Hiking Blind

Trevor Thomas hiking the entire 936 miles of the MST.

Imagine going hiking blind.

Here's the amazing story of  Trevor Thomas, the blind hiker from Charlotte, North Carolina.

Trevor was the first blind person to finish the entire length of North Carolina's Mountains to Sea Trail, a 935-mile hiking trail that runs from Klingman's Dome in the western end of the state to Jockey's Ridge on the Outer Banks.

Read the full story by Jeff Eason here.

Hiking the MST isn't Trevor's first achievement. Back in 2012 he was the first blind person to climb Mt. Whitney in the Sierra Nevada, CA.

Here's a short 1 minute video from that trip:

And here's another one from a hike on Pacific Crest Trail, which runs from the Mexican Border up to Canada:

Hiking blind is a special adventure and must take a lot of courage. Congratulations Trevor to your successful hikes and hopefully many more amazing trips.

Resources:

Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail

Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) on Wikipedia

Pacific Crest Trail on Amazon

Mountains to Sea Trail on Amazon

Canoeing in Quttinirpaaq National Park

High up in Canada's north, just about 750 km (about 466 miles) from the North Pole, is the Quttinirpaaq National Park. The park located in Nunavut is Canada's most northern park.

I found this video about canoeing through the icy channels and pools on the surface of the ice during the summer melting on Ward Hunt ice shelf.

Here's the video provided by Parks Canada:

Would you too like to go to Quttinirpaaq National Park for an icy canoeing trip? Let me know and comment below.

Resources:
Quttinirpaaq National Park on Wikipedia
Quttinirpaaq National Park on Amazon

Hiker Shot in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park as seen from a hill
above Gatlinburg, TN (Photo: James Hawkins)

A 29-year old man hiking in a remote area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park has been shot twice. Luckily, he survived and has already been released from the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where he had been transported for treatment.

Of course, many hikers are raising now the question: Is hiking in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park still safe?

Park officials say a 911 call was made to Cocke County Dispatch just after 5 p.m. from a man who said he had been shot while hiking in the Laurel Springs Road area near Cosby.
Emergency Medical Services arrived on scene to find that the individual, a 29-year-old male, did indeed have two gunshot wounds to his lower leg. He was flown to University of Tennessee Medical Center for treatment.
"The man claimed to have not seen his assailant, but did hear two gun shots just before he realized he had been struck," park officials said. (Source: National Parks Traveler)

The investigation continues...

National Park Service rangers and special agents are continue to investigate a reported shooting in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
It happened around 5 p.m. Friday near Laurel Springs Road in the Cosby area.
Sanford Lethco, 29, of Sevier County, reported he was shot twice in the leg while hiking in the park, off the trail.

 Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the park's tip line at 436-1580.

Rangers are working with the Cocke County (Tenn.) Sheriff's Office to secure the area along Laurel Springs Road, the closest road to where the shooting reportedly occurred.
"We do not perceive any threat to visitors inside the park as this incident occurred in a remote area well off established trails," said Chief Park Ranger Clay Jordan. (Source).

Here's a list of guide books and hiking trails (from Amazon) in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.


What do you think? Will this incident effect how many outdoor enthusiasts will go hiking in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park in the future? Please share your thoughts below and leave a comment.

MR 340 River Race

MR 340 - Missouri River Race

They might call you insane. Irrational. Or outright crazy. And it has absolutely nothing to do with the romantic and adventurous Huckleberry Finn stories I loved to read when I was a child (see image on the left).

What I'm talking about is something different. It's considered to be the world longest nonstop ultra-marathon paddling event.

I'm talking about the MR 340 river race - often simply referred to as MR340, Missouri 340 or MO 340.

The MR 340 is a canoe and kayak race starting in Kansas City, Missouri and finishes after 340 miles (about 547 km) in St. Charles, Missouri. The Missouri 340 canoe race is considered to be the worlds longest continuous canoe marathon.

Here's an article about the MR340 by Dave Shively, published in 'Canoe & Kayak':

Sorting last-minute items for the race: With a total of nine checkpoints, the goal of the MR340 is to travel light but to carry enough food, water, and supplies to last until your ground crew resupplies you with ice, encouragement, and other essentials. Distances between checkpoints can vary from 23 to 50 miles. At an average pace of 5-7 mph, that distance can mean three to 10 hours before your next resupply. Although a majority of paddlers are supported by family and friends, ground crews are not required. More than 10 percent of paddlers do the race unsupported, relying on their own supplies, concession stands at various boat ramp checkpoints, and the generosity of other paddlers, which is never in short supply. (Source)

The following video is from MR340 race in 2009. It's a slide-show video just shy of 6 minutes and shows impressions from the race. Check it out and leave a comment about the MR 340 River Race below.

Mont Blanc Disaster

© Matthieu Riegler, CC-BY

An avalanche disaster on the highest peak in the Western Alps in France, the Mont Blanc, claimed the lives of nine climbers. Eleven other mountaineers ended up in the hospital, four are still missing. Two lucky mountain climbers could be rescued by local authorities using search dogs and helicopters.

The first elements that we have from testimony are that a climber could have set loose a sheet of ice, and that sheet then pulled down the group of climbers below. I should say that the incline was very, very steep on this northern face.

- Col. Bertrand François of the Haute-Savoie gendarme service

Some of the climbers were with professional guides, others were climbing independently. French investigators will examine the circumstances of the deaths.

 The Mont Blanc massif is a popular area for climbers, hikers and tourists but a dangerous one, with dozens dying on it each year. Chamonix, a top center for climbing, hosted the first Winter Olympics in 1924.

Read more: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2012/07/12/mont-blanc-disaster-2-spanish-climbers-among-dead/#ixzz20WgEOqQl

Our thoughts are with the friends and families of the climbers who lost their lives in the Mont Blanc disaster.