We here at Wend are pretty darn lucky to live in a place like Portland. Not only are our streets fairly bike friendly, but our city is also devoting some—though there is room for a lot more effort—energy towards eco-friendly ideas.

But one of the greater reasons that we (or at least I) have decided to spend this part of life in Portland is because we are a comparatively small metropolis surrounded by mountains, forests and our fair share of largely untouched land. This land, a world composed of dense woods thick with pine trees to hike through and rocky land to trek through, is our serenity. We may work in the city, but the mountains, rivers and forests are our playgrounds to trek through.

Oregonians aren’t the only ones with such a beautiful backyard waiting for a thru-hike. Across the nation, the continent and even the globe, there are a plethora of natural playgrounds. And so long as we treat them well, there will continue to be. Regardless of whether you’re hiking through the ruins of Macchu Picchu, trekking the glaciers in Argentina or taking a quick break in a grassy field in Russia, sit back, relax and prepare to take a visual journey of Trekking, ‘Round the World.

If you like our ‘Round the World series, you might enjoy some of the previous themes: water skiing, mountain biking, sand, gliding, kayaking, climbing, buses, skateboarding, surfin’, doorways, hats, boating, gas stations, bicycles, windows, truckin’, glasses, mohawks, beer, authorities, fanny packs, Jesus, swimming, sweaters, mustaches, stairs, chess, foods, silhouettes, donkeys, outhouses, and cemeteries.

Click on the thumbnails to view the images. If you’d like to see more work by any of the photographers featured here then follow the link that appears below each photo.

Enjoy.

Image via PhysOrg

A team of British geologists has found four uncharted glaciers in the “cursed” Prokletije mountains of Albania. Dr. Philip Hughes from the University’s School of Environment and Development, who led the expedition, told PhysOrg:

“We were amazed that – as far as we know – no-one, apart from local shepherds, were aware of the existence of these glaciers and it was tremendously exciting to find them.”

According to Hughes, the mountains — which extend from northern Albania and Kosovo to eastern Montenegro in the Western Balkans — were until recently surrounded by war, which could explain why they were uncharted until now. He also noted that few people live in the mountains because they are believed to be cursed, and the late-lying snow makes them invisible on Google Earth.

The largest glacier is currently over 600 meters long and 400 meters wide. At 2,000 meters, the glaciers are relatively low for such a southerly altitude, but Hughes’ group said that this is mostly due to avalanched and windblown snow.

[Via: PhysOrg]

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In April, human polar bear Lewis Gordan Pugh will take an icy plunge into a glacial lake on the Khumba Glacier of Mt. Everest. The Himalayan glaciers are shrinking faster than any other glaciers in the world and, according to scientists, could disappear in just 25 years.

To bring attention to the threat of receding glaciers, Pugh will swim one kilometer in hypothermia-inducing waters at 5,400 meters up the world’s highest mountain. While it sounds impossible, Pugh is no stranger to cold water; in 2005 he completed long distance swims in both the Arctic and Antarctic. And like the the pole swims, during his Everest plunge Pugh plans to abide by Channel Swimming Rules, which allows only a Speedo, goggles and cap.

The combination of temperature, altitude and water buoyancy will undoubtedly make this the toughest swim of Pugh’s career. Anyone who’s ever jumped in freezing water knows how difficult it is to breath, and anyone who’s ever climbed at high altitudes knows how hard it is to breath. Now imagine the combination of the two in water with very little buoyancy to help stay afloat. If successful, this could be titled the most difficult swim in history and would certainly help bring attention to the threat facing the glaciers that provide water to a fifth of the world’s population.

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Around the world, glaciers are in danger from the effects of global warming; many of them are shrinking, and they’re shrinking rapidly. In Bolivia, the Chacaltaya Glacier melted away six years earlier than predicted, leaving the local slopes north of La Paz with a stretch of snow no bigger than the size of a tennis court. That leaves Jade Dragon in China and India’s Gulmarg as the highest ski runs available for thrill seekers.

“Chacaltaya was my bride in white, now she’s dressed for a funeral,” Alfredo Martinez, 74, said of the 17,785-foot-high (5,280 meters) glacier where he and Club Andino Boliviano members skied its sole run north of La Paz, Bolivia’s capital.

But skiing isn’t the only thing that the local population will miss with the loss of the 18,000 year old glacier; La Paz’s fresh water supply is also greatly affected. The glacier is one of many in the Cordillera Real range whose glacial runoff feeds into 10 hydroelectric plants that provide about 80 percent of the region’s power. In fact, shrinking glaciers endanger about a third of the potable water supply to La Paz and El Alto. For Bolivia, as many other countries, acting quickly and efficiently is imperative.

“Adaptation investments should take place today” as global warming isn’t going away, Vergara said. “Though the adaptation cost is going to be significant, it is likely to be less than the net impacts of climate change if no adaptation takes place.”

More here.

[Via: COP15.dk]

Glaciers are melting, and they’re metling quickly. To avoid environmental catastrophe, scientist Jason Box is proposing to cover them with blankets that will reflect the sun’s rays in order to halt melting. He’s currently working on testing out his idea in Greenland.

Seem like a crazy and expensive idea? Maybe, but then again, the environmental costs could be even greater. “It’s going to be expensive but when you consider the cost of reengineering our coastlines –œ this may actually be cheaper,” says Box.

[Via: The Telegraph]