STILL WILD - YOSEMITE

Check out this episode of Still Wild by Greg Aiello.  Greg and a group of friends go on a backcountry trip that takes them out of Yosemite Valley and into the Cathedral Range where they climb Echo Ridge.  And if your interested, Greg also hosts the show Motion on the Live Well Network.

HOH RAIN FOREST

If you find yourself on the Olympic Peninsula in western Washington I hope your heading to Olympic National Park.  After climbing Mount Olympus you should spend a couple days in the Hoh Rain Forest.  The Hoh is one of the largest temperate rain forests in the United States and sees over 12 feet of rain each year.  You could hike the 17.3 mile Hoh River Trail to Glacier Meadows which lies on the shoulder of Mount Olympus.

If you're lucky you might spot Bigfoot which is apparently alive and thriving in the Hoh Rain Forest.  If that doesn't pan out you'll have to settle for elk, bobcat, black bear and the northern spotted owl.

Roosevelt elk, also known as Olympic elk.

Along the Hoh River Trail you have plenty of shelters and established campsites to choose from. 7 total.  You can also pitch a tent on the gravel bars along the Hoh River which make good low impact campsites.

 Olympus Guard Station

 Happy Four Shelter

 

THE WAY BACK

I am a sucker for any survival/outdoors film.  It's pretty much the only time I will venture out to a movie theater.  That being said I am pretty excited to check out the The Way Back coming out this Friday (limited US release).  The film is based on a memoir titled The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz depicting his escape from a Siberian gulag and subsequent 4000-mile trek to freedom in India.

Watch the trailer.

ICE WATER SPRING SHELTER

The Ice Water Spring Shelter is an Appalachian Trail shelter located in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near the border of North Carolina and Tennessee.

Elevation: 5,920'

Miles from Springer Mountain: 207.7 

Miles from Mount Katahdin: 1971.4