K2 Basecamp, Concordia, (possibly) Gondogoro La 

The most expensive guided trip I’ve found for 2025 is World Expeditions.

Ultimate K2 Trek: Basecamp, Concordia, Gondogoro La Exploratory

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

At less than 1/3 that cost, you can go with a discount company.

Vertical Pakistan, for example.

One Vertical Pakistan group in 2024 did make it over Gondogoro La — but not all their clients were happy.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

I’m (again) considering signing up with one of these companies for summer 2026 or 2027.

Leave a comment if you have first hand advice.

BestHike loves Huaraz, Peru

 

Huaraz is a trekkers’ paradise. On one side of the valley you have the White Mountains (Cordillera Blanca). On the other side, the Black Mountains (Cordillera Negra). We hike the White Mountains, mountain bike the Black Mountains.

And only a short distance away is the remote, high Cordillera Huayhuash, ideal for hard core trekkers.

Huaraz is located in the central-northern part of the country at an altitude of 3052 m (10,013 feet), some 420 km north of Lima. Huaraz sits in the agriculturally important Callejón de Huaylas valley, at the foot of the Cordillera Blanca mountain range, which includes Huascarán, the highest mountain in Peru at 6768 m (22,204 feet). …

On May 31, 1970 the Ancash earthquake destroyed much of Huaraz, killing 10,000 people. Almost nothing was left of the old city with its narrow streets and big adobe casonas roofed with tiles. The main square was the only major structure that survived the earthquake so the city was rebuilt around it. …

Huaraz is connected to the rest of the country through the Panamerican Highway (187 km north of Lima) and can be reached from Lima … in seven hours. …

Huascarán National Park is a popular destination for tourism and trekking. Huaraz is a frequent base for expeditions to the Cordillera Blanca and Huayhuash. …

The population of the greater area is over 100,000 though you’d never guess it was that big. Huarez retains the feeling of a remote mountain town.

More interesting photos tagged Huaraz, Peru.

One of the best things about Huaraz is that there’s no airport. Regular Peruvian tourists all fly to Cusco, leaving this part of the Andes to us.

Our favourite hike hikes out of Huarez are:

Huayhuash Circuit
• Alpamayo
• Santa Cruz Trek

Huayhuash

There are a half dozen more, just as good. And many, many more great treks in the Central Andes.

besthikers – Cafe Andino, Huaraz – Alpamayo Circuit 2004

Best months are May through September, the “Andean Winter”. Acclimatization to altitude is your main concern here. These treks are high.

Check our Central Andes information page.

7 Great Reasons to Quit Your Hike

  • Bad Weather
  • Wildfires Nearby
  • Physical State
  • Mental State
  • Short Supplies
  • Trail Difficulty
  • Group Needs

That list is from a great article on Backpacker:

7 Great Reasons to Quit Your Hike

It brought to mind many of my own hiking retreats. 😀

Quitting the Long Crossing of Lofoten Archipelago, Norway because it was too difficult and dangerous for me.

Turning back on Dientes de Navarino trek, Patagonia, because snow obscured the trail. I feared getting lost.

Quitting after a few days starting the Pacific Crest Trail. The only time I’ve ever developed blisters so bad I couldn’t walk.

Quitting the Sunshine Coast Trail because of multiple problems. Our group was 11 hikers.

I regret none of those decisions — looking back.

Be smart. Live to hike another day.

Our group walking out from the Sunshine Coast Trail

How Hiking TRANSFORMS Your Body

Heart, lungs, cardiovascular benefits — for sure.

After 17 days on the John Muir Trail I felt fantastic. Lean and fit.

But there are some risks with long slow distance exercise over many, many days.

  • Perhaps 5000 calories burn rate fuelled by junk food, in many cases
  • reproductive system may be affected
  • possible bone density loss — but it should be restored after a few months

Of course there’s a risk of injury. Especially chronic injury.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Appalachian Trail ➙ Heartwood by Amity Gaige

Amity Gaige had a hit with this novel.

Personally, I felt the storytelling average. Sometimes pretentious.

What kept me going was the plot story of the search for Valerie Gillis, a 42-year-old hiker known as “Sparrow,” who vanishes while navigating the challenging Appalachian Trail.

After weeks experience on the A.T., Sparrow makes many dumb mistakes.

The book was slightly inspired by the story of Geraldine Largay who went missing in 2013 and survived for 26 days.

Valerie pours her thoughts into fractured, poetic letters to her mother as she battles the elements and struggles to keep hoping.

At the heart of the investigation is Beverly, the determined Maine State Game Warden tasked with finding Valerie, who leads the search on the ground. Meanwhile, Lena, a seventy-six-year-old birdwatcher in a Connecticut retirement community, becomes an unexpected armchair detective. …

… The mystery inspires larger questions about the many ways in which we get lost, and how we are found. …

Amazon

The ending of the book did tie up things well.

And some of the philosophical musings were interesting to me.

Top 10 Hiking Destinations ➙ Australia

We love Australia. Who doesn’t? What’s not to like? It’s paradise Down Under.

What an exotic treat to have kangaroos and wallabies hanging about your campsite!

A.I. generated image

“Stunning rocky headlands and perfect beaches, lush rainforests, sun-sharpened deserts and the muted beauty of the bush waking to the trail in Australia offers a kaleidoscope of colours, terrains and adventures for walkers of all levels.” – LP

You have such a wealth of choices: the Blue Mountains (NSW), Whitsunday Islands (QLD), dense subtropical rainforest in Lamington National Park (QLD), Larapinta Trail (NT) out of Alice Springs, wild Kakadu National Park (NT), the rugged Cape-to-Cape (WA) or pretty Wine Glass Bay in Freycinet National Park (TAS).

More information on our Australia information page.

Our favourite hike in Australia is The Overland Track in Tasmania.

See our Overland Track Information page.

NEW book ➙ Hiking Over 60

A Modern Guide to Hiking Gear and Techniques for Active Adults

I’m over age-60 and still a keen hiker. It’s one of the recreational activities that skews to a higher age demographic.

If you want to start hiking as an older adult or you hiked as a youth and are just getting back onto the trails, you’ll quickly discover that the hiking gear and skills used by today’s hikers have changed significantly in the past 20 years. From lightweight gear, footwear, and clothing to advances in GPS navigation and satellite communications, nearly every aspect of the hiking experience has been transformed, making hiking more accessible than ever for older adults.

Written by Philip Werner, the founder of the highly acclaimed hiking website SectionHiker.com, Hiking Over 60 will bring you up to speed on the hiking gear and techniques that modern hikers use today.

Since retiring in 2010, Philip has hiked ten thousand miles in the United States and Scotland. An older hiker himself, he has a unique grasp of the physical challenges that mature hikers may face on the trail. …

Amazon

Read Philip’s introduction to the new book on the Section Hiker blog.

HIKING – Nature Can Heal The Mind

If you are reading this post, I’m sure you agree that walking in the wild is good for mind and body.

I happened upon a good article by HELLA KEMPER because they used one of my own photos as the header image.

Rick McCharles above Chamonix, France.

Read the article for yourself.

Healthy Outside — How Being In Nature Can Heal The Mind

Stepping into the wild is more than just a journey — it transforms the way we think and feel. Here’s the science to prove it.

Hiking Vancouver Island Mountain Biking Trails

by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

Having done all the local hiking trails many times, this winter I’ve been mostly exploring mountain bike trails — but on foot.

Pretty much everywhere in the Pacific Northwest has dozens of use trails made by cyclists, mostly unofficial.

This video shows the kinds of challenging and entertaining terrain you might encounter.

Some trails are unsafe. Be careful.

In this video I’m hiking close to Parksville. The trails beneath Little Mountain cliffs.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.