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Category: North America (Page 3 of 13)

Several US National Parks now require reservations to access

2022.05.05 /

America’s national parks are becoming more and more crowded. Some parks are extremely busy during the summer.

Out of necessity to preserve fragile ecosystems, some of the more popular are choosing to restrict visitor traffic with a reservation system.

Acadia National Park, located near Bar Harbor, Maine, is among the smallest and most popular national parks in the United States with more than 3.5 million visits a year. Growing visitation has caused severe traffic and parking congestion at the park’s most popular destinations. Recreation.gov has info on gaining access to the Cadillac Summit Road.

On January 3, 2022, Arches National Park, located near Moab, Utah, implemented a pilot timed entry reservation system to enter the park from April through October, 2022. Visitors will need three things for their visit, 1) timed entry ticket, 2) photo ID, and 3) park entrance fee OR valid park pass. Learn more at Recreation.gov

Glacier National Park, located near West Glacier, Montana, is implementing a vehicle reservation system from May 27 through September 11 this year. In addition to a vehicle reservation, visitors also need a park pass. There are two areas of the park affected by the vehicle reservation system. More at Recreation.gov

Rocky Mountain National Park, near Estes Park, Colorado, now requires each vehicle carry a special pass to enter the park between May 27 and October 10, 2022.

Shenandoah National Park, located just 75 miles from Washington, D.C. As of March 1, 2022, those wishing to hike Old Rag are required to purchase a day-use ticket.

Yosemite National Park, is crowded. Even in winter months. To cut down on congestion, a reservation is required to drive into the Park from May 20 through September 30, 2022.

Zion National Park, located on State Route 9 in Springdale, Utah, is piloting a permit program to hike Angels Landing starting April 1, 2022. The program provides a fair process that will improve visitor experience and protect park resources along Angels Landing. Permits will be required at all times of the year and times of day.

Neal Moore crossed the US by canoe » a 22-month 7,500-mile journey from coast to coast

2021.12.20 / / 0 Comments
Photo of Neal Moore in a 16-foot red Old Town Penobscot canoe on a river in the wilderness

Photo: Neal Moore (via Explorersweb)

Corey Kilgannon / NY Times 🔒 »

Mr. Moore began in the Columbia River in Oregon, crossed several northern states and traveled down to the Gulf Coast by last winter. By early 2021, he was headed back up to the Great Lakes and to New York State, where he followed the Erie Canal to the Hudson River and ultimately to the Statue of Liberty.

“I wanted to see the country up close and personal at this interesting time, with the pandemic and all the political strife, to find out what it actually means to be American today,” Mr. Moore said.

“I felt like I followed that light shining all the way across the country,” he said later. “My journey was one of illumination. So to finally see that beacon up close, that flame of liberty, after seeing it in so many people I met across this land, it was overwhelming.”

Traveling by river became metaphoric: Just as rivers connect towns and cities, Mr. Moore said, he began exploring connections between people often separated by race, class and political stripe.

Elsewhere » 22 Rivers / Explorersweb / Adventure Journal

The 15 Northernmost Capital Cities of the World are all in Europe

2021.08.14 /
15 Most Northern Capitals in the World are all in Europe

15 Most Northern Capitals of Europe (via MapPorn)

At a latitude of 64.1466° N, Reykjavik is the world’s northernmost capital city. Only Nuuk, the capital city of Greenland, which sits at 64.1814° N, is further north than Reykjavík. However, Greenland is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark. Geographically, Greenland is part of the continent of North America.

  1. Reykjavik, Iceland (Latitude » 64.1466° N)
  2. Helsinki, Finland (60.1699° N)
  3. Oslo, Norway (59.9139° N)
  4. Tallinn, Estonia (59.4370° N)
  5. Stockholm, Sweden (59.3293° N)
  6. Riga, Latvia (56.9496° N)
  7. Moscow, Russia* (55.7558° N)
  8. Copenhagen, Denmark (55.6761° N)
  9. Vilnius, Lithuania (54.6872° N)
  10. Minsk, Belarus (53.9006° N)
  11. Dublin, Ireland (53.3498° N)
  12. Berlin, Germany (52.5200° N)
  13. Amsterdam, Netherlands (52.3676° N)
  14. Warsaw, Poland (52.2297° N)
  15. London, England, UK (51.5074° N)

In comparison, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada sits at a latitude of 45.4215° N.

Facts » Reykjavík is the only Western European capital without a McDonald’s or a Starbucks. The only other European capital without a McDonald’s is Tirana, Albania. Rome, Italy is Starbucks-free.

*Russia, is so vast, being the largest country in the world, and most of it within the continent of Asia. However, some consider Moscow, geographically at least, within continental Europe.

The most expensive mountains to climb in the world

2021.07.30 /
Mount Everest

Mount Everest

To compile the list of the most expensive mountains to climb, Outforia looked at everything from the cost of joining a guided climbing group, acquiring the necessary permits, the required equipment, to guides and sherpas to hire.

Carl Borg, Outforia »

Scaling the highest peaks in the world requires a combination of hiking, rock climbing, ice climbing, and cold endurance, which naturally makes it quite a niche activity. You need to be mentally and physically ready, have expert skills and equipment, be experienced and aware of the dangers, as well as being able to fund your trip.

As there is so much preparation and equipment involved in tackling these daunting climbs, they can cost eye-watering sums in total. You’ll likely be going as part of a guided group, led by someone who is familiar with the mountain and has completed the climb multiple times before.

The top 10 most expensive climbs in the world (US$)

  1. Mount Everest, Nepal » 29,032 ft » : $84,123
  2. Mount Vinson, Antarctica » 16,067 ft » $46,618
  3. Cho Oyu, Tibet » 29,906 » $33,703
  4. Puncak Jaya, Indonesia » 16,023 » $27,449
  5. Denali, United States » 20,310 » $12,086
  6. Monte San Lorenzo, Argentina » 12,159 » $9,095
  7. Mera Peak, Nepal » 21,247 » $9,000
  8. The Eiger, Switzerland » 13,025 » $8,462
  9. Aconcagua, Argentina »22,841 » $8,395
  10. The Matterhorn, Switzerland » 14,692 » $8,212

Neal Moore is paddling across a changing America, from Oregon to New York

2021.07.17 /
Neal Moore (Source » ExplorersWeb)

Neal Moore (Source » ExplorersWeb)

Martin Walsh, ExplorersWeb »

I reached Memphis halfway, at 3,750 miles, on November 3 [election day]. The vast majority of the map I’m plying on this journey is solid red. Minus a few blue dots between Portland, Oregon, and NYC.

Funny, I just paddled past my very first Republican flag on a boat on the Ohio River the other day. It featured simply an elephant and the word “Republican”. It is the first Republican banner I’ve seen on this expedition that didn’t scream Trump. Or include a Confederate Flag on the same pole. Or shock with catchy expletives.

I think we are coming right as a nation. I took a ride over the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Bridge, the longest continuous bridge over water in the world, as the inauguration played out live. As Amanda Gorman delivered her poem of hope, The Hill We Climb. And what I found on the streets of New Orleans later that day were kids of color in motion, laughing and pulling wheelies on their bikes along lower Bourbon Street. The city, the nation, I myself, could breathe.

More »

Neal Moore »

Video » Trekking Assiniboine » from Sunshine Village to Mount Shark

2021.07.15 /

Trekking from the Sunshine Village (AB) ski resort near Banff to Mount Shark (AB) along the Alberta (AB) / British Columbia (BC) provincial border.

Rick McCharles at Best Hike calls this one of the world’s ten best.

The folks in this video did the hike in 4 days. Best Hike recommends 6 days.

This area is part of the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks UNESCO World Heritage Site which includes the contiguous national parks of Banff (AB), Jasper (AB), Kootenay (BC) and Yoho (BC), as well as the Mount Robson (BC), Mount Assiniboine (BC) and Hamber (B.C.) provincial parks.

Video below…

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From coast to coast to coast, Dianne Whelan explores Canada during six-year odyssey on the Trans Canada Trail

2021.07.02 /

Gordon McIntyre, The Province »

On Day 10 of the journey I realized I had not even completed what I thought I could do in one day.”

So she lit a small fire and burned her schedule.

“And I stopped measuring my journey by how many kilometres I did in a day,” Whelan said. “I like to tell people that’s the day I dropped my rabbit suit for the turtle shell and realized not everything of value can be measured numerically.

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Top 30 countries ranked for adventure (2021)

2021.06.09 /

The US News and World Report has again ranked countries according to how well they break from the norm and fulfill people’s wanderlust and desire for adventure.

The top 30 adventure rankings for 2021 are »

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Updated » Cyril Derreumaux has been rescued from his 4,450 km solo kayak to Hawaii

2021.06.07 /
Cyril Derreumaux and his custom-made kayak named Valentine

Cyril Derreumaux and his custom-made kayak named Valentine

Updated 2021.06.11 »

After more than four days of holding in place and waiting for things to get better, Derreumeux made the difficult decision to call the U.S. Coast Guard for a rescue.

A helicopter was dispatched in the night to retrieve the ocean kayaker, who was airlifted off the water and flown back to shore. Once on land however, it didn’t take him long to start thinking about resuming the journey.

Updated 2021.06.07 »

After just a week, Cyril Derreumaux has abandoned his attempt to kayak alone to Hawaii. He set off on May 31, and although the first few days went smoothly, conditions deteriorated over the last 72 hours. He eventually called for rescue.

Derreumaux had not moved since June 4. Because of the rough weather, he deployed his sea anchor and stayed inside the cabin.

Yesterday, winds reached 55-65kph with gusts over 80kph. The waves towered to 4.5m. He also had an issue with his sea anchor but couldn’t try to fix it in such weather.

Earlier…

Rebecca McPhee for Explorersweb »

On May 31, Cyril Derreumaux dipped his paddle in the Pacific and began his 4,450km solo kayak from San Francisco to Hawaii. The 44-year-old hopes to complete the journey in 70 days.

His custom-made kayak Valentine — named after his sister –- includes an enlarged watertight aft cockpit for sleeping and storage of some of his 140 kilograms of equipment and supplies. This makes his experience quite different from the iconic paddle that Ed Gillet did in 1987, using an off-the-shelf sea kayak. Gillet, the only person to kayak from the U.S. to Hawaii, was the inspiration for Derreumaux’s project.

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Please tread lightly, pack out your trash, and treat every person and location with respect.

Please do not bury waste or wipes – even those that are biodegradable. Always pack out bags, sanitary wipes, and feminine hygiene products to minimize impact on the environment and the spread of disease.

If you find any errors, have any tips, or see anything that might need improving, please let me know.

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