😀
Dude Dad and family relocated from California to Colorado.
Click PLAY or see what happened on YouTube.
West Coast Trail YOYO Attempt
BestHike editor Rick McCharles.
UPDATE – I fell and suffered a bad thigh bruise on day 5 of my first week. Limped out. And had to reschedule my second week to start July 3rd out of Nitinat.
Here’s my original post from June 8th:
I’ll be mostly offline for the next couple of weeks.
After being closed for all of 2020, our #1 hike in the world opened to reservations on April 30, 2021 — for Canadians only.
The online reservations system worked well — but my credit card was twice declined for no reason. I repeated the process and was finally able to pay.
Since there is less demand this year than normal, I was able to book myself for:
June 10 starting SE from Bamfield.
June 15 starting NW from Port Renfrew.
I’ll make haste on the first 75 km (47 mi) hike.
Pick up my resupply in Port Renfrew. Have a hot shower. Some wine.
Then take it more leisurely on my YOYO return to Bamfield.
Click PLAY or check out my hiking gear on YouTube.
I’ve done the WCT four times in the past. It doesn’t intimidate me at all. I LOVE climbing ladders with a HEAVY pack. 😀
Wish me luck!
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Straight Line Mission Across Wales
In the winter of 2018 and 2019, Tom Davies (aka GeoWizard) had the unlikely idea of crossing a country in a completely straight line. …
Tom’s most viral video with almost 4 million views; everyone loves a wacky idea. …
Adventure Blog – The Geographical Genius Who Crosses Countries in Straight Lines
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. (4 million views)
Trans Canada Trail OR Great Trail?
A branding expert could use this as a marketing blunder.
NOBODY knows what to call the ever evolving 24,000+ km network of greenways, waterways, trails, and roadways.
Official website:
As of June 1, 2021, the name of The Great Trail of Canada has changed back to its original name, and is once again known as the iconic Trans Canada Trail. …
Back in 2016, we decided to separate the name of our organization (Trans Canada Trail) from the name of the physical trail (The Great Trail), as a way to celebrate and highlight the significant milestone of connection in 2017.
tctrail.ca
SO …
- The 4560km non-motorized is called THE GREAT TRAIL
- The organization is called TRANS CANADA TRAIL
I’m pleased nobody will ever be confused on that again. 😐
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
60 Second Hiking Video
BestHike editor Rick McCharles
Let’s face it. Many hiking videos are boring.
Too long. Too much similar footage.
Personally, I’m trying to make mine shorter.
Here’s an excellent example. You get a good feel for South Africa’s 100+km Outeniqua trail in one minute.
Looks like they had a great time. 😀
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
related – Outeniqua trip report
Gear for the West Coast Trail
BestHike editor Rick McCharles
Locked and loaded for our #1 hike in the world.
I start June 10th.
I’ll be posting video and a detailed trip report later in the month.
Edward Hathway’s 72+ hikes in New Zealand
He spent the pandemic well. What a year!
Edward:
In the year since the New Zealand Covid-19 lockdown ended in late April 2020 I completed 72 hikes (“tramps” in the NZ vernacular), and fifteen shorter walks. …
- 68,500m (~225,000ft) of ascent and descent
- Almost 900km (~550mi) of walking
- On 64 of these hikes I climbed to a peak or other high point, ranging between 445m and 2333m high, and averaging 1000m of ascent and descent each time
- 58 of these high points were named peaks over 1000m of elevation, so I incidentally completed the 52 Peaks Challenge
- All of these tramps were on New Zealand’s South Island
… the best views were on the tramp to Barrier Knob via Gertrude Saddle in Fiordland …
Here’s a list of these 72 tramps plus 15 short walks. …
HikingScenery.com
To Measure a Mile – PCT Documentary
Crossing the River on a Fallen Log
These (hiking) Shoes Are Killing Me
Highest priority for hikers is foot care.
Know that your feet expand while hiking — especially in hot weather — so many of us buy walking shoes a size larger than what we wear in the city.
I loved Christopher Mcdougall’s book …
Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen
That said, I’ve never hiked barefoot or with minimal shoes. Raised in cold Canada, my feet are wimpy.
If you have time, go back to the beginning. Listen to an audiocast about the history of footwear.
How to Return Stolen Art (Update) – Freakonomics Radio
Museums are purging their collections of looted treasures. Can they also get something in return? And what does it mean to be a museum in the 21st century? (Part 3 of an updated series originally published in 2023.)
SOURCES:
Patricia Allan, museum consultant, former curator of world cultures for the Glasgow Museums.
Andrea Bayer, deputy director for collections and administration at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Lonnie G. Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.
Victor Ehikhamenor, Nigerian writer and artist.
Patty Gerstenblith, professor emeritus of law at DePaul University College of Law.
Tom Wilkening, professor of economics at the University of Melbourne.
RESOURCES:
"After Seizures, the Met Sets a Plan to Scour Collections for Looted Art," by Robin Pogrebin and Graham Bowley (The New York Times, 2023).
"Nigeria Benin Bronzes: Buhari Declaration 'Blindsides' Museum Officials," by Barnaby Phillips (B.B.C., 2023).
"Shared Stewardship and Ethical Returns Policy," by the Smithsonian Ethical Returns Working Group (2022).
"Protecting Antiquities: A Role for Long-Term Leases?" by Michael Kremer and Tom Wilkening (Working Paper, 2015).
EXTRAS:
“Stealing Art Is Easy. Giving It Back Is Hard,” series by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
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