Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
Backpacker Radio spoke with the thru hiking legend, author, blogger, and backcountry guide Andrew Skurka.
Very entertaining. Very informative. He shares strong opinion on gear.
Andrew names Cam “Swami” Honan and Justin “Trauma” Lichter as two thru hikers he admires in 2019.
Zach and Smiles host the podcast. Listen online – Backpacker Radio #33
related – You Think Your Winter Was Rough (Trauma’s winter PCT)
6900+ miles.
Andrew Skurka invented the Great Western Loop and was the only person to complete it before Jeff ‘Legend’ Garmire in 2018.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. (24min)
In 2019, the Great Western Loop will officially become the Great Western Loop Trail and expanded to include the northern and southern termini of both the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) and the Continental Divide Trail (CDT). …
Heather Anderson, who goes by the trail name Anish, has thru-hiked the U.S.’s mega trails—the Appalachian, the Continental Divide, and the Pacific Crest—three times. …
Since 2013, Anderson has speed-hiked 28,000 trail miles—a greater distance than the circumference of Earth at the equator. …
Anish outdid herself last year, when she became the first woman, and fifth person, to complete the Triple Crown—7,944 miles—in a calendar year. She pulled off the feat in stunning fashion, hiking an average of more than 31 miles a day to finish in 251 days, 20 hours, and 10 minutes. (Cam “Swami” Honan holds the overall record at 231 days.) …
All this from a girl who was 70 pounds overweight and often teased while growing up …
How does anyone do this kind of thing?
You hike a lot of 18-hour days — waking up 4 a.m. and walking until 11 p.m.
AND Heather won’t accept rides in and out of town to pick-up her resupply!
She has a new book. Available in paperback and Kindle.
In her new memoir, Thirst: 2600 Miles to Home, Heather, whose trail name is “Anish,” conveys not only her athleticism and wilderness adventures, but also shares her distinct message of courage–her willingness to turn away from the predictability of a more traditional life in an effort to seek out what most fulfills her. …
Here’s the ideal link for anyone considering the CDT. It’s a monster challenge.
On October 27th, 2018 the two woman Her Odyssey team completed crossing South America.
In 730 days they walked and paddled 12,913 km (8,024 mi) across six countries; Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia.
Fidgit (Bethany Hughes) and Neon (Lauren Reed) are continuing the 5 year project, still heading north.
Click PLAY or get a glimpse of their first continent on YouTube.
… a new thru-hike created by Ras and Kathy Vaughan.
Full-time adventurers, the Vaughans, married for 22 years, have made a habit of setting only known times where they establish never-before-recorded routes. They call themselves Team UltraPedestrian, and they named their new trail the UltraPedestrian (or UP) North Loop.
The thru-hike combines parts of four established long trails to create a 2,600-mile loop through the best of the Northwest. …
… Though much of the loop is rugged and less than ideal from a scenic perspective—it includes at least 200 miles of road walking and several areas with limited water resources …
They’ve got a book, as well.
98 Days Of Wind: The Greatest Fail Of Our Life
It’s an account of their attempt at at Grand Enchantment Trail yoyo.
Mac has posted — for the second year in a row — stats he’s collected from 103 CDT thru hikers.
– 68% Male, 32% Female
– average age 37
– 59.8% began alone
– northbound start date April 17th
– southbound start date April 23rd
– 74% said they’d consider doing it again
– favourite pack was the ULA Catalyst (Hiker Rating: 4.8/5)
– favourite tent was the Tarptent Notch (Hiker Rating: 5/5)
– favourite stove the MSR PocketRocket 2 (Hiker Rating: 4.75/5)
– Altra was the favourite brand of shoe
There’s much , much more. Click through.
I’m following an epic story on YouTube – an attempt on the Great Himalaya Trail by ultrarunners Ryan Sandes and Ryno Griesel.
It’s harsh.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
I was disappointed in this book.
Others disagree. It’s got fairly good ratings on GoodReads.
I learned very little about the Himalayas. Indeed most of the book has him nowhere near the mountains. He’s road walking in the lowlands.
I assume Lev’s boring route had to do with logistics for the film crew following along.
Ryan Sandes and Ryno Griesel ran much higher trails by comparison.
The book is poorly written too.
He got travel advice from the Dalai Lama. That bit I enjoyed.
And the tale of their vehicle crash was horrific. One of the real dangers of the Himalaya is motor vehicle accident.
related – TV series – Walking the Himalayas
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:
Click through to read more:
besthike.com 