Today. 🙂 Flying to Santiago, Chile. Wish me luck.
Category: hiking
arriving Santiago, Chile on Jan 13th
Goal #1 is hiking in the Andes. I’m planning to start about 250km south of Santiago.
The 64-story Gran Torre Costanera Center will be new to me. I last visited Santiago about 10yrs ago. Observation deck on the 62nd floor.
… Santiago is located in the country’s central valley, at an elevation of 520 m (1,706 ft) above mean sea level.
Founded in 1541, Santiago has been the capital city of Chile since colonial times. The city has a downtown core of 19th century neoclassical architecture and winding side-streets, dotted by art deco, neo-gothic, and other styles. …
Click PLAY or watch a travel promo on YouTube.
(via Adventure Blog)
arrived Himalayas
I flew north out of Delhi over the Himalayas. Leh in sparsely populated Ladakh is in the rain shadow, not affected much by monsoon.
This is one of the very best hiking destinations in the world in September. Spectacular arid, jagged mountains.
I’ll walk the most famous trek for sure – Markha Valley. Perhaps another after that.
I’m staying at Hotel Chube for the first 3 nights. Will likely leave my luggage there when I go off trekking.
Everything fantastic so far. Bright sunshine. Warm weather. Gorgeous vistas. 🙂
flying to India in September
Though I’ve spent well over a year traveling the subcontinent, I’ve never been to the hiking mecca of Ladahk. I land in Leh September 11th, 2015 to do Markha and more.
AT A GLANCE
- Markha Valley is the most popular hike in Ladahk, northern India, bordering Tibet
- easy access out of Leh
- 6-8 days
- 111km (69mi)
- early June to mid-October
- moderate-demanding
- big risk of altitude sickness
- 2-3 high passes (4900m-5200m)
- several nights at very high altitude
This is the Tibet of India. 🙂
hiking Colorado Trail via Silverton railway
I’ll be back to civilization around Aug 2nd. 🙂
One of the most unique mountain backpacking treks in the U.S. starts aboard a coal-powered steam locomotive and ends among a herd of mountain goats grazing at 14,000 feet. This trip isn’t for the faint of heart, but if you’re down for busting a sweat and can swallow any niggling fears of heights, you’re in for an unforgettable experience.
The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad departs each morning from the southwestern Colorado city of Durango, on the edge of the San Juan Mountains. You’ll load all your camping and hiking gear onto the 100-year-old train and ride in an open-air car as you ramble up a steep, winding track that, at times, practically clings to the cliffside high above the Animas River. …
Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad
farewell Carbondale, CO
Thanks Brion and Betsy for hosting. I had a great time hiking and biking out of your mountain town.
We met in Nepal 2013 trekking the Manaslu Circuit.
Since then they’ve added a new hiker to the family. 🙂
gone hiking …
I’m off (and offline) somewhere in the Colorado Rockies. 🙂
night walk in Costa Rica
My first night in the cloud forrest I signed up for a 2 hour night hike.
I’d done something similar twice in the past: 1) Amazon and 2) Nepali jungle. Both were terrific. This one was too.
There are a number of choices. But Kinkajou Night Walk seems to be the most popular.
We saw a kinkajou. A sloth. Tarantula, sleeping toucans, frogs, snakes and huge insects. I’d not imagined a cockroach that large. Not even in a nightmare. The Walking Sticks are cool.
Somebody forgot to email me the memo reminding to wear long pants and long sleeves when walking through a jungle at night with a flashlight. I was the only person wearing shorts.
It’s spooky enough to keep your adrenaline high. One beetle or another is regularly flying at your head.
Recommended.
South America next winter
I stayed in Canada this past winter. What a mistake. How can people live in this frozen wasteland? 🙂
January I’m tentatively (again) planning to travel to Patagonia for hiking and cycling. Here’s some inspiration.
Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.
That stunning footage was taken over a 5 week trip through Chile | Bolivia | Ecuador | Brazil | Argentina | Peru.
(via Adventure Blog)
Texas, Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica
Tickets booked.
NCAA Women’s Gymnastics Championships 2015 in Fort Worth.
Then in April returning to Panama City and San Salvador as a volunteer for the International Gymnastics Federation. And adding a new nation (to me) on the same trip – Costa Rica.
As driving might take 97 hours, I’ll fly. 🙂
I’ll stay in Costa Rica an extra week or so to do some hiking.
Rick McCharles 