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video – surviving freezing water

This clip is from a show called Man vs Wild.

Bear Grylls is surviving in the French Alps with only a water bottle, flint, and knife. In this excerpt he jumps into a frozen lake and shows how to deal with it. Hopefully this won’t ever come in handy.

This actually happened to Andrew Skurka during his 7700 mile hike across North America. Stuck in the middle of nowhere with no change of clothes, Skurka stripped down and ran to keep his body heat up.

Think or Thwim

Click PLAY or watch Man vs Wild – Episode 3 European Alps Highlights on YouTube.

This is very much like Les Stroud’s Canadian reality TV show Survivorman.

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Falls Trail, Ricketts Glen, Pennsylvania

Brian Burgit recommends a wet and wild day hike. Looks great.

Falls Trail: difficult hiking

The full loop of this trail is 7.2 miles if hiking both the upper and lower sections. To see most of the waterfalls, a 3.2-mile loop can be taken by going on Highland Trail and the Glen Leigh and Ganoga Glen sides of the trail.

The trails follow along 21 beautiful waterfalls ranging in heights from 11-feet to 94-feet. The scenery is well worth the effort, however, the terrain is rocky, can be slippery, and descends steeply on both the Ganoga and Glen Leigh sides.

The Falls Trail is closed in the winter except for properly equipped ice climbers and hikers.

details – Pennsylvania State Parks – Ricketts Glen Trails – PA DCNR

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sphincter-tightening fjord vistas in Norway

Already pondering a future date to hike Besseggen, Norway — I found an even better destination.

Two of the best day hikes in Norway (some would say in the world) are located a couple of hours out of town on the beautiful Lysefjorden. Not too far from Stavanger …

Prekestolen (aka the Pulpit Rock) is a massive rock overhanging the fjord. It’s a 3-4 hour round trip hike with fabulous views.

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more breathtaking Pulpit Rock photos – flickr

About 90,000 made the 6km scramble up to Preikestolen in summer of 2006.

Less crowded is nearby, similarly spectacular Kjerag:

Kjeragbolten is a rock wedged in the cliff 604 meters above the fjord. It’s a more strenuous 4-5 hour hike out and a longer drive, but a spectacular look down from the rock. The free fall makes Kjerag (or Kiragg) a very popular location for BASE jumping.

Stavanger tourism – Wikipedia

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original – Wikipedia

more Kjerag photos – flickr

Where is this wondrous fjord?

Close to the SE tip of Norway:

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The jumping off point for hikers is the town of Stavanger.

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There must be more best hikes in Norway. It’s spectacular country.

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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