GROUP TREKKING IN
THE
AZORES
EXPEDITION
LADAKH JEFF FUCHS ON THE UNFORGIVING
FOOTPATHS OF PASHMINA TRADERS
SWEET HOME
CHICAGO
BLUES SUP PRO
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HOW TO HITCH A RIDE IN CAIRO
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6 Mailstop
How spectacular is Malaysia!
IN THIS ISSUE
9 Tripping
ISSUE•101
The Happiness of the Long Distance Mountain Runner
12 On The Fringe
More under-reported, quirky-human, natural-world stories: when beer makes for better health and berries just don’t cut it, how many teeth is too many, and why wear crampons when a thong will do?
15 Taxi! Donkey!
Local Knowledge By Simon Vaughan
Our very special correspondent gets the inside scoop on hitching a ride in Cairo
40 THE BLUES By Bill Roberts
CHICAGO SINGS
He’s one cool cat, and he’s got the lowdown on how to groove the Midwest blues
19 Thrillseeker Up a Pico Peak
What’s revealed when the view from the mountain is shared with friends
The Traveller’s Edge 24 MEC’s Why we take to the high—and low— seas with board and paddle in tow
31 ITINERARY
Ready to trip out?—here are three essential guidelines to get your compass pointed!
Buzz 60 Backpacker News from Hostelling International
Hostel your way through big-horn country— from Calgary to Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper and Edmonton. And, Fare Thee Well, Brian Kelly
Traveller 66 Outpost Connecting you to your next adventure COVER PHOTO: JEFF FUCHS, OF HIMSELF ON THE LADAKH PLATEAU
48
Story and Photos by Jeff Fuchs
PASSAGE TO
PASHMINA
For centuries, the rich fleece grown by Himalayan Mountain sheep was harvested for wear in the world’s cultured capitals. Join Jeff Fuchs, Outpost’s Asia editor-at-large, as he sets out across the vast plateaus of remote Ladakh to explore the ancient trading routes of pashmina wool
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How ‘bout—a chance to win 1 of 2
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CONTRIBUTOR
T
Bill Roberts
he enigmatic and eclectic Bill Roberts, our new contributing editor, has penned his second feature for Outpost, writing this time about “being on safari” (his words!) at the Chicago Blues Festival this past June. A renaissance man by nature, Bill is as eloquent when writing about classic music as he is about his numerous trekking and mountaineering exploits, including as a member of Team Outpost on our 2012 Kawa Karpo (in China, Issue89) and 2013 Kuururjuaq (in Northern Quebec, opXpeditions online) expeditions. Look for more of Bill’s incredible stories and commentaries at outpostmgazine.com this fall. Bill lives in Prince Edward County, Ont., with his wife Sharon.
CONTRIBUTOR
W
Shaun Pett
ith 26 countries and counting under his travel belt, including recent trips that saw him drive across the American South, kayak the Sea of Cortez and explore East Africa, Shaun has come to learn that curiosity moves feet and strange places make present moments sharper. A Toronto-based writer, look for his account an reflections on tre ing up an Azores peak in our Thrillseeker section this issue.
ISSUE•101 Publisher/Editorial Director MATT ROBINSON matt@outpostmagazine.com Editor DEBORAH SANBORN deborah@outpostmagazine.com Creative/Art Director SERGIO DAVID SPADAVECCHIA david@outpostmagazine.com Senior Writer/Editor & Special Travel Advisor SIMON VAUGHAN simon@outpostmagazine.com
a i
Associate/Online Editor DANIEL PUIATTI dan@outpostmagazine.com Gear Editor PAUL AUERBACH Editor-at-Large (Asia) JEFF FUCHS Editor-at-Large (Europe) RYAN MURDOCK Hostelling International Editor ERIN THOMPSON Contributing Editors BILL ROBERTS, FINA SCROPPO, EVAN SOLOMON, IAN WRIGHT Contributors This Issue JEFF FUCHS, BILL ROBERTS, SIMON VAUGHAN, ROBERT J. BRODEY, JOE SANBORN, SHAUN PETT
Sales Manager GREG DAVIS
greg@outpostmagazine.com Director, Integrated Publishing Programs
DAVID FRATTINI
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S14-DI-Irela
Story and Photos by Shaun Pett
d
UP A PICO ISLAND To see the mountain every day instills the question: what does down here look like from way up there?
It
starts with the coffin. Polished wood and metal, set in the hallway of peeling grey paint on the ferry travelling between the Azorean islands of Faial and Pico. Everyone has to pass it when we disembark, pass the weeping son weak against the wall, everyone paying silent respect and miming the Catholic cross. Romero traces the four points of himself. Death spooks him, more so it seems that he’s leading this group of old friends—mostly unfit, mostly underprepared city dwellers—to the summit of Portugal’s highest peak, Mount Pico. And then, when we’re all assembled, Romero does a head count. Thirteen. I’m the unlucky addition to the dozen, drafted into this expedition while visiting my friend Nadia in the Azores during the great holiday repatriation of emigrants in August. Some of these friends, like Romero, have climbed www.outpostmagazine.com
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Pico before, while others, having grown up in its shadow, have always wanted to. For islanders here, Pico is a lodestar that orients their daily lives. To see the mountain every day instills the question: what does here look like from up there? ha no such uestions coming rom the flat o ntario now, ha ing seen ico or the rst time , too, am curious We catch taxis from the dock and our grandmotherly driver nudges her bumper into a cow blocking the road. It stares at us with a nihilistic “do it, whatever” before sauntering off. At base camp, which sits a kilometre up the 2,351-metre (7,800-foot) mountain, we sign in with passports, borrow a GPS tracker and watch a safety video. It is low-budget, scare-you-straight are or a mountain whose mo erate to i cult terrain an unpredictable weather have claimed victims before. Broken bones. Lost hikers. Death.
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But we still believe in our youth, even though 15-year-old Lorenzo is the only one that truly embodies it, and our steps bound with optimism onto the path that’s worn separate from the green lichen e pass the rst o gui e posts that mar the 1,350-metre ascent. The group clumps tight, excited and con ent, ol rien s tal ing an o ing on t un erstan ortuguese so ocus on the timbre o their oices, how this strange tongue soun s li e an inebriate ean onnery spea ing in an astern uropean accent oon clou s roll o er us and the island disappears below. Day trippers pass us on their way down, some towing quiet and disaffected children whose easy bodies say the seven- to eight-hour climb is no big thing n we on t thin it will be, as we re sprea ing the hi e o er two ays in or er to o ernight at the top or tomorrow’s sunrise. But the incline increases about halfway up and the path disappears when we rise beyond vegetation into a landscape o ruste grey olcanic roc ll that we stan on has bubble and burst hot from the open wound of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that splits the ocean floor rom north to south eologists call where the Azores sit a Triple Junction. Here the North merican, urasian an rican tectonic plates grin away from each other, continually creating the islands’ dramatic beauty—Atlantis is even rumoured to be buried in these waters. Pico is the youngest of nine islands, having erupted into existence some 300,000 years ago—its volcanic cone was added about 17,000 years ago and it’s been almost 300 years since the last eruption, though there was a debatable one in 1963 off the coast. harp slabs o scree pile an wobble in the crannies o the path, each step the potential for a sprain. We pause often, at rst on grassy plateaus, then on roc y outcrops wrapper blows away an our impulses er to grab it, but we re stoppe by the edge and the nothing beyond it. lose to the top a poc et o rain sli es o er us, an though we’re sweating and throbbing it’s too cold to refresh at this altitude. When the clouds part the world below is small. How ar we e risen, how high these un t limbs ha e carrie me hen posts , an come uic we win aroun the si e o the mountain an appears, with sta e in at the lip of the crater. We exhaust cheers and descend into ico ran e an its rolling lunar lan scape o the right the mountain continues to grow into the orbi ing i uinho pea » CLOUDS OBSCURE THE ISLAND BELOW AS THE GANG TRUDGES UPWARD
But we put that out of mind. Ascension waits till tomorrow. We set up camp, don warmer clothes and eat what provisions we ha e a san wich, coo ies, some chocolate ot enough s us ims we sit on the e ge o a sheer cli to watch the sun set beyond the island of Faial into the totality of the Atlantic. Romero produces a bottle of Licor do Amor an plastic shot glasses an we sip the unctuous blac berry li ueur as the sun catches re in the water an she s colours The booze warms, and the sun burns through orange and purple an pin an re n the gloaming watch a line o bobbing hea lamps angle own rom the pea an ma e or their cout camp on the ar si e o the crater ome other illuminate tents ho er in the ar istance ull moon is our camp re na, an osteopath, gi es my friend Ze’s aching body a treatment on a sleeping bag. Our bodies say the time is late. We go to bed. cept that our our person tent is occupie by e, shoul er to shoulder tight. We close our eyes. This does not mean sleep. There is silence. This does not mean sleep. For what seems li e hours the e o us try to will oursel es unconscious imbs numb, thoughts churn shi t an the space is coloni e by another stretch out my arm an reali e it s not coming bac roans turn to hiccup laughs in the absurdity of the situation and we all admit to being awa e flashlight spar s an coo ies are passe aroun the circle. We’re high from the exhaustion and Portuguese sloshes around and between us. Ze says something and laughs. The others laugh n laugh at the laughs ecause anything is unny now an because on t want to be le t out e on t care about the other tents of friends or strangers, whether they slumber or struggle eryone is coming own with us But we try to sleep again and soon someone is snoring. We elbow them, not because they re eeping us rom sleep but because we resent them for the success they’ve had. Then omero s alarm comes on us li e a ba ream here s the bustle of preparations outside, the whizz of zippers and swish o fleece ith time short to sunrise, we miss brea ast an stumble forward on adrenaline. Romero marshals us straight across the agge crater as night pales at the e ges, my footsteps aimed in the bouncing circle of a headlamp. The groun arri es sharp an ast li e the rushing hori on o a rst person shooter
» A ROBUST BUT TREKKABLE ASCENT, WITH PLACES TO LUNCH AND CAMP ALONG ROUTE
This is Shaun Pett’s first story for Outpost
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER • 2014
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www.outpostmagazine.com
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TAIW
AN ADVENTURE BEYOND Y
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Photos by Jimmy Martinello
Taking to the high—and low—seas with board and paddle in tow WE'VE GOT YOUR ADVENTURES COVERED!
MECC'S THE TRAVELLER'S EDGE
F
rom winter to water, summer to cycling, the last few decades have seen an unprecedented proliferation in outdoor activities. Some of these sports and pastimes are variations on age-old disciplines, while others are completely original and would likely boggle the mind of sport enthusiasts from past generations. One new sport now taking the world’s waterways by storm is Stand Up Paddleboarding—or “SUP” as it’s often called.
» TIM EMMETT DR
OPPING IN AT MAMQ
!
UAM FALLS IN B.C.
Some claim SUP’s roots can be traced back to ancient Polynesian watercraft, or to the more recent Australian surf ski used by the legendary Duke Kahanamoku in Hawaii in the 1930s. Regardless, Honolulu’s C4 Waterman is thought o as one o the sport s early pioneers an one o the rst bona e pa leboar companies “I remember going to the Outdoor Retailer’s [trade] show in 2007,” says Todd Bradley, C4 Waterman’s CEO. “We borrowed a section of a booth... [and had] a TV, two paddles, two har boar s an one inflatable boar an e eryone thought we were the joke of the show!” Todd is a born-and-bred Hawaiian who has spent much of his life on the legendary surf that lashes the shores of the islands. He has a slue of honours and awards, including being the Maui to Oahu Outrigger Sailing Canoe Champion, the Molokai to Oahu Open Ocean Paddleboard Racing Champion, and the Molokai to Oahu Stand Up Paddling Champion. In his younger ays he manu acture carbon bre pa les or outrigger canoes in his garage. One day, friend and fellow surfer Brian Keaulana came to Todd and asked if he could make him a long paddle out of carbon o oblige an soon the two were catching wa es at Makaha Beach on Oahu using Todd’s long paddles and a couple of big, old Canyon surfboards. Their fun caught the eye of onlookers and Todd was quickly inundated with orders or long pa les, which were use with e erything rom win sur ng boar s to any big, ol boar lying aroun t was a great way to stay t, an an awesome way to ha e un Keaulana, son of surf-great Buffalo (Richard) Keaulana, went on to ha e inclu e in u alo s ig oar ur ng lassic held yearly in Makaha. “There were six of us maybe in this competition,” Todd e plains about that rst year eryone was borrowing each other s boar s an borrowing each other s pa les ll ery accomplished watermen just taking it up...and you know, it in o went iral at that time a e armenter starte shaping some o the rst stan up boar s that were ma e or stan up sur ng, o continues He ma e the rst in o per ormance stan up pa leboar that was strictly purposeful for riding surf, and it debuted at one of those Buffalo’s Big Board contests at Makaha in 2005.” Not long after, Bradley, Keaulana and Parmenter joined together to form C4 Waterman, now one of the world leaders in water equipment, and the sport has grown from strength to strength e er since
MEC.CA/PADDLING www.outpostmagazine.com
25
2014 • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
ds o f es . ace
us e m
HERE ARE 3 ESSENTIAL GUIDELINES TO GET YOUR COMPASS POINTED! By SIMON VAUGHAN Senior Editor and Travel Advisor
WHEN OUTPOST/SERGIO D. SPADAVECCHIA
TIME is of the essence
TRIP PLANNING FOR THE ONE, TWO OR THREE WEEK EXCURSION
N
ITINERARY
g
READY TO TRIP OUT?
orth Americans are renowned for having some of the shortest vacation allowances in the world. Whereas Europeans enjoy three to four weeks when they start a new job, on this side of the pond, all too often, we get a maximum of two. Consequently, we have to be more selective with our choice of vacation to make the most of our limited time off. For those of us with just 10 vacay days a year, we often choose between blowing it all on one annual trip or taking a week and spreading the rest over long weekends, family events or to extend statutory holidays.
1
Not only must we consider where we’re headed but how we’re getting there. Flying is obviously the quickest way to most places, but to take advantage of every moment it’s important to put as much e ort into selecting the transportation as it is accommo ation irect flights are generally uic er than connections, but even here all things are not equal. ome airlines o er ay flights to urope rom astern ana a as well as the more customary re eye or o ernight flight he bene t o a ay flight is that a ter arri ing in urope in the e ening an getting a soli night s sleep, you start resh the ne t ay, ta ing ull a antage o your time he isa antage is that you e spent that precious rst ay entirely on route n o ernight flight allows you to wor all ay, hea straight to the airport rom your o ce, fly out that e ening, an though a little worse or the wear celebrate the rst ay o your acation actually at the estination there are multiple flights to choose rom, it goes without saying we want to epart home as early as possible an return at the last possible moment! s most accommo ations ha e chec ins o ten no earlier than mi a ternoon an chec outs no later than mi morning, it s a goo i ea to plan where to store your luggage in the interim then you’re free to sightsee, shop or lounge on a beach. Hotels and hostels often allow bags to be left for a ew hours, an many railway an bus stations still o er loc ers you loo into this be ore you go and plan ahead, you can save precious time on arrival and departure days.
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HERE ARE A FEW TIPS FOR PLANNING A TRIP WHEN TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE! THAT ONE PRECIOUS WEEK Every minute counts. Try to minimize travel time and jet lag an ma imi e time at the estination by eeping flights below e to si hours To the beach: Sand and surf are plentiful throughout the aribbean, Me ico, Flori a an Hawaii, but i you want to try somewhere more o the beaten path icaragua, Panama or a less-visited island like Dominica are all great options. For the culture: uba has great music, ibrant arts an a istincti e culture, but i you ha e your heart set on urope restrict yoursel to one or two countries or cities, at best. Try combining London with Paris or Belgium using the urostar n taly, ome, Florence an enice are only a few hours apart by train. And Barcelona and Madrid are two great cities to focus on if you’re going to Spain. Don’t make your trip unnecessarily busy by including too much domestic travel. A lot of a little is better than a little of a lot. When it’s about adventure: ana a s rctic, Maritimes, oc ies, tun ra, orests, grasslan s, oceans an ri ers o er some o the best e ploring, hi ing, aya ing, canoeing, mountaineering and rock climbing in the world—all here at home For mountain bi ing or tre ing loo at tah, yoming or ew Me ico in the nite tates eli e an osta ica in entral merica o er ungle, bir li e an eco lo ges comparable to the ma on, but with less tra elling time SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER • 2014
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OPTIONS FOR 14 DAYS n e tra wee allows you to loo urther a el or to tra el more within a speci c estination but it oesn t uite gi e you the world so don’t get too carried away! To the beach: You could spend all your days hanging on the same Caribbean beach—or devote the extra time to crossing the Atlantic and trying the beaches of the anary slan s, ores or unisia n these estinations, when you e ha enough o san , you ha e the bonus o being able to sightsee beyon the beach, an sample local culture and great cuisine. Western Canadians should consi er ietnam or the hilippines or the same reason In other words—if hanging on a beach is part of your esire, choose a more e otic estination to ll out your experience. For the culture: ra il s ahia has a uni ue ortuguese rican ibe, with mouthwatering cuisine an hip wiggling music, with o ten enough time le to er or the classic sights o io e aneiro or a trip to the ungle r combine the history, oo an architecture o roatia an the almatian Coast with newly independent Montenegro or newly opened Albania. When it’s about adventure: e er thought you ha enough time for a safari? Many East African safaris last 10 days. in tra el time to airobi, enya or rusha, an ania an you e lle your two wee s nother option is to combine an Inca Trail trek to Peru’s Machu Picchu with a stay in an ma on ungle lo ge r you coul tre among Thailand’s hill tribes or Morocco’s Atlas Mountains. All doable within your allotted two weeks. THREE WEEKS—NOW YOU’RE TALKING he worl is your oyster, so go shuc it up ross the e uator, span the hemispheres, climb a mountain or lie on a beach go wherever you want and take your time. To the beach: he outh aci c has some o the best beaches in the worl o fla e n ba e in anuatu, onga or amoa, then en oy a wee en in ustralia or ew ealan on the way home r e plore the n ian cean para ises o the Mal i es, eychelles or legen ary an ibar, with a uic sa ari or ul tates stopo er thrown in For the culture: The Himalayan mountain kingdom of Bhutan restricts the number of visitors admitted each year to prevent a loss of identity and dilution of its ancient culture. ust ma es it more worth the trip an you can combine going to Bhutan with a side trip to neighbouring Mustang or epal nother great three wee option is a trip to ambo ia, aos an ietnam, which can inclu e tropical beach stays, e otic urban e periences an countrysi e e ploration, as well as coo ing classes or tra ellers, a growing trend. When it’s about adventure: Consider jungle trekking in apua ew uinea an you ll stay in eco lo ges ami one o the worl s most i erse bir populations For a truly eclectic adventure combine two different facets an regions o rica fly ia airo to o a gorilla tre in gan a s mountains, an ollow that with a multi ay elucca trip along gypt s ile www.outpostmagazine.com
OUTPOST/COLIN O'CONNOR
Many cities that have high-speed airport railway connections also have airline check-in counters at railway stations. You can arri e there hours be ore your flight, chec in an rop o your tagge bags with the airline, then wan er aroun the city encumbered by nothing more than your carry-on. While airports tend to be located in the ‘burbs or away from things o interest, some o ha e nearby worthwhile attractions ne example is the International Antarctic Centre located just a e minute wal rom hristchurch irport in ew ealan The museum has displays on the Great White Continent and an insight into polar research. They also (kindly) have lockers locate outsi e where bul y bags can be le t, which means you can continue to sightsee right up until it’s time to clear security and enter the departure lounge. If you have a few hours to kill in a major city before a flight home an ha e succee e in lea ing your bags at your accommo ation, one o the best ways to spen that time can be in museums and art galleries. Many offer ree a mission, ten to open earlier than stores, an ha e reasonably priced cafeterias where you can grab a bite before heading to the airport. ltimately, no matter how wise you are with your flights an your tra el ays, there s not much you can o about time ones trip to urope imme iately sets you bac e to seven hours in time difference before you’ve even left the groun Hea ing to sia or the outh aci c in ol es crossing the international dateline and the loss of a whole day on the way over—though of course you gain it back on the way home ime i erences also mean et lag, which can lea e you mo ing at hal spee or the rst ew ays o your holi ay or shorter acations, loo or places in similar time ones
Story by
Bill Roberts
ALL PHOTOS THESE PAGES: ADAM ALEXANDER PHOTOGRAPHY
CHICAGO
SINGS THE BLUES He’s one cool cat, and he’s got the lowdown on how to rock that sweet Midwest sound
In March of 1914, Carl Sandburg penned the following free verse about his adopted city of Chicago:
“Hog Butcher for the World, Tool Maker, Stacker of Wheat, Player with Railroads and the Nation’s Freight Handler; Stormy, husky, brawling, City of the Big Shoulders...” It was a plain-speaking chant of defiance, celebrating the wicked, crooked, brutal toiling urban adventure that was becoming America’s third largest city. Indeed, the name “Chicago” comes from a French translation of the aboriginal word “shikaakwa”—the word for an indigenous local plant that is a wild combination of today’s garlic and onion. Further into Sandburg’s poem he anchors those lines with “Come and show me another city with lifted head singing so proud to be alive and coarse and strong and cunning.” As it was in 1914 it is today in 2014—music is the body spiritual of this city, and jazz and the blues are its heart and soul. So, in June of this year, with friends including Ross Porter and Jaymz Bee from JazzFM.91 (Toronto), I attended the Chicago Blues Festival, the largest free blues festival in the world, and the largest “Windy City” musical event of the year. This was an expedition for the natural progeny of Delta Blues as it travelled north along the Mississippi River to its urban habitat of Chicago. Over three days and five lakefront stages in Grant Park, close to 600,000 musical adventurers reconfirmed this city’s proud tagline as “Blues Capital of the World,” the heritage home of greats like Ray Charles, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Bonnie Raitt and the departed Muddy Waters. » ABOVE: CHICAGO’S OWN COREY WILKES, ONE OF THE MANY BLUES AND JAZZ GREATS FROM THE WINDY CITY www.outpostmagazine.com
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PASHMINA Story and Photos by Jeff
uchs
For centuries, the rich fleece grown by Himalayan Mountain sheep was harvested for wear in the world’s cultured capitals. How did it get there? Join Jeff Fuchs, Outpost’s Asia editor-at-large, as he sets out across the vast plateaus of remote northern India to explore the ancient trading routes of pashmina wool
H
imalayan expeditions should offer up something beyond simply summiting a peak in record time, or racing across an environment with barely a glance sideward. In the words of Sadanand, an epic Himalayan horseman for his 65 years, they take and demand “listening, economics and prayer” to fuel, travel and survive—and so should leave behind a sense of unparallelled accomplishment.
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2014 • SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER
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