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…
Have you ever heard of the Choquequirao trek in Peru? I had not until I spent some time looking through active vacations on the G Adventures website. I don't know how this superb 8 day trek slipped by me. I'm familiar with the other three treks that deposit you at Machu Picchu - the Inca Trail, the Salkantay trek and the Lares trek. But the Choquequirao trek is the only one I'd recommend, now that…
The Mount Lady MacDonald hike out of Canmore is one of a handful of early season hikes that delivers a great workout along with spectacular views. It's a popular trail as we discovered, with most hikers turning around at the heli-pad. If you don't mind a little scree - or snow if it's spring time, then continue up past the heli-pad on the Mount Lady MacDonald hike until you reach the knife-edge ridge. You'll have…
If you're a skier or boarder from Alberta or British Columbia there's a high probability that you've been to Kicking Horse Resort, one of Canada's world-class downhill skiing destinations. While it's renowned for its spectacular alpine setting, long runs and abundant snow in winter, it's equally beautiful in summer. From the top of the Golden Eagle Express Gondola enjoy sweeping Rocky Mountain views. Then look way down and you'll see the Columbia River Wetlands snaking…
If you're looking for a long but glorious out and back day hike in Kananaskis Country then the Centennial Ridge hike up to Mount Allan should fit the bill. If you want to turn it into an epic day, do the Centenial Ridge hike one-way and then from the summit of Mount Allan descend to Dead Man's Flats. You'll need a car shuttle to do that. Finding the trailhead(s) for either end of the Centennial…
The Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) is one of the top long distance hikes in Europe, and in fact the world. It delivers superlative, pristine mountain scenery day after day for over a week. The hiker's Tour of Mont Blanc is a 168 kilometre loop around the base of Mount Blanc, the highest peak in western Europe at 4810 metres (15,782 feet). Most Tour du Mont Blanc hikers start just outside of Chamonix, France if…
The hike to the Petra Monastery was the highlight of my day in the rose-coloured city of Petra. The Monastery, called Ad Deir in Arabic, is half-carved, half-built out of rock. It was completed sometime in the 1st century by the Nabateans, a group of nomadic Arab people. The impressive facade of the Petra Monastery measures approximately 45 metres high by 50 metres wide. While it resembles the Treasury, the most famous of the many…