Dave's Photo & Travelblogue

Hypoxia at Thirteen Grand

Mauna Kea is the tallest mountain in the world, measured from the sea floor. Not the highest, mind you, but the tallest from base to summit. Its peak is at 13,796’.

Most people come to Mauna Kea, spend a half hour at the visitor center (about 9,000’), and drive straight up to the summit where most of the world’s finest astronomical observatories are located. Then they get altitude sickness: headache, nausea, shortness of breath, the whole bit.

That seems too easy to me.

Instead, I decided to climb up from the visitor center. The trail is a bit over six miles, and almost a mile of vertical. This was complicated by the cold I was coming down with, but I figured if that slowed me down enough, I’d just turn around.

Here’s a view of Mauna Loa on my way up. The younger sister of Mauna Kea, she is the largest volcano in the world by mass. There’s one larger volcano in the known universe, but that’s on Mars. See the web of different colors on the side? Those are lava flows from about every 20 years, going a long way back. She’s overdue to erupt again. Apparently I climbed Mauna Loa in a previous life, in 1834. The summit is 13,679’, deceptively high because the mountain has such gradual slopes.

As I climbed, I wondered at the lack of signs showing how far along the trail I was, or how high I was. I guess some other hikers had the same thought. But apparently they had a GPS, because they left me this:

At this point, my nose was running like a faucet. I felt a bit lightheaded, but that could have been from the cold or the steady uphill climb. One thing I’ll note about the hike: I’d heard it was rocky and the footing was bad. WRONG. Most of the hike is on sand-like dirt, so it’s a bit like climbing up firm sand dunes.

A few short sections were rocky, or made of pumice stones like those in a gas grill. I didn’t have any problems there, although I could see how someone that is not too coordinated to begin with might have issues after getting hypoxic from the altitude.

As I neared the top, the trail split and I gambled on which path was the real trail. I crested a hill and saw Lake Waiau -  “placenta lake,” where native Hawaiian chiefs used to throw their firstborn son’s umbilical cord to give the child a place in the afterlife as chief. I didn’t get any closer than this, because I didn’t want to go downhill and then back up again.

Shortly after turning around at the lake, I saw some telescopes over the crest of a hill! Now I finally believed the mantra I’d been repeating for the last four hours: “I’m 80% sure that I’ll make it to the top.” You can also see a representative (if less sandy) section of trail here. It’s not so bad, eh?

After a bit of a walk up the road (because the trail stops), I came to one final, sandy hill, higher than the last of the telescopes. The wind was whipping at 30-40mph+ (that’s 60kmh+), and it was a few degrees above freezing. With the wind and the slight hypoxia, it was so cold my fingers went numb in under 30 seconds.

As I neared the peak, I was unbelievably excited to have made it. Now I know how people feel when they summit Everest or a similar peak. I swear the tears dripping down my face were from the wind in my eyes, though.

After hitchhiking back down to the visitor center, I waited around for sunset on top of a nearby ash cone. This strange slantwise effect must be due to the mountain’s shadow.

Hiking up Mauna Kea was one of the hardest things I’ve done.

My hike was probably made much tougher because of this cold. I’ve been battling it for two days since Mauna Kea, though fortunately it isn’t too bad. Nevertheless, I may have lost the desire to hike up any 7000m or 8000m peaks someday. I’m not sure that 22,000’ and above is the place for me, sans oxygen.

But you never know… maybe I’ll change my mind. Anyone want to sponsor an expedition?

Miles to go before I sleep

My plan for May 24th: hike the Na Pali overlook trails in Kokee Park. Signposted at 9.3 miles (not including another mile to some viewpoints and 2 miles along the road back to the car). The trail had a good bit of up-and-down, probably a couple thousand feet of vertical.

Was it worth the blisters? Absolutely! This is almost the same view I got from the helicopter, though I got there under my own power. Of course, it took a whole day, so I’d still wholeheartedly recommend the heli tour to see 20 views like this in an hour. Let’s face it, most of us don’t have 20 days to spend hiking in Hawaii, though we may wish we did.

There were so many great shots from this day, so I have a feeling I’ll do a whole piece about this hike later on. Here’s a nice spot below one of the overlooks; props to the couple who took the photo for me. My wireless remote isn’t good that far, as I found out.

By the time I returned from this killer hike of roundabout 12 miles, the general store at the top of the canyon had closed. I wasn’t about to chill for 6 hours alone at Camp Sloggett, so I went to town to check out a microbrewery and stock up on food. On the way I found this:

While in town, I added shrimp to the menu, in addition to the remainder of my canned food. Howzabout this for campfire cooking, with zero preparation or planning?

Here’s my shout out to Blair’s Death Sauce crew. It was the only spice I had besides non-dairy-creamer, and I figured the creamer wouldn’t help shrimp & tamales too much. It was damn tasty on both the shrimp and the tamales!

Next came an experiment that failed. This is what happens when one invents a recipe idea while alone in the woods with limited ingredients, after having a few beers. Recipe: sliced apples. Guinness. One packet of sugar. A square of Lindt 90% dark chocolate. Cooking time: however long it took me to clean up the kitchen and take a shower.

Flavor of the apples in the center, which didn’t get burned to the side of the can: err, well, edible. No, let’s go with the ever-popular… “interesting.” Alright, enough food stories, it’s time for bed!

First up Wayna Picchu!

This post is for Scott, who will be proud that I made the hike in less than half the signposted time (just like the section up to the Höllentalangerhütte at Zugspitze).

Schedule for May 13th:

• Wake up at 3:45 (15 minutes before the alarm is due to ring) because the Incas want revenge on my digestive system. Immodium: check.
• Eat a quick breakfast of bread and jam, while meeting a cool Argentinian named Laura.
• Get in line at 4:30am to buy a bus ticket; hop on a bus around 5:30.
• Receive a stamp allowing me to hike up Wayna Picchu, the mountain overlooking Machu Picchu (a privilege accorded to only 400 people per day: 200 starting at 7am and 200 starting at 10am).
• Start up Wayna Picchu at 7:00, 8th person in line; each person signs in for safety.

• Pass the other 7 people ahead of me, booking up the trail (which is about 360m-vertical of stone staircase, straight up with NO flat sections).
• Arrive at the top 10 minutes before the next hiker! Enjoy peace, solitude, and a slight hypoxic bliss after climbing 360m of uneven, ankle-wrenching stairs in 29 minutes.

• Did I mention peace and solitude at the top of the world?

• Enjoy this beautiful view of the ancient Inca city:

• Don’t forget about peace and solitude, and beautiful sunrise views.

If you have the chance to visit Machu Picchu, do not think you can do it in one day from Cusco. You must stay overnight in Aguas Calientes the night before to do this right. Some people will even want to take two days to visit Machu Picchu (which means two $40 entry tickets – but you DID come all this way!).

For those in good shape who don’t mind walking up a lot of (somewhat sketchy) stone stairs, DO get up super early and go for Wayna Picchu (also spelled Huayna Picchu). If you’re lucky like me, your jet lag (from points east) will have you waking up early anyway.

If you’re a fast hiker, make sure you’re at the front of the line of people at the Wayna Picchu gate (starting at 7am). Alone at the top, you’ll experience a peacefulness you won’t soon forget.

If you have serious hiking cojones, take the alternate route down to the Temple of the Moon, on the back side of the mountain. The trail has some hairy sections with cables/ladders, and I would NOT recommend it for those afraid of heights. It descends below the level of Machu Picchu, then climbs back up and rejoins the Wayna Picchu trail somewhere in the middle. The hike back up from the Temple feels like as much climbing as Wayna was in the first place.

A fellow blogger has his impressions here: Streets of Lima Post.

p.s. Laura, if you’re reading (and if I’ve remembered your name right), hope all is OK? Never saw you again during the day, or at the hostel before I left for a pre-train dinner of pollo a la plancha. Hope you didn’t sprain an ankle on those d*mn stairs. Incas’ revenge indeed!

Mugged by a Camel

By the time you read this, I’ll probably be in Machu Picchu! So I may be slow responding to comments.

Okay, I’m not usually one to complain about prices when it comes to gear, because one pays for quality. But I just had to buy a replacement part for my Camelbak hydration reservoir – the Big Bite valve, which I somehow lost while snowboard carving this past weekend. Let’s just say I was a little shocked by the price:

You read it right. Eight euros (or about $11) for a tiny piece of molded rubber with no moving parts.

So, that brings me to my question for all of you hikers, trekkers, and backpackers:

What’s the best hydration pack system?

• Pricing that doesn’t make you feel like your wallet has been violated
• Long-lasting materials and parts which are high quality
• Usable bite valve with an easy-to-operate lock

I’ve tried a couple brands of hydration bladders over the years, and so far Camelbak is the only hydration system that I liked. But today I’ve seen there are several new ones out there that I hadn’t seen before (Deuter, Platypus, etc). Does anyone have an experience with a hydration reservoir that compares well to Camelbak?

Overstuffed Pack

Stay tuned for my upcoming ebook: “How to fit a 30L daypack inside an already-full 65L backpack!”

If you’re feeling adventurous, check out an author interview that I gave over at Swordreaver! It’s a cool blog that has lots of author interviews and a fast-growing base.

I leave for my plane in a few minutes, hoping to avoid any ash-cloud delays.

Climbing Zugspitze: Germany’s highest mountain (Part 3)

In case you didn’t see Part 1 and Part 2, that’s because they were published quite a while ago. I’ve been busy with snowboarding, and decided that this final post & video about a summer hike would anyway fit better once spring arrived.

After crossing the Höllentalferner glacier, we continued climbing up the wall for a long time.

As we neared the top this beautiful view greeted us:

Here’s the Eibsee, which we could also see briefly from the train on the way down.

Now, for the final video. High-def views over the Höllental and everything beyond!

Watch “Climbing Zugspitze: Part 3” in HD on YouTube. A big thanks to Danny Galixy for letting me use some of his fantastic instrumental music for these three videos!

We made one slight error, in that we planned to hike back down. But the ascent went slower than expected with our acrophobic friend, so we took the train down instead. That would have been no problem, except that we’d left some sleeping bags and shoes at the hut, planning to pick them up on the way down.

So… after arriving back to the car in Hammersbach, Scott and I did a lightning-fast hike up the bottom section of the mountain. This time we chose to go via the Höllentalklamm, a gorge with a river, instead of the longer (but fee-free) Stangensteig. When I say lightning-fast, I mean the signpost said 2 1/2 hours, and we did it in 1:15. Our Smartwool shirts were soaked with sweat!

In the end I’m glad we did this bottom section twice, because the Höllentalklamm was gorgeous! You walk up narrow staircases cut into the rock, with splashing waterfalls and scenic views everywhere. I’d recommend if you are hiking up and down, to go up Höllentalklamm and down Stangensteig to take in both scenic routes.

For the full details about the hike, where to stay, where to rent gear, and all that – check out Part 1 of this series. The end of that post has all the hard facts listed in English for your Babelfish-free understanding. Part 2 of the Zugspitze series is all about the via ferrata sections (where you’re clipped to the steel cables on the cliffside) and the glacier.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading and seeing what Zugspitze is like. Let me know if you have any questions I can answer about the hike or the mountain! I’m happy to help fellow English speakers figure this baby out, because almost all the information out there is in German (grin).

The Grand Canyon of the Pacific

One of the destinations I plan to visit on my round-the-world trip is Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands. By lucky coincidence, I got in touch with a local resident who volunteered to write a guest post about this fantastic island: Jake Garrett from The Villas at Poipu Kai. Currently [month of Mar 2010] they are offering a promotion for a free helicopter ride to Waimea Canyon. On to Jake’s post, which includes details on a great hike I’ll definitely do!

____________________

In 1866 Mark Twain travelled to the Hawaiian Islands and gave the secluded tropical paradise a real place on the map. He was on assignment from the Sacramento Union and wrote 25 letters documenting his journey. During his time he never made it to the Garden Isle of Kauai, yet Kauaians are anxious to claim him as part of their history. The legend goes that when Twain visited the Waimea Canyon he dubbed it the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific.” Well, the story is false, but it doesn’t require a folk hero to see that the title is well attributed.

The Waimea Canyon stacks up the Grand Canyon quite well in beauty and history. Two natural processes have formed the island over the last 5 million years – natural rainfall from the wettest place on earth and the collapse of the islands’ primary volcano. Centuries of cataclysmic events and continuous erosion give sightseers a breathtaking experience. The canyon is 10 miles long, 1 mile wide and 3,600 ft deep. The displaced sediment over the years forms the entire plain of the southwest portion of the island.

All these facts make Waimea Canyon a must see when visiting Kauai. You can make the trip to the canyon one day long or a week long. If you are going to make it a day trip be sure to bring a long sleeved shirt. The temperature up the canyon is 10-15 degrees cooler than the rest of the island. Also, you should go on at least a small hike. While the lookouts are nice and the vistas spectacular – there is nothing like walking down through this immense canyon and forest area. There are a number of hikes that you can choose. A great day hike is on the Canyon Trail to Waipo’o Falls. The trail is 2.4 miles one way. The trailhead starts at the Pu’u Hinahina lookout between mile markers 13 and 14 on Waimea Canyon Drive. The hike should take 2-3 hours depending on how long you linger.

The stories that you will be able to tell will give Mark Twain his biggest regret – not visiting the Grand Canyon of the Pacific!!

____________________

Thanks for the great post, Jake – this canyon is somewhere I’ll definitely spend a few days during my trip in May!

Climbing Zugspitze: Germany’s highest mountain (Part 2)

If you are new to this post series, start with Part 1 of the Zugspitze hike.  All the details of how to get there are at the end of Part 1.

The first video saw us up the Stangensteig, passing over the Höllentalklamm, and reaching the Höllentalangerhütte for a nice Schweinsbraten (pork roast) with red cabbage and dumplings. The next morning we started early and reached the first stretch of via ferrata, where we clipped into steel cables and walked on pegs across the cliff. Kind of like this:

And of course there were these pesky ladders,

Then the Höllentalferner glacier itself!

I had skied on glaciers before, but in the winter they look like the rest of the ski slopes.  Never had I seen one in the end of summer, mixed with dirt and rocks, full of deep crevasses.

Enough photos for now, on with what you’ve all been waiting for: part 2 of the video! There will be at least one more part after this.  And again, thanks to Danny Galixy for the amazing music!

Watch “Climbing Zugspitze: Part 2″ in HD on YouTube.

A few more choice photos: Scott and Bunky walking up the glacier, taking in the view…

And a bit later, Scott being nonchalant… I think he clipped in for a total of fifteen minutes during several hours of via ferrata ascent. It must be those expensive mountaineering boots, perhaps they cannot slip.

That’s all for today.  The next (and final) post should be up sometime after the weekend.  Summit views and perhaps a bit of the train ride (we ran out of daylight, and our group’s acrophobic member wasn’t planning to hike down).

Part 3 is now posted! It took a bit longer than originally expected, but I hope it’s worth the wait!

Climbing Zugspitze: Germany’s highest mountain (Part 1)

When two old friends visited for Oktoberfest, we decided to try the Höllental ascent of Zugspitze, the tallest mountain in Germany. Höllental means “Valley of Hell,” and conveniently there is a Hütte run by the Deutscher Alpenverein part way up. It’s named the Höllentalangerhütte, which literally means “Hell Valley Meadow Lodge.” You’ve gotta love German!

Here’s a photo of the Höllentalferner glacier where you can see Zugspitze in the distance. Click on the photo for a full-res version.

Here’s a shot of a huge ice chunk we found on the way up the Stangensteig path, just before it rejoined the Höllentalklamm path:

I took my newly assembled Canon Vixia HF200 helmet camera along for the ride, and below you can see an HD video of the experience. This climbing video is just part 1 – there will be two more videos coming in separate posts. Let me know how you like my first attempt at a semi-pro video!

Watch “Climbing Zugspitze: Part 1″ in HD on YouTube.

The music in the video is by Danny Galixy, whose music and photographs are fantastic. Check out his website!

Climbing this mountain via the Höllental route requires more mountaineering knowledge than some of the other routes up Zugspitze. You’ll need climbing gear including a harness, “via ferrata” equipment, a helmet, and crampons for the stretch along the glacier. A medium length of rope or webbing might also help, as you’ll see in the video in part 2. One should only attempt the climb when good weather is forecast; you’ll see memorial plaques along the route (many for people killed by lightning).

This climb is not standard rock climbing, but more a combination of bouldering and walking across iron pegs.  “Via ferrata” means “the iron way.” On the most dangerous parts, one is always clipped into a steel cable by two carabiners. There is a shock cord in the via ferrata equipment so you won’t have a sudden deceleration if you do fall.

Ahem, I also found a bit of toilet humor in the lodge’s restroom, and for once the graffiti cracked me up:

Rough translation (sorry, I couldn’t rhyme it):

In this toilet lives a ghost,

And everyone who takes too long,

Will be bitten in the balls.

But the ghost did not bite me,

Because I crapped upon his head.

Getting to Zugspitze:

• To arrive at the top, you can take the Zugspitzbahn (a Zahnradbahn – geared train), a cable car from Austria, or a cable car from Eibsee in Germany. Link to Zugspitze Roundtrip description
• Of course, I recommend to hike the Höllental route if you’re in shape, adventurous, and not scared of heights.  Park here in Hammersbach and walk a bit up the road to the trailhead by the river. There are two trails: Höllentalklamm (which goes along the river and costs a few euro), and the longer Stangensteig route (more ups and downs, and is the way we went).
• Starting height: 778m. Höllentalangerhütte: 1387m. Zugspitze: 2962m (9,718′). Call the lodge to reserve a place if you plan on staying overnight; it’s not expensive even for non-members of the DAV (Deutscher Alpenverein) at 20 euro for adults.
• Where to rent equipment: Werner Niedermeier at WN-Alpin speaks English, and it was around 40 euro per person to rent a harness, via ferrata gear, helmet, and crampons. You WILL need crampons for the glacier. DO NOT ATTEMPT without all of this gear! You can also buy a mountaineering map here. The shop is conveniently located in Garmish-Partenkirchen on the way from the Autobahn to Hammersbach.
• Since we did not have enough time to safely hike back down before dark, we took the Gletscherbahn gondola and then the Zugspitzbahn down. The train conveniently passes right through Hammersbach, and we had to walk a bit under 1km back to the car from the train station.
• Elevation map of the climb: just look at the height profile (graph in lower right side)! If you are afraid of heights, this ascent is not for you.

Here is a link to Part 2 of the Zugspitze adventure! If you’d like to read about Part 3… with more photos & video… subscribe with the orange buttons in the left sidebar. You’ll be notified by either email or RSS feed. Thanks!

Hiking at Lenggries

Lenggries is a fantastic destination near Munich for hiking in the summer, skiing in the winter, and riding the gondola anytime (if you don’t fancy sports). The main touristic peak is called Brauneck (1556m), although there are many other hikes in the area. Let me just say: the scenery is fantastic at Lenggries. Rarely is there such a great mix of panoramas and paragliders, even in the Alps!

What I love about Europe is the amazing things you see by coincidence in just one day. I have to split this day into two posts, because we happened upon so many beautiful sights and awesome events. Paragliders, plane flybys, mountain sunsets, moonrise over the trees, and finally a medieval fire show after dark… how could it get any better! Read on to find out more…

View from the path up Brauneck

The gondola takes you to the Panorama-restaurant near the top of Brauneck, although we hiked there. Service was slow, but the food was fantastic and the views were even better. Here you can see our goal in the distance: Latschenkopf, at 1701m.

View toward Latschenkopf from Brauneck

Here’s a beautiful panorama of paragliders circling on the thermals. I can’t count how many layers of mountains one can see from the Panorama-restaurant!

Paragliders over the Alps

This is one of my favorite fall dishes in Germany: pumpkin cream soup, or Kurbiscremesuppe. They really know how to garnish, too! Lecker… I also recommend Obatzda, a kind of soft cheese you eat with a pretzel.

Kurbiscremesuppe - pumpkin cream soup with tasty pumpkin seeds and pumpkin oil!

Just a small hike up from the Panorama-restaurant is the actual peak of Brauneck, where many paragliders launch:

Paraglider takeoff from Brauneck - I walked down the slope a ways to get this shot

Here’s a short YouTube video of a paraglider takeoff:

Leaving Brauneck, we headed toward Latschenkopf, and went on a small side path. (photo with polarizing filter)

We took a short path that involved some scrambling... there were easier ways than this.

After a long ridge hike without so much climb, we reached Latschenkopf. Note, there are also opportunities for Klettersteig (rock climbing) along this ridge. Plus an old Junkers (a German manufactured plane) did a flyby of the ridge.

If I'd only had the tele lens on... haha. Beautiful view of layered Alps behind the plane!

At one point on the way to Latschenkopf, I stopped and took tele photos of all the crosses I could see from where I stood. There were SEVEN. Why this obsession with putting a cross on top of everything? It’s quite opposite from the US. Just watched a funny clip on The Colbert Report about a lawsuit in the States regarding a cross that was erected in a National Park as a war memorial. Well, you won’t have that kind of BS lawsuit over here in Deutschland.  Here’s a (rare) self-portrait:

Cross at Latschenkopf - the Germans like to put a cross at the top of everything.

Now, on the way back we took Panoramaweg. Actually, I do not recommend this if you’ve parked at the gondola, as we did. After reaching the bottom, we had to walk another 4km (2.5mi) along fields and roads (in the dark) to get back to the car. I don’t know the total distance, as unfortunately the maps all list walk times in hours instead of distance in km/mi. BUT I suspect it was about 15-20km total for the day. Up Brauneck, across to Latschenkopf, down long and winding trails on the Panoramaweg, and another few miles back to the car.

We took the long Panoramaweg down, passing many huts along the way.

Now, there’s still more: the nighttime photos! That will be a separate blog post up in a few days. I promise you, the medieval fire-twirling photos (taken with a long exposure on the Nikon D90) will blow you away. If you want to be notified when the post is up, sign up via email or RSS with the orange links on the left sidebar.

Getting there:

• Plan your hike here at the Brauneck website (summer hiking list, unfortunately just in German)
• Print a summer hiking map here.  We took 9 to Brauneck, 2 and 3 to Latschenkopf, then 3, 4, and 10 down to the bottom.  You can see the long, flat path from Draxlstuberl back to Alte Mulistation — I don’t recommend this way!  We walked from 11:15am until 7:30pm with maybe 2-3h of breaks for food + photos.
• Park at the Bergbahn lot where the gondola starts: Google maps link
• Stop at huts along the way for tasty food and drinks.  I recommend a Radler (half beer, half lemon-lime soda) to keep your hiking strength up without having too much alcohol.  It’s not considered wimpy in Germany: Radler is a nice way to get a taste of beer mid-day without too many ill effects.
• Eat at the inexpensive and very tasty restaurant, Jägerstüberl (also Jaegerstueberl, hehe).  It’s right near the gondola, you’ll see it from the large parking lot at the base.  I had a huge steak (12-16 oz) for about €14.