Posts

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Walking First SNOW of the Year

I woke up surprised to see a winter wonderland outside my window.

October 22nd, Calgary, Canada.

I put on my winter jacket and headed out quickly to enjoy the clean, white fresh stuff — watching for Bobcat tracks. My neighbourhood is the only place I’ve ever seen Bobcat.

Sarcee Meadows, Calgary
My Junior High School, A.E. Cross.
My Elementary School, Glamorgan.
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Englishman River Falls, Vancouver Island

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

Many, many times I’ve walked and run the spectacular 2km loop at Englishman River Falls Provincial Park near Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch a tourist promotion on YouTube. Water is high in this video.

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Hiking Solo SAFELY

Most of my hikes I do alone. Often I meet new people on the trail. Sometimes share some miles or a meal.

But it’s easier to PLAN and COMPLETE adventures by yourself.

Some TIPS:

  • make sure your skills are solid …
  • pick the right route
  • share your itineray
  • check in with Rangers
  • sign trail registers
  • stick to your route (if possible)
  • plan thoroughly
  • using GPS devices as well as non-electronic maps is safest
  • bypass hazards (if possible)
  • pack communication device(s)
  • carry emergency supplies
  • bring firestarter gear, just in case
  • carry a knife
  • cross streams safely
  • carry the lightest gear you can

How to Backpack Solo and Love Every Minute of It

Photo by Eric Dekker on Pexels.com
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The Great Divide Trail • Section A

The Great Divide Trail closely follows the Great Divide between Alberta and British Columbia …

… southern terminus is in Waterton Lakes National Park at the Canada–US border (where it connects with the Continental Divide Trail) and its northern terminus is at Kakwa Lake in Kakwa Provincial Park, north of Jasper National Park.

The trail is 1,130 km (700 mi) long …

… only portions of it are officially recognized by Parks Canada and therefore is often not signed and occasionally not even an actual trail – merely a wilderness route.

At present, the Great Divide Trail is about 80% singletrack, 10% wilderness route and 10% old roads and ATV trails.

More maps.

Ratatrail says the section starting at the American border is toughest — and the most rewarding.

Watch his unique video on YouTube.

official website – greatdividetrail.com

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Converting VIDEO from Landscape to Vertical

Our eyes are side-by-side. Our world view is landscape.

YET vertical (portrait) video is getting increasingly popular on mobile phones.

The reason?

A phone fits more comfortably in the hand in portrait position.

Videos on the BestHike YouTube channel are mostly landscape. But it’s fairly easy to convert a landscape to portrait in your software editing app.

For example, the vertical video below was edited from this landscape original.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Here’s the Instagram version.

Here’s the TWITTER version.

I also uploaded it to the BestHike Facebook page.

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Super/Natural | Disney+

Narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch.

If you think you know nature, think again.

Executive-produced by James Cameron, this TV series uses special effects.

It’s funny. And punny. More lighthearted than most nature documentaries.

… reveal the secret powers and super-senses of the world’s most extraordinary animals, inviting viewers to see and hear beyond normal human perception to experience the natural world as a specific species does — from seeing flowers in bee-vision to eavesdropping on a conversation between elephant seals to soaring the length of a football field with glow-in-the-dark squirrels.

Disney+

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.