Classic Treks: The Pacific Crest Trail

by Kraig Becker on

When it comes to long distance hiking, the U.S. is blessed with several great trails, the most famous of which is the Appalachian Trail, which covers more than 2,175 miles, running from Maine to Georgia. For many, the AT is the standard for long distance hiking anywhere in the world, but others prefer the lesser known, and longer, Pacific Crest Trail, which runs from the Mexican border to the Canadian border through the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges.

First designated as a national scenic trail back in 1968, the PCT stretches 2,650 miles in length, passing through California, Oregon, and Washington in the process. The trail mainly stays in deep wooded areas, rarely passing close to civilization, and across its length, it enters six unique ecosystems, including high and low deserts, old-growth forests, and arctic-alpine regions as well. The trail wanders through some iconic landscapes too, including the Mojave Desert and Yosemite National Park, while passing within the shadows of Mt. Whitney, Mt. Hood, and Mt. Rainier.

Each year, roughly 300 people attempt to thru-hike the entire length of the Pacific Crest Trail, which requires anywhere from four to six months to complete. About half are actually successful in their bids. Many more hikers cover smaller segments of the scenic and challenging route, which ranges in altitude from sea level to 13,153 feet at its highest point.

What many people don’t know, is that the PCT is actually an equestrian trail in addition to hiking. Its entire length is accessible on horseback, and many riders make long distance mounted journeys each year as well, preferring to explore the remote regions of the country while in the saddle instead of on foot.

Regardless of how you decide to explore it, the Pacific Crest Trail is one of the top long distance hikes anywhere in the world. It offers diverse scenery and remote trekking that is very different than what is found on the Appalachian Trail, or just about any other major hike. Those qualities set the PCT apart and should put it high on the list of any backpacker.

Sustainble Farming Program in Uganda Offers Hope and Help

by Kendra Bailey Morris on

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park (BINP) in Uganda is well-known throughout the world as the home for nearly half of the world’s population of critically endangered mountain gorillas. However, gorillas are no longer the only entity on Uganda’s endangered list. Bwindi’s local people have also felt the brunt of years of illegal logging and other activities which have slowly degraded the area.

Fortunately, the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park was established as a national park in 1991, and was initially designed to protect both its treasured gorillas along with its precious and deteriorating forestland, and as of today, the program has been a great success. Yet, while the park itself has benefited from a surge in tourism (thousands of visitors pass through the park every year on pricey gorilla treks), Bwindi locals have not been able to reap much financial benefit from the increased tourism, which in turn, has caused considerable conflict amongst the community.

Much of this socioeconomic dichotomy has been contributed to revenue loss due to the procurement of food products designed for local lodges and restaurants coming from outside the area (as far as a ten hour drive away). Considering the most common livelihood for locals is subsistence farming, and that the area’s soil is extremely fertile, developing a farmer’s association where locals could gain cash income by supplying fruits, vegetables and other products to a growing tourism industry seemed a natural solution.

Thus, the Bwindi Advanced Market Grower’s Association (AMAGARA, which means ‘life”, in the local language Rukiga) was born, and it has been evolving ever since.

Situated only four kilometers from the BINP gate, visitors can get a firsthand glimpse at the association’s gardens, which boasts everything from fiery red chili’s to sweet honey (harvested from their own bee hives). Guests of AMAGARA can take a personal tour led by on-site team members which offers education on how the association operates and how a wide range of growing techniques are taught to local farmers. Cooking classes featuring the traditional cuisine of Uganda are also offered daily, and are led by the institute’s professionally trained chef, Moses, who shares his personal recipes and cooking tips, including a few rather interesting twists on classic dishes.

An on-site garden shop sells a wide selection of gifts including packaged honey and tea from Bwindi. Purchases from the garden shop directly support the work of AMAGARA as well as that of the local community.

For traveler’s looking for a complete African Mountain Gorilla safari, Volcano Safaris, a company that specializes in great ape ecotourism and who is a well-known leader in its industry, has recently partnered with AMAGARA. As part of their gorilla trekking safari, which already includes tracking in the BINP and lodge accommodations, guests can also tack on a visit to AMAGARA when staying at the Volcanoes Bwindi Eco-Lodge. The lodge, which overlooks the forest, features eight bandas and utilizes only local materials and solar energy. Meals are prepared on-site and highlight produce purchased directly from AMAGARA.

–Kendra

New website helps visitors explore the waterfalls of the Olympic Peninsula

by Katie Hammel on

The heavily-forested Olympic Peninsula, a slice of land that juts out into the Pacific in the far northwest of Washington state, is home to 24 major waterfalls. In an effort to make it easier for visitors to find and explore the different falls, Grays Harbor Tourism, Jefferson County Tourism Coordinating Council, and Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau have joined forces to launch a new website, OlympicPeninsulaWaterfallTrail.com.

While the waterfalls and the hiking and biking paths that surround many of the them have been around for years, the website and its handy guide map are new.

The 24 falls and their surroundings vary widely. There are the beautiful Sol Duc Falls in Olympic National Park , the tiered falls of Gatton Creek near Lake Quinault, and the Wynoochee Falls that form a pristine swimming hole, among others. There are cascades that thunder and others that barely trickle. You can hike, bike or drive to most, while a few are only accessible by boat. Some gush all year-round and others ebb and flow with the seasons. Some are easy to get to and others should only be visited by the more physically fit.

The website helps classify these various falls and makes visiting them easy. It’ll show you pictures of each waterfall, explain how to get there, and warn you of any hazards you’ll face along the way.

Primal Quest adventure race comes to South Dakota

by Kraig Becker on

This week, Primal Quest Badlands gets underway in South Dakota, where coed teams of four will embark on a ten-day long, non-stop adventure race across 600-miles of challenging backcountry. They will run, trek, mountain bike, and paddle their way across the course, with a little spelunking and climbing thrown into the mix for good measure.

Billed as “the World’s Most Challenging Human Endurance Competition”, the race will also require the competitors to navigate their way, using just a compass and map, through a series of checkpoints that are strategically placed across the course. Teams with excellent navigation skills will save time, and energy, while inexperienced navigators can easily get lost, costing the team precious time.

Unlike many other long distance races, Primal Quest runs non-stop once the starting gun sounds. That means that the teams will be racing for up to ten days, with little sleep or down time. Sleep strategy actually plays an important role, as the athletes will need to decide how long they can go without rest, and how long they can afford to sleep. While the race is underway, most teams will get just two hours of sleep each night, while burning as much as 8000-10,000 calories per day.

Primal Quest Badlands begins on Friday morning, and until that time, the details of the course will remain tightly under wraps. We do know that it will run through the Black Hills, the Buffalo Gap Grasslands, and of course the Badlands themselves. The stunning landscapes will make for an amazing backdrop to the human drama that will play out over the 600-miles of pain and suffering that await the endurance athletes who will challenge themselves in this event.

Hiking the Appalachian Trail in the winter

by Kraig Becker on

We’ve mentioned the Appalachian Trail on more than one occasion here on Gadling. Stretching from Maine to Georgia, the AT is one of the most iconic trails anywhere in the world, and each year thousands of backpackers flock to it to hike some or all of its 2178 mile length. Most go in the summer months, when the weather is more predictable and comfortable. But according to this story from the Times Online, an increasing number of trekkers are taking on the trail in the winter as well.

In the story, the author and a friend take on a section of the trail that passes through Connecticut in the dead of winter. Over the course of three days they hiked in quiet solitude with a blanket of snow in all directions. At first, the weather was comfortable enough, with temperatures in the upper 30’s Fahrenheit, but when night fell, it dropped into the 20’s, and later a cold snap set in, with daytime highs not even breaking out of the teens.

Winter camping can be a challenge in the best of conditions, and proper gear is of the utmost importance. These two intrepid hikers came well equipped, but still struggled on their adventure, mainly because the snow made if difficult to find the trail at times, which can be a bit scary considering the implications of getting lost in the mountains with freezing conditions.

It is difficult to think about hiking the Appalachian Trail in winter when the heat of August is still with us. But for those looking to experience the trail in a very different way, this may be just what they are looking for. The colder months bring a new set of challenges of course, but traffic on the trail is practically non-existent, and the winter setting offers up a different level of beauty.