Dawn. Somewhere in Atlas Mountains, Morocco. Jim stares out at the mist-soaked valleys, which lie like the fallen limbs of sleeping giants, tangled in a duvet of fog after some Brobdingnagian orgy. I honestly think if I hadn’t been there, Jim would have just walked and walked, till he landed in the giants’ arms or…
I’m 10 minutes into my hike to Abukuma Caves when I realise I have a slight problem. The last few days of marching on a sightseeing mission around rural Fukushima, Japan, is finally starting to take its toll.
Blisters. A hiker’s worst enemy.
I slip off my sneakers, trading the painful rubbing for the unrelenting…
It’s six women lined up like ducks along the brim of a rice paddy. Squatting in a row with eyes screwed shut and milk-white bums bared at the Himalayas. No one is game enough to break the silence and everyone is laughing over our military-style piss procession, and how it feels to have frost snatch…
I’m camping in Europe at the moment. Pitching my tent at rest stops, in the mountains and inconspicuously behind bushes on private land. I’m camping because there are some day hikes I can’t bear to leave after only a few hours. I want to wake up in the fog and sleep amongst all the creatures…
Australians love Japan. We crave its sushi, we embrace getting pissed at karaoke, we marvel at the novelty of being naked in a public bathhouse. We also love to shred the powder that coats the mountains of the country’s many ski destinations. This is especially true of Hakuba, one of the most accessible snow resorts…