Epic Grand Canyon Hike

Have you been following Peter McBride & Kevin Fedarko?

Epic Grand Canyon Hike: A 650-Mile Challenge (Part 1)

Epic Grand Canyon Hike: Frozen Shoes and Low on Food (Part 2)

I liked the 3rd and final instalment best.

Click PLAY or watch Thirst and Threats in the Godscape on YouTube.

Thru-Hiking Will Break Your Heart …

An Adventure on the Pacific Crest Trail by Carrot Quinn 

I’ve read a number of books on the PCT. I believe this is my favourite.

thru-hiking-will-break-your-heart

Amazon

Carrot Quinn was raised in Alaska on welfare by a schizophrenic single mother. A rough life. In fact, she became a hobo riding the rails.

This book reads as a blog. That’s because it started as blog posts from the trail.

reaching the Canadian border
reaching the Canadian border

If you are one of those who disliked Cheryl Strayed’s memoir Wild … because it had too little actual hiking … know that this extended trip report is all about the hiking. 🙂

It’s funny. It’s real. It’s surprising. Carrot makes no apologies.She’s a big advocate of trail romance. Even sex.

I’ll certainly buy any of her other books that get released on audio.

related – Carrot did not love the Continental Divide Trail. She did love the Hayduke Route.

U.S. long distance trails

Backpacker magazine:

Of course there’s the Triple Crown—the Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, and Continental Divide Trail—and dozens more, spanning tens of thousands of miles. Whether you want to hike for six days or six months, start your search here. …

Map: America’s Best Long Trails

long-distance-trails

(via Adventure Blog)

cycling Port Alberni to Victoria on the NEW Spine Trail

A signature recreation destination in Canada, the Vancouver Island Spine Trail will span more than 700 kilometres from Victoria to Cape Scott. Traversing wild coasts, ancient and working forests and joining island communities, the trail will be a month-long journey in its entirety. …

It’s not finished. But I plan to cycle — and hike a bike — a section in 2017. I’ll start in Port Alberni … and see how far south I can get.

click for larger map
click for larger map

best sections of the Florida Trail

Cam Honan hiked the Florida Trail in the winter of 2011/12.

TFT 12X9.indd

He enjoyed most St. Marks Wildlife Refuge and Big Cypress National Preserve.

Highlights included sunrise and sunset on this Trail.

sunset-pensacola

Local fauna.

st-marks-wildlife-refuge-florida

Cam bumped into legendary thru hiker Billy Goat. Two legends, I’d say.

billy-goat-swami

Read Cam’s Florida Trail Backpacking Guide.

How to Hike the Appalachian Trail

Nick Stoyanov posted an overview on Backpacker Verse:

… Altogether, the Appalachian Trail is about 2,200 miles (or 3,500 kilometers).

… it passes through 14 states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia …

trekking-the-appalachian-trail-will-lead-you-to-beautiful-vistas

How to Hike the Appalachian Trail

Switzerland – Alpine Pass Route

Cam Honan:

Alpine Pass Route Overview Map (Cicerone Guide)
Alpine Pass Route Overview Map (Cicerone Guide)

… a 340 kilometre (211 miles) hiking trail that spans the breadth of Switzerland. Starting in Sargans on the border with Liechtenstein, it passes up and over sixteen mountain passes before reaching its western terminus at Montreux, situated on Lake Geneva.

I completed the Alpine Pass Route in August, 1997. Nineteen years and many hiking miles later, it remains one of my favourite European trails. A memorable combination of gorgeous mountain scenery, picturesque villages, great hospitality and some very cool side trips …

switzerland

It’s one of our best hikes in Europe.

Greater Patagonian Trail update

GearJunkie:

The Greater Patagonian Trail (GPT) is 1,300 miles long and counting. It is a growing network of backroads and rutted trails stitched together to form an enormous route across South America, and almost nobody knows about it.

That’s because it’s been built quietly, the entire route put together by one couple who hope to share a love of hiking with the world.

At 1,300 Miles, Remote ‘GPT’ Is Longest Trail In South America

I met Swiss-German hiker and explorer Jan Dudeck and his Chilean wife Meylin Ubilla last January. And hope to get back to Patagonia again in 2017.

Laguna Caracol
Laguna Caracol