North Coast Trail BC

by Erik Olsen on

A brand spanking new trail is opening this August on Vancouver Island, and all gadling fans should take note. The
North Coast Trail on the northern side of the island
promises 31 miles of hiking, camping, biking and general outdoor fun. Honestly, this is an opportunity to tread some
nearly untouched North American terrain.

It’s a pain in the arse to get there. You have to take a pricey water taxi, but it is utterly going to be worth it.
This is God’s country and with the new trail opening a true once in a lietime opportunity.

Hiking Trails in Oahu

by Adrienne Wilson on

The best part about traveling to exotic islands nestled in the middle of the Pacific and decorated
by large volcanoes and mountainous valleys has got to be the variety in recreational
activities.  Yes, the beaches are drop dead gorgeous, stunning, beautiful and often packed with tons of
chatty tourists so the best way to get off the beaten track is to make tracks. 

Luckily the ever-so fabulous island of Oahu in Hawai’i has got several trails for hikers.  The
Backyard Oahu site might be the perfect place to sit down and start planning
which trails you want to tackle ahead of time.  84 different trails around the island can be found here as well as
a list especially made for tourists, with the most common tourists trails.  I am guessing this is another way to
pinch the wallets of travelers and even if it isn’t, it would really defeat the purpose if you were trying to
escape picture-taking, crazed, beach-going folks in the first place.  The list of visitor trails all
range from little to moderate difficulty.

The Wonderland Trail

by Erik Olsen on

Here we are on a nice July 4th weekend. The sun is out, fireworks will soon be set off, beer consumed.

Check out the Wonderland Project. The goal here is to run
Wonderland Trail in Washington…the full thing. The trail circumnavigates Mt. Rainier, and the goal was to run it in a
single 24 hour period. Of course, it stands to reason that the two guys doing it happen to be ultramarathoners.

The two: Skye Thompson and Zac West have been trainging together for years, and the short film covers their grueling
race (face it…it can’t be easyy to run for 24 hour straight) from start to finish. Really superb. 

Latitudes Magazine – Darfur, Greenland and More

by Erik Olsen on

I really, REALLY like this new magazine
called Latitudes. I’ve blogged about it before, but they have a new issue
out that is equally stunning, if not superior to the first. The problem with the magazine is that the whole thing is in
Flash, so I can really link to any of the stories in it. The site pops of a big window and you have to navigate the
stories by clicking at the bottom of the page. Oh, and make sure you select the English version, unless, of course, you
speak Italian, because the magazine is Italian, though there is an English version.

Anyway, this month’s issue has some truly amazing imagery of Darfur,
Polynesia, Paraguay, Spain and Greenland (the island images are particularly good). The magazine focuses more on photos
than text, so the dyslexic and reading-challenged among us (or just the lazy) will have a very easy time off it. I’d
like to link to all of the stories here, but you should take the time to open the magazine and take a look. And take
note of some of the small surprises in the magazine. Some of the images actually move.

The Color of Your Pee

by Erik Olsen on

Some long-time gadling readers might wonder if we have a bit of a
scatological fascination with pee. Not true,
but when nature calls, you do have to pick up the phone, and there have been some pretty interesting stories about
doing number one.

For example, over at Divester, I posted about
the important things you can learn about the state of your health merely by checking the color of your pee. This
article actually features a color chart wherein
you can determine your level of hydration, a matter of no small importance to everyone from hikers to divers.

The article actually goes deep into the physiology of dehydration and makes for a superb read. At the very least I’ll
bet it will get you to head out to the store pronto to get your hands on a bottle of Poland Springs.