Trekking to Everest Base Camp

by Kraig Becker on

When it comes to high altitude treks, the hike up to Everest Base Camp is amongst the most popular, and for good reason. It combines fantastic views of the Himalaya with cultural immersion in Nepal’s remote Khumbu Valley, along with a healthy dose of physical challenges.

If you’ve ever wondered what such a trek would be like, than look no further than this story from the Australian newspaper The Age. In the article, travel writer Carol Nader makes the journey and returns to tell the tale of long days hiking Himalayan trails and nights in Nepali villages and sleeping in tea houses.

All told, the trek takes eight days up to base camp, which sits at 17,585 feet, and another four back down. Arrival at BC was a bit anti-climactic in Carol’s case however, as the rocky and nondescript campsite offered little in the way of fanfare. On top of that, heavy snow clouds hung low over the mountains, blocking the the summit of Everest, and the surrounding peaks, from sight. But the clouds parted, the sun shone, and the snow capped mountains came into view at last, and the entire journey all seemed worthwhile.

Clearly, the trek isn’t for everyone. It is challenging and difficult and the altitude can humble even the most fit. On top of that, there are no showers in sight, and the overnight accommodations are far from luxurious. But there is a strong sense of accomplishment upon reaching your destination and, as the author discovered, a serene sense of peace at escaping the hectic pace of modern life. How far would you walk to achieve that?

North Face Triology Expedition Underway on Cho Oyu

by Kraig Becker on

In the High Himalaya the Monsoon has moved on at last and the fall climbing season is well underway, with mountaineering teams already taking up position on the world’s highest peaks as they prepare to make their climbs before the frigid winter sets in.

One such expedition, sponsored by gear company The North Face, has set its goals very high. While most are content with reaching the summit on any one of the very tall mountains in the region, which includes Everest, topping out at 29,029 feet. But for the Cho Oyu Trilogy Expedition the summit is just the start of the adventure.

Cho Oyu is the sixth tallest mountain in the world and falls on the border of Nepal and Tibet. It stands 26,906 feet in height, and sits just ten miles to the west of Everest. It is often regarded as the easiest of the fourteen 8000 meter peaks to climb, which may be why the Trilogy team has decided that after they reach the summit, they needed to add a little more excitement to their expedition.

The plan is for climbers Simone Moro, Elizabeth Hawker, Herve Barmasse, and Emilio Prevatali to summit the mountain along two different routes. Upon reaching the top, Prevatali will climb onto his snowboard and attempt to make his descent along Cho Oyu’s north face, while the rest of the team descends on foot.

Once everyone is safely back in base camp, the second phase of the expedition will begin, with Moro and Hawker putting on running shoes and running all the way back to Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, while their companions, Barmasse and Prevatali, make that same journey on mountain bikes. That journey is approximately 275 miles in length, with an average elevation above 15,000 feet, ensuring quite the aerobic workout.

Needless to say, this will be an incredible adventure for the team, and along the way they’ll not only pass through some of the most scenic spots on the planet, they’ll also be exposed to Tibetan culture in the form of tea houses, Buddhist temples, and quaint mountain villages.

Classic Trek: The Overland Track, Australia

by Kraig Becker on

Australia is a country with plenty of remote backcountry and an abundance of good hiking trails as well. It is an adventure travelers paradise, with opportunities to backpack your way through unique environments that include deserts, mountains, rain forests, and more. Perhaps the most famous of all of the Aussie trails is the Overland Track, located in the southern most state of Tasmania.

The 40 mile long Overland Track runs from Cradle Mountain to Lake St. Clair, and is well known for its pristine beauty. Generally speaking, it takes roughly five to six days to complete the trek, which is mostly over moderately difficult terrain that can vary greatly in nature. In addition to the usual path, there are a number of extensions for those looking for a longer experience, including a loop around the lake and another that runs to the summit of Cradle Mountain.

While the Track can be hiked in either direction, most choose to go North to South, as it allows hikers to pass through the region with the most volatile weather first, and make no mistake, the weather can be volatile on the Overland. Because of its southerly location, backpackers will have to deal with consistently high winds, as well as regular, and often heavy rainfall. Winter hikers will have to face the potential for heavy snow as well.
But those that brave the weather are treated to amazing scenery that was carved by retreating glaciers during the last ice age. The results are sharply contoured mountains, rock gorges, and plenty of thick rain forest surrounding the trail. This mixture of alpine and jungle trekking helps to give the Overland Track a unique feel, although it is regularly compared to the Milford Track in New Zealand, which is also a well known trek.

Aside from the scenery, there is plenty of very unique wildlife to be spotted along the way too. Trekkers often spot large lizards, wallabies, wombats, Tasmanian devils, and even platypus along the way.

A series of trekking huts can be found at regular intervals along the route, offering those hiking the trail a place to sleep and escape the elements. The huts are unattended, and visitors can stay in them free of charge, although they are open on a first-come, first-served basis. They do tend to fill up quickly and because of this, trekkers are encouraged to bring tents with them just in case there is no room at the inn when they arrive.

The best time to walk the Overland is from December to May, as the weather is a bit more mild and consistent. Roughly 8000-9000 visitors hike its length each year, which means that it is mostly uncrowded, even during the high season. No matter when you come however, be sure to bring plenty of gear for all weather conditonis, as it can change quickly and can even be potentially dangerous.

As if you needed one more reason to visit Australia, add the Overland Track to your list of great treks of the world and then take the adventure for yourself. You’ll be rewarded with an experience that you won’t soon forget.

Update: It has been brought to our attention that there is a new system in place that requires anyone hiking the Overland Track between November 1 and April 30 to book their trek in advance and pay a facility fee before they set out on the trail. For more information on these requirements and the Overland in general, click here.

Summer 2009 a record setting one for Yellowstone

by Kraig Becker on

The National Park Service has announced that it was a record setting year in Yellowstone, with nearly 2.3 million visitors crowding into the national park in June, July, and August. This is an increase of 124,000 over the previous record which was set back in the summer of 1999. Even more interesting, visitation to Yellowstone is up 8.1% for the year-to-date over 2008, and easily surpassed the record for those months as well. Back in 2007, 2,511,790 people went to the park between January and August, while this year that number stands at 2,654,378.

A number of factors are probably contributing to these increased numbers. For example, in the summer of 2009 we have enjoyed cheaper gas prices over 2008, which means more people are willing to drive for their vacation. On top of that, the global economic conditions have caused some travelers to scale back their plans to travel internationally, with many choosing to stay closer to home and travel within the U.S instead.

Of course, here at Gadling, we’d like to believe it was all of those reminders about the fee free weekends that we posted throughout the summer when every national park was free for one weekend in June, July, and August. Those weekends surely helped Yellowstone reach this new record as well. It probably didn’t hurt that President Obama took his famil on vacation there too.

Explorers discover ‘lost world’ in Papua New Guinea

by Kraig Becker on

A team of explorers from the U.S. and Britain, along with locals from Papua New Guinea, recently descended into the volcanic crater of Mount Bosavi, where they discovered a “lost world” with a host of new species that have been evolving in isolation for thousands of years. The crater is more than a kilometer deep and three kilometers across, and lacks the major predators that are often common in rainforests around the globe. The result, is that many creatures were able to adapt to living side by side in an environment that remains nearly completely cut off from the outside world.

In the five weeks that the explorers and scientists were in the crater they found a wealth of interesting creatures, including kangaroos that live in trees, a new type of bat, and a fish that makes grunting noises. They also discovered 16 new species of frogs, including one with a set of fangs, as well as a new breed of rat that my now hold the record as the largest in the world.

The scientists on the expedition were surprised and amazed at these discoveries, and are now making renewed calls for the preservation of rainforests across the planet. The amount of new species they found in just five weeks makes you wonder what else is out there, still hidden in the jungles, that we don’t know anything about. There is still a lot of this world left to explore and plenty of new things to discover, despite what we might think.