Hiking

The rocky slope is dusted with light snow and coated with freezing rain. I take one more big step—slowly and carefully--and then another. Here, on the steepest part of this storied route, the next step is the only one that matters. These are the so called Golden Stairs leading to Chilkoot Pass, and a similar caution must have been the mantra of hardy miners who plied this cruel slope in 1898. Here, the most trying section of the long ascent climbs steeply up past the “Scales,” the historic rocky ledge where miners had to prove they carried the requisite weight of equipment and supplies to pass muster with the Mounties.

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In it's biggest gathering of the year, the Pacific Crest Trail Association will host it's Trail Fest event this month in Sacramento. The March 28-30 celebration is expected to draw hundreds of hikers, backpackers, trail maintenance volunteers, equestrians and other trail aficionados to the Wildland Fire Training and & Conference Center in Sacramento for three days of programs and events.

"This is an opportunity for those who have done the trail, or parts of it, or just want to, and those who volunteer to maintain it, to gather and share their enthusiasm for the classic route," said Jennifer Tripp of the Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA).

The Pacific Crest Trail runs from the Mexican border to the Canadian border along the crest of the Sierra and Cascade ranges. Along with the venerable Appalachian Trail, the PCT was designated a National Scenic Trail in 1968. It is generally considered to be one of the three classic long distance hiking routes in the lower 48, the so called Triple Crown of American hikes.

The route traverses 26 national forests, 8 national parks, 4 state parks, 2 BLM management areas and 33 federally mandated wilderness areas. It reaches more than 13,000 feet at Forester Pass in the Sierra, and drops as low as 100 feet at the Columbia River on the Washington-Oregon border.

This month's trail fest will feature a number of events that highlight the unique qualities of the Pacific Crest Trail:

? Mary Chambers, who at 10 years old became the youngest person to through-hike the trail, will speak (she is now 14 years old).

? Arlen Blum, best known for leading an expedition of women climbers on Nepal's Annapurna, will also speak.

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Seattle photographer Dave Schiefelbein has based his photographic career around his excursions to the backcountry. Backpacking, mountaineering, snowshoeing and skiing are the methods that bring him to his ultimate playground...the wilderness spaces of North America. What does he find there? "The things that fuel my addiction to those places," he says.

"When people ask me why I do what I do, I tell them I like feeling the morning breeze stop and then witnessing the calm moment of a big mountain reflected in a still lake. I like the peacefulness of walking alone across a plateau of untracked snow. I like the distinguishing spectacle of a tree in spring. I enjoy equally the last gasp of a setting sun or a setting moon. I'm intrigued by the odd juxtaposition at sunset when a cold and frozen lake looks like it's on fire."

Schiefelbein's ability to depict the majesty of wild places provides the viewers of his images with the same calming sensations of solitude sought by those who travel to those astonishing environments.

Dave's photographs are sought after by both private collectors and commercial/editorial clients throughout the world. His work is presented by Getty Images and Danita Delimont. See his early gallery on GreatOutdoors.com.

Rested now after the long journey from Auckland, and already missing the warm spring sunshine of New Zealand. Here in Seattle it's back to the reality of a wet, cold Pacific Northwest winter. This final of four hiking trips to New Zealand in the past five years showed me parts of the country I had not visited before, and left me longing for the warmth of the Marlborough district.

After finishing the 71 kilometer Queen Charlotte Track I spent one more night in Picton, and the next day visited some wineries and Peter Jackson's (director of Lord fo the Rings) museum of World War I airplanes before heading to the small airport at Blenheim; the combination made for a unique final day in New Zealand. With hikes in four distinct districts--the Bay of Islands, and Cape Reinga, and Lake Waikermoana before the Queen Charlotte--this was a visit that reflected all the secret tips I had picked up on in the five years of coming here.

The fact is, there are so many beautiful places to see down here, traveling and hiking in New Zealand can keep you busy for a lifetime. But it's the personal connections I make with the people of this island country that keeps me coming back. When all is said and done, that's the best part of any trip to New Zealand.

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From Gisborne, I flew to Welllington on an Air New Zealand Beechcraft 1900, and then made the short hop over Cook Straight to the town of Blenheim, in the center of the famed Marlborough wine growing region. But my goal was another classic hike, so I made the half hour drive to the resort town of Picton, the South Island terminal for the ferries coming over from Wellington.

 I had an afternoon to catch up on my notes at the comfortable Yacht Club in the heart of funky, laid back Picton before departing early the next morning to do the Queen Charlotte Track with Ray Waters, a guide for Marlborough Sound Adventures, and New Zealand's masters-level half-marathon champion. We caught the Cougar Line shuttle out to Ship Cove, a famous bay that became Captain Cook's base of operation, a place he stopped five times between 1770 and 1779.

Most people take four days to do this impressive 71 kilometer route up the spine of the peninsula separating Queen Charlotte Sound from Kenepuru Sound, but if you make the long trek out to Punga Cove on day one you can do it in three long days, about 23 kilometers per day. A unique feature of the route is that it's a bit like trekking in Nepal--you can do it with a day pack, while the boat, and not a yak or a porter, takes the rest of your gear onto the next stop. The light load makes the long days no problem.

Ray and I hiked up and over the ridge, then made a complete circuit around Endeavor Inlet, arriving in Punga Cove by 4. Yet another unique feature of this relatively new route, built in 1995, is that it connects a number of former boat-in only accommodations that are way beyond the level of hiking hut. At Punga Cove, as at all the stops, you get a resort quality room, with food and wine to match. It's positively sinful, but this civilized style of hiking can be habit forming.

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We warmed up on a couple of uniqe routes in the northern most part of New Zealand, the Cape Brett Track, 90 Mile Beach, and the Herekino Forest walk, but it was time to take on one of New Zealand's Great Walks: in this case, the Lake Waikaremoana Track. There are only nine such designated hikes in the country, and the Lake Waikaremoana route is one of only two Great Walks hiking routes on the North Island.

Located in the sprawling 212,000 hectare Te Urewera National Park, fourth largest in in New Zealand, the route covers 46 kilometers around the deepest lake in on the North Island, set in the middle of one of the most remote regions of the country. Most people take four days to cover the route, but with a tight schedule, I had to do it in three. Fortunately, I had the right company.

In 2002 I had hiked one of New Zealand's premier trails, the Routeburne Track, with Rob Franklin. When I learned that he had transformed his passion for hiking into a profession by forming Walking Legends, a hiking guide and logistical support service for Lake Waikaremoana area, I asked him to join me. On any big route in a far-away place, it's crucial to have someone with local knowledge along, otherwise you miss a lot of cool detail.

As we followed the varied terrain along the lake shore, through the dense forest and up onto the highlands that form the climax of this stunning route, Rob filled me in on the unique history and culture of the area. One of the few predominately Maori regions of New Zealand that never came to treaty terms with the government, the Tuhoe people of the region to this day exercise a degree of cultural and political independence that is unusual. This, after all, is the people once lead in the late 1800s by the iconic Maori leader, Takooti.

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Peter Griffith, the hard bitten Kiwi who has worked for decades to save the ancient forest in the country's far north, picked me up at the lodge and drove Nick Mason and me to the trailhead for the gnarly 17 kilometer Herekino Forest Track.

While routes in the north such as North Cape to Cape Reinga, 90 Mile Beach, or Cape Brett are better known, this full on rute through one of the most diverse forests in New Zealand shows you a different side to the region. The Herekino forest contains remnants of old growth forest that escaped the loggers ax because it was just too difficult to get to. Hikers who do this newly restored trail can get a glimpse of what this part of New Zealand looked like before it was cleared for farming. Nick, who has been tramping these woods since 1980, was the perfect companion.

A woodworker as well as an avid hiker, Nick appreciates the different qualities of the many species of trees that make up the dense forest, and brings that perspective to the hike. In about eight hours on the steep, winding trail, we saw most of the major tree species of New Zealand: tarari, tawa, rata, rimu, totara, miro, and rewa rewa, to name a few.

But the highlight comes about three hours in when you reach a grove of giant kauri trees. Prized by shiprights for masts, the towering trees once covered the west coast of New Zealand. Now only a few remain, so impressive that the Maori people of the area gave them names, like people, recognizing them for the individuals they are. The biggest of all, a little south of here, is called Tanu Mahuta. The big grove of kauris made the elevation gain and muddy trail worth the effort.

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From Russell, it was a three hour drive up and over what New Zealanders call the Far North, the very northern frontier of their country, along two lane blacktop roads that are virtually empty.

Even though this is the most northern and therefore wamest part of the country, it is sparsely populated, and mostly agricultural. Tourism is a growing part of the equation, howver, not surprising, given the beauty of the beaches and green hills. I took the ferry back over to Paihia. then followed State Route 10 to Mangonui, a small town on a pretty cove on Doubtless Bay.

I stopped in for a BLT there--these are on most menus up north, and theybear little resemblance to their North American counterparts. On homemade bread with thick slabs of bacon with lots of fresh vegetables, they make a hearty lunch.

I got to Ahipara by 1, and from there another 15 minutes to Taharangi Marie Lodge on the south end of 90-mile beach, one of the longest hiking routes in New Zealand, which starts here and goes all the way to Cape Reinga, the northern imost point in New Zealand and one that resonates with the mythology of the Maori Culture.

When I arrived, owner Ron Adams drove me south along the beaches where he regularly harvests dinner for the lodge guests, super fresh seafood meals of abalone and clams. Ron knows the area as well as anyone, and his wife Connie and young son make you feel like you've come home. This is the quintessential Kiwi lodging up here in the far north, shared when I was there by two European couples, one from Germany and one from Britain. The couples occupied the upstairs rooms at the lodge proper, while I had my own house down by the beach. I was lord of my own mannor, and it's a place I hope to return to again, when I've got more time to absorb the tranquil beauty of this remote coast.

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When Captain Cook first sailed off the coast of New Zealand he spied a prominent peninsula of land, and named it after a trusted officer: Brett Piercy. Little did he know it was also the landing site of what may be the very first Polynesian travelers to arrive on New Zealand and later evolved into the indigenous Maori culture.

The rich history of the place adds interest, but the 17 kilometer hike from the Maori settlement of Rawhiti out to the cape is a great backcountry adventure in itself. There's lots of ways to do it, best is to get a lift from Russell about an hour out to Rawhiti at the end of the road, and just hike out to the cape. The route follows the ridgelines of the seven peaks that form the dragon like spine of the peninsula.

The Department of Conservation has turned the lighthouse keepers house into a hut, with gas cookers and bunks. It's a dramatic place to spend a few days whether it's stormy or sunny. I'm on a tight schedule, so to save a day Peter Stuart of Cape Brett Walkways chartered a boat to take us out to the Cape early in the morning so we could hike back, and thereby see the whole route. Jeremy, the driver of the high performance inflatable was actually making an epic beer run out to a remote lodge on one of the islands, before heading off to dive on a newly sunken former New Zealand navy frigate. The warship was sunk just last Saturday to provide a recreational dive location for the Russell area.

Like most Kiwis, Jeremy was happy to abet the cause of fun, so was good with a short detour to drop us off before heading for the wreck. The Cape Brett track itself, which was used by the lighthouse keepers before the light was automated in 1978, is in pretty good shape, just be prepared for four or five thousand feet of elevation gain as the route follows the peaks and descends to the water on several occasions. Plan on seven to eith hours for a one-way traverse.

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Hello, this is GreatOutdoors.com editor Peter Potterfield. It's Springtime in New Zealand, a good time to head down for some hiking just as the snow begins to fly in North America. I'll be flying from Seattle to Los Angeles, and from there down to Auckland. It's a long flight, about 14 hours, but well worth it when you step off the plane into a Kiwi spring. I'll hang in Auckland for a short day getting the gear and equipment I couldn't fly with, and then head up to the Bay of Islands region, into a small airport called Kerikeri, on Thursday, Nov 8, New Zealand time. My goal is to hike out to the end of Cape Brett, overnight there, and hike back. We'll see how the weather goes. The funky and historic beach town of Russell is the logistical staging area, and with any luck I'll get in some kayaking as well. Stay tuned, I'll try to update the blog daily, newest reports on top, as internet access allows. From Bay of Islands, it's over to the Northland West Coast for 90-Mile Beach and the Herekino Forest Track, then down to Gisborne for the Lake Waikaremoana Track, then down to Blenheim on the South Island for the four day Queen Charlotte Sound Track.

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Winded from the exertion of climbing the rocky slope, I take a moment to lean on my trekking pole and gaze out across the sweeping green fields of western Ireland. From up here, above 2,000 feet on Croagh Patrick, I can see all the way to Clew Bay. "Croagh" is a Gaelic word meaning high, sharp mountain, and we've often seen the peak looming in the distance as we've hiked village trails all over County Mayo. Now that I'm here, I see Croagh Patrick is even steeper than it looks, and honest work to get to the top.

This is a very special place for Irish people: nothing less than St. Patrick's sacred mountain, the summit where he spent 40 days and nights in solitude. I'm aghast at how unprepared some of the hikers are, despite the bad weather, until I realize that for many who come here the strenuous ascent is more religious pilgrimage than recreational outing. As for me, I'm here strictly for the hiking, but I've grown to admire the saint for his Celtic cross, Ireland's familiar religious icon, one that symbolizes the coming together of Catholics and pagans so long ago.

As I climb up into the thick, menacing cloud that's quickly forming on Croagh Patrick's summit, and make out the ghostly outline of the small white chapel perched on the very top, I'm reminded there's no separating Ireland from it's long past. Where ever you go here, you are confronted with history. We've spent the last week hiking up the West Coast of Ireland, starting in County Clare, traveling up through County Galway and County Roscommon and finally to here, County Mayo.

On every walk we've seen the layer cake of this small country's long history laid out before us. It's a veritable litany of human habitation: there's a megalithic grave over there, a Neo-Gothic abbey there, a medieval castle over there, the ruins of a potato famine village on the hillside--even a new condo on the shoreline reflecting the current prosperity.

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Liz Cave is obviously a pro as she paddles her kayak tirelessly across the choppy surface of Stewart Island's Paterson Inlet toward our secluded camp on the small beach. After a week on the trails of this stormy island, it's a relief to give my knees a break and put the load on my upper body as I crank along beside her. After doing the Rakiura Track, one of New Zealand's "Great Walks," and portions of the more interesting--if much more strenuous--Northwest Circuit Trek, it's good to be on the water, and even better to see blue sky and some Southern Hemisphere sunshine for the first time in days.

I first came to New Zealand three years ago to try renowned backcountry routes such as the Milford and Routeburn Tracks. But every first trip to a far-away place is really a recon, and I found myself intrigued by talk of Stewart Island, and some of the lesser known backcountry routes on the main islands. So I'm back for a second visit to venture deeper into the unique landscapes of this isolated island country.

Liz is putting a pleasant coda on my long backcountry sojourn, showing me by sea kayak some of the seldom seen places she finds alluring here on Stewart Island, at the extreme southern tip of New Zealand. Down here in the Roaring Forties, where the weather is mostly wet and windy, 98 per cent of the island's terrain is either national park or Maori preserve. Separated by the stormy Foveaux Strait from New Zealand's South Island, Stewart Island is the most remote inhabited place in country, but it's a wilderness paradise for hikers and kayakers.

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GreatOutdoors.com editor Peter Potterfield takes his job writing about backcountry adventure to heart. The author of a dozen books on outdoor adventure, including Banff Book Festival winner High Himalaya and Classic Hikes of the World, he tries each year to visit some of the classic adventure locations around the planet while seeking out new ones.

"The world of adventure is dynamic," he said, "and those of us passionate about it are always seeking new opportunities. People get addicted to outdoor adventures because it keeps them healthy physically and spiritually. Hikers and climbers and paddlers will spare no expense to do the old favorites, the classics, or find something entirely new and different. Covering that world makes for interesting work."

These articles follow the progress of the Planet Ice project, which consists of a book of photographs and essays and a related touring exhibition examining ice at the poles, in the mountains, and on the Equator. This project will take me to the Mountains of the Moon, the Alps, the Andes, the Himalaya, Greenland, Iceland, and the polar ice caps in a little over two years.

The impetus for creating this book is two-fold. First, I always admired Austin Post's black and white photographs in his book, Glacier Ice, written by Ed Lachappelle. It illustrated the many forms ice takes as it works on the surface of the earth. I envisioned a color version of Post's seminal work, with a more abstract, less didactic point of view.

Second, I visited the Columbia Icefields in Canada's Jasper National Park some years ago. In 1975 I strapped on my crampons and hiked to a crevasse at the toe of the Athabaska Glacier where a friend and I practiced ice climbing technique for the first time. The next day we climbed the 1,800 foot North Face of Athabaska with miserable gear and next to no skill. Upon my return, I found the place I learned to ice climb was now gravel, with the ice hundreds of feet up the hill. When I learned that the famous ice pitches on the North Face of the Eiger had also ablated into nothingness, it hit me that an important part of the world was vanishing at incredible speed.

Although I had shot glaciers and ice flows in the past, I knew I needed to assemble a critical mass of striking images to persuade a publisher to take on the project. A voyage to Antarctica in 2006 gave me the opportunities I needed.

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From dense forests to boiling mud to a trio of smoking volcanoes-trekking the Tongariro Crossing is a walk on New Zealand's wild side esterday I was sipping a glass of Sauvignon Blanc at an outdoor cafe' with a view of the sails in Auckland's shimmering Waitemata Harbour. Today I'm hiking through a lunar plateau with two million years of volcanism underfoot and two active cones smoldering ominously overhead. My vacation plans didn't include being teleported back to the Pliocene epoch, but, happily, the aesthetic is always this cataclysmic in Tongariro National Park. And the only time-travel that's required to get here is a 45-minute flight to Taupo and an hour-long drive across New Zealand's lush North Island.

The spectacular geothermal setting is the backdrop for the Tongariro Crossing, a ten-and-a-half-mile (17 kilometers), point-to-point hike billed by the Department of Conservation (DOC) as the country's "best one-day walk." Given the number of visitors, it may be on its way to becoming one of the top day hikes in the world. "In 1990 a busy day on the crossing was maybe a hundred people," says Jimmy Johnson, DOC hut warden coordinator for the area. "Now we're getting close to 700."

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The work of adventure photographer Dave Schiefelbein is marked by his eye for the authentic. A photographer both of outdoor-recreation and the backcountry that drives it, photographer Schiefelbein's work is guided by his long-term fascination and attraction to wild places. Through images he attempts to capture wilderness not only in its glorious splendor, but also in its quiet moments and subtle details. Schiefelbein brings a cerebral approach to photography, working to record on film what writer Edward Abbey called the "extraordinary beauty of wild and lonely things." His work has appeared in numerous books, calendars and magazines including Sierra, Audubon, Forbes, Outside, Backpacker and Sunset. Schiefelbein's photography is represented by Getty Images.

A three-day excursion down into Owl Canyon and back up out of Fish Canyon had shown us why backcountry lovers come from as far away as Europe to hike this part of Southern Utah. This is Cedar Mesa, pinion and juniper covered high country that soars to more than 7,000 feet, cut through by hidden canyons that slice deeply into the red-rock layer cake of the Colorado Plateau. Grand Gulch is the popular hike here on the Mesa, famous for both its scenic canyons and iconic ancient ruins. We chose the Fish and Owl loop in the hopes of a more solitary experience, but one with similar allure.

Our party was small, just Bob, a friend and inveterate canyon explorer from Salt Lake City, and me. We had camped on slick-rock benches above the canyon floor, and beside surprising, gurgling streams that run through the arid terrain. We had seen not just the beauty of Utah's desert wilderness, but tantalizing signs of the long lost Anasazi culture. These were the "ancient ones," a people who for centuries called the place home before their civilization suddenly disappeared from the Mesa some 800 years ago. Granaries (small food-storage structures), rock art, and the remains of dwellings and even kivas (underground ceremonial structures the likes of which are still used today among Native groups such as the Hopi) added a unique element to our days on the trail.

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