ACTIVE BRITS ADVENTURE TRAVEL STORIES

Psychs in Guinea, West Africa.

2007-07-06T23:36:00.000+01:00

Greeting Active Brits readers.. Its Psychs ere reporting from West Africa.

Well its more adventure work than adventure travel but either way, its one hell of an experience.. I'm currently writing this email from the depths of darkest Africa in a place called Simandou in the Republic of Guinea. I've been here working now for the last 6 weeks in the centre of a remote mountain area in the far SE of the country (hence the other blogs not being maintained). The place is excellent and the locals absolutely top notch friendly. Its the first time i've ever been to the 'developing world', i cant speak a word of french, but i'll definately come back again one day when my need for a 'cultural experience' is surpassed by my current need for 'adventure sports'... Lets just say its been one hell of an eye opener.

Before i left, my friends said 'Africa will either make you or break you' and all i can say is that its provided me with an extra incentive to get out there live, travel and spread a little joy.. Before leaving i had aprehensions about safety, corruption etc, and yes, going through the airport and in Conakry itself is hellishly daunting to begin with, but what you get is a reward far greater than you could ever imagine and far too difficult to put into words.. When you are out in the country areas it all changes, its a totally surreal contrast to inner city living. What i've been totally amazed by is the local populations strive to exist and take care of those who are close to them. Its made me realise that what we miss in the UK, or in western developed countries as a whole, a total lack of humanity and community spirit which seems to be of a higher priority here than any kind of wealth or status. The whole place has given me a one hell of a positive wake up call and my confidence has increased 10 fold.

Planned Active Brits trip, USA, 2007

2007-04-30T20:39:00.000+01:00

I'm soon going to be off to Guinea Africa to work for a couple of months so i'm going to pass the reigns to another active brits member to help maintain the site while i'm away.. meanwhile.. i was wondering if fellow adventures out there could read below and see if they can provide some advice..

The active brits crew have already booked the ritual yearly overseas vacation and are yet again going to the USA for an adventurous 3 weeks of outdoor activities. We are flying into Vegas again then driving north to Yellowstone, Teton and Great Basin National Parks. We've already climbed Wheeler peak in Great Basin (see our archives) but would like your advice please on any cool hikes, backcountry hikes and accessible peaks to climb in both Yellowstone and Teton National Parks. We'd also like to hear of any campgrounds away from stacks of tourists. We will be there bewteen July 30th and Augst the 12th (approx 2 weeks in total) before calling back in at Great Basin for a couple of days on route to 2 days of partying in Vegas .. (we like to go out with a bang and a total shock to the system.. its the only way.. then back to reality)..

Thanks.. the active brits..

Adventure Travel Tips - Wilderness Camping & Backpacking

2007-03-07T23:25:00.000Z

1) Dont forget to turn your underwear inside out.. saves washing them every day..
2) Gravel from the bed of a stream is excellent for getting rid of tough ground in food stains in saucepans and on plates.
3) If you are planning on making a quick exit from your site in the morning, think about tent positioning.. think early morning sun and slight wind movement (the correct location can do wonders to remove/ limit condensation on the inside the tent.. nothing worse than wrapping a wet flysheet).
4) If you are staying in the same area for a few days, remember to fill an old container with water before venturing out and leave it in a secure position in the sunlight (out of the way of inquisitice creatures). Not only will you have luke warm water for doing the dishes, but it will also save you some gas/ fuel (tends to boil 20% faster).
5) Remember there is a difference between adventure travel and survival. If you are doing a backpacking route or a few days wilderness camping, it is not necessary to carry everything 'dehydrated' as you are likely to develop 'home from home food cravings' and probaly want to kill someone in your party. Aim for a combination of hearty meals and dried alternatives. We often take rice and powdered milk (double up as main course ingredients, supper or breakfast), tinned meats and dried 'bulking' foods. At the end of the day, providing your dont bust a gut and get completely exhausted, your pack only gets lighter.. Just remember to crush any tins. pack them in a sealable bag and place them in the base of your pack away from direct sunlight.
6) Need a wee in the night!!.. dont do it next to the tent.. its not hygenic and if in a 'wild animal zone' you may as well just put a flashing beacon on the top of your tent with the sign 'eat me, i'm in here'. The same goes for daily toilet duties.. dig toilets out well away from living areas and watercourses..
7) Keep food/ scented products away from tent.. e.g. in elevated positions in trees.. haul packs up on ropes (notably in bear/ mountain lion zones)
8) Remember to consider water purification in Giardia infested areas.. we normally boil water at least 3 times unless carrying purification tablets.
9) Carry in and carry out.. you want an adventure, so do the people following in your footsteps.
10) Use biodegradable soaps.. keep the toxins out of the wilderness..
11) Streams often double up as great refrigerators.. securely fix and item you neeed to cool in a sealed bag.. you dont want to contaminate a watercourse if it leaks.
12) If you light a fire.. think nice hot rocks.. You may be able to find a natural hole or create one yourself, heat up a few rocks, knock them into the hole, place a few cool rocks on top then place inside any wet items such as boots, socks etc.. you can then leave them all night if need be to dry out. Remember to leave the site as you found it though..

I'll add stacks more to the list at some point...

Thanks to everyone for sending the active brits posse emails.. we really appreciate it..

psychs..

Grand Canyon Photos - Our Favourites

2007-02-12T19:28:00.000Z

Here are just a few of our favourite pictures from our few days at the Grand Canyon. Dont forget to click them to make them full size..

1) Weemans Panoramic of the Grand Canyon from the South Rim

2) Looking down from off the South Kaibab Trail

3) Mid way down the canyon

4) After the storm.. Rainbow in the Grand Canyon

5) Never thought a toilet block could make a good picture!

6) Psychs being a crazy nutter.. again.. that was a long way down!!

You can check out more pics like this in our

Extreme Global Balancing Blog

Hope you enjoyed looking at some of our Grand Canyon pictures.. Feel free to use them, just give us a mention if you do.. thats all we ask..

En Route from Death Valley to Las Vegas 2006

2007-02-12T18:01:00.000Z

An awesome sunset en route to Vegas

It was late afternoon when we departed from Death Valley. None of us wanted to leave, the place was freakin awesome. With the euphoric tunes on, we kicked in the cruise control and headed off into the sunset. Psychs, in one of his mentalistic moods decided to lean out the window of the Jeep and take some breathtaking footage of the mountains along the way backlit by one of the most impressive sunsets ever.. .... then all of a sudden...... the sky just turned black, day had become night and we were on our way to Vegas for a proper mad'n!

After a short drive of a couple of hours we reached the city limits and could see the legendary beam of light from the top of the Luxor Pyramid Casino, our resting place for the next few days... It was very strange to enter a big city after all we had been in the wilderness for just over 2 weeks with hardly any contact with civilization. I think it was quite creepy in a way for all of us but we had to do it, if only to have a bath... god we reaked... This is just one of the many reasons the active brits posse likes to get away from it all once in a while.. its important to explore every angle of ya life instead of living a cybernetic 9-5 boring existence... It sounds crazy, but we were going to miss cooking on a single camp stove, sleeping on a thin thermorest, crapping in a drop toilet, hiking in the wilderness, considering bears and other critters and staying unclean for a week.. its so hard to get a true wilderness experience in the UK, although our National Parks are totally amazing.

The entrance to the Luxor Casino

We entered Las Vegas and it hit us with a massive welcome. To get to the Luxor we decided to cruise ‘The Strip’ and that was an experience I will never forget. It was complete madness! Made London look tame. There were turns after turns, mental traffic lights, flashing signs that confuse the senses and it appears to be a complete free-for-all although I am sure that there must be rules somewhere. After about 4 miles, we had to turn left to get to the Luxor, easier said than done in Vegas, especially near the weekend when half the population is out on a mission to lose the weeks wages, pull a few ladies of the night or just get down and boogie. We had no choice but to go into mad englishman mode, much to the panic of the others, and swerve across every lane in a true active brits agressive stylee – telling ya, it was a close one! Psychs and i dropped Weeman and Rico off near to the check-in entrance while we decided to brave the traffic once more, play chicken and go and drop off the hire car. Suddenly the place was gridlocked.. a plane had overshot the runway, gone through a perimeter fence and was parked on the pavement next to the airport.. what an adrenalin rush that must have been.. luckily no-one was hurt..

Vegas skyline

We got to the room and the first thing to do was to clean up then get some grub.. You dont half take showers for granted, I got into the shower and the water was running brown. It took 3 washes to get my hair clean and a massive body wash that made the water run like the Colorado River, what a shower, best ever... The room was amazing and the view from the balcony above the reception and gambling area just totally freaky.. slot machines all over the shop.. freakin thousands of them. On the way to the restaurant, we passed 100's of people literally sitting there frozen in a state of gambling limbo, little old ladies putting in $100 at a time into the slots, hardcore ganster looking dudes betting with $1000's and $1000's.. It was surreal... really made us all appreciate our few weeks of wilderness experience..... it was going to be a crazy few days with some manic nights out...

Kings Canyon & Sequoia National Park 2006

2007-02-07T16:35:00.000Z

When we arrived at Kings Canyon it was basically deserted. The main tourist season had ended and all that reamained were a few die hard travellers, notably in expensive RV's. We decided to stay at Porcupine Flats campground, nestled amidst pines and scrub at the base of the valley adjacent to rattlesnake Creek. Like the majority of sites we had stayed at during our trip, each pitch had its own 'anti-bear' storage unit to house all food and fragrant items. You would be surprised by some of the bear stories you hear and read about, doors getting ripped straight off their hinges, glass being removed and tents ripped to pieces. As you travel through the parks you constantly hear the phrase 'a fed bear is a dead bear' or a 'fed cougar is a dead tourist' so you try to do your best to preserve the 'natural' and reduce the contact between man and wild animal.

We only planned to spend a couple of nights in Kings Canyon so after a quick look at the guide books etc, we decided to do a short but stunning hike which and went on the Hotel Creek Trail via the Lewis Canyon Trail. We got to the trail head and there were notices warning us of the following: Mountain Lions; Bears; Rattlesnakes and Fires!

After a couple of miles of winding singletrack, we reached the first viewpoint and could see some controlled fires in the distance on the other side of the valley. It was time to sit and take in the amazing yet hazy view. Psychs decided he would climb down the cliff edge and go on the hunt for rattle snakes while i weighed up the options for some global balancing on a nearby boulder that jutted out from the edge. After the obligitory pictures we set off again once again further into the forest, it was amazing, like something off the Blair Witch Project. Not a single person about, almost deathly silence. It was fantastic. We jsut dont get those moments very often in the UK. You almost felt like someone or something was watching your every move.... maybe they were!!

En route to Sequoia, we stopped off at several viepoints to look for some great photo opportunies. Adjacent to one carpark psychs spotted a narrow 30ft long ridge that headed to a small pinnancle and... yes you've guessed it.. an opportunity for a serious bit of global balancing. The rock was also quite crumbly so we gave the ground a good check over before making the move to the edge. It was awesome, the view was outstanding and the drop on 3 sides must have been close to 1000ft.

From Kings Canyon, we made our way to Sequoia National Park. God those trees are freaking enormous and are estimated to be about 2,000+ years old in some cases. It was a momentous experience, being around some of the oldest living things on the face of the earth. Definately worth a visit, makes you really appreciate life.

A day in Zion NP with the Active Brits Crew - Sept 2006

2007-02-07T16:16:00.000Z

From the Grand Canyon we headed to Zion National Park. It was a fairly short painless drive given the lack of corners, traffic and length of roads. The roads in the states are truly amazing, just stick the motor into cruise control, sit back, bring out the food and just stare at the scenery. Its almost like being in a mobile cinema. The stateside adventure had only just begun for us, so we were still on on a proper high and enjoying every minute of the place.

On the approach to Zion NP, Psychs decided that he would get some great video footage by leaning out of the Jeeps window while the rest of just slammed around in our seats to some quality house tunage that was banging from the speakers. We think we might have shocked a few locals and tourists alike with our music choice, but we were so psyched up with the whole experience we just wanted our moods to be continually lifted and for every second to count (plus the fact the radio stations seemed to be playing alot of country and western and 80's rock).

We woke up to a glorious morning in Zion, there was not a cloud in the sky and the sun cast a beautiful warm glow on the cliffs adjacent to the campground. After breakfast we set off on a hike up Zion Valley following the course of the river. The views of the peaks along the way were of total contrast to the Grand Canyon but they were just as epic. It was soon time for a spot of lunch and we found a great secluded spot where we could both chill for half an hour and have a dip in the ice cold water to try and put some feeling back in the legs that had taken a bit of a battering from the hiking in the Grand Canyon.

We just wanted to stay there all day but its not in our nature to relax. We'd pushed ourselves so hard since arriving in the states and we were determined to continue this ritual for the next 2 weeks, non stop, all the time. We decided to continue the hike up the valley without using the shuttle buses provided by the National Park, you can see so much more when you walk as well as giving yourself a fitness boost. We took some fantastic photos along the way and arrived at the famous Zion lodge in the early afternoon were we decided to join the rest of the tourist masses, have an ice cream and and just sit on the grass for 10 minutes looking at the majestic cliffs rising from all corners.

From the lodge, we headed to the trailhead of ‘Angels Landing’ a relatively small peak with an altitude of 5990ft. Weeman and Psychs had done this before on a previous visit to the States so they continued to hike up the valley to check out the climbing scene for a future visit. Rico and I decent to perform a speed ascent to the summit. We started at 16:50 and reached the top at 17:40. On the way we passed fantastic rock formations and layer upon layer of sandstone. The final push to the top involved walking on a ledge with a 1m clearance either side and then using chains to help you get to the top. The chains are there as a hand rail to help prevent you from falling to your death. We couldn’t believe the view from the top. This was truly one of the most amazing scenes on the planet, it was spectacular. After a quick swig of water, we decided to dig deep, tap into our limited energy resources and run down to the bottom in true active brits style. We and made it to the trail head at 18:48, a total of 1 hr 58 mins.

Back at the site, Psychs and Weeman said that they had seen some climbers on a rock face setting up their sleeping bags for the night. It sounded like they were having one hell of a quality experience. While the pasta was on the boil myself and Rico headed to the local village shop to pick up some beers in preparation for a quality night of banter and daily reflection. Thats the great thing with Zion, you a fast flowing refigerator right on your doorstep to chill those beers, not that they lasted very long. As the sun went down Rico was attacked by a low flying Praying Mantis which settled on his leg. It was an absolutely fantastic insect and we think he made a friend for life.

In the very early hours of the morning we were woken up to the clap of thunder, lots and lots of thunder, and it was getting closer by the second. We got to the stage where you saw the flash, counted till 2 and then heard this awesome boom... That could only have been one to two miles away. It was truly absolutely mental. All of a sudden the rains came, not just a bit of rain but full on mentalistic heavy crap which could flatten a tent in seconds. It was outstanding and such a buzz. Would the tents leak? Collapse? Not a chance we were as snug as a bug in a rug.. My only thought was for the climbers who had attached themselves to the rock for the night. I hope that they decided enough was enough and made a rapid decent when they heard the thunder.

By morning it was calm and a level of normality had returned to the site, together with the beautiful warm temperatures, so we packed up the Jeep and prepared to continue our mission to Great Basin NP.

Zion NP is a must for any SW stateside visit. Its only a few hours from Vegas, it has a quality little village where you can stock up on supplies, a really modern visitor centre and awesome campgrounds. Most of all the cliff faces and hikes will blow you away and if you can, just make sure you get off that damn shuttle bus once in a while. If you are disappointed by the place then you seriously need to get a life.. its freakin awesome..

Grand Canyon Hike - September 2006

2007-02-07T10:46:00.000Z

Now I know this is February 2007 but I have been really busy away on courses since the beginning of January learning the wonders of blood and how to search for it. I have been looking through the travel stories and saw that there was no mention of The Grand Canyon which was our first destination of our 2006 US Tour.

Psycho and Weeman had been there before but this was a first for Rico and I. We got to the campsite in the dead of night and naturally I needed the sleep. The others went off to the South Rim to have a look at the canyon by moonlight, luckily they didnt fall in!

I knew that the Grand Canyon was big but I didnt realise that it would be so vast. There is not one TV programme on the planet that can prepare you for that!! We went on a hike down the Bright Angel Trail to the Colorado River and then up the Kaibab Trail back to the South Rim. We filled our 3 litre Camel Backs up and also carried an extra 2 1.5 litre bottles each. We left at 08:50 and got to the Colorado River at 11:30. The reason it took so long was because we were stuck behind a load of mules being made to take lazy people down to Indian Gardens plus we had to constantly wait for Rico who seemed to be taking a photo every two seconds. Whilst going down we saw a large number of people in trainers, why do you do it?? It takes one tiny rock to make you trip and you could so easily do your ankle in. At least with hiking boots you reduce that risk. Plus there was one idiot with a tiny drinking bottle, mate if you want to kill yourself then that is the way to do it. This place is hot and isolated, there are some taps but you cant assume that these are going to work. Dehydration and heat stroke are not the things that you want to be getting in a place like this, the lizards and snakes appear as though they are very hungry!!

The temperature next to the Colorado river was amazing. Check out the watch in the picture, it shows 53degrees C (this was in the direct sun though) I managed to find a small branch to get some shade and the watch said 41degrees C. It was hottttttttttt....

After a short rest bite and the obligitory 'feet' dip in the Colorado, we headed to a little oasis by the river about 1km from Phantom Ranch. En route we crossed a cool suspension foot bridge and was greeted with some quality banter by a few lasses on a rafting trip, really made our day. The bottom of the canyon is amazing, a full on step back to the time of creation. Now one of wanted to leave. We just wanted to live there forever and get crisp in the arid head, it was amazing. After about 15mins break, we were fully revatalised and refreshed, so we plodded ever onwards up the South Kaibab Trail.

The hike out was excellent. Its fairly steep but the swichbacks make the going really easy which in turn enabled us to develop a cracking rhythm. The only problem was the fumes from the horses (and notably the poo) which seemed to absorb every oxygen molocule within the vicinity. We just kept going and going and going, taking the odd breather to soak in the awe inspiring views and to cool off in a rain/thunderstorm that was whipping through the canyon. Before we knew it the job was done and it was time to head back to the village for a chilled Powerade and an ice-cream..

Great day, good hike and views to die for. Its a must for anyone visiting the canyon (but please consider all the factors before you attempt to do it in 1 day).

Hike up Half Dome, Yosemite NP, Sept 2006

2006-11-13T18:04:00.000Z

It was 16th September 2006 and the previous night had dropped to -5˚C and I didn’t want to get out of the sleeping bag. We ate our porridge and cleaned up for a bit and then it was a 50 minute drive to the trail head for Half Dome. The place was actually heaving with people, totally different from the life that we had been living for the past few weeks! We parked up and bought food for the hike from a fairly well stocked shop (much better than the place that we had shopped in at Tuolumne Meadows). We kitted up and set off for the trail head. On the way we passed a small lap dog in the front basket of someone’s bicycle. The dog had some small goggles over its eyes (called ‘Doggles’) it looked hilarious. The trail is relatively gentle and its easy to gain a good pace of over 2-3mph. To be honest, after doing Wheeler Peak in Great Basin and on account of undertaking several weeks of gnarly hikes, we didnt really break a sweat. The main problem with the trail is the dust, kicked up by every other hiker (and we are talking stacks and stacks of hikers.. almost like a trail of ants).

After about 45mins, we came to a waterfall which is apparently the 5th highest in the world. Unfortunately, thanks to very little rain, it was a mere trickle. We had been informed that during the autumn/winter season it is one of the most amazing sights on earth. An hour or so later after a few miles of power hiking we exited the tree line and arrived at the base of the Half Dome rock outcrop. It looked well cool, you could see the cables that went up to the top. We'd left the hike till late in the day (so we could have a bit of a solitary experience on the summit) and as a result, there where only a few people descending. As we looked up we could see that one of the hikers was in difficulty, suffering from a sudden onset of vertigo, and was clasping to the chain. A dude at the bootom of the slab asked if we would mind assisting on our way up and pass her colleagues a rope to help her get down. I put it in my backpack and off Paul and i went to save the day. All of a sudden we heard ‘Don’t you want to take some gloves to hold on to the chain?’ – "no thanks" we replied... "we are the active brits"! Then a mad American said ‘they’re fine they look like the rough sort’!!!! Paul and I went up in no time at all and dropped off the rope and carried on up.

The climb looks steep but is actually not that bad, its a real optical illusion. Its just a matter of quickly adjusting to the slight drop then using your arms and legs to haul yourself up the chain rail. Its well worth the effort though. The word speechless comes to mind and at 8,842ft, you get amazing views of the peaks in the Yosemite Valley and beyond. The view down the sheer side of Half Dome is scary it is a 5,000ft vertical drop to the valley floor below it is the sheerest cliff in America. However, it was very peaceful up there and one of the most majestic places I have been to.

After an hour or so of exploring the summit, doing a little bit of extreme balancing, it was time to nail the downhill section as darkness was closing in. We discovered the easiest way down the chain was to treat it as if you were abseiling. Just grab the chain on one side and feed it through your hands as you jump down. It was a piece of cake and took no longer than about 3 minutes to negotiate. Once the hands had cooled down (hence the need for the gloves.. but to be honest i'd still wouldnt use gloves next time, really hate not being in 100% control and gloves can sometimes be a hazard if they dont fit correctly), anyway, we opted for a speedy decent, a combination of power hiking and jogging back to the car..

It was a fantastic day, fantastic views, fantastic people, fantastic banter, good beers .... bit too much dust..

Olly

North Dome - Yosemite National Park - US Trip 2006

2006-11-11T13:23:00.000Z

North Dome is an absolutely stunning rock formation that gives you amazing views across the Yosemite valley to the infamous Half Dome. Although this is not a major 'to do' peak, it has got to be one of the best in the park and should be completed by all seasoned day hikers.

The trail head was a short drive down the road from Porcupine Flats, so after sorting out 2 weeks of disgusting filthy dirty clothing, we headed out in search of a sunset from hell and hopefully a breathtaking view of Half Dome. There were a few cars in the car park but we soon realised that there were hardly any people on this trail at all which led for an even more enjoyable experience. The trail was not technically difficult and was reasonably flat with only a few slight gradients and took us through a fantastic pine forest which after dark, was more akin to the Blair Witch project. After several miles we reached what we class as a 'false summit' which although provides you with fantasic views of Half Dome and Clouds Rest is not even close to the spectacular view you will be rewarded with if you continue onwards down a set of zig zags and upwards to the exposed summit of North Dome.

Ohhhh myyyy Gooddddd.. the views across the valley were spectacular and the near vertical drops mindblowing. The sun had just started to set and North Domes sheer face glowed like a beacon in the distance. This produced a range of different colours that we had not seen in the park before. On the way back we took a short detour to a really interesting geological formation called ‘Indian Rock’ a small arch thats sits at a prominaent elevation and provides you with a picture frame of the entire valley.From here it was a leisurely stroll back to the car and then a short drive back to an icey campground. Remember, this is September and you are at nearly 8,000ft so be prepared for the cold. The fire got lit first of all and that generated welcomed heat before we tooked into a couple of chilled lagers and an apple pie.

Word of warning if you do decide to ever stay at Porcupine Flats.. Its an official but somewhat wilderness campground. It does has primitive drop toilets but no tap water (carry water in or boil/ purify the stream water). You can only collect dead wood (so dont start hacking trees down) and remember its a long way to the nearest shop (which has limted foodstuff).... just be prepared. Also watch out for things that go bumph in the night.. namely black bears trying to rip your tent to shreds.. do the right thing and store literally everything in the metal lockers provided on each camp site... A fed bear is a dead bear.. or should i say.. a hungry bear can equal a dead tourist..

Thanks for reading.... Olly..

The Hike to Clouds Rest, Yosemite NP, USA, 13-09-2006

2006-11-11T12:46:00.000Z

CLOUDS REST

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

'Clouds Rest' (9,926ft) is an absolutely awesome peak located mid way down the Yosemite valley. Its got to be one of the parks 'Jewels in the Crown' providing you with a breathtaking 360 degree panorama including views of the infamous Half Dome (8,842ft).

After spending most of the morning thawing out after a cold night in sub zero temperatures, we made our way from Porcupinte Flats (8,300ft) to the trail head. The route itself, although moderate in length did not require any technical ability and can easily be accomplished by the vast majority of hikers who enjoy distance day hikes. From the trailhead the path meanders through low level forests before arriving a short but steady climb which leads you across the ridgeline and onwards to a small but beautiful crystal clear lake. At this point its definately worth stopping for a few minutes to take in the peace and traquility before heading ever onwards and upwards to the summit of Clouds Rest. The scenery and rock formations along the way are also spectacular so dont forget the camera. At 2.40pm, we arrived at the summit and were greeted with views to die for.. "Oh my God, check out Half Dome, it that stunning or what!!!.... "Look at Mt. Dana further up the valley, lets do it tomorrow"... "I'm emigrating, this place is awesome". The whole place was so awe-inspiring that the entire active brits posse just wanted to set up camp for several months and do everything in sight. It was Psychs's birthday so for him it was also a dream come true, to climb a peak with his mates, see some top scenery and do what he does best. He has a tendency to go full on mentalistic in the mountains, think he must have been a goat in a previous life and was absolutely in his element, checking out the views and weighing up all the options for one-leg extreme balancing.

From the summit the drop down on either side was sheer as the photo on the left shows with me dangling my legs over the side and you wouldn’t survive a fall if you fell off, not only is it a long way down, (definate pavement pizza terriitory), but the granite would just cut you up into shreds.

After contemplating our feable and somewhat insignificant existence, the Active Brits decided that a relaxing sunbathe was in order. It was calm and peaceful and it is moments like that that make you forget about life back home. You just dont have a care in the world.

We were on the summit ridge for well over 1 hour. We would have stayed longer but we noticed a thunderstorm that was coming our way at rapid speed so thereore we decided that we should start to make our way down again but things took a turn for the worse.

In summary, the hike to Clouds Rest is a relatively easy one. There are a few steep ascents if you are not used to hiking but these are broken up by the presence of zigzags. The paths are easy to follow and if you keep to these then you are rewarded with a magnificent view across Yosemite that you will cherish forever. As with all hikes, make sure that you take plenty of water and food with you as you are a long way from a tap or a shop. In addition, and this is very important, make sure that you have wet weather clothing with you. This peak is not called 'Clouds Rest' for nothing, the clouds really do settle here in no time at all. If you are caught out then you could be in trouble. As always, we recommend to anyone that jeans and denim do not go with outdoor life. If this clothing gets wet then it takes a very long time for it to dry. In addition some of the paths are fairly rough and we recommend that you have a strong and sturdy pair of hiking boots. Enjoy and thanks for reading... Olly :o)

Great Basin National Park - USA Roadtrip 2006

2006-10-17T20:09:00.000+01:00

As part of our US Tour 2006, the Active Brits possie spent a few nights in Great Basin National Park, our primary aim to ascend the awe inspiring Wheeler Peak which stands at 13,063ft.

Great Basin is an area of outstanding natural beauty and well worth a visit for anyone who is planning to travel nearby i.e. Zion National Park or Grand Canyon National Park. We stayed at Wheeler Peak Campsite which is the highest listed camping area in the park at an elevation of about 9,980ft. There are no shops within walking distance of the campsite so you have to take in your own food (and dont feed the wildlife). The nearest grocery store is in Baker together with an unmanned petrol station that accepts credit cards. However, there is a water supply in the campsite and there are a number of taps dotted around. But BEWARE the water is turned off during off-peak periods. There are also compost toilets but there is NO electricity supply so you need to make sure that you have lights/torches etc. when you go at night! Although the odour isnt foul, we found the odd jostick or two helps to combat the smell :o)

The temperature at night in Great Basin can drop dramatically (with temperatures almost reaching freezing point) we decided it would be advantageous to make a fire rather than pass out with hypothermia (and by eck did we make a rip roaring fire).. The general rule at Great Basin is that you can collect 'dead' wood that has fallen from trees but you are NOT allowed to break off branches. This makes for a great afternoon expedition into the wilderness and is a great park management tool to reduce the natural fires in susceptible areas.. Collect what you want, get yourself a few beers, pull up a few seats and illuminate the night sky, you wont regret it, its one hell of a soulful wilderness experience.

On the morning of the hike we woke up to Psychs singing (which is a very rare thing seeing as though he is normally so miserable at that time of day). After a half frozen breakfast we set off for the summit of Wheeler Peak from the campsite, the one thing on our side was the weather, it was absolutely perfect, the sun was shining bright and there was not a cloud in the sky.

The trail head started at just over 10,000ft and there was about a 5 mile hike ahead of us to the summit of Wheeler Peak. The start was a fairly gentle slope that traversed the SE side of the ridge before reaching the treeline at 11,000ft. The remaining section of the trek took us up 2000ft of exposed terrain littered with large boulders and scree deposits towards a majestic yet somewhat evil looking summit a couple of kms in the distance. Although the weather conditions were favourable, we were constantly checking our surroundings, aware of the peaks 'cloud building' capability and the severe risk of mid morning thunderstorms. We had all decided that we would take a break every 500ft that we ascended in order for everyone to catch up with each other.

The hike seemed to get worse every time I had a sip of water. I just couldnt develop a constant rhythm. Normally the water assists my recovery but this was so strange. After every mouthfull i found myself breathing rapidly in order to try and regain my pace. It was the first time i'd experienced at first hand the implications of altitude and wow ... freaking unbelievable..

We stopped at 12,500ft and then had a final push to the top, walking past ice and snow that had settled on the rocks. My lungs were burning, my head was starting to ache a bit and my legs were turning to jelly. All 5 Active Brits members on this US tour of duty made it to the summit, myself, psychs, weeman, Rico.... and, ohhhh yes, i forgot to introduce Peanuts, the active brits mascot.. Peanuts seemed to be more alert than anyone else but heh, it had been in a rucksack having a free ride for the last three hours!

The views from the top were breathtaking you could see the desert valley floor at roughly 8,000ft below and the weather was holding on for us too. We stayed at the top for about 50 minutes taking photos and relaxing, after all it is not often that Brits get the chance to be at 13,063ft. Sean noticed that the mountain was forming its own cloud rather rapidly and we decided that we had to leave. We went back the way we came and arrived at the tree line again.

Instead of going back to the campsite, we carried on towards Bald Mountain that stands at 11,562ft this was a hike just shy of 600ft. However, by this stage I had vomited and had a bad headache and really wasn’t feeling too good! Psychs must have been dosed up on about 8 Ibuprofen, 16 cubes of sugar and a full load of madness because he stormed off up to the summit like a demon on acid. Rico tried to follow and was doing really well but he too started to lag behind.

Anyway, we all reached the summit of Bald Mountain and could see the rain over Wheeler Peak so it was lucky that we left when we did. We were in the sun again and it was hot so the only thing to do was to sunbathe. We were lounging around at 11,562ft in the sun and there was not a single sound - it was bliss.

There was no trail down from where we were so we had to make our own way back down. We filled in the book at the bottom and just about stepped onto the road when a guy on a mountain bike asked us if we had filled out the book at the top! ‘What book and where was it’ – DOH Psychs run up and fill it in for us mate. We couldn’t believe that we hadn’t seen that at the top – oh well we all have the memories and photographs of it. So if you go to the summit look out for the book and fill it in for us..!!!

The guide books say that the time it takes to hike Wheeler Peak is about 8 hours. We managed to do both Wheeler and Bald Mountain in about 7 hours including the time for the breaks etc. Remember to take plenty of water and food with you and make sure that you eat and drink regularly. The weather can also change in a few minutes so check the forecast. We saw people hiking up in jeans, T-shirts and trainers and they must have got caught in the rain! This is serious day hike, so remember that you are out in there middle of nowhere and if you get caught out because you were wearing stupid clothing then thats your own fault. Caryy waterproofs and keep spare clothes in your rucsack... you never know when you just might need them... most of all.. go wild and have fun....

Cheers... Ollyzontal (full certified member of the active brits possie)

Cairns... Australia

2006-08-24T21:10:00.000+01:00

We arrived at a small suburban campsite on the outskirts of Cairns which was within walking distance of the town centre. We pitched our tent, literally oblivious to everything going on around, then just died. What passed was just 10 hours of darkness, complete blackness, the kind of sleep were you wake up in the morning in exactly the same position than you went to bed.

It was only when i began to come around that i realized the true extent of the Queesland climate. It was absolutely fantastic. I honestly cant believe i even got to sleep it was so damn hot. Well this was it, the first day of our adventure and i was determined to make it an interesting one...

Ahhhhhh... freakin animals all over the shop, we were surrounded by critters that had spent half their life on steroids. "What the hell was that" i shouted.. all i will say is that the groundsheet rippled and whatever it was either got teleported to an orbiting spacecraft or disappeared into a supernatural void underneath the tent.. The locals must have been thinking "looks like we've got a couple more winging poms on the site". Talking about the locals, we are not talking UK caravan club stylee holiday makers, we are talking a pukka trailer park community. Simply think 'Home and Away' then add the reality of sharing a site with 24/7 working class residents, its not exactly a match made in heaven but it makes for an entertaining time if you are prepared to mingle a bit. We are talking a fusion of late night parties and police raids.. no hang on that was Bowen further down the coast..

From what i can remember Cairns was absolutely stunning. I've always had this philosophy of once you've seen one town you've seen them all but when you consider its overall location, Cairns was special. Its only when you actually look out form the harbour that you realize the extent of its geographic isolation. Across the bay was a Jurassic parkesque landscape of untouched bush clad hills cloaked in low level cloud. Directly in front was a vast harbour filled with expensive yachts, you could just imagine the rich and famous from around Australias shoreline cruising up the coast for a bit of fishing on the Barrier reef before parking up in Cairns to explore the upmarket restaurants. I couldn't get my head round seeing a Pelican right in front of me, it just seemed so happy and content, every couple of minutes gnoshing on a seemingly endless food supply "where were the discarded shopping trolleys, the floating pieces of sewage, the used condoms and syringes".. The place was immaculate, it was just a shame we had to leave so soon to find work further south.

En-Route to Australia - The Flight

2006-05-30T18:03:00.000+01:00

Australia & New Zealand travel story continued...

‘Where the freakin hell are we going???’

For what seemed like hours the little computer graphic of a plane illustrating our flight and its location seemed to sit motionless in an ocean of blue on the TV screen in the economy cabin. Talk about a long flight, I seemed to spend most of it looking at the Pacific on an overhead monitor. If you suffer from hyperactivity, claustrophobia or the inability to sleep on long haul flights then get yourself a holiday sorted in the Costa Del Sol and forget about heading 'down under'. If you want to experience the thrills of sitting in a plane for 20 odd hours, you could always do a trial run at home by strapping your knees up to your chin with a belt, sitting back in a chair then getting someone to push you right up to the wall and feed you every 3 hours with peanuts and rubberised meat. It you want to make it fully realistic you’ll need to watch Mr Bean continuously, listen to the same top 40 tunes, sit 10 cms from the most annoying person on the planet who prides himself on the ability to eat chicken vindaloo for breakfast, lunch and evening dinner and just pray that you manage to live through the torture without telling everybody around you your life story.

It was early morning as we finally approached Australia. Cairns our final destination appeared in small text on the screen in front. ‘Thank God for that’ I thought, ‘I’ll soon be able to stretch my legs, kick this Deep-Vein Thrombosis into touch, grab some food and a proper kip’. Total frustration, tiredness and the inability to move any limb were soon surpassed by an overwhelming urgency to get off the plane and start living. It soon became evident that the plane had other ideas, well not so much the plane, and more the pilot. I reckon he had plans on going clubbing in Brisbane cos that’s where the plane was going. Cairns was now in the rear view mirror, as we continued to enjoy the rollercoaster ride of turbulence and the fragrant smell wafting from the toilet cubicles. Come to think of it, it was more of an airbourne Glastonbury moment. Several hours later we landed, jumped on another plane and headed back on the same route as we came in on to Cairns, Queenslands northern paradise.

To be continued :o)

Setting the Scene to an epic journey to Australia & New Zealand

2006-05-29T12:56:00.000+01:00

In the coming weeks you’ll read of my experiences during an epic trip to Australia and New Zealand several years ago. I’ll try to describe elements of the trip in a raw, unfiltered way so you get to experience my experiences rather than reading a standard travel guide text.

I’d basically had enough of the UK and what seemed like a cybernetic robotic existence. The good old corporate empire was doing its best to completely destroy a successful future that I’d developed and for once in my life I was determined to feel like a person rather than a number. The executioners arrived one bright sunny day to inform several colleagues and myself that we were ‘surplus to requirements’, our efforts over the years had in essence increased the profile of our product which resulted in a ‘sell out’ to another company. I felt like I’d been crapped on from a great height, it was time to disappear and gain control, call it running away, call it what you want, the bubble had burst and I felt like I needed to escape in order to get a grip on my own reality. A friend who had just finished studying and wanted to ‘see the world’ joined me on the trip. Our reasons for going where very different. I suppose looking back that I wanted to shy away from my own existence for a while, to slowly rebuild the confidence that had been stripped from me, my friend on the other hand wanted to ‘live like there was no tomorrow’, one might say a slight recipe for disaster.

The need to travel and re-discover my inner-self was further enhanced by an intense passion for the great outdoors, an adventurous spirit and the need to experience my experiences whenever the time felt right for me. I just wanted a period of my life where I could in essence create my own destiny, break away from the confines of a clockwork standardised existence and slowly regain what i'd lost. It was my time, for 12 months i dictated the rules, I was in control and to be honest, most of the time it was freakin awesome..

The story continues…

Travel Tip of The Day

2006-05-27T23:30:00.000+01:00

While i'm busy putting together content for the site, i'll start with a very useful travel tip of the day.

Always carry the lid from a 35mm camera film pod.. It nearly always doubles up as a sink plug.. Really useful for travellers who use public or park campgrounds or the not so luxurious backpackers or motels where most plugs have been stolen..