The John Muir Trail is one of the most famous hiking trails in North America, if not the world. It runs between Yosemite Valley and Mount Whitney with thousands of people making the hike every year. But what do they miss along the 160 mile trail. So many hikers speed walk through it, without noticing the details.
Credit to Casey @ Modern Hiker for bringing this video to my attention. A new documentary coming out that follows several hikers for 1 month on the JMT.

Duct Tape Then Beer – an outdoorzy creative media company put together by Fitz Cahall (of the Dirtbag Diaries) – produced a video series for Outdoor Research, called The Classics. Seven short stories that take you on kayaking, backpacking, skiing and climbing adventures. What’s not to love.
We’ll share these stories with you here on the Adayak Blog. Below is a backpacking adventure in the Wind River Range, Wyoming.

Backpacking the Wind River Range. It should be the right of passage for any trail lover. Titcomb basin connects a series of trails …

I am a sucker for a good timelapse – well, Finding Oregon isn’t just good … it’s great. Take a journey through the backcounty of Oregon, discovering the magnificent night sky along the way.

Finding Oregon is the compilation of six months of timelapse photography across the state of Oregon, punctuated by a 1600 mile road trip in September. We’ve filmed the Columbia River Gorge, Mt Hood, Mt Jefferson, the Southwestern Coast, the Alvord Desert, Leslie Gulch, Blue Mountains, Crater Lake, Eagle Cap Wilderness, Deschutes River, and more. We’re proud to …

I came across a very well done video this morning called “High Divide.” It follows Coleman Smith and a group of friends along the High Divide Trail in the Olympic National Park, Washington. Coleman, narrates the film – yet also has a Les Stroud filming style to him. I definitely enjoyed the story telling, filming and educaitonal interjections.
Check it out.

Columbus, Magellan, Marco Polo, Neil Armstrong, Lewis & Clark — what do they all have in common? They’re famous explorers and credited with achieving a “first” in something. First to step on the moon, first to travel around the world, etc.
So when you’re walking to the boulders and you see a route, do you think to yourself — “I wonder if anyone’s climbed that route?” But ultimately you always end with “ahh, it’s probably been done before.”
That’s not always the case. There are thousands (perhaps millions) of routes …

This December has started off unusually hot for most of us in the US. But today is December 21, 2012 … the official first day of Winter. Those of you who like to spend time on the slopes or hiking through knee deep powder, things are looking up

Australia is home to one of the coolest rock formations I’ve ever seen. The Sawn Rocks in Mount Kaputar National Park. The Sawn Rocks were formed from lava flow millions of years ago.
There is a parking lot pretty close by, but the only downside is they do not allow camping. I wonder if climbing is allowed?

You could climb to the top of this peak in Huangshan, China … or you could take the stairs.

Every year for a few days in the month of February, the sun’s angle is such, that it lights up Horsetail Falls in Yosemite, as if it were on fire. The falls consists of two streams that run side by side. The eastern one drops 1,540 ft and the western one 1,570 ft.
The fall is best seen and photographed from a small clearing close to the picnic area on the north road leading out of Yosemite Valley east of El Capitan.
It certainly is beautiful.

Thanks to loki010 on Reddit for the …

Saw this on Reddit yesterday – thought it was a beautiful sunset photo. Something worthy of posting on the blog.
This is a picture of Sleeping Beauty in the Adirondacks. Sleeping Beauty is on the east shore of Lake George, pretty close to the New York/Vermont border and a little more than an hour north of Albany, NY. The summit hike is about 3.5 miles roundtrip and has 1,000 ft of elevation gain – so nothing too serious. There are campsites nearby for anyone looking to turn this day-hike into …