I travelled to Portugal for bikepacking and to hike famed Fisherman’s Trail.
BUT I found myself walking further each day site seeing in Lisbon. There’s MUCH to see.
Click PLAY or get a glimpse of Lisbon on YouTube.
Sunshine to Mt Assiniboine – Canadian Rockies
One of our top 10 hikes in the world.
World Wild Hearts had gear problems. Some bad weather.
But they did get to the top of Wonder Peak.
Click PLAY or watch a 5 day adventure on YouTube.
To organize this hike for yourself, check our Sunshine to Assiniboine information page.
Campground reservations can be difficult to get.
Helly’s LifaLoft jacket – my review
Kraig Becker sent me an early prototype of a Helly Hansen LifaLoft jacket for my 2019 trip to Patagonia. I wore it non-stop for a couple of months cycling and hiking in wet, windy and sometimes cold weather.
LIFALOFT™ is not down. It’s arguably lighter and warmer.
The idea is to trap a maximum amount of air in a small space. And due to the hydrophobic properties of LIFA®, LIFALOFT™ has an inherent water repellency that should keep you warm, even when wet.
It worked for me as advertised.
The best test came when I got caught in a surprise downpour while hiking without my shell. I was worried.
But next morning the LifaLoft looked and felt 100% perfect.
UPDATE: I bought two more LifaLoft jackest – in different colours and sizes. I often wear two rather than a heavier down jacket.
I machine washed and dried one jacket. It come out looking like new.
Kraig sent me this to replace my FAILED Columbia OutDry down jacket. It was useless after 7 months.
The Helly Hansen is far superior. The Colombia failed — I think — because it couldn’t handle being frequently compressed into a stuff sack. The HH LifaLoft seems much more durable.
In Patagonia Helly Hansen is the go-to brand for serious sailers and outdoors-people. Developed in Norway, HH is tested under the worst weather conditions.
For future hikes in moderate weather where weight is a big consideration, I’ll be carrying the LifaLoft and just a waterproof ultra-light Frogg Toggs shell.
My new Jetboil Stash
I’m won over. I’ll take the Jetboil Stash over any of my other hiking stoves for any adventure where weight is a consideration.
What I like:
- weight 7.1 oz (without fuel)
- size ~ compact nesting design
- pot can quickly and easily be removed from the flame (in case of boiler)
- 100gm fuel canister snaps into the lid
Considerations:
- no auto-igniter
- you might need to carry an additional bowl for mixing your dinner with the boiling water
- 2.5 minute boil time seems a bit long for that volume of water
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
John Muir Trail Hiker’s Survey
I did the JMT in 2021 so was even more interested than usual in Mac’s data from surveying 119 hikers.
Average age 39.
78.5% white.
$1679 = cost for the adventure. Average 19.6 days.
Average pre-hike backpack base weight = 22.34 pounds.
Favourite section = Evolution Basin.
Read the full report:
John Muir Trail Hiker Survey (2021)
Stein Valley Divide hike, B.C.
Stein Valley is one of the best hikes in North America.
It’s high on my personal list of hikes to do … SOON.
Wild and remote, the “route” is about 90km and has a total elevation change of at least 4300m. High elevation is about 2150m.
It’s tough. You probably want to schedule 7 days. Perhaps 9 days to enjoy some side tripping. Carry ALL your food.
Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.
Without question you should purchase the only guidebook. And perhaps maps, as well.
Kilimanjaro: To the Roof of Africa
Watch the great David Breashears documentary from 2002.
Guide Jacob Kyungai is excellent. Everyone on the team interesting. Including supermodel Heidi Albertsen. But for me the highlight were the two kids on the 45 mile hike: Hansi Mmari and Nicole Wineland-Thomson,
Dreaming of climbing Kilimanjaro is childlike. Full of wonder.
This short documentary is 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. Highly recommended for all.
Click PLAY or watch a trailer on YouTube.
You might be able to watch the entire documentary on YouTube.
related – Mark Horrell’s review
Panorama Ridge | Garibaldi Lake B.C.
I’m hooked on the videos produced by World Wild Hearts.
We counted 6 lakes on our way up to the Panorama Ridge viewpoint and also saw the black tusk to our left in all its glory.
The whole route was about 32 kilometers and took us just over 10 hours to complete. …
Overall it was one of the longest day hikes we’ve done, but the views from the top were worth it!
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. SUBSCRIBE.
Mineral King Loop, Sequoia National Park
Kristen Bor is one of my favourite hiking bloggers.
Her site is called Bearfoot Theory. Highly recommended.
Kristen recommends an adventure in the southern Sierra Nevada mountains of California.
Is backpacking the Mineral King loop in Sequoia National Park on your bucket list? …
This was hands down one of the most incredible backpacking trips we’ve been on and is easily some of the best backpacking in the Sierra Nevada.
Our 44-mile route out of Mineral King went over Timber Gap and exited via Sawtooth Pass, with a portion of the trip following the High Sierra Trail.
It took us 6-days, but if you don’t have that much time, we also suggest a shorter alternative loop that covers a lot of the same ground.
BACKPACKING THE MINERAL KING LOOP IN SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK
Life Lived Wild by Rick Ridgeway
Wow.
What a life. What a life story.
Rick Ridgeway was one of the first Americans to summit K2 in 1978.
He’s climbed new routes and explored little-known regions on six continents.
Spent a total of 5 years sleeping in a tent while adventuring.
A pioneer in filming extreme outdoor pursuits.
You might have read one of his other books — Seven Summits (1988), an account of how Frank Wells and Dick Bass planned to climb the highest mountain on each of the world’s seven continents.
Ridgeway later had some adventures with Reinhold Messner. In this book he doesn’t mention the controversy that Canadian alpinist Pat Morrow and then Messner claim to have completed the Seven LEGITIMATE Summits. 😀
Ridgeway — born 1949 — has outlived most of his climbing partners. A rare survivor.
His wife of near 40 years died too before he published his life story in October 2021.
It’s a summing up.
BEST in this book are his lifelong adventures with Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, and Doug Tompkins, who cofounded The North Face.
In fact, it was Ridgeway who was paddling with Tompkins in southern Chile 2015 when they capsized. Rick was rescued. Tompkins died of hypothermia.
Yvon Chouinard is still alive as well. Age 83.
All three of the do boys, as the friends called themselves, eventually made environmental protection the main focus of their lives.
I highly recommend this book.
Life Lived Wild by Rick Ridgeway.
It is hard to imagine my life if I hadn’t met Rick Ridgeway. Rick invited me on my first National Geographic expedition and taught me how to film, but more importantly he shared how to tell a good story. In Life Lived Wild Rick recounts the most poignant moments of his legendary career as an explorer, climber and conservationist, but mostly, as an extraordinarily observant and compassionate human being. He captures the essence of a lifetime of storytelling. — Jimmy Chin, Adventurer and filmmaker
besthike.com 