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pioneering a trek to Kachenjunga, Nepal

Søren Viit Nielsen hosts a wonderful website documenting his many trekking adventures. (Danish and English)

In 2002 Søren hiked to both south and north basecamps of Kachenjunga, the third highest mountain in the world. (map)

He used Cicerone: Kangchenjunga: A Trekker’s Guide by Kev Reynolds.

Even if your Danish is rusty, the gorgeous pictures tell the story.

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Søren returned in 2004 to guide 10 Danish clients and a Nepalese staff of about 30 people (guide, cook, sherpas, kitchen staff, and porters). But this time he chose a new route, just opened because new suspension bridges were built in 2003-04 across the Tamur River. None of his group had been this way before. (map)

Tibetan culture and interactions with mountain peoples were big highlights.

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BlueDandelion.net – Søren Viit Nielsen

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incredible Alaska photos

Posted on the flickr photo stream of Alaska Stock Images.

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original – Campers View N. Lights by Tent near Lake SC AK Fall Chatanika Valley

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original – Bull Moose grazing in early morning near Wonder Lake w/alpenglow on Mt McKinley Denali Nat Park Composite

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original – Santa Claus Mushing Dogs Chugach Mtns Southcentral AK Winter Snow

Flickr photo stream of Alaska Stock Images. About 100 more like this.

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walking the Great Wall of China – Helan Shan

I’ve been following the excellent and fascinating blog posted by Brendan Fletcher of a walk along the Great Wall of China.

The most recent is his best post to date.

Just east of the town of Shikong, the Yellow River takes a turn to the north and the Great Wall turns with it. For 90 kilometres the wall runs south to north along the foothills of the Helan Shan, an isolated mountain range with peaks as high as 3500 metres.

Historical details on the Helan Shan wall are sketchy (in English, at least). About all we have been able to find out is that Sanguankou, a series of fortifications about 40 kilometres west of Yinchuan, the capital of Ningxia, was built in 1540. Presumably the Helan Shan wall was constructed around the same time.

You might see the odd photo or two of the Helan Shan wall in the better books on the Great Wall, but it’s not especially well known to tourists. Which is a shame, because it is probably the most impressive section of wall in the west, and it’s located reasonably close to a nice tourist town in Yinchuan.

The Helan Shan Wall, Part 1 at Walking the Wall

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proposal – voluntary Park entrance fees

Good idea.

This would work.

Park Remark quoting Scott Silver:

… I outlined legislation for what I thought would be a positive park fee system. In my mind, the fees would be VOLUNTARY with suggested fees being posted at entrance stations. People could give what was posted, or more — or less, as they chose.

No one would ever be turned away.

In all probability, most people would pay the suggested amount and if the suggested amount was a bit less than $20, for example, many people would hand over the $20 and say “keep the change.” Some would, I expect, offer $10 and say “I’m sorry, I’m on a very limited budget and would like to pay more but this is all I can afford”. Some would pay nothing. So be it.

In my proposal, the park that collected the fee would get to keep only a modest percent of the gate receipts — perhaps 25 – 35% and the cost of collection would have to be paid from THAT percentage. …

There would be NO fee compliance enforcement.

There would thus be NO COST associated with fee compliance enforcement.

An Alternative to the Current NPS Entrance Fees

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new affiliate – InfoHub hiking vacations

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I am testing links to a new affiliate: InfoHub.com

InfoHub aggregates hiking and trekking vacation packages. It’s a good place to compare competitive packages for specific destinations.

So far I am very impressed.

InfoHub offers good, free information for hikers. And we get a small payment for anyone who downloads a brochure after clicking through from this site. No need to buy.

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Nootka Trail trip report

Paul Talbot had some excitement:

I woke up to find a steaming pile of purple bear crap no more than 2 feet from where I had been sleeping….I can only assume that my snoring had put him off coming into our tent!

ClubTread.com – Nootka Trail Hiking Adventure

This is one of their many excellent photos. Low tide sunrise at Skuna Bay.

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Nootka is a coastal hike of 35km (22mi), completely unregulated and, therefore, problematic. It’s on the wild west coast of Vancouver Island.

Nootka Trail – besthike

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geotagging photos – cool !

I am liking this new feature on flickr.

First you post a wonderful photo:

Mongolia China Kazakhstan Russia – Where four countries meet.

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original – flickr

Then you add a tag to show where the photo was taken:

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Awesome!

Here’s the BIG map of Kit Seeborg’s photos.

By the way, because of this photo I learned that Kit is editor of the WorldChanging website. It looks very interesting. I subscribed to her RSS feed.

This is a great example of how photo sharing can connect people.

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hikers rescued by calling 911

Note to self – “remind everyone to bring along their mobile phones”

The 34-year-old had gone hiking on Dec. 24 in East Sooke Regional Park, about 25 kilometres west of Victoria. After losing his way in the heavily wooded area, he called the 911 emergency number on his cellphone. …

The hunt failed to turn up the hiker overnight but searchers continued in the morning and found him at 9:20 a.m. on Dec. 25.
…

It’s not the only time in the past week that a dying cellphone has been used by someone to facilitate a rescue in British Columbia.

A man trapped by trees in Vancouver’s Stanley Park during recent storms remembered he had a cellphone in his backpack and called rescuers. He had been trapped for six days.

B.C. hiker rescued after 911 call on dying cellphone

(via Hiking News)

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best hike in the world NOT on our top 10 is …

The Huayhuash Circuit, Peru

Huayhuash is the best hike this blogger has ever done.

To include it in the top 10, however, is to promote it too lightly.

It’s remote and forbidding. This is where Joe Simpson & Simon Yates climbed Siula Grande in 1985. The book & film Touching the Void were based on that disastrous misadventure.

You need high alpine experience and an excellent guide. People get in trouble in the Huayhuash.

The Circuit is a minimum 140km (87mi) plus numerous sidetrips.

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We spent 11 days with horses carrying our gear. A fantastic experience.

Don’t even think of booking a ticket to Peru without first checking with the experts on the Huayhuash. Start with La Cima Logistics, based in Huaraz, Peru. Then check Peaks and Places.

Why we love it:

  • getting high at Punta Coyoc pass 5490m (18,012ft) !!
  • Peru’s second highest summit, Yerupaja (6634m)
  • non-stop vistas — entire Circuit is above treeline
  • intensely glaciated, intensely beautiful
  • condors and other wild birds
  • fantastic natural hotsprings half way round the Circuit
  • limited road access, few people
  • a trip with pack animals is good value
  • lifetime experience you will never forget

    Considerations:

  • Huayhuash is not a National Park.
  • it is almost completely unpoliced
  • a few hikers are robbed every season
  • best months are May to September
  • many passes over 4600m (15,092ft) will challenge you
  • weather is not nearly as good as in the nearby Cordillera Blanca
  • actually, the weather is terrible
  • prepare for cold & wind. Hypothermia is a risk.
  • no toilets — you should hire a proper toilet tent and shovel
  • toilet tents should be at least 50m from the nearest stream or lake
  • dogs will steal food right out of your tent
  • campsites are badly littered. Carry out your trash.
  • many hikers get lost. Map, compass & guidebooks are essential.
  • May – Sept is spawning season for trout. Do not fish nor buy fish from local herders. The once terrific trout fishing has been decimated.
  • if you like Huayhuash, you would also like Alpamayo and Ausangate in Peru, both easier treks to organize

    • Details on our Huayhuash Circuit information page.

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    larger photo – flickr – craigass

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    top 10 hikes in the world

    #1) West Coast Trail, BC, Canada
    #2) John Muir Trail, California, USA
    #3) Tongariro Northern Circuit, New Zealand
    #4) Ausangate Circuit, Peru
    #5) Sunshine to Assiniboine, Alberta, Canada
    #6) Glacier North Circle, Montana, USA
    #7) Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
    #8) Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
    #9) TMB (Tour de Mont Blanc), Europe
    10) Overland Track, Tasmania

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    Our highly subjective top 10 for 2006. These are the trekking adventures we feel most likely to “change your life”.

    If you have any opinion (especially if you can recommend a better hike than any of these) leave a comment at the bottom of this post. In fact, we would happily post your own Top 10.

    UPDATE: The “California is the Center of the Outdoor Universe” crowd want John Muir Trail to be #1. (They hint at a bias towards Canadian hikes because besthike is based out of Canadia.)