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Sunshine to Mt Assiniboine, B.C.

One of our top 10 hikes in the world takes you from the Sunshine Ski Resort in Banff National Park, Canada along the top of the world to the most scenic peak in the Canadian Rockies.

Check our Sunshine to Assiniboine information page.

Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube. (You may have to click through to watch.)

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West Coast Trail GEAR 2021

I did the WCT twice.

This is my final gear list after learning some hard lessons on the first week.

Note it’s very electronics heavy as one of my main goals was to make video tutorials for this very challenging adventure.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

PACK
Hyperlight 3400 Windrider
emergency whistle

SHELTER
MSR Hubba NX tent
MSR Hubba NX fly
MSR Hubba poles (no stakes)

SLEEP
Therm-a-Rest NeoAir UberLite WV SHORT Sleeping Pad (pillow and back-up mattress)
NeoAir XLite SHORT (pad)
Therm-a-rest patch kit
Therm-a-rest quilt

SHOES
Moab 2 Waterproof Hiking Shoe with inserts
… with Wool socks
quick dry New Balance 1260s 4E 9.5 w inserts
… with Neoprene booties

DRY CLOTHES
Wool socks #2
light nylon pants
Soffe Running shorts #1 (as underwear)
wool t-shirt
Buff #1
mask (pandemic)

HIKING CLOTHES
Soffe Running shorts #2 (as underwear)
Running Room 7″ perforated run shorts
red Nike quick dry t-shirt
waterproof stuff sack
Buff #2
long brim ball cap
fingerless gloves

OUTER LAYERS
Columbia OutDry rain jacket
Helly Hansen puffy jacket Red L & 3L ultra-sil dry bag
Helly Hansen puffy jacket Blue M & 2L ultra-sil dry bag

TOILETRIES in dry bag
ASA and TUMs
vitamins
toilet paper TP (Coughlin x2) & alcohol gel
sunscreen in ziplock
2 Imodium tablets

HIP PACK
1 credit card
CAN cash $500
tiny Swiss Army knife
hand Sanitizer – 1 oz bottle
prescriptions
bandaids
Leukotape (blisters)
duct tape
water purification tablets (Acquatabs)
toothbrush & toothpaste
sunglass clip-on, flip-up
toothpicks
Health Insurance card
chewing cloves
National Parks Pass
zip ties
lens cloth
pen & paper

COOKING
JetBoil Minimo
fuel
scrubby
lighter
spoon
water bottles (2 x litre soft drink empty)
Ursack AllMitey bear bag XL black

GUIDEBOOK
Blisters & Bliss 9th edition

ELECTRONICS

CAMERA
Sony ZV-1
2 extra SD cards
1 extra battery & charging case
charging cable
protective carrying case

CAMERA
iPhone X
OM 4 Gimbal
SanDisk 256GB iXpand Flash Drive Go for iPhone

CAMERA
GoPro 7 Black 
3 extra batteries
charging case

EXTRA ELECTRONICS
iPhone SE 2020
Apple Watch and cable
Nitecore NU25 headlamp

POWER
Anker Power Bank PowerCore Essential 20000 (342gm)
Anker PowerCore+ 26800 ‎(576gm)

TRIPODS
Fotopro uFO 2 (0.5 pound)
Splat

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How Hikers can FALL More Safely

BestHike editor Rick McCharles

The first time I hiked the West Coast Trail I fell 7 times in 7 days.

No injury.

June 2021 I fell only twice in 6 days. An improvement. But broke a camera on the first. And badly bruised my thigh on the second. 😕

About one in a hundred hikers are evacuated on the very challenging West Coast Trail.

MANY are carrying more weight than they can comfortably balance.

As a Gymnastics coach, I teach kids the safest ways to land and fall. In this video I’ve applied those same techniques for hikers. Absorb IMPACT FORCES over time and surface area.

BEST strategy is to pull in your arms (dropping poles). Take the first impact landing on your backpack.

Having things dangling can complicate. Keep your pack as compact as possible. Fragile equipment protected inside.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

BEFORE you hike — practice falling deliberately on to your pack (filled with pillows).

When it happens for real on the trail, it’s often FEELS in slow motion. Do not flail. Pulling in your arms should be highest priority.

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Hiking Laguna 69 in Peru

YouTube superstar Kraig Adams headed for Peru to do the fantastic Huayhuash Circuit.

Unfortunately it was June 2021. Peru had become the nation with the highest COVID related death rate.

As a result, Kraig needed to switch to famed Laguna 69 out of Huaraz, one of our top 10 hiking towns in the world.

As always, his video is fantastic. By far the best I’ve seen on Laguna 69.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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Andrew Alexander King attempts the 14 Summits

Sponsored by Black Diamond Equipment.

King, a mountaineer and adventurer, is attempting to climb the world’s tallest mountains.  If he succeeds, he’ll be the first African American to climb the 14 summits (the seven summits plus the world’s seven tallest volcanoes). 

But, “conquering mountains” isn’t his actual goal.  He knows that bringing diversity to the outdoors is the real challenge.  …

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.