One of the BEST reasons for signing on with a Guiding Company is how they take care of your toilet needs.
When toilets are available, they plan stops. When tenting away from civilization, they provide excellent and sheltered toilets.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
by BestHike editor Rick McCharles
Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube.
MacMillan Provincial Park is a 301-hectare (740-acre) provincial park in British Columbia, Canada. Located 25 km (16 mi) west of Qualicum Beach and 16 km (9.9 mi) east of Port Alberni, the park straddles Highway 4 and the Island Rail Corridor in central Vancouver Island.
The park is home to a famous, 157-hectare (390-acre) stand of ancient Douglas fir, known as Cathedral Grove, which draws visitors from all over the world.
… the only highway-accessible protected old-growth Douglas-fir forest in British Columbia.
In 2007 Cathedral Grove made the short list on CBC‘s competition Seven Wonders of Canada.
My video includes parts of both loops. AND some shots outside Cathedral Grove, in the Provincial park.
I stop every time I drive highway 4.
Dozens of times, so far.
It is a fantastic short day hike.
The longest, highest, most diverse mountain range in the continental United States is not the Rockies. It’s the Sierra Nevada range in California.
Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Yosemite … everyone loves these mountains.
In the summer of 2007 we met a hiker there who enjoyed 41 days in a row of perfect weather. Where else in the mountains can you get that? (Starting day 42 he had pounding hail and was at risk of death by lightning.)
The range is about the same size as the Alps, 430mi long, 40-80mi wide. It’s all great.
Many come here specifically to climb Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous States. Others come to see astonishing Yosemite Valley. And to scramble Half Dome.
Lower elevation hikes are accessible year-round. The Parks are within easy driving distance of major urban areas and, unusual for the USA, have good public transportation. Kids love this region.
In fact, everyone leaves John Muir’s “Range of Light” elated.
More information on our new Sierra Nevada information page.
Our favourite hike in the Sierra Nevada is the John Muir Trail, our #2 hike in the world. (Every photo of the JMT is a postcard.)
See our JMT Information page.
A good starting point is the somewhat dated Lonely Planet Hiking in the Sierra Nevada – Mock & O’Neil, 2002. There are many other good guidebooks for this region, however.
British Columbia is a fantastic hiking destination. BUT campgrounds and some of the best hiking areas require difficult-to-aquire permits — most famously, the West Coast Trail.
Happily, Taryn Eyton, author of Backpacking in Southwestern British Columbia, details many great hikes that DO NOT require permits:
Backcountry permits are not reservations. And they don’t sell out.
Taryn has more advice for hikers in this post:
related – 37 BC backpacking trails that do not require a reservation
Cerro Castillo is definitely one of the top hikes in Patagonia.
Access is comparatively easy, as well, via picturesque highway — the Carretera Austral.
Jumping off point the city of Coihaique, Chile.
Normal route is 62km (38.5mi) plus sidetrips.
Check our Cerro Castillo information page.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Hiking in the rain can be miserable.
AND hiking in the rain can be wonderful.
You can hike the Pacific N.W. every day of the year. BUT many of those days will have a threat of rain.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. The joys and challenges of … wet weather.
TIPS:
Having tried many systems over the years, I’m happiest now with …
Hooded Insulator Jacket (washable) No blisters. The shoes dry quickly. )My feet do get wrinkled after a couple of hours, however.)
If the rain really starts coming down, I’ll add an inexpensive Frogg Toggs waterproof jacket on top.
Since I bought a Hyperlite 3400 Windrider backpack, I’ve not used a pack cover. It’s quite rain resistant. Everything inside is protected from wet and water.
Check this REI post – How to Go Hiking in the Rain
Of course if lightning and thunder threaten, take shelter immediately.
Camping in the rain is definitely more challenging.
related – Miranda has some thoughts on Frogg Toggs. 
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
The Haute Route, from France to Switzerland, is one of our top 10 hikes in the world.
Click PLAY or watch a 1 minute introduction on YouTube.
Chamonix to Zermatt, Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn – in two weeks of mountain travel you will see the greatest collection of 4000 metre peaks in the Alps!
Read more on our Haute Route information page.
Waqrapukara or Waqra Pukara (possibly from Quechua waqra horn, pukara fortress, “horn fortress”) is an archaeological site in Peru located in the Cusco Region …
It was declared a National Cultural Heritage Site by the Ministry of Culture in July 2017. The building is said to be an Inca sanctuary.
At 4,140 m (13,580 ft) you seriously need to be acclimatized to make the 10k trek roundtrip.
BBC posted a trip report.
Check Puyca Expeditions to see how you could be guided to the remote site.
Dianne Whelan is the only person to complete The Great Trail (Trans Canada Trail), a network of greenways, trails, waterways, and roads that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic oceans.
It extends over 24,000 km (15,000 mi); it is now the longest recreational, multi-use trail network in the world
Hiking, biking, paddling, snowshoeing and skiing.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
You’ve probably seen Alice Ford on her popular hiking YouTube channel and website.
NOW Alice has a TV show for the next 12 weeks on on KSPS (PBS) every Saturday and Tuesday.
Easier for most of us will be watch it on the PBS app.
