Jaunted

Hiking Travel / Hiking / Los Angeles Travel / Adventure Travel / California Travel / Sunrises / Active Travel / → All Tags

Here's the Best Place to Watch the Sun Rise over Hollywood

Yesterday, while the rest of Hollywood slept, we were up at the crack of dawn, lacing our Merrell hiking shoes, filling up a bottle of water, and setting off along Los Feliz Boulevard towards Griffith Park, aka the Central Park of Los Angeles.

Griffith Park ranks as the second-largest city park in all of California (though that doesn't include much larger state parks like Yosemite and Joshua Tree), and it is incredibly easy to access from multiple LA neighborhoods, such as Los Feliz, Franklin Village, Atwater Village, Glendale, and, of course, Hollywood. Its attractions include the Greek Theatre, Griffith Observatory (which is best visited at night, for obvious reasons), and the LA Zoo.

Oh, and off to the south, on Mount Lee, there's a little thing called the Hollywood sign. Ever hear of it?

We set off at 6:15am from our friend's apartment, and in fifteen minutes, we had arrived at the park's western entrance, Ferndell Nature Center. Here, a woodsy hiking trail winds along a small babbling brook (complete with the little footbridges), under a canopy of California sycamores and over 50 different species of fern.

What struck us most was the tranquility of the place: though we had just come off a busy main road populated by impatient commuters trying to beat the morning traffic, we suddenly found ourselves in the midst of pure, noiseless nature.

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Tax Refund Vacations / Costa Rica Travel / LIR / Surfing / Surf Travel / Nature Travel / Hiking / Green Travel / → All Tags

Where To Go With Your Tax Refund: Costa Rica

Tax day is coming, and you're probably excited...but not because you look forward to sifting through receipts and credit card statements. You're excited because you're getting a fat refund. Probably. The economy may be on its way back up, but you should try to stretch that tax refund as far as you can...like with a little "you did a great job last year" trip—a Tax Refund Vacation.

Whether you're into eco-travel, surfing, zip lining, hiking, swimming/snorkeling/Scuba, hanging out with exotic animals (like the Coati), learning Spanish or just lazing on a sandy beach, Costa Rica can make it happen. Regardless, you're in for sun and warm temperatures.

If you're interested in the Caribbean side with all its eco-tourism or you'd like to scratch a visit to Arenal volcano off your bucket list, fly into San Jose International Airport. For trips to the Pacific side's beaches, surf spots and giant national parks, Liberia International AIrport is the best bet (and it's got a brand-spanking-new terminal).

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Travel Gear / Travel Photography / Kickstarter / Easter Island Travel / Hiking / Chile Travel / → All Tags

Gear Review: The Capture Camera Clip for Hands-Free Travel Photography

If you haven't yet gathered from our plethora of photo galleries here at Jaunted, we are always in the company of at least one camera. While it's worth it to let a DSLR bulk up our luggage for the the slick pictures it produces, we're always looking for something easier than a backpack and more comfortable than a camera strap for toting it along for hikes and more active outdoor activities.

Now I switch to first-person to say that, with an upcoming trip to the nature paradise of Easter Island and lots of volcano climbing ahead, I looked to the Capture Clip from Peak Design, a device that actually found its footing among projects on Kickstarter.

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Travel Contests / New Zealand Travel / Air New Zealand / Airline News / Active Travel / Hiking / → All Tags

Instead of Flying, Air New Zealand Will Have You Walk Around the Country

Quick question: do you like to walk? Like, really like to walk, especially when it's around waterfalls around canyons and across awe-inspiring vistas? If you answered yes or even "maybe," then you should totally enter the newest contest from Air New Zealand.

You see, Air New Zealand has partnered with the Department of Conservation to highlight the country's nine Great Walks by sending four contest winners to walk them all, over only nine weeks.

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Nature Travel / Costa Rica Travel / Hiking / Green Travel / Active Travel / National Parks / Volcanoes / Volcano Travel / → All Tags

Froggies and Fumaroles: Hiking Costa Rica's Rincón de la Vieja Volcano National Park

Have you got a spare three or four hours? If you were in Costa Rica right now, those could be spent hiking around a volcano and petting frogs. Sure, everyone knows the giant Arenal volcano towards the center of the Central American country, but Costa Rica has six other active volcanoes, one of which is Rincón de la Vieja Volcano, located in the Guanacaste province and within its own National Park.

Rincón de la Vieja is serious business as far as volcanoes go. Heading up to its top rim and caldera is no longer allowed (too risky!) but local, experienced guides can easily lead you on a several-hour hike to spot fumaroles (steam vents), bubbly muddy water cauldrons, cute froggies and waterfalls so clear and cool you'd think it was Norway instead.

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Volunteer Travel / Eco Travel / Colorado Travel / Active Travel / Hiking / Voluntourism / Charity Travel / → All Tags

Help Build the Continental Divide Trail in Colorado Next Year

Volunteers in Colorado are helping to build a completely new hiking trail, called the Continental Divide Trail (CDT), that stretches from Mexico to Canada and across Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. Volunteers with the Continental Divide Trail Alliance (CDTA)—based in Golden, Colorado—dig out the trail, clear vegetation and move huge boulders and trees from the established route.

If forging a new trail sounds like a New Year's resolution you'd like to make, CDTA is already lining up volunteers for next season, which runs from April to October. Volunteer trips can last from one day to one week and include trail building, maintaining the existing trail, helping the crew chefs prepare meals, and participating in educational outreach programs. Trip leaders provide all gear, food and water, while volunteers bring their own tents, sleeping bags and day packs.

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Big Sur Travel / Hiking / State Parks / Adventure Travel / → All Tags

Waterfalls, Redwoods and More at California's Pfeiffer Burns State Park

In Big Sur, you practically trip over hiking trails that bring you to gorgeous coastline views. But one place to definitely put on your must-hike list is Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park.

Pfeiffer is probably the most well known among the Big Sur parks, since it follows the Big Sur River and is filled with trees—including redwoods, conifers, oaks, sycamores, cottonwoods, maples, alders and willows—and wildlife—including black-tail deer, raccoons, skunks and various birds.

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Movie Set Travel / James Franco / Adventure Travel / 127 Hours / Movie Travel / Hiking / Utah Travel / → All Tags

'127 Hours' Features Gorgeous Scenery and Gory Scenes

Today, 127 Hours, the new movie by Oscar-Winning director Danny Boyle, opens in theaters, but don't expect another Slumdog Millionaire. The movie stars James Franco as hiker Aron Ralston and chronicles the time Ralson spent trapped in an isolated Utah canyon, including the life-saving decision he made to amputate his own arm.

Even though the movie's graphic realism might make the audience queasy, the scenery is sure to inspire some to take a (safer) adventure of their own.

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Adventure Travel / Extreme Travel / Hiking / Nepal Travel / → All Tags

Start Training Now for a 157-Day Hike on the Great Himalaya Trail

Here's your chance to hike the Great Himalaya Trail—and we're not talking like "hike the Appalachian Trail" à la South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford. For the first time, a tour operator is bringing groups through the trail on an intensive 157-day hike.

Even experienced hikers will need some help on the Great Himalaya, the longest and highest alpine route in the world. The trail winds between the largest mountains and the most remote communities in the world, connecting Bhutan, China, India, Nepal and Pakistan.

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Naked Travel / Nude Travel / Active Travel / Hiking / Nature / Germany Travel / → All Tags

German Naturists Pretty Psyched About New Nude Hiking Trail

It seems like we're doing a naked travel or nude hiking post every few weeks now, with today's story courtesy of the 11 mile naturist hiking trail opening up in Germany. The eagerly anticipated path goes from Dankerode to the Wippertal dam along the Harz mountain range in central Germany.

Apparently enthusiasts have been lighting up naturist chat rooms over it for months. The Reuters writeup was very specific on this: "Naturist chat rooms."

So scientists believe we started wearing clothes some time between 100,000 and 500,000 years ago. Do you know why our grunting ancestors decided to cover themselves with animal pelts? Because they realized that dirt is dirty. It must have been a radical insight at the time—"hey, all this sticky stuff doesn't get on my skin if I cover myself, and I even feel warmer"—but nevertheless they were able to apply their chimp-like analytical skills to the problem and crack that nut. Not so much with these hippies.

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Costa Rica Field Trip / Corcovado National Park / Hiking / Camping / → All Tags

How to Hike Costa Rica's Corcovado National Park

All this week, Lost Girl Amanda Pressner will be bringing us reports from her recent trip to Costa Rica with her entire family. Any questions about traveling to Costa Rica or family-oriented activities to do while you're there? Let us know.

While the list of natural wonders in Costa Rica is practically endless, few are more revered by the locals (and industrious tourists) than the Osa Peninsula. Located in the far Southwestern portion of the country, the Osa is the home of Corcovado National Park, a dense swathe of jungle that National Geographic once dubbed “the most biologically intense place on earth.” The place is absolutely teaming with wildlife of all shapes and varieties, and contains a greater variety of birds, insects, trees and mammals per square kilometer than almost anywhere else in the world.

Thanks to Costa Rica’s commitment to protecting its most valuable natural resources, primary rainforests once slashed and burned in Osa to make way for pastureland and farming back in the 70s have almost completely returned as secondary forest—and so have a multitude of species that were headed for extinction.

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Adventure Travel / Hiking / Italy Travel / South Tirol Windsurfing / The Dolomites / → All Tags

Italy's South Tirol is Like an Outdoor Playground for Athletes

Travelers usually head to Italy to carbo-load on lip-smacking cuisine and swish tasty wines, to visit ancient sites like the Pantheon and the Colosseum, or to see amazing art like Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel. But sporty types in the know venture north to the South Tirol, or Südtirol, a region that identifies more with its German roots than its Italian ones (you’ll hear most people speaking Deutsch and see signs in both Italian and German).

The South Tirol’s mountainous location—with the Alps towering overhead—makes it a prime spot for skiers and snowboarders in the cold months, with Swiss-like chalets dotted all over the area to complete the experience. In the warmer months, mountain climbers and hikers hit the slopes. You’ll also see many Nordic walkers taking to the trails. They are easy to spot; Nordic walkers hike at a brisk pace while carrying what looks like ski poles.

Originally designed as a cardiovascular summer training exercise for cross-country skiers, Nordic walking works your upper body while you hike. The sport, which is popular in Germany and Finland, is appropriate for all fitness levels.

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