Escondido Falls, Malibu, CA

Escondido Falls is a great day hike in Malibu and is accessible right from the Pacific Coast Highway on Winding Way Road. There's a small carpark on PCH. If that's full you can park right on the side of the PCH. To get to the trailhead, you walk down the road past the multi-million dollar mansions and in about 10-15 minutes you'll see a sign and a path on the left that slopes down the hill. At the first two path junctions take a left and you'll reach a small waterfall with a refreshingly cool pool of water underneath it. It's too shallow to swim in and due to all the rocks it's a bit tricky to get into the water but it feels great to put your head underneath the falls on a hot day. From here, there are several paths leading further up. The easiest one is on the right and rises gently at first then gets very steep. Once you climb up and through the boulder crevice you find yourself on a very small rock ledge which fronts a 20+ metre drop. I have to admit, it's a bit unsettling if you don't like heights but the view of the falls a bit further up from this point is awesome. From here there is a web of tracks that aren't signposted so you have to do a bit of path finding but almost all the trails invariably lead to the top of the hill.

On the way down, you have to press your back against the smooth side of the boulder crevice while pressing your hands and feet on the other wall. Think of walking on all fours...vertically. It's actually not as hard as it first seems but be sure to wear a shirt for this bit. And be ready to use your hands for the very steep descent back into the forest from here. Remember the easy path going up I mentioned earlier? It's important to keep left and try to take this path back down to the smaller falls. If you take one of the other routes like we did you'll have to find your way down some near vertical rock faces which you definitely don't want to fall off of unless you don't mind breaking a bone or two.

Tongariro Alpine Crossing, New Zealand

The Tongariro Alpine Crossing is easily one of the best day walks in the world. You've probably seen its best known highlight Mount Ngauruhoe starring in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy as Mount Doom. But there's more to this walk than tracing Frodo's steps. Starting just above 1000m you're already in an alpine climate zone devoid of any large plants. As you steadily hike up even higher vegetation all but completely disappears and all you see is a beautiful alpine landscape. Looming in the distance is Mount Doom and Mount Tongariro.

About 1.5 hours into the walk the turnoff for the Mount Doom summit track starts. The hike up to the summit takes about 2 hours and there is no well formed track. You can follow in other's footsteps or do your own route finding. I found out later that it's best to stay to your left going up and coming down. At the summit you're treated to a large volcanic crater and stunning views if the sky is clear. The clouds flew through the valley really quickly so it's worth spending some time at the summit if have it. It's also worth it to walk around the summit at least halfway so that you can get a nice view of the Emerald Lakes. The path down requires you to almost slide down a steep side of the volcano. It's much easier than it looks so long as you let the loose volcanic ash take you down.

The next bit of the track is flat then starts going uphill to the Red Crater. From near here you can either summit Mount Tongariro or carry on to the Emerald Lakes. I didn't have enough time to do the Mount Tongariro sidetrip so I carried onto the lakes. The view from above the lakes is really stunning and the path down is really steep. It's another slide down loose volcanic ash which I was used to by now.

After the lakes you come across the Mount Ruapehu Crater Lake. It's worth it to stop here for a look back at the Red Crater and Mount Doom. If the sky is clear you can get an incredible view of them lined up. It's truly breathtaking. From here the track climbs a bit up to a rest hut then steadily decends down below the tree line to the end point. This bit accounts for nearly half the track and I didn't find it nearly as interesting as the first half so I practically ran through it. The buses generally give you 8 hours to do the walk, which, if you walk quickly, is just enough time to summit Mount Doom and finish the track in time for your pickup.

Abel Tasman National Park, New Zealand

Abel Tasman National Park is the most popular national park in all of New Zealand based on the number of visitors annually. The main draw are the excellent secluded beaches and range of outdoor activities available. The most popular of which are kayaking, tramping, and camping. The park is located about 1.5 hours from Nelson and there are numerous tourist buses waiting to take you there and back. Since I'm not much of a kayak person I opted to do the Coast Track. I arranged a water taxi to take me from the nearest town of Marahau to the beach Tonga. Since I had a car I had all day to do the walk from Tonga to the carpark at Marahau, a total distance of about 26km.

The track itself is mostly flat with a few hills and hugs the coast. I stopped off at just every beach and took a quick dip into the cool water which was really great after getting sweaty from tramping. The water this time of year is approximately 20C, which is really refreshing. The water taxi dropped me at Tonga at 10:30AM and got back to the carpark in Marahau at around 7:00PM. I could've gotten back sooner but I took my time at each beach soaking up some sun, enjoying the cool seawater and taking in the incredible views. All in all it was a great day and I would highly recommend a visit to anyone who's going to New Zealand's South Island.

Kaikoura, New Zealand

Kaikoura is a beautiful little town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The road into and out of the town hug the rugged eastern coast and has some very sharp turns. The town is famous for its abundant wildlife. There are several seal colonies within a few km of the town centre, all easily accessible by road. The main activities are whale watching via sea and air, swimming with dolphins, and swimming with seals. Since the former 2 are really expensive, I went for the seal swim (70NZD). It started with a quick drive to the seal colony then we walked along the coast to another colony and went into the water armed with snorkels, fins, and very thick wetsuits. The seals were very playful and warmed up to us immediately. They were zipping around us and were just as curious with us as we were with them.

The one thing in Kaikoura that is a must-do is the Peninsula Track. It's a 2-4 hour return walk from the town centre. It's a very easy walk and the views you get are simply stunning. If it's a clear day it'd be a shame to not do it.

Scenic Sapa

When you arrive in Sapa you can’t help but wonder if you’re still in Vietnam. The first thing you notice is the cooler temperature. Sapa is at an elevation of 1650m and boasts a much more temperate climate when compared to the rest of Vietnam. The next thing you notice is the architecture of the town; it feels like you’re in the a ski town in the Alps. To add to that effect, there’s a plethora of Italian and French restaurants offering affordable fine dining at approximately 5USD per dish.

The main attractions in Sapa are the treks to nearby hill tribe villages and to the summit of Vietnam’s tallest mountain, Fansipan (3143m). Given my prior trekking experience I wanted to give Fansipan a shot so Dasha and I signed up for a 2day/1night trek. We were joined by an Austrian couple on a rock-climbing holiday through SE Asia. After I spent a few hours ridding myself of the nasty computer virus I got off someone’s memory card the previous day we then spent the first day in Sapa exploring the town and sleeping since we arrived at 05:30 via the overnight train.

The Fansipan trek started with an 08:00 pickup from our hotel followed by a 30 minute drive to the starting point (1900m). We were accompanied by an English speaking guide and 2 porters. I quickly realized that my fitness level had fallen off sharply in the last 3 months since completing the Annapurna Circuit. It was impossible for me to keep up with the Austrian couple and our guide. It wasn’t the difficult terrain or the altitude that slowed me down; it was my poor level of cardio fitness that held me back. I kept thinking to myself how I was able to trek for 2 weeks straight. The walk from the starting point to the camp site (2800m) took about 4.5 hours. We took lunch there and then headed for the summit. Once again, I quickly fell behind the Austrian couple and our guide (Dasha wasn’t feeling well and stayed at the camp). Thoughts of giving up floated through my mind but I took frequent breathers and kept going. The terrain on this stretch was very steep and involved quite a bit of rock scrambling. After nearly 2 hours I finally reached the summit and was ecstatic that I could finally rest and take in the view. The trek back down to camp took about 1.5 hrs and was by far much easier than the way up but still required quite a bit of care since the track was very muddy and steep.

Back at camp we all huddled by the fire as the sun fell and the temperature dropped. Dinner was surprisingly really good and even more surprising the portions were so massive that the 4 of us couldn’t finish it all. A glass of the local rice wine was included as well. After dinner we chatted for a bit then the entire camp went to sleep. Sleeping bags were provided however they were rectangular summer bags and were totally inadequate for the 5C weather. Everyone was freezing and in the morning no one said they got a good night’s sleep. Other groups of trekkers were also provided summer sleeping bags and shivered throughout the night as well. I think I maybe slept about 1 hour all night and feared that I might lose a toe to the cold. I also had to pee but held it all night since it was pitch black outside, freezing cold, and I would have to change back into my dirty trekking clothes and could possibly fall into the mud.

The following morning we had breakfast then made our way down the mountain, stopping for lunch at the 2200m campsite. From here it was another 2 hours to the end where our ride was waiting for us thanks to our guide who phoned ahead. Back in town we decided to stay another night to rest, shower, and launder our dirty trekking clothes. Then I treated myself to a fancy dinner at an Italian restaurant for 7USD J

Great Treks

Already did the Inka Trail, next on my list is the Annapurna Circuit :D

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/travel/27personal.html?fta=y

Machu Picchu, Peru - Sep 2009

In my opinion, you can only really appreciate Machu Picchu if you've hiked to it. 3 full days of hiking, camping, visiting ruins, and not showering leads up to possibly one of the most spectacular views in the world overlooking one of the most culturally significant places in the world. Even though by this point you're at around 7900ft / 2408m elevation, but it's not the altitude that takes your breath away.

This is why I travel.