The Rainbow Bridge is one of the largest natural bridges in the world, considered sacred by American Indian tribes. There are two ways to reach it:

1. Hike the north or south trail of Navajo Mountain
2. The the boat from Page

On Foot

If you decide to hike, be sure to take all the necessary backpacking gear because it’s going to take at least two days. You’ll be sleeping on sand so an inflatable camping pad is not really necessary. A lightweight foam pad should be sufficient. You’re required to get a permit from Navajo Nation.

For a guided tour, go to Antelopeslotcanyon.com

By Boat

If you don’t have the time to hike, the boat trip, made possible since the creation of Lake Powell in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, only takes about two hours. Taking the tour boat is optional.

If you have deep pockets, why not rent a houseboat starting at $4,695 for four days including a private escorted visit to the bridge and a canyon hike. Antelope Point Marina boast the world’s largest floating restaurant.

Yesterday, March 3rd, Mike Hanson begins hiking the Appalachian Trail. The 2,174-mile hiking trail is one of the longest in the world. It takes the average hiker 6 months to complete the trail and more than 11,000 people have made it the whole way.

Maybe four or five of them are blind and Mike Hanson will be joining their ranks in about 7 months, God willing. The first blind person to hike the entire 2,174 miles was Bill Irwin, who did it in 1990 at age 50 with his guide dog in 8 months. Irwin is also the author of Blind Courage.

Hanson will be relying on his walking stick and the voice commands from his GPS phone to guide him. His journey will be filmed by Gary Steffens, of Fresh Image Video Productions in Mound but no one will interfere with the navigation. He expects to cover 15 miles a day.

Good Luck to Mr. Hanson. Hope all goes well for him.

Backpacker Magazine dubbed him as the winner of Badass of the Week, jokingly of course, but what he went through was no joke considering that the guy is 90 years old.

Carroll Dubuar fell face-first down a 60-foot ravine in Oregon’s Columbia Gorge, suffering massive cuts and bruises, and a broken rib. The experienced hiker tumbled down off a steep hiking trail. Younger men would be lucky to look and sound as good as Dubuar did on Monday, just five days after the fall.

Dubuar was in good spirits and said that he felt pretty good considering what he just went through. “Gruesome-looking” was the worst thing he said about himself though he winced a little whenever he laughed.

No hospital bed can keep him down very long.

“If I get back on my feet I plan to hike some more,” he told reporters as his daughter, Jan Barkhurst, looked on with concern.He added that he’s not likely to stay in bed much longer and said that those hiking trails are still waiting for him.

The outdoor lover will likely be discharged as early as next week and will go to a care center until he is able to go home. As part of the over-70 group of hikers called “Hotliners”, Dubuar takes part in group hikes every Wednesday.

This weekly jaunt is what Carroll Dubuar is all about. He lives for it and even if you take away his trekking poles and make him wear a helmet, elbow and knee pads and everything, you won’t be able to stop him from going for his Wednesday hikes.

Inspirational!

Autism is a brain development disorder that first appears during infancy or childhood and continue to worsen continuously. Kids with autism don’t respond well to social stimulus, grow socially awkward and have problems communicating even their basic needs.

The odds of being diagnosed with autism is 1 in 150 and it is thought to be caused by infant vaccination programs.

Meet Matt and Josh

The two students first learned about the Appalachian trail in 2002 or 2003, and now the summer break presents a good opportunity for them to go for it.

Renner, an environmental science major, came up with the idea of raising money for charity. The psychology major, Baden didn’t hesitate to tag along. The recipient for this charity is the Northwestern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Autism Society of America.

They will travel to Springer Mountain in Northern Georgia to begin the long and arduous hike. They have three and a half months to complete the trail.

Matt Renner and Josh Baden learned a few things in their preparation like how to choose the right food to pack and how cotton socks will make your feet wet.

Here are fome facts about the Appalachian Trail:

• Total length is 2,178 miles
• Longest marked hiking trail in the US
• Touches 14 states
• Approximately 10,000 have hiked the entire trail
• It normally takes about four to six months to complete

What’s in it for them?

Doing something good makes you feel better so why not do what you would to do while raising money for charity. Perhaps this is what these guys were thinking.

Among their gear are:

• 1-person tent
• sleeping pad
• sleeping bag
• extra clothing
• wicking socks
• lightweight camping stove
• internal frame backpack
• hooded windbreaker

The total weight of their hiking gear would at least be 30 pounds. They could probably shed some more weight with a 3-person tent instead of each person carrying a one-man tent or by using bivvy bags instead.

Their food consist of oatmeal, rice mixes, dried food and beef jerky. With minimal amount of food on them, these guys are bound to lose a lot of weight. However, they do have an opportunity to resupply when they come across towns and even eat in a proper restaurant.

Considering that it normally takes 4 to 6 months to hike the whole trail, these childhood buddies wouldn’t be too upset if they didn’t make  it on time because their main aim is to spread the word about autism.

You’ve seen it in the Discovery Channel and you’ve heard people talk about it. This is one place every hiker should go. It’s a place of wonder, culture and beautiful sceneries.

It was first discovered by Hiram Bingham in 1911 which was later dubbed the “lost city”.

“When Hiram Bingham stumbled upon Machu Picchu on a 1911 expedition, it took him days of travel by foot and mule to get from Cusco to the general vicinity. Then he crossed a rickety bridge on hands and knees before climbing several hours up a steep slope to reach the hidden ruins.”

Now you can get there in 3 1/2 hours, dining luxuriously on the famous Hiram Bingham train while listening to a pan pipe group and sipping pisco sours. While many take this option to get to the ruins of Machu Picchu, you can also hike all the way from Cusco and feel like an explorer making discoveries in the Andes Mountains. Much of the landscape you’ll see remains unchanged since the conquistadors arrived in 1532.

There are four hiking trail you can choose from to get to Machu Picchu by foot:

The Classic Inca Trail

This is the original used by the Incans to reach the Sun Gate of Machu Picchu. This trail is known as one world’s greatest travel experience.

If you take this route, you will be walking on stone paths built hundreds of years ago by the Incans and marvel at impressive ruins along the way that cannot be reached by any land vehicle. In 3 days and 3 nights you make the grand entrance to the main attraction at sunrise, a truly wonderful experience. You then explore the citadel in the early morning.

The trail is well maintained and hikers must follow the carry-in/carry-out rule meaning you must carry just about everything you have with you at the beginning of the trip, including garbage.

Since this is a highly popular hiking destination, you would need to book at least 4 months in advance. Only about 200 hikers and 300 porters are allowed per day. Since there are more porters than hikers, you can have someone carry your camping gear for you, set up you tent and cook for your group.

The Salkantay Trek

This is a totally different experience to the Classic Inca Trail. In some ways, the sights are more spectacular. Among the main attractions are the waterfalls, the glaciers and the view of the Salkantay peak.

This trail is much more physically demanding even though you don’t actually walk all the way to the entrance of Machu Picchu. At the end of the trail you need to take the local train a short distance to the entrance. Be prepared for high altitudes of up to 15,000 feet.

You can stay in comfort at lodges that provide hot showers and a comfortable bed if you want to avoid camping.

Choquequirao

This is a great mountain hiking experience for hardcore hikers only. Dubbed the “Ultimate Trek” through the Andes, it starts near the largest set of Inca ruins on the South American continent, Choquequirao. Only take this route if you are an experienced in good physical shape.

The Lares Trek

Take this route if you want to know more about the local people. This is probably the least demanding route and takes about two days to reach the end of the trail.

You can then take a train from Ollantaytambo to Aguas Calientes at the base of Machu Picchu and spend the next day at the archeological site. There are no daily limits for this route and you can book it on short notice.

One thing you might want to consider in planning your hiking trip is how muddy the trail is. In Boulder County Colorado there’s a website that tells you how muddy the trail is.

www.bouldercounty.org/openspace/muddy_trails_meter.htm

We all know that taking shortcuts around muddy trails keeps your boots clean but it’s bad for the environment because of increased erosion and damaged vegetation.

The trails listed are ones that are most used including Betasso Preserve, Hall Ranch, Mud Lake, Walker Ranch, Caribou Ranch, Heil Valley Ranch and Rabbit Mountain.

The Muddy Trails Report will be available from January through May of 2009 updated by noon every Friday.

If trail conditions are poor, consider a different trail that’s in better condition.

Anyone could get lost on a hiking trail especially when the parts of the trail is masked by blown-down trees and fire. It happened to two experienced hikers on the Kekekabic Trail and the lack of trail markings were to blame for the incident.

Dozens of rescuers and volunteers joined the search including 4 aircrafts. In the end the hikers were found safe, but this is not the first time anyone got lost on the Kekekabic Trail. In 1970, a skier lost his way and died of hypothermia.

Following the latter incident the Forest Service marked the Kekekabic by tacking small, blue diamond-shaped signs to trees but nearly all the signs are gone now, and Forest Service officials have been reluctant to replace them.

Hiking clubs have renewed their appeal to the Superior National Forest officials to make the Kekekabic trail easier to follow.

The problem is, rules governing the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness prohibit signs and many other man-made objects.

However, Forest Service officials acknowledges the fact that the overgrown condition of Kekekabic presents a public safety issue and are willing to discuss a possible compromise.