no job? … go hiking

Happy 4th of July to all our American readers.
And a special shout out to Fedak who’s hiking out the recession.
Three of 4 of our top 10 hiking regions in the world are in the USA.
#1 New Zealand
#2 Southwest USA
#3 The Rockies
#4 Sierra Nevada
National Public Radio has an interesting podcast called – [...]

audio – Elk Majestically Tramples 3

A funny fake news podcast from The Onion.
Elk Majestically Tramples 3

iPhone Apps hit the trail

One of Backpacker Magazine’s blogs, The Daily Dirt, has been my favourite in recent weeks.
Here’s another interesting post:
… In a new 30-second spot, the familiar hands demonstrate apps to replace a compass, identify bird species, and spot poison ivy. Add those apps to the already impressive list including the Google Earth and GPS [...]

7800mi backpacking the Andes

Deia Schlosberg & Gregg Treinish were named Adventurers of the Year by one of the National Geographic magazines.
Congratulations.
Two years. 7,800 miles. No roads. That was how Deia Schlosberg, 28, and Gregg Treinish, 26, vowed to trek the length of the Andes. They had no idea what they were getting into. Beginning in Papallacta, Ecuador, [...]

George Bush on Re-Arming Our Wilderness

There’s a move under way in the U.S. Senate to have Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne reverse the National Park Service’s ban against the public carrying concealed weapons in the national parks. …
National Parks Traveler
The president of the Association of National Park Rangers responded that Kempthorne’s rationale is “hypocritical in some cases and just plain [...]

motorized vehicles ruin the Utah desert

WildeBeat audio journal did a great piece this Fall on the problems of off road vehicles in the Utah desert.

This wild places program examines the problems of trying to designate new wilderness areas in the central Utah desert. If it gets overrun by off road vehicles, can it still become new wilderness?
This story was provided [...]

National Geographic Greatest Trips – Paria Canyon

by Rick McCharles, editor
I was a minor contributor to a gorgeous new National Geographic coffee table book.

Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Greatest Trips
One chapter describes Adventures on Foot. I helped write the Paria Canyon hike description.

My own 2006 trip report was used as a reference.
Though any experienced hiker will dismiss some of [...]

Rick Deutsch – Half Dome, Yosemite

Rick is expert on one of the World’s great scrambles, the author of One Best Hike: Yosemite’s Half Dome.
His opinion has been much in demand as 3 people died in 2007.

original – flickr – tjk
Rick points out that an estimated 50,000 climb it every year. And no one has ever fallen using the cables until [...]

Himalaya – Michael Palin

Just finished an excellent book, Himalaya by Michael Palin of Monty Python fame.
Palin is far better known now for his adventure travel documentaries on BBC TV. In fact, this book is the companion to Himalaya, the TV series available on DVD (2004).
Instead of reading the book, I bought it on Audible.com (about US$12) as Palin [...]

bag your poop on Mt. Whitney, California

UPDATE: Steve Sergeant posted a terrific Wildebeat audiocast on this last year – The Poop on Mount Whitney

Pack out what you pack in.
This is the age-old outdoor rule. And here, taking this decree to the extreme, is a good friend of mine who recently climbed Mt. Whitney in California.
I’ll let you guess what he’s packing [...]