Category: cost

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I have a 2021 PCT Permit

BestHike editor Rick McCharles

I applied online during the first few minutes applications opened for sections 500 miles or longer.

BUT I reckon there’s less than a 50% chance I’ll actually get on the Pacific Crest Trail in 2021:

  • could be cancelled due to COVID, as in 2020
  • travel could be impossible due to COVID
  • forest fires are often an issue
  • might decide travel is unethical in 2021

BUT hope for the best, plan for the worst.

I’m hoping for at least 500 miles.

Starting mile 702 – Kennedy Meadows – starting July 10th heading north towards the Oregon border.

That’s good timing for the John Muir Trail, the best section of the PCT.

http://musashe.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/Overview-Map-CA.png

I watched Tim Seymour‘s excellent John Muir Trail northbound video for tips on how to get started on my way up to Whitney.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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BestHike #8 – Everest Base Camp / 3 Passes

The Everest Base Camp via 3 Passes is one of our top 10 hikes in the world.

Click PLAY or watch a 1 minute introduction on YouTube.

Base Camp / 3 Passes

Everyone wants to hike to Everest Base Camp (5,320m / 17,450ft). The 3 Passes route is the most epic.

Based on weather and fitness, you can do one or more passes as well as peaks like Kala Pattar (5,545m) that don’t require a permit.

base camp sign

AT A GLANCE

Nepal
  • majority of hikers in the Everest region hire a guide, porter(s) and/or pack animal(s) but it’s fairly easy to do independently
  • guided trekkers stay in lodges, or sprawling tent encampments
  • October to November best months
  • beginning of March to mid-May next best
  • 16-18 days minimum for 3 Passes. 21 days would allow for rest / illness / sidetrip / and other unanticipated delays.
  • if you don’t have time, it’s recommended 14 days just to get to Base Camp and back safely.
  • generally easy hiking on good trails with a light pack. Some very challenging, potentially dangerous sections, if you cross any of the 3 Passes
  • on the main trails buy food as you go and stay in simple “lodges”
  • Everest trails are not expensive, but many spend more than they anticipate on luxuries
  • be clear — you might have to QUIT if by bad luck or rushed ascent you suffer altitude sickness (Acute Mountain Sickness or AMS).
  • many suffer respiratory problems. And fatigue.

Read more on our Everest Base Camp / 3 Passes information page.

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The Salt Path by Raynor Winn

Winn and her husband Moth, who was diagnosed with a terminal illness, became homeless after a bad investment and decided to walk the 630-mile (1,010 km) South West Coast Path. …

In September 2019 it was the number one bestselling book in UK independent bookstores.

An excellent read.

The couple had not hiked for decades. Pretty much everything that could go wrong, did go wrong.

And they survived on an income of about £40 a week.

Amazon

related – Couple walked 630 miles and lived in a tent after bad investment left them homeless

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HOW to trek Paine in Chile

UPDATE – National Parks in Chile have been closed. 

If you’ve ever researched the Paine Circuit in Chile, you know that it’s complicated.

Difficult to make reservations from overseas. 

Happily, Kraig Adams arrived March 2020 with no reservation and yet had a terrific hike.  The last half of the video is TIPS on how you could do the same.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

AT A GLANCE

  • close to the southern tip of South America
  • 100km (62mi) Paine Circuit is unique & gorgeous
  • recommended 9 days, 8 nights
  • shorter, easier 5-day alternative called “the W“

Paine

Read more on our Paine Circuit information page.

(via Adventure Blog)

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Bhutan’s Snowman Trek

Ramblin’ Boy posted a detailed trip report on the famed Snowman / Lunana Trek.

He was guided by Yangphel, a Thimphu adventure travel agency though he had booked through the trip through World Expeditions.

Snowman is one of the best treks in the world. However, the cost to trek in Bhutan was $300 / day.

If money is no object, go for it.

…  Covering over three hundred kilometres in twenty-three days at high altitude means there is lots of time for something to go wrong –

There were 16 in our trekking party, most with a tent of their own. As well, perhaps ten locals – guides, cook team, tent team, horse handlers.  The horses made up the single largest group – there were 43 of them.  We were a village on the move! …

Narethang camp

vista on the Narethang-Tarina section

vista en route to Rerethang after crossing Tempe La, the last pass

Start on this page. Follow the links.

Bhutan’s Snowman Trek Preview:

Part 1 – Paro To Shana To Laya

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Tasmania’s Three Capes Track

Has the Overland Track, Australia’s most famous long-distance walk, just been usurped? Edging along the tops of cliffs that soar more than 300m above the unruly Southern Ocean, the Three Capes Track (threecapestrack.com.au) has quickly assumed the mantle of Australia’s most intriguing bushwalk.

The four-day, 46km track opened to huge expectations at the end of 2015 …
… criticisms that have hounded the track are the cost (at AU$495 per person, it’s more than double the price of the Overland Track) and initially there were no camping facilities for traditional bushwalkers. …

To regulate walker numbers, which have been capped at 48 setting out each day, Tasmania’s Parks and Wildlife Service has established a permit system. Bookings should be made at threecapestrack.com.au/booking.

The walk officially begins at the Port Arthur Historic Site, about a 90-minute drive from the Tasmanian capital of Hobart.

Lonely Planet

People love it.

Cape Pillar Peninsula from the Blade
(Photo courtesy of Stuart Gibson)

3CT Map

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West Coast Trail reservations open Jan 7th

It’s difficult to get a reservation for our #1 hike in the world.

Be on the phone at 8am Pacific Standard Time to book for summer 2019.

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Pacific Crest Trail stats

Mac posted his 6th annual Pacific Crest Trail (2018) Thru-hiker Survey, a terrific resource. It’s interesting to see what gear successful hikers carried and liked best.

He interviewed 496 PCT hikers:

  • Average age 34. 65% began hiking alone
  • 81% said they’d consider hiking the PCT again
  • On average, thru hikers spent $6,274

Click through to read more:

2018 Pacific Crest Trail Thru-hiker Survey

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modest National Park proposals

In the era where Trump and his appointee Zinke are happy to sell off protected public lands, these proposals from Backpacker magazine might not seem modest to all.

Casey Lyons – Make More National Parks

M. John Fayhee – Let the National Parks Go Wild

Rachel Zurer – Make the National Parks Free

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consider doing the JMT Northbound

Only 2% of applicants get permits for the John Muir Trail, one of our top 10 hikes in the world, southbound.

Odds are better in the other (more difficult) direction.

This superb trip report is recommended for your planning.

Brown Gal Trekker:

I completed my solo thru hike of JMT’s entire length of 210 miles plus 11 miles climb up from Whitney Portal starting from Whitney on July 29, 2018 and ending in Yosemite Valley on August 21, 2018, a day ahead of my schedule …

JMT northbound wasn’t the original intention. The start supposedly had to occur in Yosemite heading southbound and ending with the highest passes like most thru hikers do. Many proclaim southbound route trains you best for the harder climbs and higher altitudes. And yet northbound JMT took shape due to the permit limitations. Hence, northbound became the journey.

… Whitney greeted me on the 2nd day. Forrester pass at 13000 feet came in on day 4. Kearsarge at 11750 feet came the next day. I hauled 40 pounds all the while. …

The regular SOBO permits can be obtained solely through a lottery.  You can apply 170 days prior to the start date of your choosing.  Application form must be completed and faxed.  For the SOBO permit, you must fill out your starting and ending dates plus your trailheads of preference. The instructions are straightforward but the chances of getting a permit are rather slim.  You can learn more about applying via this website.

Because we weren’t the lucky 2% who scored a SOBO permit, we ended up taking our chances on the unclaimed permits going NOBO via Whitney Portal.   If you wish to go for overnight Whitney permits from the start, the application usually starts in February. See details on how to apply for Whitney overnight permit lottery here. We searched for permits on May 1st, when the unclaimed permits were released. These permits can be booked via Recreation.gov. To learn more, go to this site.

In applying for the permits, you will need to guesstimate your itinerary.  The most important part is the entry date and entry point. In our case, we were seeking to secure the overnight Whitney permit for our desired date. When you get to Lone Pine, CA, make sure to stop by the Eastern Sierra Park office to pick up your permit. …

 

If interested in doing the John Muir Trail yourself, check our JMT information page.