Top remote trips in the world — Part Two
The Cloud Forest of Ecuador is far different than a northern rainforest like in British Columbia. Mists climbing up the side of the Andes from the Pacific keep the mountains moist at all times. There are more bird species in Ecuador than the rest of the world combined. Watch out for all the poisonous plants in the jungle, the jaguars, and even baby ocelots who have been known to stick their fangs into your leg for a gnosh. Ouch!
Closer to home, if you don’t mind hiking 12,000 feet up and back in one day, you can make it to the top of Desolation Peak in the Cascades Wilderness of Washington State to the fire lookout where Jack Kerouac (famed author of the classic On the Road) started the Beat Generation and the Back to the Land movement that spawned the Hippies. It’s a very hard place to find, so best to read my book Tracking Jack (on Amazon) for precise directions.
Still with mountains, should you find yourself in western Nepal just north of the city of Pokhara, and you rise before dawn and climb 3,000-foot Sarangkot hill in the dark, you can watch the sunrise over the Himalayas and revel in the sight of the entire mountain range — including Mt Everest and Machupuchare (shown) — erupting into balls of fire. There is no Starbucks atop the mountain, so best to bring your own morning beverage.
Is there actually such a creature as the almost mythical, all-white spirit bear? Yes there is, but the Gitga’at people of the Great Bear Rainforest of British Columbia where the bears live in seclusion say there may be as few as 50 of the gorgeous creatures, making it the rarest animal in the world. To see one, you will need a guide and permission, a lot of luck, patience and an indifference to black flies.
The mountain spring that serves up hot water for fabulous Bad Ragaz Spa and Resort in eastern Switzerland was first discovered by shepherds in 1215 who thought the long narrow grotto from which steam clouds emanated was the Gate to Hell. Guests enjoying the resort these days may not know there is a road into the mountains, and a long narrow trail into the grotto itself, then a terrifying stroll into the deep cavern where dense clouds of steam lure like a siren. Not for those easily scared of the dark.
The Hawaiian Islands these days are nothing more than a tourist attraction, but on the seldom visited island of Molokai (where tourism is not encouraged) if you venture all the way along highway 450 to the east end and over the top to the other side, you will find the original landing point where Polynesian settlers first settled centuries ago. Halawai Bay was a plantation until a tsunami destroyed it, but these days the intrepid explorer can follow a native guide to Moa’ula Falls, a huge cataract hidden in the depths of the jungle. No wonder parts of Jurassic Park were shot in this island wilderness where no one lives and few tourists ever wander.
In 2012 I named Querpon Island, at the far northern tip of Newfoundland, as my top destination that year. The lighthouse keeper’s home has been turned into a Bed and Breakfast. The bay at the north end of the island swarms with nutrients and humpback whales feeding. You can almost reach out and touch them. The currents off the shore deliver an endless parade of giant icebergs floating by like dazzling diamonds. On a clear day you might imagine you could see Greenland.
Getting up close and personal with creatures that might eat you is always exciting. Take, for instance, try diving with Great White Sharks. The so-called “Red Triangle” off the coast of California named for the amount of blood in the water, is home to the largest great whites in the world as they feast on elephant seals and sometimes people. Should you go, best to keep your hands and feet inside the cage when the Big Fella shows up.
It’s certainly not a tourist attraction, but in the course of research for a story in the magazine for which I wrote in the Bay Area, I managed to sneak into San Quentin Prison disguised as a “gaffer” for a film company. Should you enjoy heavy tension as part of your travels, I would say that having 5,000 hard core prisoners stare at you like a piece of fresh hamburger is a great way to increase both your heartbeat and attention span. Going home after that trip to Hell was like a fresh breath of clean air. Not recommended for the faint of heart.
You wouldn’t want to go there on your own after dark, but a visit to the Trenchtown Culture Yard in Kingstown, Jamaica brings to life the memory of famed reggae musician Bob Marley, who was brought up in Trenchtown, a dangerous poverty-stricken ghetto not usually associated with tourism. Take a selfie in front of the statue of the legend of reggae, whose album Babylon by Bus sold over 100 million copies. Trenchtown is fairly safe 9–5 but after that you are on your own. I will wait here for you.
These and other stories of my many trips to wild and remote destinations around the planet will be included in my new photobook, as soon as I get around to writing it. Just how close do you want to get to a mother grizzly bear with her cubs? Is it safe to kayak with a pod of 40-ton humpback whales? Are moose in Alaska as dangerous as they are supposed to be? As I always say, “you wouldn’t believe me if I didn’t have the photos to prove it….” More soon.