Some brave souls go way beyond hiking. A hike involves following an established trail without using any special equipment such as ropes. There are plenty of trips in natural areas that can be done that involve rock-climbing, ropes, snow-gear, kayaks, etc.
Clearly, these trips should not be attempted by anyone who doesn't know what they are doing. Christopher Brennen phrased it very well for adventure hikes:
It is important to stress at the outset that there is always a significant danger associated with adventures into the wilderness. Those who wish to follow the adventure hikes in these webpages should be fully cognizant of those dangers and take appropriate precautions. The accounts are primarily intended for experienced hikers who will exercise informed judgement and caution. The hikes requiring technical expertise and equipment should never be undertaken without proper training and qualifications. Even given all this, the dangers should not be minimized. The accounts are offered with the understanding that readers will proceed entirely at their own risk.
WARNING However, it is clear that for those willing to do such things, they are a lot of fun!
Hence this page collects references to those who have written up their brave expeditions.
Links
- By far the most complete and well-written site is Adventure Hikes And Canyoneering In The San Gabriels by Christopher Earls Brennen. Start here, read his pages thoroughly, especially his Preface and Precautions.
- Mark Duttweiler's Outdoors Page, giving adventures hikes in Pasadena Glen and Royal Gorge, as well as a number of backcountry skiing expeditions, including his not-to-be-missed Mountains to Sea (Ski, Bike, and Surf Adventure).
- Tom Kenney's Alpine Slide - A Wild Ride on San Gabriel's Twin Peaks snow-hiking near-death experience.
- Gary Valle's Southern California Creeking, running creeks by kayak that most everyone would say were impossible to run. The creeks include the Arroyo Seco and its falls, Bear Creek, Big Tujunga Creek, and Mill Creek and its falls, believe-it-or-not. The proof is in the photos!
- Charles Foster's River Running Elizabeth Lake Canyon Creek and further photos.
- The Hydraulic Hooligans' Tales from the Hole (kayaking the East Fork of the San Gabriel River)
- Williamson Rock:
- Steve Tucker's Ice Climbing Williamson Rock: "Williamson Rock Waterfall II, WI 4, 20m" and "Williamson Slab I , WI 2-3, 20m".
- Tom Kenney's Ice-Climbing Williamson Rock
- Greg Valentin's Rock Climbing Mt. Williamson
- Rachel's Williamson Rock
- Tony and Dave's Williamson Rock Rocks
- Bill Peckham's 8/15/97 Williamson Trip and 9/12/98 Williamson Trip
- "Askani"'s Williamson Rock
- Sven's Early Season at Williamson Rock
- Andy's Trip Report Williamson 10/98
Go to:
Copyright © 1999-2001 by Tom Chester.
Permission is freely granted to reproduce any or all of this page as long as credit is given to me at this source:
http://tchester.org/sgm/links/beyond_hiking.html
Comments and feedback: Tom Chester
Updated 11 January 2001.