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Laugavegur trek, Iceland

Nordic Adventure Travel provides a nice interactive map of the Laugavegur trek, one of the principle attractions of Iceland.

The normal route is from the hot springs of Landmannalaugar to the glacial valley of Þórsmörk. That’s about 55km (34mi) over 2-4 days with potential stops at the mountain huts at Hraftinnusker, Álftavatn and Emstrur. By adding a day, you can continue over the Fimmvorduhals Pass to Skogar.

Any hike known as “The Hot Spring Route” goes on our list.

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HIKING TREKKING TRAIL LANDMANNALAUGAR THORSMORK LAUGAVEGUR, HIKING TRAILS IN ICELAND

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Tom Chandler not “just a fisherman”

Every day I check Trout Underground, Tom Chandler’s comic fishing and outdoors blog.

I met Tom at the Blogger’s Meetup hosted near his home town, Shasta, California.

But what’s this ….

Tom Chandler is not just a fisherman. Another of his sites has just been lauded one of the Top 10 Writer’s Blogs on the www. Congratulations! (Though I have no idea what good writing has to do with blogging.)

In typical Chandler fashion, he accuses his awarders of being drug-crazed.

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gear – Exped “Foot Pump Pillow”

We love the new Exped mattresses despite the one with the leaky valve that failed on Mt. Whitney last summer.

One of our few (minor) complaints, they’ve answered:

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Exped’s down-filled mattresses are ingenious, but they took so long to inflate that you always end up just calling it good enough when you’re halfway done.

Now Exped is making a pillow filled with open cell foam that makes blowing up your sleeping pad a lot easier. From this angle the pillow looks like it would be as comfy as sleeping on a piece of firewood, but you’ll have to trust me that it’s not too bad.

Written by Rocky Thompson

Backcountry.com: The Goat

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hiking the Netherlands

header_01.gifJan de Jong recommended the very professional wandelnet.nl website (in Dutch) for a comprehensive list of hikes 100km or longer. It includes guidebook recommendations.

To translate to English, I used the Babel Fish website. It works quite well, though only one page at a time.

The best part is the interactive map. (screen shot below) On the website version you can hover over the map and click on the routes.

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If it ain’t Dutch, it ain’t much. Thanks Jan.

Stichting Wandelplatform-LAW – Lange-Afstandroutes : LAW’s (long routes page)

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West Coast Trail, Canada




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Originally uploaded by Guidodjones.

Guy Jones posted a terrific set of photos from their group trek of the West Coast Trail. “The Best Hike in the World” we often call it.

It was an early season adventure — May 2006 — but they lucked out and got some blue skies. The “ship wreck coast” of Vancouver Island, BC, Canada is infamous.

The photo is stunning Tsussiat Falls. Just one of dozens of highlights on the WCT.

It’s a coastal route of 75km (47mi), at C$140/person plus C$25 reservation fee, by far the most expensive hike in Canada. On the other hand, you won’t find many hikers complaining if they manage to snag one of the precious quota spots for July and August. Only 52 “Trail Use Permits” are available starting each day.

Details — West Coast Trail — besthike

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Griffin iTalk – iPod microphone

I’ve been looking for a light-weight voice recorder for use on the trail. Ideally it would be built into my camera tagging each photo with “voice notes”. (I have done this with video, of course.)

But since I carry an MP3 player anyway (for podcasts and books on tape) the Griffin iTalk might be worth a try. It works with an Apple 2 GB iPod Nano – Amazon.

iTalk Pro is perfect for capturing how the world around you really sounds.

Whether you’re taking lecture notes, conducting an interview, or just want to bring the sounds of the great outdoors indoors, your only limitations are your iPod’s capacity, and your own imagination.

iTalk’s twin built-in mics record directly to your iPod, and adjustable gain settings give you control over the volume. You can even use external microphones with iTalk Pro.

Griffin Technology: iTalk Pro – Stereo Mic for iPod – Griffin

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Griffin Technology 4020-TALK iTalk Voice Recorder for iPod – Amazon

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Pinnacles Track, New Zealand

Browsing the superb tramper.co.nz website, I was reminded me of my own trip to the Coromandel Peninsula.

The go-to hike there is The Pinnacles Track, one of our best hikes in the world.

If The Pinnacles were in any other country, it would be a huge destination. In New Zealand, though, it tends to be overshadowed by many far more famous treks.

I loved learning about the history of logging Kauri trees. Unbelievably, loggers toppled them over cliffs — and picked up the pieces below. Eventually they built an outrageous rail track to try to lower the massive logs from the Pinnacles. You see all this on the hike.

Most people are even more impressed by the Pinnacles alpine hut. It is astonishing! The best in New Zealand and one of the most impressive in the world. We spent a lot of time watching possums from the expansive balcony.

The Pinnacles is ideal as a weekend trip with one night at the top.

. . . stone steps, wide enough for packhorses, dominate most of the track, crossing the river three times as it rises steeply to logging / power camp at the ‘near’ top. I warn you now – the stone stairs are great to look at but hard on the legs …

Once at the hut, you can leave your pack and climb the Pinnacles proper.

Whilst not dangerous, it isn’t for the faint hearted. It’ll only take 45 minutes to get to the top, but you go up some steep rock faces, and several ladders before negotiating a large boulder, to get to the narrow ledge at the top. From the top, you can see both sides of the Coromandel – Tairua / Pauanui on one side, The firth of Thames and Hauraki Plains on the other. The view is breathtaking.

The Pinnacles Track – tramper.co.nz

Pinnacles-Mist
Pinnacles photos on flickr – BruceandRobyn – waiting for the clouds to clear

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Chena Dome Trail, Alaska

Just added the Chena Dome Trail to our list of best hikes in the world.

Chena Dome is a very challenging 3-4 day adventure, 29.5mi (47.5km) loop mostly on ridgetop above the treeline.

It’s famed for great views and tasty berries in August. Finding water can be a problem late in the season.

About 50mi from Fairbanks, Alaska, this hike can be combined with a visit to Denali (Mt. McKinley), the highest mountain in North America.

I’m considering a trip to Alaska for summer 2007.

I started my research with Lonely Planet Alaska

Lonely Planet Alaska.

Next I’ll need Lonely Planet Hiking in Alaska (Lonely Planet Walking Guides). I always start with Lonely Planet when planning a trip.

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video – “Introduction to Technical Canyoneering”

So you want to start getting into the sport of Canyoneering? Well this month I’d like to give you some info to point you in the right direction. I’ll include links to websites with lots of detailed information about starting in the sport, but this should give you a place to start. I’ve also included a 10 minute compilation of various canyons in Utah to give you an idea of what kinds of canyons you can explore there.

Backcountry Blog: Introduction to Technical Canyoneering.