Our Hiking Blog

At Our Hiking Blog we try and mix up a variety of topics and information each time we publish an article.

Over the last five years the site has evolved from a spot where we have chronicled our personal trips, to something broader, with a stack of different topics we think you, our readers, may find interesting.

These have broadly included:

Trip reports – both Australian and international
Gear reviews from people who have ited it
Food, meal and menu planning ideas
Interviews with interesting people we have discovered from around the world
Highlighting some exceptional wilderness photography
Reviewing and encouraging you to visit some other fantastic outdoor sites
Providing resources and information so that people can get into the outdoors and enjoy themselves safely
So over to you valued readers, we are seeking your feedback:
What topics would you like to see more of on Our Hiking Blog?
Have YOU done a great trip and would love to share it with our readers?
Have YOU got a favourite piece of gear or equipment you are dying to write about?
Have YOU got a funny story, great pictures or MUST DO trip you would like to tell the world about!
Do you know someone in the outdoor world who would make a great interview subject?
Have you got an idea for an eBook that you would be keen to collaborate with us to produce?

One of the reasons we manage Our Hiking Blog is the community of terrific people that are part of this site. We are in contact with many people from across the world who all have a shared love and passion of the outdoors. It is great fun to meet new people and read their stories or help them out with information.

A few months ago we were contacted by Pete who was planning to move back to Australia from the USA. He had lived in the US (California, NY, Oregon) since 1997 and had picked up a new job in Hobart. He was asking for recommendations about the best hiking books that contained walks suitable with young childern.

We kept up some correpondance and Pete recommended a book by William L Sullivan – Listening for Coyote – A walk across Oregon’s Wilderness. A couple of weeks ago it arrive in the mail.

You know the story. Up at 4am to get to the start of the track. You have raced around for three days getting food organised, gear checked and packed , pets and kids palmed off to family or friends, just so you can escape for a couple of nights of solitude and reconnection with wilderness.

The traffic is great at that time of the day and you arrive in good time. Your packs are heavy but you know it is worth it to get to your special place, your secret camping spot.

As you arrive near camp, strolling over the last hill you look down to a scene like this:

One of the iconic walks on many Australian bucket lists is the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea. Running for 96 km (60 mi) overland (60 km (37 mi) in a straight line) through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea, the track is renowned as the location of the World War II battle between Japanese and Australian forces in 1942.

Frank’s uncle, Bob Melville, was up and down the track a couple of times before he was 19 years old. It has a strong place in the Australian psyche as a small force of undertrained and equipped troops fought the most desperate and viscious battle encountered by Australian troops in the Second World War.
This article is about a group of people Frank has worked with at Uecomm, a large Australian broadband supplier and their shared common goal to hike the Kokoda Track. Some of them did it for the challenge, some for the fitness regime and some out of respect of our Aussie Soldiers.

In this article we share Part One of their journey, the preparation and fitness campaign!

We have been following a terrific journal by Leigh McAdam from Hike Bike Travel about her recent stroll along The Cumbria Way in the Lake District of England. Leigh, a Canadian, completed the walk in June / July 2010 as part of a walking holiday in the UK. Leigh had a terrific adventure. She has written several articles we would highly recommend whether you are planning the walk, or just want to enjoy a great yarn.

In order of the journey:

The Cumbria Way, Lake District, England

Magnificence, Motrin, Moleskin, Markers & Misery on the Cumbria Way, England

Some of the Best Lake District Walking – Keswick to Caldbeck

Finally a great “tips” article that draws on her experience of walking in England and Scotland. There is a terrific blister photograph for any ghouls among us AND a great new blister product Leigh discovered, it’s well worth a read.