PATHWRANGLER NAMED HONOREE AS PART OF OUTSIDE’S ACTIVE TRAVEL AWARDS

March 12, 2013 By Leave a Comment

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SAN FRANCISCO, CA | MARCH 12, 2013 – PATHWRANGLER has been selected by Outside, America’s leading multimedia active-lifestyle brand, as a recipient of its second annual Active Travel Awards.  PathWrangler was honored as an Honoree. The full list of award winners will be published in the April issue of Outside magazine, available on newsstands March 12, 2013, and at Outside Online.

To select this year’s awards, Outside tapped our global network of correspondents, who spent months on the road traveling from the Philippines to Switzerland to Namibia and then some, to report a definitive roundup of the best new adventures, secret paradises, mountain epics, stunning beaches, airline deals, gorgeous islands, and more. The result is 42 fresh trips that we guarantee will change your life, plus smart travel strategies, the best travel gear, and five exciting new frontiers.

PathWrangler is proud to be awarded honoree of Outside Strategies to “Plug-In.”  With all these beautiful destinations and incredible activities to do, PathWrangler is the tool that brings it all together and makes these dream trips a reality. 

“Outside magazine has long been one of the world’s most trusted advisors for active and adventurous travelers,” says Outside Editor Christopher Keyes. “In addition to truly award-worthy destinations and travel providers, this year we unearthed a handful of amazing new frontiers in active travel. Our annual edit franchise honors the year’s best trips, hotels, lodges, luggage, islands, and new destinations that will be an invaluable travel resource for years to come.”

Simply put, PathWrangler makes creating experiences and telling those stories easier than ever before.  Planning an adventure trip or an outdoor excursion is like herding cats. It is maddening to get everyone and everything prepared. Our web app brings the conversation together in an interactive place designed specifically for adventure and outdoor enthusiasts to dream and organize their trip together, and then share their stories after.  Over 100 Tour Operators, Outdoor Clubs and Outdoor Wilderness Programs and thousands of outdoor enthusiasts are using PathWrangler to run better trips and share them with their friends.

In celebration of the Outside Active Travel Awards, PathWrangler is offering its award-winning product for free in preparation for a new premium rollout in the upcoming months.  That means unlimited trips and users for any individuals or business that sign-up now.  Please sign-up here to take advantage of this offer.  Please contact us at info@pathwrangler.com if you’d like any help in getting you or your organization started.

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About Outside

Outside is America’s leading active lifestyle brand. For more than 35 years, Outside has covered travel, sports, adventure, health, and fitness, as well as the personalities, the environment, and the style and culture of the world Outside. The Outside family includes Outside magazine, the only magazine to win three consecutive National Magazine Awards for General Excellence, The Outside Buyer’s Guides, Outside Online, Outside Television, Outside Events, Outside+ tablet edition, and Outside Books. Visit us on www.outsideonline.com and www.facebook.com/outsidemagazine.

Contact PathWrangler

For further press inquiries or other requests, please contact CEO Doug Heinz at doug@pathwrangler.com and 415-309-2242.  Please visit us online at www.pathwrangler.com, www.facebook.com/pathwrangler and @pathwrangler.

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Take a Flying Leap Off the Highest Bungee Jumping Spots

July 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment

An infallible way to get a surge of adrenaline is to stand on the edge of a bungee jumping platform, glance down hundreds of feet while your gear is being secured and then taking a flying leap into the air.  A couple of New Zealanders introduced commercial jumping in the 1980s and since then jumping sites have popped up all over the world, with a few platforms hovering at staggering heights.

Royal Gorge Suspension Bridge (Canon City, Colorado)
1,053 ft. above the Arkansas River is the highest suspension bridge with stunning views of the surrounding canyon.  The Royal Gorge Route Railway and river below can be seen through the wooden slats of the walkway on route to the platform where an almost 10 second free fall awaits.

Nevis Highwire Bungy (Queenstown, New Zealand)
A cable car delivers jumpers to this site at 440 ft. in the air.  This jump has a 8.5 second free fall into a canyon that narrows quickly as the ground comes rushing up.

Colorado River Bridge (San Jose, Costa Rica)
Costa Rica is known for its tropical rainforests and jumping from a 265 ft. bridge in a canyon to a rocky river below with lush green vegetation around just adds a little something special to this 5 second free fall.

Verzasca Dam (Val Verzasca, Switzerland)
Made popular by the opening scene in the James Bond film Goldeneye this 721 ft. high dam has beautiful Lake Vogorno to look at on the way down.  There are four 007 jumps options, from the 007 Classic Jump for first timers to the 007 Ultimo for more experienced jumpers who are not easily shaken by the dizzying height.

Volcano Bungee (Pucon, Chile)
Most anyone can bungee jump over a river or canyon, but it takes a special adrenaline junkie to be able to jump from a helicopter into an active volcano.  The 375 ft. jump is made more thrilling by feeling the heat from the pool of molten lava that is within 700 ft.

Although the thrill of free falling is quick and exciting it’s the experience that will continue to bounce back into your memory for years to come.

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Conscious Travel in Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula

July 12, 2012 By 1 Comment

The most biologically intense place on Earth.  ~ National Geographic

Conscious travel; on the Osa Peninsula, it is common practice.  Located in the southwest region of Costa Rica, Osa is remote and naturally beautiful, but is also very poor.  It is comprised of 2.5% of the world’s biodiversity and is mostly covered by the last pristine virgin rainforest on Central America’s Pacific coast.  Conservation is well under way in this area with at least half of the area being protected by the Corcovado National Park and other Reserves.  Corcovado is known to be the most biologically important area in Costa Rica and includes around 25-30 ecosystems.

Taking flight amongst the 750 types of trees are the Technicolor scarlet macaws, the great curassows and harpy eagles.  Other endangered species, like Baird’s tapir, jaguars and pumas can be found roaming the jungle floors.  10,000 insect species, 2,418 plant species, almost half of Costa Rica’s 860 bird species, 140 mammal species, and 117 amphibian and reptile species inhabit this condensed area.

This diverse and dense environment not only has an abundance of rare wildlife, but also has tropical rainforests, coral reefs, swamps, cascading waterfalls, miles of deserted beaches that are kissed by the warm waters of the Pacific Ocean. With all this going for it the local tour outfitters can offer such outdoor activities like hiking, scuba diving, kayaking, horseback riding, sailing, bird watching, rappelling.  All of these activities can be experienced in just a single trip.

However, protecting this fragile ecosystem takes a lot of effort.  This haven for wildlife and natural adventure is being impacted negatively by unauthorized development.   There are also plans in the works for a cruise ship terminal and an international airport, both of which a growing tourism industry wants but a fragile ecosystem cannot afford.  These additions could undermine the local efforts for sustainable development and conservation.

There are people out there who want to help conserve this region.  People like the folks at iSeeiTravel.  They are creating a documentary project, 2.5%: Conscious Travel in the World’s Most Biologically Intense Rainforest of the Osa Peninsula, to raise awareness about the positive effects of ecotourism efforts, the negative effects of mass tourism and unauthorized development, and how conscious travel can aid in the conservation of this region.  There is a way for the local population to win and develop economically, while the ecosystem thrives.

Check out iSeeiTravel’s documentary project and donate today, with as little as $5.  Help them to Rock the Osa!

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Zipping Down The Best Cables In The World

March 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Imagine the adrenaline rush you could get from zipping through the air, high above the ground at speeds of up to 100 mph.  Secured to a metal cable by only a harness and a helmet for safety, this simple activity has grown in popularity with some of the best cables located in great scenic spots around the world.

Sun City | South Africa
Unreal Zipslide 2000 gets tandem riders up to speeds of 100 mph for over a mile at a height of 918 ft., making this line the fastest and longest in the world.

Monteverde | Costa Rica
Rising above 200 ft. and with a length of over a mile zip liners are treated to views of volcanoes and rain forests.  Sky Trek and Selvatura can give you the best ride.  Wildlife like toucans and monkeys can be experienced as well as night tours where nocturnal animals come out to play and erupting volcanoes are more dramatic.

Grouse Mountain | British Columbia
A five-line circuit covering the awe-inspiring scenery of both Grouse Mountain and Dam Mountain hovers about 200 ft. from the ground and will take two hours to complete.

Aberfoyle | Scotland
At 150 ft. above and a length of 1312 ft. one can zoom over a 90 ft. waterfall and take in the gorgeous mountain scenery that surrounds the wooded forest below.  GoApe can get you flying like a monkey through these trees in no time.

Hoonah Icy Strait Point | Alaska
ZipRider has several locations throughout the U.S., but the one in Hoonah has a 5,330 ft. long zip line that goes over a deep forest as the view of the water rushes by at 60 mph.  It takes just under two minutes to complete the 1,320 ft. vertical drop.

Orocovis | Puerto Rico
The dense rain forest canopy and suspension bridges make up the setting for this platform to platform adventure offered by Toro Verde.  With speeds up to 60 mph and a length of 4,745 ft., flying 300 ft. above ground never felt so exhilarating.

What a thrill to soar through the sky on long cables with the greatest of speed. Not only does zip lining have the advantage of a bird’s eye view of picturesque landscapes, but also the enjoyment of just being above it all.

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An Adventure That’s Full of Hot Air

November 8, 2011 By 1 Comment

The first hot air balloon launched back in 1783, stayed in the air for 15 minutes and the test passengers were a sheep, a rooster and a duck in order to determine the effect of high altitude on living beings. That same year in Paris the first human flight by the French brothers Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier took to the air for 20 minutes and hot air ballooning became reality.

Besides the fact that it can be done almost anywhere, the best thing about hot air ballooning is that the destination is guided by the wind, and the pilot’s skill, making each outing a unique adventure. Here are a few picturesque destinations around the world that are ideal for getting carried up, up and away.

Arenal, Costa Rica- Float peacefully above the tree line canopy where monkeys hang out and drift over lush rainforests and rivers for a bird’s eye view of Costa Rica’s wild side. To view the imposing Arenal volcano makes this area extra special.

Bagan, Myanmar/Burma- The sunrise flight over the ancient Bagan plains is sure to invoke a sense of serenity. There are over 2,000 decaying pagodas, monasteries and temples that date back to the 11th–13th centuries A.D. that dot the landscape.

Canterbury Plains, New Zealand- For as far as the eye can see there is a  patchwork of multi-green fields that stretch out to the base of the Southern Alps. The fresh clean air and beautiful countryside combine to make for an exciting flight.

Cappadocia, Turkey- Soft volcanic rock in the shape of storybook chimneys fill the Goreme Valley along with church caves that were carved around 1000-1200 A.D. From the hot air balloon basket 100s of chimneys, pillars and cones of pink, yellow and dark copper brown can be seen.

Masai Mara, Kenya- Silently fly over the king of the jungle’s territory. Observe other wildlife in their natural habitat. Watch from above the great wildebeest migration. Since the terrain is mainly grasslands with areas of acacia trees, the ability to witness nature in action is pretty clear.

In an airplane, we soar through the sky moving too fast in our cramped seats to enjoy the view. A hot air balloon ride allows us to be a part of the show, enjoying what’s around, above and below us.

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