Working on an Organic Farm

by Erik Olsen on

New Zealand has got lots of great things to do: bungee jumping,
rafting, hiking, mountain biking. But maybe you want your visit to have more meaning than what can get from these fun,
but perhaps somewhat selfish, adventures.

WWOOF New Zealand offers travelers the opportunity to stay and work on
organic farms in Kiwiland. You have to contact the WWOOF folks and
join up with them, but then you can get assigned to work on a farm in the country, eating the fruits of your labor and
enjoying an experience that very few folks ever get. You stay between five days and a few weeks or more. And if you
really like it, maybe you can stay and grow turnips there for the rest of your life. Or tend sheep. There are probably
worse ways to finish out your years than hanging out with a bunch of sheep. Or maybe that’s what your life is like now
anyway?

Adventure Expo: Earth River Expeditions

by Erik Olsen on

Without question one of the great trips I came across here was organized by
Earth River Expeditions (the site is excellent, by the way…spend some
time here). ERE is run by Eric Hertz, who lives here in upstate New York, but whose trips to Chile are legendary.

He and his wife have four camps down around the Futeleufe River where there is rafting, bouldering, hiking,
whatever. Sounds hard-core, but “anyone and everyone can do these trips” he told me. One of the cool things about Hertz
is that a bunch of the property he has bought down in Chile is set off from development of any kind. He’s one of the
pioneers down there, along with guys like Doug Thompkins who are setting off land from industrial development. He’s
also just a really cool guy.

Backcountry With NOLS

by Erik Olsen on

Here’s a solid piece that talks about the
National Outdoor Leaership School (NOLS) experience from a guy who took the backcountry skiing course in Wyoming. The
tetons to be exact. It’s basic, but a nice narrative of what one goes through in a NOLS course. The whole NOLS
experience sounds amazingly educational, but intensely rigorous. Good way to work off that holiday flab.

Bullish on Bhutan

by Erik Olsen on

The Times Sunday travel section (sometimes it’s great to live in New York where it comes on
Saturday) runs a piece on the allure of Bhutan
which has recently eclipsed Cambodia as the Asia destination du jour. And why not? I love Cambodia, but man, is can
get hot there. Especially around Angkor in the summertime. Whew. And so instead, hit the high road and go up to
the atmosphere, up where the air is clear, oh let’s go…to Bhutan!

The article hails Bhutan as the place to go “in search of a spiritual journey, a hiking adventure – or just a chance
to experience a place before the rest of the world gets there”. Well, if it’s the cover of the NYT, it’s probably too
late for that, don’t you think?

I’d love to hear opinions about Bhutan. I’ve never been there, but it is easily in my top 5 places to go in the next
few years. What’s it like? Is tourism already ruining the place? Are the people there jaded by Americans yet? Is it as
beautiful as it seems? Come on, people, inquiring minds want to know!

Top 100 Trails

by Erik Olsen on


Here’s a list that might be of interest. Mountainzone’s

top 100 trails in the US. Actually, the list comes from trails.com, which says it uses both a Nielsen ratings-type
measurement system for trail popularity and usage, as well as the votes of more than 10 million subscribers
and visitors to the Trails.com website. Taking a look at it (Breakneck Ridge Trail in New York is first) it seems to be
based more on population that pure quality. Also, the AT is broken up into several segments, which I suppose is
reasonable, but wouldn’t it have gotten number one of it were left intact?