Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
Ever think about quitting your job and taking off?
Jesse did just that. I have been following his excellent blog for months now as he attempts to visit all the National Parks in the USA, including Alaska!
It would be well worth subscribing to the RSS feed now. Jesse has signed on for a 120 day RV tour of South America next.
Surprisingly, tiny Hong Kong offers some terrific hiking.
I’ve done day hikes on some of the islands. One of our contributors recently did a long day hike on the mainland.
Of course combining hiking with one of the most photogenic cities in the world is a great combination!
The clean, well organized hostels offer the best value accommodation in town. My home base in Hong Kong is the Mt. Davis hostel.
Our favourite vista in Yellowstone was over Grand Prismatic Spring. We were cycling to Prismatic when others on the trail recommended we climb a nearby hill.
Click PLAY on the video below or watch the clip on YouTube.
Old Faithful erupting is the signature attraction of Yellowstone National Park.
But we thought Grand Prismatic Spring was even better.
The outrageous colours reminded George of the Ring Nebula.
UPDATE – added photos from the climb to Flickr
Scott Whiteside organized 6 hikers to scramble his favourite mountain in the Crowsnest Pass. We needed no climbing gear but be warned there are a few tricky spots on this mountain.
We took our time spending almost 8hrs on the adventure. All returned unscathed — except for 1 thumb squashed by a falling rock. Rock fall is the biggest danger when scrambling the rotten Rockies.
For evidence that we actually reached the summit, click PLAY on the video below or watch the clip on YouTube.
The colours are amazing at Yellowstone National Park:
Yellowstone is mostly in Wyoming, touching on Idaho and Montana.
There is some good hiking in Yellowstone. But we recommend nearby Teton Crest Trail as the best in the region.
We saw Old Faithful erupt twice at Yellowstone National Park.
Click PLAY on the video below or watch the clip on YouTube.
I found the volcanic landscape similar to that around Rotarura in New Zealand. But Yellowstone is even larger and more impressive.
On the right hand navigation of the besthike.com blog we’ve added a Flickr “badge” linking to 120 of our best photos. More will be added in future.
Rick McCharles is hosting this on his pro account.
Another Flickr badge to all photos tagged with the word “hiking” is included at the bottom of the navigation. These badges change each time you reload the page.
Huayhuash Circuit photo credit – Grant Assenheimer
Something in the Wikipedia entry for hiking got me thinking about how to find solitude on crowded trails.
When two groups of hikers meet on a steep trail … the group moving uphill has the right-of-way. In other situations the larger of the two groups will yield to the smaller.
To avoid traffic as much as possible, I try to hike early or late in the day. Trying to stay well ahead or well behind the mass of hikers.
Of course hiking early or late in the season solves the congestion problem.
We were pretty much swamped with people on the most popular day hike in Grand Teton National Park on the 4th of July weekend. Bad choice of trail on a busy day.
photo – FirstPeople.us
Of the many great established hikes in Peru, Ausangate is the least known.
When we were there in 2005 we saw no other hikers and only a few seasonal Alpaca herders once we were on the far side of the mountain.
Why is it not more visited?
The main reason is that public transport is difficult. Plan on a rough bus ride 6hrs or longer one way from Cuzco to reach the trailhead.
Also, this trek is high. The first night we slept at over 4700m (15,419ft). If you suffer altitude sickness — it is difficult to descend.
But if you like challenge, this trek is one of the very best in the world: 70km (43.5mi) plus sidetrips, tent 4-5 nights. Hot springs at the start and finish!
besthike.com 