Can you imagine your next hike into the Sierra; your pack full of bars made from wine grape seeds? Now let's see... Would a merlot trail bar go well with a nice bit of turkey jerky, as a kind of backcountry food and wine pairing?
You can read the whole story here, from Washington State University: http://us5.campaign-archive1.com/?u=3cd4b2a328519c34e51f46c1d&id=6e81ba68d5&e=6078395ec4
And then there is the story of the European climbers who decided to climb right past the Sherpas who were trying to set up ropes for this season's climb...and ended up knocking some ice down on them... and the Sherpas got angry...and...the next thing you know, it's a street fight on the slopes of Mt. Everest: http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=Eyewitness+describes+%27terrifying%27+Everest+brawl&NewsID=374521
Worried about bears? More worried about grizzlies than black bears? You should really worry about TEDDY bears. They kill far more people than any other kind of bear...from a child injury law site: http://www.childinjurylawyerblog.com/2010/03/are_teddy_bears_more_likely_to.html
And don't forget NUDE hiking day, for those of you who like to travel ultra-ultra-light: http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=147131&page=1. Or maybe not, if you are in Appenzell, Switzerland: http://www.digitalspy.com/odd/news/a154023/nude-hikers-banned-from-swiss-canton.html
Better to be a skiing witch there...:http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/01/16/skiing-witches-belalp-hexe-picture-gallery_n_1208738.html
On the other hand, if you choose to wear a goatskin instead of going nude...http://www.amazon.com/forum/video%20games?_encoding=UTF8&cdForum=Fx1T1DM93QU4XL1&cdThread=Tx10HJ1GASP4NB2
And OK, sure, Hangtown changed its name to become Placerville. But did you know that Groveland used to be called Garotte? Even better, it had a suburb called Second Garotte, which is still on the topo maps: http://yosemitegazette.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=101:garotte-becomes-groveland&catid=23:archives&Itemid=125
Looking for gold in them thar hills? Go to New Mexico...but be prepared for a legal battle over a hidden treasure: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/08/forrest-feen-treasure-hunters-_n_3037095.html
Or in Colorado, you may have to watch out for exploding cows: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/17/forest-service-in-quandar_n_1431388.html
Or falling goats, in Switzerland...again...http://metro.co.uk/2010/07/26/falling-goat-hits-hiker-off-mountain-in-50ft-fall-457949/
Have you got a fun, weird fact or story about the Sierra or hiking? We'd love to hear it. Send it to us, and if we like it, we'll add it to this page