JupiterHikes set out to find challenge in 2023.
It really helped that Sprocket joined him for some of the longest.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
TIPS for Tenting in the Rain
I often cook in my tent vestibule in the morning.
Coffee in bed. 😀
In Peru, I did see one tent catch fire from a cookstove — but it’s been 100% safe for me.
related – Hiking in the Rain VIDEO
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
TOP 10 day hikes ➙ Alpine Circuit, Lake O’Hara, Canada
One of our top 10 day hikes in the world.
Why?
Many feel this is the most beautiful of the Canadian Rockies trails.
- Yoho National Park in British Columbia near Banff, Alberta.
- mid-June through the end of September (start and end dates vary) for example, bus operated for hikers and campers from June 19 to October 4, 2018
- 11.6 km
- perhaps 9 hours
- perhaps 900 photos 🙂
- highest point 2528 m
- elevation gain 1012 m
World → N America → Rockies → Canada → Alpine Circuit, Lake O’Hara
For details click over to our Alpine Circuit, Lake O’Hara information page.
Toilet System on Indiahikes Trips
One of the BEST reasons for signing on with a Guiding Company is how they take care of your toilet needs.
When toilets are available, they plan stops. When tenting away from civilization, they provide excellent and sheltered toilets.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Hiking Cathedral Grove, Vancouver Island
Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles
Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube.
MacMillan Provincial Park is a 301-hectare (740-acre) provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. Located 25 km (16 mi) west of Qualicum Beach and 16 km (9.9 mi) east of Port Alberni, the park straddles Highway 4 and the Island Rail Corridor in central Vancouver Island.
The park is home to a famous, 157-hectare (390-acre) stand of ancient Douglas fir, known as Cathedral Grove, which draws visitors from all over the world.
… the only highway-accessible protected old-growth Douglas-fir forest in British Columbia.
In 2007 Cathedral Grove made the short list on CBC‘s competition Seven Wonders of Canada.
My video includes parts of both loops. AND some shots outside Cathedral Grove, in the Provincial park.
I stop every time I drive highway 4.
Dozens of times, so far.
It is a fantastic short day hike.
British Columbia Hikes NOT Requiring Reservations
British Columbia is a fantastic hiking destination. BUT campgrounds and some of the best hiking areas require difficult-to-aquire permits — most famously, the West Coast Trail.
Happily, Taryn Eyton, author of Backpacking in Southwestern British Columbia, details many great hikes that DO NOT require permits:
Vancouver Island
- Juan de Fuca Trail in Juan de Fuca Marine Provincial Park near Port Renfrew (requires backcountry permits)
- Wild Side Trail on Flores Island near Tofino (requires a water taxi to reach the trailhead)
- Forbidden Plateau Core, Bedwell Lakes, Elk River Trail, and Arnica Lake in Strathcona Provincial Park (All require backcountry permits except Arnica Lake.)
- Nootka Trail on Nootka Island near Gold River (requires a water taxi to reach the trailhead)
- North Coast Trail, Cape Scott Trail, and San Josef Bay in Cape Scott Provincial Park near Port Hardy (requires backcountry permits, North Coast Trail requires a water taxi to reach the trailhead)
- Raft Cove in Raft Cove Provincial Park near Port Hardy (requires backcountry permits)
- Carmanah Valley in Carmanah-Walbran Provincial Park (requires backcountry permits)
Interior and Eastern B.C.
- Trophy Meadows in Wells Gray Provincial Park near Clearwater (requires backcountry permits)
- Cathedral Lakes Provincial Park near Keremeos (requires backcountry permits)
- Okanagan High Rim Trail near Vernon and Kelowna
- Spectrum Lake in Monashee Provincial Park near Cherryville (requires backcountry permits)
- Gwillim Lakes in Valhalla Provincial Park near Slocan
- Kaslo Lake in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park near Nelson (requires backcountry permits)
- Earl Gray Pass in Purcell Wilderness Conservancy Provincial Park near Kaslo
- South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park near Lillooet
Northern B.C.
- Hunlen Falls in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park near Bella Coola (requires backcountry permits)
- Monkman Memorial Trail in Monkman Provincial Park near Tumbler Ridge
- Wokkpash Valley and McDonald Creek in Stone Mountain Provincial Park near Fort Nelson
- Mount Edziza in Mount Edziza Provincial Park near Dease Lake
Backcountry permits are not reservations. And they don’t sell out.
Taryn has more advice for hikers in this post:
How to Go Backpacking in BC Without Reservations
related – 37+ BC backpacking trails that do not require a reservation
Trek Cerro Castillo, Patagonia
Cerro Castillo is definitely one of the top hikes in Patagonia.
Access is comparatively easy, as well, via picturesque highway — the Carretera Austral.
Jumping off point the city of Coihaique, Chile.
Normal route is 62km (38.5mi) plus sidetrips.
Check our Cerro Castillo information page.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Learn to LOVE Hiking in the Rain 😀
Hiking in the rain can be miserable.
AND hiking in the rain can be wonderful.
You can hike the Pacific N.W. every day of the year. BUT many of those days will have a threat of rain.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. The joys and challenges of … wet weather.
TIPS:
- the RIGHT clothing (layers)
- long brim cap under long brim hood
- the RIGHT footwear
- the RIGHT backpack
- gear protected in dry bags
- electronics protected from water
- the RIGHT attitude
Having tried many systems over the years, I’m happiest now with …
- Helly Hansen LIFALOFT™ Hooded Insulator Jacket (washable)
- Columbia OutDry rain jacket
- Neoprene socks inside trail runners
No blisters. The shoes dry quickly. )My feet do get wrinkled after a couple of hours, however.)
If the rain really starts coming down, I’ll add an inexpensive Frogg Toggs waterproof jacket on top.
Since I bought a Hyperlite 3400 Windrider backpack, I’ve not used a pack cover. It’s quite rain resistant. Everything inside is protected from wet and water.
Check this REI post – How to Go Hiking in the Rain
Of course if lightning and thunder threaten, take shelter immediately.
Camping in the rain is definitely more challenging.
related – Miranda has some thoughts on Frogg Toggs. 😀
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
TOP 10 hikes ➙ Chamonix to Zermatt, Alps
The Haute Route, from France to Switzerland, is one of our top 10 hikes in the world.
Click PLAY or watch a 1 minute introduction on YouTube.
Haute Route
Chamonix to Zermatt, Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn – in two weeks of mountain travel you will see the greatest collection of 4000 metre peaks in the Alps!
AT A GLANCE
- also known as the Walker’s High Route
- Alpine charm: valleys, lakes, glaciers
- great food, history, culture
- from Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Europe (4810m, 15,781ft)
- to the Matterhorn, the most beautiful peak in the alps
- 9-15 days
- 180+kms (112mi)
- best months June-Sept
- crosses 11 passes, gains more than 12,000m elevation
- difficult hiking
Read more on our Haute Route information page.
Waqra Pukará (horn fortress) in Peru
Waqrapukara or Waqra Pukara (possibly from Quechua waqra horn, pukara fortress, “horn fortress”) is an archaeological site in Peru located in the Cusco Region …
It was declared a National Cultural Heritage Site by the Ministry of Culture in July 2017. The building is said to be an Inca sanctuary.
At 4,140 m (13,580 ft) you seriously need to be acclimatized to make the 10k trek roundtrip.
BBC posted a trip report.
Check Puyca Expeditions to see how you could be guided to the remote site.
