10,000 km Portugal to Turkey on foot

Deux Pas Vers L’Autre (2PVA)

That translates as Two Steps Towards Others.

Marie and Nil:

Excluding any means of transportation, during 530 days we will travel 10,600km through 17 countries: Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Romania and Turkey. …

… we will document this experience for 17 months …

deuxpasverslautre.com

(via The Trek)

12,500+ mile All-In-Trek

THE NORTH COUNTRY TRAIL (4,600 MILES)
THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL (2,178 MILES)
THE PACIFIC CREST TRAIL (2,650 MILES)
..AND THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TRAIL (3,100 MILES)

Breanna Cornell and Sophie are going to try it continuously, self supported, back to back to back to back.

Target Start Date: 20th September 2018

details – allintrek.com

Pacific Northwest Trail maps

The Pacific Northwest Trail is 1200 miles long.

The PNTA has worked hard to develop an entirely new map set for 2017. These new maps feature the most up-to-date primary route and recommended alternates available. In addition, they include notes to support planning and logistics.

This map set is designed for use with The Pacific Northwest Trail Digest, 2017 Edition, by Tim Youngbluth. The guidebook and map set reference a common set of waypoints.

The Great Outdoors Challenge, Scotland

Since 1980 thousands of people have taken up the opportunity to backpack from Scotland’s west coast to the east as part of this annual event – each of them following their own carefully crafted route.

Many of those Challengers come back time and time again, drawn by the potential for both wilderness and camaraderie. The 2018 event takes place 11th – 26th May. Read more here …

Live The Outdoors posted an excellent account of their 2017 TGO.

related – Andy Howell – Planning Your First TGO Challenge

Maah Daah Hey trail system, North Dakota

I’d not heard of Maah Daah until recently. It was designated a National Recreation Trail in December 2016.

The Trail winds through the Little Missouri National Grasslands in North Dakota‘s Badlands. 

This North Dakota Bike Trail Is Stunning. Just Hope You Survive It.

The Maah Daah Hey Trail is the longest and arguably most grueling single-track mountain biking route in the United States.

These trails can be hiked.

more photos

The Maah Daah Hey trail system is comprised of nine trail units of varying size and difficulty. From north to south, they are the Long X (5.8 miles), Summit (3.8 miles), Overlook (0.3 miles), Maah Daah Hey (144 miles), Bennett (3.2 miles), Cottonwood (6.9 miles), Ice Cave (1.5 miles), Buffalo Gap (18.9 miles) and Wolf (8.8 miles). …

There are eleven developed campgrounds on the Maah Daah Hey Trail System: CCC, Bennett, Buffalo Gap, Burning Coal Vein, Coal Creek, Cottonwood, Elkhorn, Magpie, Sully Creek, Summit, and Wannagan. …

There are twelve trailheads connecting access roads to our beautiful trail system: CCC, Bear Creek, Bennett, Bully Pulpit, Burning Coal Vein, Coal Creek, Ice Cave, Plumely Draw, Sully Creek, Third Creek, Tom’s Wash, and Wannagan.

Mountain bikes account for roughly 70% of the use with horse use in the 25% range with the remaining 5% as hikers or back packers. …

About

8 and 9 year olds complete the Appalachian

… David Kallin, husband, father, and outdoor adventurer describes his family’s extraordinary adventure trekking the 2,185-mile Appalachian trail. In his talk, David describes the challenges and tremendous rewards of watching his young children (ages 8 and 9) navigate the arduous five-month long hike from Georgia to Maine. …

Click PLAY or watch the TEDx Talk on YouTube.

Amanda Zeisset:

Key Takeaways From This Video:

1. Early on, the kids needed help with everything but by the end they had grown and matured.

2. At the beginning, sometimes the tough climbs were too much for their young legs, so their parents would take their packs. But by the end, they were carrying all their own gear – clothes, sleeping gear and even their shelter.

3. Everyone faced challenging conditions – cold rain then sleet then snow then hail. There were freezing nights. At first, it was the adults who would get up early to set up a fire to warm up the socks and shoes so they could get them back on their feet. By the end, their daughter was wringing out her own wet socks the night before, stuffing them into her own pockets. The kids had truly become self-sufficient.

I hope you have been as inspired by David’s story as I have.