Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
These outdoor films shows are always fantastic. They present full features and “highlights” events — both are excellent.
Check the Banff Centre website for a showing in your region: Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour schedule.
Banff Mountain Photography Competition winner – Andrew Querner of Canmore, Canada, awarded 2006 Grand Prize for his photo Cirque of the Unclimbables.
We often recommend Cicerone hiking guidebooks, some of the best in the world.
But having Cicerone as publisher of a title is no guarantee.
Nothing was added to the hiking literature by the publication of Cicerone Walking in British Columbia in 2002. It is not even a good overview of the region.
How many of these tracks could author Janna Fleming have walked?
Cicerone should stick to the formula of very specialized trekking guidebooks by very expert authors.
Publishing weak volumes waters down the brand image.
On the other hand, we strongly recommend all of their books authored by Kev Reynolds. He is a god of hiking guides.
Rick’s flying in from Canada, Szu-Ting’s flying over from Philly and a quartet of Bay Area bloggers are meeting Mr. Trout Underground near Mount Shasta around dinnertime for food, camping and chit-chat. Saturday we hike a bit of the Pacific Crest Trail, then it’s a gourmet dinner courtesy of WineHiker Russ, a campfire and more chit-chat (lubricated by some of Russ’s favorite wines) and …
Ho Down weekend is upon us – Two Heel Drive
Labelled “the fittest man in the world†by Men’s Fitness, Dean Karnazes’ past feats include running 350 miles continuously, mountain biking non stop for 24 hours, swimming across the San Francisco Bay, and running a marathon to the South Pole.
from the Geared Up Blog
He is author of Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner.
What’s next?
Have you heard of such a thing?
Wood being used as a material to construct water “pipes”.
We saw these still used by the rustic Lake O’Hara Lodge high in the Canadian Rockies. It’s wonderful they have not yet been replaced by plastic.
more photos of this hike on Flickr
A week later I saw similar pipes in Parksville, BC on Vancouver Island — but in a museum. They were no longer being used.
Craig Heritage Park
In order to look less foolish at the Blogger Ho Down this weekend, I need a copy of the famed Curtis Creek Manifesto, a comic guide to fly fishing.
Where can I get one?
Get Outdoors – Curtis Creek Manifesto: How To Fly Fish Comic Book – Getoutdoors.com Outdoor Blog
The classic hike close to the highest peak in New Zealand was the Copland Pass Track — but it has been closed to the general public for years. Landslide made it too dangerous.
The best alternative is the guided Ball Pass Trek, a 3-day trek spending two nights at Caroline Hut 1830m (6000ft).
Alpinists may prefer the toughter Fitzgerald Pass route (Jubilee Route from Mt. Cook to the Copland Valley).
Know that the weather is often horrendous. It may be days before you see the top of Aoraki (cloud piercer).
Ball Pass route
Though I’ve lived most of my life in the shadow of the Canadian Rockies, I had never made the trip to see the season end changing of the Larch to golden yellow — one of the great natural displays in nature.
Until this Fall.
Friends had won a lottery for exclusive use of the Elizabeth Parker Alpine Hut close to Lake O’Hara. This is one of the very best spots in the world to see the changing of the colours. On the very best weekend of the year.
I tagged along as a guest, staying in the campground. And felt as if I won the lottery!
more photos of this hike on Flickr
The Alpine Larch is a fascinating tree which helps hikers determine altitude. It grows only between 1800-2400m (6000-8000ft) in the Rocky Mountains of Idaho, Montana, British Columbia & Alberta — normally the highest trees on the mountain.
The needles are as soft as fur, lovely to the touch.
details on how to organize a hike to O’Hara – besthike.com
Who wants to hike coastal Spain?
We do.
A website with a terrific name: TopWalks.net — (like BestHikes.com) — will steer you to the best hikes in the beautiful, historic Valencia region. The site is published in 4 languages.
Of the 60 walks detailed, several are recommended as best hikes:
Those pages will give you an idea just how detailed a hiking resource this site offers. Check the wealth of information on flowers of the region. Amazing.
More information:
The Valencian Community (Comunidad Valenciana in Spanish, Comunitat Valenciana in Valencian) is an autonomous community in eastern Spain. … it has 518 kilometers of coastline on the Mediterranean …
Valencia – Wikipedia
Contributor George Novak normally hikes without water bottle or filter. He “prehydrates” — then drinks as much as he can if and when he finds good water. He has no more stomach trouble than the most careful hiker.
Everyone agrees the literature is hyper-cautious when it comes to water treatment.
Doc’s Rules for Sipping the Waters
Study the watershed you are in. Know what is there.
Look for water near to its source.
Try to take water from the sideslope streamlets.
Avoid water from the main valley stream.
Look for icy cold water.
Look for fast-moving water.
Study the area for the presence of large animals.
Ascertain whether numbers of elk have recently been in the area.
Avoid waters near beaver ponds or cattle grazing.
…
Two-Heel Drive: September 2006 Archives
How careful are you with water treatment?
besthike.com 