Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
Last September we posted rare “Mammatus†cloud photos.
Many of those same pics are in a larger, better collection of cloud and wind photos posted by the always interesting Dark Roasted Blend photo blog.
If you love great sky vistas — and what hiker doesn’t — check out Mammatus, Lenticular & Other Extreme Clouds.
Running 479mi from Denver to Durango, the Colorado Trail is a classic. It shares about 200mi with the CDT.
planning – ColoradoTrail.org
For those of us who do not have a long month, what’s the best section?
Outdoor Magazine recommends:
… concentrate your efforts during a ten-day romp along a remote 95-mile ribbon that runs just east of San Luis Peak to Molas Pass, in the southwestern part of the state.
Start at Spring Creek Pass, 33 miles northwest of Creede amid the 13,000-foot-plus San Juan Mountains. Plan on grinding up to 15 miles a day along airy ridges, down steep gorges, and up winding switchbacks.
You’ll spend four days cruising above tree line, at nearly 12,000 feet, and the closest you’ll come to a town (Lake City) is about 17 miles, which means tackling thousands of vertical feet each day with a heavy pack.
Take a break and frolic in Snow Mesa, a flat, grassy expanse so huge it takes a few hours to cross.
Sounds great. We’ve added San Luis Pass to Molas Pass to our list of the best hikes of the world.
ColoradoTrail.org calls it Section 6 – San Luis Pass to Molas Pass (advanced difficulty).
Next, what’s the best guidebook?
Colorado Trail: The Official Guidebook (Colorado Mountain Club Guidebooks)
Get packing!
Christian Davies from Denmark recounts a 180km (112mi) trek from Kangerlussuaq (Sdr. Stromfjord) to Sisimiut (formely Holsteinsborg) on the west coast of Greenland.
One hiker had to be left behind.
His feet were all swollen and had deep blisters. Although we were so close to our destination we couldn’t tell for sure how long time, it would take to walk the last part of it.
The pace was about 1 km/h and it could be even lower for the last part. We shared our rations and made sure that he had food for 4 days and we all said goodbye to him. That was one of the most surrealistic thing I ever have experienced.
To finish the story shortly, everything went well and we got to the town. The one we left was brought home on a snowmobile by one of the locals in town.
After all this struggle and all these days with wet feets and the freeze dried food, I still miss that magical moment from that time. Non of us will never forget what we experienced together.
As for the picture goes, it shows a moment where we all were very tired and a bit exhausted, but there was still energy to take pictures and enjoy the moment.
I’m off to Utah on business soon, tempted to squeeze in a short hike.
But what’s the best way to research hikes close to Salt Lake City?
I could search Google:
NOT what I’m looking for. Google is still a pretty crude search tool.
Just at the right time Tom at Two-Heel Drive pointed me to the Slackpacker site.
Editor Rick Bolger posts hiking links by State. (With a musical recommendation to boot.)
Check out the Slackpacker Utah page. (Listen to Salt Lake City and Spirit of America by The Beach Boys)
There are some international hiking links as well. I’ll submit some recommendations.
Mono Andes from Concepción, Chile is a big time outdoors photographer on flickr.
Here are just a few of his great photos.
more Mono Andes HIGHLIGHT photos – flickr
He’s using every feature of flickr, including geotagging.
Here’s the map of his AraucanÃa photo set:
source – flickr
You can see those photos and interact with the map on his Andes – AraucanÃa set page.
A couple more, to inspire a trip to Chile.
Until recently I had never heard of hiking in Oman on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. .
Turns out there are excellent treks there.
I’ve subscribed to the Oman Expat blog. (Trekking category.)
It recommends the Trekking in Oman website:
The trekking season is generally from September to May, but the best period is October to April. Above 1,900 meter altitude trekking is possible all year round. The countryside is mostly rugged and the trails are loose, but trekking is by far the best way to enjoy Oman’s spectacular mountain-landscape.
Different types of trips with varying degrees of difficulty can be done; from the easy start in the Capital Area to the stunning Rim Walk in the Grand Canyon of Jabal Shams.
Grand Canyon of Jabal Shams – Oman Expat
There are even a couple of hiking guidebooks available:
• Adventure Trekking in Oman
• Oman Trekking Guide
I’m often embarrassed to admit I do.
But look at this. Crow is up front with her electronic dependence.
For the upcoming PCT trip I’m bringing the iriver T10 2gb MP3 player with fm radio. It weighs 1.7 ounces 48 grams without battery. It has a little clip to clip it on to anything or clip it on to the neck lanyard it comes with.
… one AA battery; the battery is supposed to last 45 hours. I put a lithium battery in it because it is lighter and last longer then a regular battery, so I’m thinking maybe it will last 100 hours on one battery.
If I super compress my files, I think I can get 100 hours of stuff on it. It also records, so a person could record their thoughts along the way with the built in microphone.
… I have ordered a pair of Sony MDR-ED21LP Fontopia In-The-Ear Headphones …
… Last summer, my son downloaded, for me, 300 hours of “This American Lifeâ€, a NPR radio documentary show. Sadly I have listened to all 300 hours—twice. But that would have made great listening, on the trail.
For music on the trail, I find folk, country and show tunes the most effective hiking music, with most stuff by Johnny Cash being about the most perfect hiking tempo.
As The Crow Flies» Blog Archive » Radios and mp3 players for the long distance hiker.
I’ve carried a Rio Cali for years, finally losing it atop the highest mountain in Tasmania.
After some research I opted for an iPod Nano. The proprietary battery is a problem — but I plan to get the portable charger, as well.
Another planned add-on is the Griffin iTalk microphone.
I mostly listen to audio podcasts (BBC, CBC, NPR, TWIT, etc.) as well as books on MP3.
I only listen on the trail when I REALLY need it. But in the tent at night the MP3 is a Godsend.
What about you? Do you carry an MP3? What do you listen to?
Leave a comment below.
We’ve added a 6hr day hike — Besseggen, Norway — to our list of the best hikes in the world.
Besseggen, or Besseggi, is a mountain ridge in Vågå kommune in Oppland county.
The walk over Besseggen is one of the most popular mountain hikes in Norway. About 40 000 people walk this trip each year.
Besseggen – Wikipedia
Here’s the vista from the highpoint of the day.
larger photo – flickr – saipal
Superbly edited slide show of journalist Mike DeWitt’s hike of the Florida Trail.
His reporting of that adventure was a huge hit, as well.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
(Thanks Joe Moraca)
A village near Peru‘s Machu Picchu has built a bridge over a turbulent river to open another route for backpackers trekking to the lofty Inca ruins.
The bridge was inaugurated Saturday in the village of Santa Teresa despite the objections of government cultural experts, who fear increased tourism could threaten the UNESCO World Heritage site as hostels and restaurants spring up to serve travelers.
But authorities in Santa Teresa, less than 10 miles from Machu Picchu, are hoping the bridge over the Vilcanota River will help the local economy get a piece of the tourism pie. …
The new route, involving a daylong bus ride through twisting dirt roads and a seven-mile hike along railroad tracks, targets thrifty backpackers who want to avoid the pricey train tickets.
An average of 2,000 tourists a day visit Machu Picchu, with a maximum set at 2,500. Some archaeologists say the limit should be much lower, arguing that large numbers of visitors trekking over the stone steps will eventually damage the ruins.
I have mixed feelings. I too worry about degrading the Machu Picchu experience. On the other hand, another option for hikers is a good thing.
Leave a comment if you know more about the new bridge.
The nearest current hike to Santa Teresa is what we call the Salcantay Trek. (information page)
besthike.com 