creek Camp (6 miles)
10. Pacific Valley Bluff Trail (.7 mile)

Get Outdoors – Top 10 Hiking Trails In Big Sur – Getoutdoors.com Outdoor Blog

McWay Waterfall Trail

September 8, 2007

top 10 Fall forest walks USA

Having just returned from hiking wonderful Inyo National Forest, this post caught my eye.

As selected by GORP:

1. Willamette National Forest, OR
2. Inyo National Forest, CA
3. Coconino National Forest, AZ
4. Gunnison National Forest, CO
5. Chequamegon-Nicolet N.F., WI
6. Mark Twain National Forest, MO
7. Pisgah National Forest, NC
8. Allegheny National Forest, PA
9. Green Mountain National Forest, VT
10. White Mountain N.F., NH – ME

GORP – Autumn Escapes: Fall’s Best Forests

(via The Adventure Blog)

September 6, 2007

best hiking shoes EVER

I’ve been wearing Dunham Waffles for most of the past 10 years.

Then Dunham was bought by New Balance. The status of my favourite shoes is now in limbo.

For this season I bought the #1 Trail Shoe as chosen by Outside Magazine from Amazon.

As a back-up, I bought some cheap New BalanceÂ® 603 Country Walkers which fit surprisingly well (since New Balance offers shoes in wide sizes). Turned out I LOVED the inexpensive walking shoes using them on major hikes in Yukon and the Sierra Nevadas.

I am buying 3 more pairs for the future, I like them so much.

Men’s New BalanceÂ® 603 Country Walkers

September 6, 2007

hiking the oldest trees in the world

While acclimatizing to altitude in preparation for an ascent of 14,000ft+ Mt. White in California we spent two days hiking photogenic Ancient Bristlecone Forest – Inyo National Forest – out of Bishop.

The Schulman Grove Visitor Center is situated way up at 10,000ft.

The oldest known live tree in the world is dubbed “Methuselah”. But the exact location is top secret. The Methuselah Trail passes within site of this tree. But you must guess which it is.

An even older one, nicknamed “Prometheus”, was cut down in 1964.

Great Basin Bristlecone Pine – Wikipedia

Studying weird, warped trees is one of the great highlights of hiking the Sierras.

Patriarch Grove – my favourite of the established day hikes

all my photos of hiking Bristlecone – flickr

Nature Ali (Alison Sheehey) also has a nice Bristlecone page:

I am on a quest to discover, identify and photograph all of the conifers of California. Part of my quest led me to the oldest living tree on earth. Estimated at almost 5000 years old, the most ancient of bristlecones are considered one of the oldest continuously living plants on earth.

But watch out, they are surpassed in age by the 11 to 12 thousand year old creosote bushes (clones of the original bush) in the nearby Mojave Desert. Amazingly many of the oldest living things on earth occupy a very small niche in central and eastern California.

Ancient Bristlecone Forest – Inyo National Forest

September 5, 2007

Torngat Mountains National Park, Labrador, Canada

One of the classiest and best travel photo sites is BluePeak edited by Rogier Gruys.

He is one of the few who have travelled to remote Torngat.

Even better, Rogier created a superb landing page for the Park where the rest of us now have a chance to see that weird, fantastical landscape.

… The Inuit refer to the far northern tip of Labrador as Torngait, the place of the spirits. It is thought that it is the home of Torngarsuak, the Inuit Great Spirit. To outsiders it is known for its deep fiords, the highest mountains east of the rockies, some of the world’s oldest rocks, the only tundra-dwelling population of black bears, and polar bears. Lots of polar bears. …

Access

The park, 9,700 sq.km, is probably one of the most difficult parks in Canada to reach. Even the parks in Nunavut are easier to get to. It’s not only the remoteness, but especially the weather and fericious winds that make getting here an adventure in itself.

If the weather is good, then the park is about 1 hours’ flying or up to two days by fishing boat north of Nain, Labrador’s northernmost community. There are no scheduled flights or boats to the park, and once you arrive, there are no facilities.

Safety is a real concern, as polar bears roam throughout the park. Since only Inuit are allowed to carry arms, visitors should always be accompanied by an Inuit guide. A good idea in any case, as the area is also infamous for its quickly changing weather and strong “ghost” winds that can appear out of nowhere.

Visiting the park

Due to the difficult logistics and its reputation for bad weather, there are currently very few if any organized treks into the park. Nature Trek has led expeditions into the park, but in the future they may only plan occasional treks, due to the extreme logistical challenges involved with organizing them. …

more photos – Torngat Mountains National Park – Rogier Gruys

September 4, 2007

the GOW (Great Ocean Walk), Australia

Frank Wall, his partner Sue and friends blogged the Great Ocean Walk, one of the NEW best hikes Down Under.

Wikipedia has a far-better-than-usual write up on the hike:

The GOW is a 91 kilometre track which stretches from Apollo Bay to Glenample Homestead, adjacent to the 12 Apostles, (actually 8 Apostles) and passes through the Great Otway and Port Campbell National Parks.

The GOW was launched in January 2006 and has become Victoriaâ€™s iconic long-distance coastal walk attracting many national and international walkers. …

One of the unique aspects of the GOW is that walkers can â€˜step on and step offâ€™ the trail, completing short, day, overnight or multi-day hikes, ranging from easy walks to difficult treks.

To complete the entire linear walk (approx. 91 kilometres) would take approximately eight days and seven nights.

Walkers will experience spectacular coast and forest scenery including rocky platforms, sheltered beaches, rivers, forests and coastal heathland.

Wikipedia

Frank reports that water was a bit of a problem. Weather and snakes a concern. But for Australia this is a cruisy walk. Using a vehicle to shuttle gear from campsite to campsite is easy.

Check Frank’s entertaining trip report and other posts tagged with Great Ocean Walk.

September 3, 2007

hike Kangerlussuaq – Sisimiut, Greenland

Lucas Girardet recommends Kangerlussuaq – Sisimiut, 180km (112mi), as one of the best hikes in the world.

This route is the classic hike in Greenland for the hardened wanderer and others who like challenges.

The route goes through landscapes which vary a lot. From the dry inland at Kangerlussuaq to the rolling ground with the high hills by the coast. Considering the length of the hike, approx. 7 – 10 days, it is a hard hike which should not be challenged unless you have made preparations from home.

Sisimiut Tourist Information, Greenland – Hiking Tours

Kangerlussuaq is the settlement with the biggest and best airport in Greenland. It’s the usual gateway for those flying into Greenland. From there, you could fly one way to Sisimiut, and hike back.

Sisimiut is a port town known for mountains towering up from the sea, fjords and glaciers.

The hike sounds awesome though not inexpensive. Of course the hiking season is quite short, as well.

filipholata from the Czech Republic posted some photos of Greenland on flickr:

larger original