Bart Smith completed over 37 million steps this morning, plus nearly 100,000 photographs in his 16-year shooting trek of all the National Scenic Trails (NTS). No other person can boast this astounding photo/hiking feat, covering over 16,500 miles and 34 states. …
Appalachian Trail (AT) - 2,175 miles
Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) - 2,650 miles
Florida Trail (FT) - 1,400 miles
Ice Age Trail (IAT) - 1,000 miles
Natchez Trace Trail (NTT) - 500 miles
Potomac Heritage Trail (PHT) - 990 miles
North Country Trail (NCT) - 4,600 miles
Continental Divide Trail (CDT) - 3,100 miles
To celebrate, Smith flies immediately to Washington, D.C., where he will join the 40th National Trail System Anniversary festivities.
Fears of road construction ruining our #8 trek in the world have been somewhat exaggerated.
Hikers are concerned when they see articles like this:
… Late last year, the Australian tour operator Peregrine Adventures, which has organised trips to Nepal for more than 30 years, abandoned the “classic” Annapurna Circuit, which stretches for 300 kilometres and reaches altitudes of more than 5000 metres.
“We’ve dropped that trip altogether because of the road,” operations director Tietse Stelma says. “Ten years ago it was such a beautiful trek going up into the mountains with the Annapurnas in front of you. Now you have more and more traffic on the road and building activity - when you go on a trek, you don’t want to hear that.” …
Death Valley: The name is forbidding and gloomy. Yet here in the valley, much of it below sea level, you can find colorful badlands, snow-covered peaks, beautiful sand dunes, rugged canyons, and the hottest driest spot in North America.
We are Jennifer and Stacy. We have chosen Shaman (stacy) and Weck (jennifer) as our trail names. Our primary goal is to hike the United States starting with the American Discovery Trail.
Because we are both out of shape and overweight, we are spending the next several months, planning, training, and preparing to take to the road. We have started by hiking local state parks and trails. We plan to journal and photo document everything we do as a record for ourselves and anyone else out there that is interested in doing the same thing.
Part of the plan is to sell our vehicles, our home, and nearly everything in it. The only things we want are the things we’ll need on the road. For us, this isn’t just a trip, or a vacation… it is a lifestyle change. …
They’ve put together a nice looking blog dedicated to this major life change.
… Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission biologist Adam Warwick just couldn’t let the bear drown, so he took off his shirt and dive after it. The 375 lbs black bear had been spotted in a residential area, obviously looking for food, and was shot with a tranquilizer dart. Unfortunately, before it went under, it jumped in the water of the Gulf of Mexico. …
Andrew Posner searched for a bike for a frequent traveller:
… It had to: be reasonably light (between 20 and 24 pounds); have a steel frame; fold down small enough to fit into a suitcase that can be checked in at the airport; have a wide enough gear ratio to be used for long training rides and hill climbs; and cost no more than around $1,300.
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I eventually settled on the Bike Friday Pocket Rocket, a $999 dollar bike that comes with a beautiful fire-engine red paint job, drop handlebars, a steel frame, and easy folding capabilities. The 20 inch wheels roll fast enough to make long rides possible, while still being small enough to fit into a suitcase. For another $250 you can purchase a special suitcase designed for the bike; the suitcase can be checked in at the airport as standard luggage (read that: no extra charges). Traveling with a bicycle couldn’t be easier. …
When I was hiking the CDT, I had a lot of time to dream-up other hiking trips all over the world. One of those was a hike across Iceland… No particular reason, it sounded like it’d be interesting. When my friend Dave mentioned that he had the same idea, it seemed meant to be. The trip was a lot more enjoyable and safer with a traveling companion.
Iceland is a unique place. It is located along the Atlantic rift, where the earth’s crust is separating. As a result, there are a lot of geothermal features (volcanoes, hot springs, etc) all over the country. Iceland is quite far north - the Arctic circle was just offshore from our starting point - but, the climate is kept somewhat temperate by ocean currents. The land is one of stark beauty, shaped by ice, wind, and volcanoes.
How long was the route?
Even after completing the hike, I’m still not sure. Our best estimate was somewhere around 360-380 miles.
When did you hike?
We started on June 23, 2006, and finished on July 11, 2006.
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Where / how did you resupply?
The population of Iceland is a sparse 300,000, and most of those live near Reykjavík. Virtually nobody lives in the interior. Still, we passed through a couple areas where we could resupply. There is a small town near the lake Mývatn in the north, and a summer “backpacking village” at Landmannalauger in the south. We sent packages to both places, but it’s possible to buy provisions “as you go”.
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Has anyone else done this?
People have hiked across Iceland via a number of routes, but each trip has probably been somewhat unique, and the total number is likely small. Since returning from the trip, I’ve been contacted by at least one other American who completed a similar trip a number of years ago… I’m not sure if there are more. …
Appalachian Trail (AT) - 2,175 miles
