Posts

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Cycling / Hiking Iceland

by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

Pandemic willing, I’m planning Norway ➙ Faroe Islands ➙ Iceland summer 2022.

Bikepacking. Tenting most nights. Hiking along the way.

My favourite bikepacker is Lael Wilcox.

A new documentary features her adventures in Iceland.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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How to Film Yourself

by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

I’ve worked pretty much every day during pandemic on improving my video creation skills.

And learned a lot. It’s an art and science.

Here are my TIPS for taking video of yourself when solo adventuring.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Some of gear included:

If that video helps, subscribe to our YouTube channel. 📽

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Hiking Prince Edward Island

Everyone loves PEI, one of the Canadian Maritime provinces.

Population only about 165,000.

Nora, Marian, Danny, and Bryson were first to do the NEW Island Walk as a thru hike.

  • 700 km
  • 32 sections
  • one month
  • easy compared with most other thru hikes

A detailed guidebook is available:

Digital: Etsy
Paperback: The Bookmark

I’ve cycled a lot of PEI myself. As it’s quite flat, I’m predicting cycling the Island Walk will be even more popular. Alasdair Veitch cycled it.

Details on theIslandWalk.ca

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Juan de Fuca – the West Coast Trail alternative

Many try and fail each season to get a permit to hike the West Coast Trail, our #1 hike in the world.

Happily, from one of the WCT trailheads — Port Renfrew — you can start south on the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail. It’s very similar scenery (and climate) BUT doesn’t require a permit.

And it’s open year round, unlike the WCT which closes in winter.

Be prepared for serious rain.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible

Kraig Becker followed this project from the beginning on the Adventure Blog.

Kraig said most mountaineers thought it was impossible — but hoped they were wrong.

Kraig noted that Nims didn’t have enough money to see the project through, even after mortgaging his house.

Must Watch

14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible is a 2021 documentary film …

… Nepalese mountaineer Nirmal Purja and his team as they attempt to climb all 14 eight thousander peaks within a record time of under 7 months. (The previous record was over 7 years.) …

Purja was supported by a rotating team of Nepalese climbers, several of whom are introduced in the film, including Mingma David Sherpa, Geljen Sherpa, Lakpa Dendi Sherpa, and Gesman Tamang, however, only Purja would complete the summit of all 14 eight-thousanders …

K2

I liked the film much more than expected.

The video editors did a terrific job putting together something so good from mostly bad GoPro footage.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Nims wife Suchi Purja is a treat.

He’s super talented, of course. Yet irreverent, profane, and funny. A great leader in the face of life and death.

Nims reminds me of a young Mohamad Ali. So confident. So cocky. 😀

Mountaineers might be even more impressed with his later winter summit of K2.

His team consisting of Mingma David Sherpa, Mingma Tenzi Sherpa, Geljen Sherpa, Pem Chiri Sherpa, Dawa Temba Sherpa and himself, joined by the team of Mingma Gyalje Sherpa (Mingma G), Dawa Tenjin Sherpa and Kilu Pemba Sherpa, and Sona Sherpa from Seven Summits Treks.

Nims was the only one to summit without the use of supplemental oxygen.

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North or South on the John Muir Trail?

The John Muir Trail in California is one of our top 10 hikes in the world.

If southbound — the most popular direction — watch Drew Robinson’s succinct trip report.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

If northbound, I’d recommend Tim Seymour’s detailed video.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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Risk of Hiking Injury

A survey of more than 700 John Muir Trail thru-hikers gave researchers insight into what makes a hiker more likely to get injured or ill while backpacking. …

First off, the (2018) study didn’t find sex to be a determinant of getting hurt or sick on the trail.

Here are the factors correlating with injury:

  • younger age
  • higher BMI (body mass index)
  • higher BPW (base pack weight)

Surprisingly, older hikers reported fewer adverse events on the JMT.

… Often abbreviated as BMI, body mass index is a measure of the size of the human body, calculated by dividing a person’s weight in kilograms dividing by the square of their height in meters. …

The study’s authors found that base pack weight correlated with an increased risk of illness and injury; the heavier the pack, the greater the likelihood of morbidity.

This Study Predicts Who Is Most Likely to Get Hurt in the Wilderness

I hiked the John Muir Trail myself in 2021 at age-63. And found myself ‘healthiest’ on finishing after 19 days. I got in ‘shape’ by hiking.