I tried upping my street cred (okay, hiking cred) recently while having pints with a group of fellow hikers. Emboldened by a pint (or two) of IPA, I claimed out aloud: “You know, you could say that I’ve hiked with Robert Redford and Martin Sheen.” The deafening silence was quickly followed by an outburst of derisive laughter that basically suggested: “Dream on, dude!” While I haven’t actually hiked with either of these stars—I have shared…
The Pickle Jar Lakes hike is a standout if you're a fan of mountain lakes. And judging by the popularity of this Kananaskis hike, people love a lake as a destination. Four lakes. Even better - though not all are equally beautiful. Be sure to go as far as the third of the Pickle Jar Lakes as it's the prettiest of them all. This post includes some affiliate links. If you make a qualifying purchase…
This post on the Camino de Santiago Walk is sponsored by Moon Travel Guides. Planning the Camino de Santiago walk across northern Spain just got a whole lot easier. In April 2019 Moon Travel Guides released a new book - Moon Camino de Santiago: Sacred Sites, Historic Villages, Local Food & Wine in a format every walker will appreciate. Back in 2007 when my daughter hiked the 780 kilometre Camino de Santiago for the first…
The Fitz Roy trek in Los Glaciares National Park is one of the best hikes in Patagonia. The park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1981, is located in the Austral Andes of Argentina. The gateway town is El Chalten, about a three hour scenic bus ride from El Calafate - where there is a decent sized airport. Los Glaciares National Park is best known for its day hikes rather than multi-day backpacking trips, though…
Look out your airplane window as you fly into Hong Kong and you can't help but be wowed by the density of development and the sheer number of skyscrapers packed into a space the size of six Washington, DC's. But what most people don't realize is that Hong Kong is more than a big city. It's an archipelago of 236 islands and islets - and a hiker and nature lover's paradise. While locals are very…
I've wanted to hike to Rockbound Lake in Banff National Park for some time despite the fact it's one of the 'don't do' hikes in the book Don't Waste Your Time in the Canadian Rockies. The author actually suggests "it helps to wear colourful boot laces so you'll have something interesting to look at." But when it's late October and you still have the itch to hike in the mountains where do you go from…
Our second to last day of hiking in Mallorca took us from Soller to Alaro but we cheated as most people do and started the day with a taxi ride to the Cúber Reservoir. We did that for two reasons. The day before had been a "rest day" so we had already hiked a couple of hours on the route to the reservoir and the thought of repeating the route - despite it being very…
The island of Mallorca is home to the Serra de Tramuntana - a 90 kilometre long chain of mountains along the northwest coast of the island. The rugged mountain range is dotted with peaks with the highest point, Puig Major, standing 1,447 metres above sea level. Within the mountain range is an extensive network of footpaths - some that date back to 902 - 1229 when the Moors ruled the land. The GR221, also called…
Turkey's Cappadocia region is justifiably famous for its fairytale landscape of wild rock formations and cave dwellings that date back thousands of years. Although ballooning is considered to be one of the best ways to appreciate the landscape, exploring the Rose Valley on foot at your own pace is a wonderful way to experience it. Hiking in the Rose Valley Cappadocia The Rose Valley figures prominently in most tours of the Cappadocia region. I figured…