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explore Meteora near Mt Olympus, Greece

Ever since I first saw photos of Meteora, I knew I had to get there one day. (Perhaps a trip combining hiking in Greece with the Dolomites in Italy.)
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Tom Dempsey’s tips for visiting the famous hanging monasteries of Meteora:

• For photography, I recommend a day or two exploring all the different different angles and possibilities, then be ready for the perfect shot on the next day or two as you experience the ever-changing light. Visit the outside at sunrise & sunset for best photography – sunset may give the best light since the the cliffs face to the southwest. … if you have time, walking the best way to absorb the impact of this incredible area.

• I suggest staying anywhere in Kastraki, which is a small town with fascinating architecture, cobbled streets, and closer walking distance to the rock towers & monasteries than the larger town of Kalambaka.

• A few hours drive from Meteora you can hike Mount Olympus, which is culturally very important to Greece. Ascending Mount Olympus is challenging and scenic, with a clean, comfortable overnight dormitory-style hut that serves meals.

Meteora, Greece – amazing photos

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Monastery of Rousanou – flickr – Evgeni Dinev

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hiking for weight loss – Former Fat Guy

I prefer hikes 5-days or more as I need that long to see a significant fitness gain. I lose a few pounds and feel trim and toned.

The secret to successful weight-loss might just come with hiking boots and a backpack. And we have scientific proof. According to a study from the University of California that studied a whopping 31 diets, cutting back on calories short-term doesn’t help you from packing the pounds back on long-term.

“If dieting worked, there would be a bunch of skinny people walking around,” said obesity researcher Dr. David Katz at Yale in an Associated Press release earlier today.

Since 1970, the number of obese people has swelled to epidemic proportions in America. And even though weight-loss promises come packaged in bottles, expensive diet programs and fat actresses going skinny for their public, there really is no magic bullet.

Nomadik has a suggestion. …

Want to feel better fast? Dig out those hiking boots and take them for a walk.

The Nomadik Fanatiks : Get Outside and Get Skinny

The best example I know is Rob, the Former Fat Guy. He was 175lbs in Grade 5, 320lbs in Grade 12, and eventually topped out around 500lbs at age-21.

Here is Rob hiking the West Coast Trail in 2004:

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How does he look to you?

Former Fat Guy – weight loss story

Former Fat Guy – WCT 2004 trip report

West Coast Trail information page. (Opening late due to storm repairs, about May 15th in 2007)

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Moab, Utah photos

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Arch in Canyonlands, originally uploaded by Rob Lee.

To get away from the crappy Canadian Spring weather, I’m considering a trip down to Moab.

Last year when I hiked out of Page, Arizona seemed every hiker I met recommended Moab.

Leave a comment if you have any advice for a stranger to town.

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original – flickr

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US National Parks Week

Is George Bush turning GREEN?

The entire national park system is in the news this week, as President Bush has designated April 22-29 as “National Park Week.”

Some might think it’s a somewhat curious time to celebrate the parks with a week-long celebration, as school is still in session and so families can’t easily visit the parks, and many of the northern Rockies parks are still cold and occasionally snowy, if not entering their mud season. …

National Parks Traveler: National Park Week

National Parks Traveller points to the Parks Service webpage listing special events by State: National Parks Week.

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vote for YellowstonePark.com

I read a lot of bad news regarding US National Parks on The National Parks Traveler blog and, to a lesser extent, on the Park Remark blog.

Increasing user fees, inefficient management, corrupt political manoeuvring. It can be depressing.

Here’s some good news regarding a Yellowstone National Park tourism site:

A grungy layout meant to give a park feel does the job well, and bits and pieces also use flash to add effect and features. What surprised me was the the site is also up a Webby Award – not something many national parks find themselves looking to score.

Devlounge

Excellent!

A way to promote National Parks with the internet.

At first I thought this was the official Park site. Foolish me. Of course this is a private venture supported by advertising and sponsors.

The official government Yellowstone website is surprisingly good as well — but I immediately clicked into one of these:

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Plan Your Visit

(Here’s the correct page: Plan Your Visit.)

Lets compare their two hiking pages:

» YellowstonePark.com: Top Things #5
» government site: Hiking in the Park

The government site comes out ahead.

Regardless, I will vote for YellowstonePark.com in the Webby Awards for Best Tourism Site. I like what they are trying to do. With podcasts, RSS feeds and video, it is a richer experience.

Independent National Parks websites have a greater chance, long term, of giving me the information I need to organizing for hiking. Government monopoly bureaucracies are far too inefficient to compete with the private sector in anything.

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YellowstonePark.com

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7-yr-old climbs 214 Lake District peaks

kerryregansm2.jpgCongratulations Kerry.

The feat has taken her four years, walking a total of 710 miles and climbing 230,000ft.

Kerry followed in the footsteps of her big sister Ellen, who became the youngest person to climb them all last year when she was nine. The title then went to two boys who were a few months younger.

Now Kerry’s parents David and Clare are proud she has grabbed it back for the family by scaling the last fell — 3,210ft Scafell Pike.

Chuffed Kerry, of Caldbeck, Cumbria, said: “I’m really pleased to have beaten my sister.

“My favourite was Rannerdale because we had a game of hide and seek with the crags up there.

“I take jelly teddies and chocolate bars to help when I get tired.”

A Welsh View: 7 Year Old Girl Climbs 214 Hills

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best hikes in Florida

If you travel to Canada, the BEST thing to do is get into the outdoors.

But when I travel to Florida, hiking is the LAST thing on my mind. (I’m on my way to Cirque du Soleil in Orlando.)

That’s a shame. There’s great hiking in Florida.

Guidebook author Sandy Friend recommends some of her personal favourites:

Florida Trail, Big Cypress National Preserve. Wading a watery wilderness festooned with tropical plants. Close to Miami.

Florida Trail, Ocala National Forest: Prairies and pines in the world’s largest sand pine scrub forest. Very popular.

Florida Trail, Suwannee River: 60mi clambering in and out of floodplain channels on high bluffs with giant trees.

Florida Trail, Eglin Air Force Base: Diverse habitats and coastal scenery.

Torreya Hiking Trail: Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Trail: Rugged ravines, bluffs, and ridgelines.

Garden of Eden Trail: Difficult day hike. Serious topography.

Citrus Hiking Trail: Great karst formations on a 43-mile loop. You can walk pack-on into one cave and explore many others.

Myakka Hiking Trail: Backpacking through broad open prairies in Central Florida

Florida Trail, Lake Okeechobee: More than 100mi around one of the nation’s largest lakes; great views the whole time.

This post is just an appetizer. If you really want to research hiking in Florida, get one of Sandy’s guidebooks:

50 Hikes in South Florida: Walks, Hikes, and Backpacking Trips in the Southern Florida Peninsula, First Edition

50 Hikes in Central Florida: Hikes, Walks, and Backpacks in the Heart of the Peninsula

50 Hikes in North Florida: Walks, Hikes, and Backpacking Trips in the Northern Florida Peninsula

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Lake Okeechobee – FTA / Bob Coveney

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hiking Hollywood – the M*A*S*H trail

OK, it’s not one of the world’s great hikes.

But if you loved M*A*S*H as much as I did, …

It’s not so often that one can combine Hollywood sightseeing with a hike in the mountains. And yet, if you happen to be in Los Angeles (naturally) there is a wonderfully challenging and beautiful hike that takes you deep into the Santa Monica Mountains and into the heart of Korea.

Well, actually, the hike takes you to the location where the classic M*A*S*H television series was filmed. Remember all those tents, jeeps, and helicopters dropping off wounded American GIs? Yep, Santa Monica, California. Not Korea.

The movie location is located in Malibu Creek State Park. The 4.5 mile hike follows Malibu Creek past Rock Pool (where Planet of the Apes was filmed), Century Lake and eventually onward to the M*A*S*H site itself where fans of the series can reminisce over a stripped-down jeep and ambulance. Not much else remains from the show.

Hiking Hollywood: The M*A*S*H Trail – Gadling

M*A*S*H - Season One (Collector\'s Edition)

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GO blog unimpressed with Google Earth

When announced April 12th, the Trimble Outdoors layer with GPS-based interactive hiking information was much ballyhooed.

The Get Outdoors blog tells it like it is (I think):

I’m gonna file this one under Google Hype! since I can tell you first hand using Google Earth for any serious outdoor planning is useless.

It doesn’t come close to a topo for route planning …

Other than a rough overview of terrain and approaches I’m still giving Google Earth a big thumbs down for usefulness…

If you want to use some kind of computer planning tool you’re better off with Topo! or another CD-Rom based product. I couldn’t even find the trails when I booted up Google Earth. If it takes more than a minute …

Get Outdoors – Google Earth Adds Hiking/Biking Trails Layers: Yawn! – Getoutdoors.com Outdoor Blog

We all know the future of hiking is 24/7 worldwide internet connectivity, real-time blogging with geo-tagged photos.

That time is not here yet.

Modern Hiker gave the new layers feature a try:

That said, it looks like it could be pretty cool, eventually. I don’t know about your home area, but right now the map’s Los Angeles hiking trail map looks pretty dang barren.

Google Earth Hiking Trails

Leave a COMMENT if you have had more success with it.

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larger image – Google