HIKING and ADVENTURE
NAVIGATIONAL AND OTHER TIPS
FREE PROGRAMS I HAVE FOUND USEFUL
MISCELLANEOUS
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The website of the Te Araroa Trust, pioneered by Geoff Chapple who has charted and walked a continuous trail and route from Cape Reinga at the tip of New Zealand’s North Island, to Bluff, at the bottom of the South Island.
I had the privilege of, “scouting” a link in the trail for the Trust, and also of accompanying Geoff for a few days when he reached the South Island, doing the Te Anau - Ohai leg with him.
Geoff has written a book about his trail, “Te Araroa - The New Zealand trail” - check it out!
ABC OF HIKING - Hiking and Camping Info, News, Gear Shop, Travel & Community @ ABC-of-Hiking.com.
ADVENTURE ON THE PCT - New site for those interested in the Pacific Crest Trail. Looks good, very well laid out, keep an eye on this one!
AMERICAN HIKING- Comprehensive site covering trails and hiking in the USA.
AMERICAN TRAILS - If you’re interested in USA trails, you’ll find this an interesting site.
BACKPACK45 -A site focused on backpacking, Camino de Santiago, John Muir Trail, Women’s Adventure, Long distance trails, and with links to many interesting hiking related books.
CAMPING GEAR PRO - Coleman camping gear and equipment plus camping links.
DANCES WITH MARMOTS - A PACIFIC CREST TRAIL ADVENTURE- If you’re contemplating a hike along the Pacific Crest Trail or just enjoy a good
adventure story, then this is where you’ll find a book that will be of interest! 
DIGITAL DESERTS PACIFIC CREST TRAIL - site with photographs of the southern end of the trail.
D.ZANES'S PHOTOGRAPHS - Excellent array of photographs taken in various areas of Washington state.
ERIC BLEHM - Website of Eric Blehm, versatile author of “The Last Season” - The inspiring, poignant true story of the life and mysterious disappearance of James Randall Morgenson who, over the course of 28 summers spent in California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains, became arguably the most celebrated ranger in the National Park Service’s most adventurous unit.
EXTREME PLANET- Bjorn Loe’s site for Expeditions, Adventure, and Extreme Travel!
FOOTPRINT HIKING CLUB- A comprehensive South African site, that also has links to many other regions.
GORDIE’S RAMBLINGS IN THE HIGH SIERRA - Michael Gordon’s interesting and informative site on California’s magnificent High Sierra Nevada.
GREEN TRAILS MAPS- Commercial site, supplying trail maps. Specialising in the Oregon, Washington Cascades region.
HIGH SIERRA TOPIX- Eric Osterling’s developing new site - interesting stuff on the Sierra Nevada - check out SIERRA PACK TRIP as well.
HIKER CENTRAL- Site with a whole lot of links covering many outdoor activities.
INA - International Naturists Association
JOHANN and SANDRA'S WEBSITE - Backpacking, hiking, diving, links, and more.
LINKSELECT SPORTS DIRECTORIES - Well laid out site that provides links to various outdoor interest sources, hiking, hunting, fishing, camping, etc., etc., etc.
MARJORIE "SLIM" WOODRUFF’S HIKING PAGE - Some interesting hiking related links.
METATROPO COMPUTER PRODUCTS - Some software products with a developing GPS page. Also hiking, skiing and climbing reports with gps data, waypoints, tracks and maps.
NATURAL BORN HIKERS - US site with various trail information and related links.
NETSWEAT - Info' and links to numerous physical activities.
NEW ZEALAND TRAMPER- NZ site with information on trails and regions.
NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL - Here's the Mother of All Trails! Over 4000 miles, East-West across the United States.
NORTHWEST RECREATION PAGE- Richard Chamberlain’s site, with a swag of interesting links to various outdoor activities - mainly USA.
ONE PAN WONDERS- Teresa 'Dicentra' Black’s site, where you'll find recipes for the trail, various hiking related links and Dicentra's blog.
OUTDOORS MAGAZINE- An excellent online magazine that covers many aspects of the outdoors.
Useful Index - check it out.
PCT EXPERIENCE - Read about Jonathan Ley’s experience along the PCT - some nice pic’s.
SEARCH THE OUTDOORS - Multiple links to outdoor activities.
SGT. ROCK’S HIKING HQ - Interesting US site with information on gear, trails, map reading, etc.,etc.
SIERRA HIKER- Comprehensive collection of Kings Canyon and Sequoia trip reports and links. Descriptions and photos of hikes both on and off trail through the southern Sierra Nevada Mountains.
SIERRA VISIONS- Steven Bourelle’s site on the Sierra Nevada - photo’s, weather, links.
SLACKPACKER- US site with links to trails by State, narratives, info, etc., and an interesting philosophy!
STATEHOUSEGIRLS - SHG RESOURCES - Provides links to information of interest to women, sorted by topic and by US states. Find facts on culture, the environment, government, and gender.
SUMMIT CAMPING GEAR - Coleman tents, lanterns, sleeping bags, grills, exponent gear, links and more at Summit Camping Gear.
SUPERIOR HIKING TRAIL ASSOCIATION- The Superior Hiking Trail is a 205-mile long distance footpath that follows the rocky ridgeline above Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota.
SURVIVE OUTDOORS - Providing information on confronting emergencies and survival in the outdoors
TAIGA WORKS - Taiga Works is an outdoor gear & sports clothing company producing leading edge outdoor gear including down jackets, fleece apparel, cycle wear, boots, gaiters, hats, tents, sleeping bags, backpacks and kayaks.
THE BACKPACKER - US site with information on trails, equipment, tips, etc., etc.
THE BACKPACKING AND HIKING TRAILHEAD - Chris Conway’s informative hiking site.
THE COAST AND MOUNTAIN WALKERS OF NSW- Aussie bushwalking site with numerous links.
THE GOLIATH EXPEDITION- Karl Bushby, 33yr old Brit’ ex-paratrooper attempts to walk around the world!
Over 10,000 miles down, 25,000 to go!
THE MOUNTAIN ACTIVITY SECTION - Brit’ site encouraging various forms and levels of outdoor activities, hiking, climbing, camping, etc.
TOM GRIFFIN’S PACIFIC CREST TRAIL SITE - Tom’s PCT site has links to some useful information re’ the Pacific Crest Trail.
TON DE MAAGT's HIKING PAGE - Dutch site (in English) with many interesting worldwide hiking links.
TORONTO HIKING - Toronto based hiking site, trails, tips.
TRAILS NW - Well laid out site with information on NW trails, books and forum.
TRAILSTOVE.COM - If you’re looking for an alternative stove, check out this little woodburner from Trailstove.
TRAILQUEST - US site with heaps of hiking info, links, and equipment.
TRAVEL LIBRARY- Heaps of info’ for the world traveller - personal travelogues, advice, pic’s, etc.,etc.
TRAVELLERSPOINT- Site for the world travelling community - forums, advice, tips, etc.
US OUTDOOR - Comprehensive outdoor store that will cover all your needs for hiking, camping etc.
VALLEY OUTDOORS - Backpacking, hiking, and camping. Trail descriptions, pictures, and checklists. Yosemite, Kings Canyon, Sequoia, and the Sierra Nevada.
VANCOUVER HIKING- Well constructed site (I like the soothing index page music that Russ has chosen) concentrating mainly on hikes in the Vancouver region.
WALKING BRITAIN- Site covering the pathways and National trails of the U.K.
WHITEBLAZE.NET- A site to share ideas, experiences and trail knowledge. Primarily Appalachian Trail.
WILDERNESS.NET- This is a site connecting the natural resource workforce, scientists, educators, and public, to their wilderness heritage through access to wilderness information.
WINGS - THE HOME-MADE STOVE ARCHIVES- Interesting site on making your own 'hiking' stoves. Hey! They also support the, 'Pacific NW Tree Octopus',
and that can't be bad!
WORLDWIDE MOUNTAINEERING AND ADVENTURE TRAVEL - Scot, Alan Ingram’s interesting site - excellent photographs, check it out!
WORLD OUTDOOR WEB - Outdoor activity articles and information
If you’re lost, or for just plain navigating from A to B, then having a compass is a big help - but what if for whatever reason, you don't have a compass? Here are some tips that will give you a good approximation of compass direction. They are not intended to replace the accuracy of a compass.
TO FIND NORTH USING YOUR WATCH (Southern Hemisphere) - With your watch set to local time, holding your watch horizontally, point the "12" at the sun.
The point midway between the "12" and the hour hand is North.
TO FIND SOUTH USING YOUR WATCH (Northern Hemisphere) - With your watch set to local time, holding your watch horizontally, point the hour hand at the sun.
The point midway between the hour hand and the "12" is South.
TO FIND NORTH WITHOUT A WATCH (See diagrams "B") - Before noon, on level terrain, position a stick of about 3ft upright into the ground.
Mark the tip of it’s shadow with a peg or stone.
Using the tip of the shadow as a radius, draw an arc around the stick.
The shadow will shorten as it approaches noon and then lengthen again - where the afternoon shadow once again touches the arc, place another peg or stone.
Now draw a line between the two pegs/stones - this will be an East/West line, with the first peg being in the westerly direction.
You can now draw a North/South line at right angles to the East/West line.
This (less accurate) method can also be used at any time of the day without drawing an arc - Peg the tip of the first shadow, then about 20min later peg the tip of the moved shadow. Draw a line
between the two pegs, and this will be an approximately East/West line, with the first peg again being the westerly one.
TELLING THE TIME WITHOUT A WATCH (See diagrams "A") - Position your stick at the intersection point of your East/West, North/South lines.
The Eastern point of the arc around the stick will be 1800hrs, the Western point will be 0600hrs, while the Northern or Southern point of the arc (depending on which hemisphere you’re in) will be
1200hrs.
The approximate time of day can then be read off the arc.
KEEPING A COURSE BY THE CLOUDS - One of the problems of becoming “bushed” without a compass, is a tendancy to wander off a straight line course (even going in circles!)
What if it’s a cloudy day with no sun to get a bearing on? Or the bush canopy prevents you getting a clear “shot”?
Well, if you’re lucky, it may be windy and that’ll mean the clouds will be moving in a certain direction - note the directional flow of the clouds, and adjust your course relevant to their
direction.
e.g., If the clouds are moving from your front from right to left over your shoulders, keep them there, at the same time, sight an object straight ahead of you (tree etc) and head for it .
To retrace your steps in the same general direction, just do an about turn, then keep the clouds moving from behind, left to right over your shoulders, and repeat the process. (see diagram).
FIRE LIGHTING - I personally always use a, “white spirit” stove when camping out - but in case of emergency, I also carry,
1. a small stub of candle.
2. a couple of rubber rings. (cut from an old bicycle inner tube)
The candle stub gives a longer lasting flame than a match, and the small sections of innertube are excellent as firestarters, especially if your fire “fuel” is a bit on the hard side to get
going.
Also, if your collected kindling is a bit wet, or big - try “feathering” it - ie whittling chips in the surface of your stick of kindling, leaving the ends attached. (giving a feathered
appearance)
ADVANCED FONTS VIEWER - Ever been searching for the right font - tired of checking each one individually?
This prog will display a sentence, repeated in all the fonts you have on your system, all at once.
ATOMIC CLOCK SYNC - Get this little prog at the World Time Server - it’ll keep your pc clock bang on.
CLIPOMATIC - A small prog that’ll sit in your system tray and allow you to copy multiple items to the clipboard.
DbXTRACT - Recover and read deleted emails. (for Outlook Express)
EndItAll - Get tired of continuously hitting Ctrl/Alt/Del to shut down a load of programs? This program will do it for you
with just one click!
GOOGLE TOOLBAR - Small download to get a toolbar that gives your browser instant access to a Google search, PLUS the ability to block pop-ups! Very useful!
MYCHARMAP - Ever needed a character that wasn’t on your keyboard? Here you go.....
PHOTOCOPIER - Turn your scanner into a photocopier.
RegSeeker - Get rid of unused junk from your registry with this program, and also have the option to, 'tweak' certain settings.
Like all good, 'clean-up' programs, it also has a backup function. Excellent!
SPIDER - Find ALL the URL’s you’ve EVER visited, and delete them for privacy and space!
SPYBOT - Detect and delete the spyware (and more) hiding on your pc.
SPYWAREBLASTER - Cool little prog that doesn't even have to be running to work!
It doesn’t scan and clean for spyware - it prevents it from ever being installed.
By setting a “kill bit” for spyware ActiveX controls, it prevents the installation of any spyware ActiveX controls from a webpage. It does this while not interfering with “friendly” ActiveX
controls.
BIRDING GUIDE - If you want to ID that bird, try this US site - Offers a list of birds by family, information on bird watching, links to birding forums, trip reports and a state by state list of birding clubs.
BOOKFINDER4U - Compare book prices at 130 online bookstores & 70,000 book sellers. Find the lowest book price in A Click!
DSLREPORTS - Excellent, “computer problem” related message board - between DSLREPORTS and VIRTUAL DOC, you're bound to get the answers!
FOIL DEFLECTOR BEANIES! - Worried about mind control rays penetrating your scone? Get the remedy (and a chuckle) here......
HMS CONWAY - British Training ship that trained officer cadets for the Merchant and Royal navies from 1859-1974, and where I spent two years from 59-61.
INTERNET AUTHORS NETWORK- Primarily for science fiction/fantasy, but other genres are also catered for.
JAMES RANDI - Feeling skeptical? Here you go......
LEISURE TRAVEL COMPANY - Planning a holiday? Check out this UK based site, it could have what you want.
MENSA (NZ)- NZ site of the worldwide organisation whose members are in the top two percentile.
META TRAVEL - Site with many links to travel related sites worldwide.
OAMARU ONLINE - Website of Oamaru, Otago, my favourite South Island town. Pop approx 13,000.
Unique with it’s Victorian stone buildings and penguin colony. Be sure to visit Oamaru if you’re in the South Island.
Check out, “The Red Sheds” down at the harbour and watch craftsman Bill Blair (Coppice Crafts) and commission sculptor Michele Beaufoy at work.
It’s also worth checking out the CRITERION HOTEL where you can relax in Victorian surroundings, and where John will pull you a good pint of
Speight’s!
And if you want to experience dining in picturesque surroundings right on the waterfront of Oamaru’s historic harbour, then you won’t be disappointed if you pay a visit to “Port Side”, situated opposite the Penguin Colony. (but don’t expect to find any penguins on the menu!)
VIRTUAL DOCTOR - Excellent message boards for answers to all your computer problems, post your query and someone will have the answer!
WOLF CREATIVE SERVICES - Specialize in affordable custom websites for small to medium sized businesses.
They also provide Custom Graphics and Digital Photographic Services for Web and Print Media.
THE LANGALIST - Make the most of your hardware, software, and time online with the LangaList.
An award winning, twice-a-week e-newsletter from noted computer author and editor Fred Langa.
Each issue packed with tips, tricks, and other useful and interesting information!
DR. WEIL'S NEWSLETTER - Get some good advice on everyday health issues. Keep up to speed on the latest advice and findings on food and supplements.
LOCKERGNOME - Subscribe here for Chris Pirillo’s interesting newsletter - tips, utility downloads, etc.
KIM KOMANDO’S NEWSLETTER - Subscribe here to Kim Komando’s (yes, that's her real name)newsletter.
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