Jenny Tough inspires us to visit more wild places in 2021.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Author: Administration
Trends in Hiking Gear
Lisa Pulsifer posted an interesting article:
Mummy Bag to Sleeping Quilt
External/Internal Frame to Frameless Packs
Polyester to Dyneema Tents
Leather Boots to Lightweight Runners
Synthetic Fiber to Merino Wool
Hand Pump to Squeeze Filter
The Evolution of Backpacking Gear
Best Hike VIDEOS
A big goal for 2021 is to expand our hiking videos.
Subscribe on YouTube to get those as they are posted.
Click PLAY or watch the trailer on YouTube.
Happy New Year from BestHike.com
All the best in 2021.
Jack Point Trail, Nanaimo
Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles.
Click PLAY or watch a Christmas Eve hike on YouTube.
Jack Point is a 5.1 kilometer moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada that features beautiful wild flowers and is good for all skill levels.
The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, and trail running and is accessible year-round.
Biggs Point is the name of the park along one side of Duke Point, leading to Jack Point, the park that covers the tip of the peninsula. Everyone knows the Duke Point Ferry Terminal, the run to Tsawwassen in Vancouver.
YES all those names for the same place is confusing. Trail signage says Jack Point.
In fact, if you are ever having to wait for the ferry, hiking Jack Point would be an ideal nearby diversion.
This short trail is fascinating: arbutus trees, boardwalk, wooden staircases, weird and wild erosion, sand-stone caves, small light house. Plenty of wildlife.
Excellent views of the Nanaimo River estuary, dowtown Nanaimo, Protection Island and Gabriola Island.
related – sea2peak trip report
NEW – New River Gorge National Park
As coal declines, , outdoor recreation has stepped up to fill the gap in recent years, bringing $9 billion annually to West Virginia.
Heart this on Twitter.
Meet America’s newest national park: New River Gorge
https://t.co/cKTfi98lsY
— Outside (@outsidemagazine) December 24, 2020
Merry Christmas
The Salt Path by Raynor Winn
Winn and her husband Moth, who was diagnosed with a terminal illness, became homeless after a bad investment and decided to walk the 630-mile (1,010 km) South West Coast Path. …
In September 2019 it was the number one bestselling book in UK independent bookstores.
An excellent read.
The couple had not hiked for decades. Pretty much everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.
And they survived on an income of about £40 a week.
related – Couple walked 630 miles and lived in a tent after bad investment left them homeless
Juan de Fuca Trail, Vancouver Island
Our #1 hike in the world — West Coast Trail — was closed all of 2020 due to COVID. Hopefully it will reopen in 2021.
Right next door is the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail.
It’s one of the great alternatives to the WCT. Logistics are much easier. And it’s less expensive.
Vancouver Island experts MB Guiding have a Juan de Fuca Marine Trail Guide online.
Check that for planning. And get a copy of the best hiking guidebook – Coastal Hikes.
Father of the FKT – Buzz Burrell
The poster boy for Fastest Known Times is Kílian Jornet Burgada.
As I post, Kilian holds the fastest known time for the ascent and descent of Matterhorn, Mont Blanc, Denali and perhaps Everest.
But it’s Buzz Burrell who really popularized the concept, co-founding fastestknowntime.com with Peter Bakwin and Jeff Schuler.
Those three run the site on a voluntary basis. And it’s a ton of work.
Buzz himself had been racing routes for decades. He set the FKT on the Colorado Trail in 1999. The FKT on John Muir in 2000.
This interview with Buzz will fill you with respect. Buzz co-hosts his own audio show called the FKT Podcast.
