Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
Gear Junkie:
1. Appalachian Trail
2. Greater Patagonian Trail
3. Continental Divide Trail
4. Nepal’s Great Himalaya Trail
5. Grand Italian Trail
6. Wales Coast Path
7. Pacific Crest Trail
8. Great Wall of China
9. Tokai Nature Trail
10. Te Araroa
The Great Himalaya Trail is a proposed trail of more than 4500 km stretching the length of the Greater Himalaya range from Nanga Parbat in Jammu & Kashmir to Namche Barwa in Tibet thus passing through Kashmir, India, Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. When completed, it will be the longest and highest alpine walking track in the world …
It will never be “completed”. There are many GHT routes, higher and lower. They can be hiked continuously or by section.
Check out two main websites, both pretty good:
The second mostly covers GHT Nepal.
The guidebook I’m researching is from Trailblazer – Nepal Trekking & the Great Himalaya Trail 2011 by Robin Boustead.
He’s got a coffee table book, as well, that I’ve never seen – The Great Himalaya Trail.
Stuart Bilby solo’d the Nepal GHT Nepal in 127 days in 2014, an incredible accomplishment. No cars, buses, planes, donkeys or yaks for transport. Stuart lost 19kg body weight. Actually, the first half he did with Lisa Lee-Johnson.
Linda Bezemer published a (much more reasonable) GHT Low Route electronic guidebook which you could use with an iPad on the trail. 1550km broken into 11 sections.
Seth, Kathleen and John did a 2014 east-west GHT Nepal traverse.
But my favourite is Gerda Pouler’s account of her 2012 very personal adventure – Great Himalaya Trail: 1,700 Kilometres Across the Roof of the World [Kindle Edition].
… This path is perhaps the ultimate walk.In 2012, Himalaya veteran Gerda Pauler set out to walk the length of the trail to raise awareness of autism in Nepal.
Travelling across the country with open eyes and ears, ascending high passes, visiting isolated villages and drinking tea with the locals allowed her to see and hear things many of us might never hear, never experience — and never know.Beautifully written like many great travel books and with a foreword by Sir Chris Bonington, this is so much more than a travel diary — it is a collection of stories from the very heart of Nepal and its people. From Tibetan tea and local beer to corrupt politicians and child marriage; cold nights and monsoon rain to incredible views and searing heat; and from angry yaks and giant spiders to Mr Bean and Jack Nicholson…
home page – gerdapauler.info
Yeti just finished a long walk of the Patagonian Andes. 2813km.
His trip report is the most succinct I’ve ever seen:
Perfect
Painful
Relaxing
Forward
Dusty
…
Fording in the rain
…
Pain
Rest and heal
…
Respect the mountains
…
Friend in pain
read more …
Get a glimpse with this 3min photo montage.
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
He’s done other thru hikes including New Zealand, Iceland, the Great Himalaya Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail. Yeesh.
Last day – 1200mi hike. Glacier National Park in Montana to the furthermost western point on mainland USA.
Gear Junkie:
… There was no sign; no monument; no finish line. I just stared at the tiny arrow on the end of the track on my GPS, and then turned down the cedar plank path toward the nearest road. The Pacific Northwest Trail had been the most rugged, challenging, beautiful, and rewarding nine weeks of my life; full of highs and lows, triumphs and hardships, close calls and immense pleasures; and now it was done.
Last Steps On The PNT: 1,200-Mile Hike Comes To A Poignant End
Jeff Kish hiked the 1,200-mile Pacific Northwest Trail this summer. This is his final report from the trail. See Kish’s full collection of trip reports and gear reviews at GearJunkie.com/PNT.
Thanks Kolby.
1,300 miles, 5 months, and 1 camera
These videos are so crazy beautiful. 🙂
Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.
(via Matador)
This looks great. I’ll try to find a copy in Kathmandu.
When Jono Lineen‘s brother died in tragic circumstances, he gave up a comfortable life, moved to the Himalayas and over eight years immersed himself in the cultures of the world’s highest mountains.
The experience culminates in his book Into the Heart of the Himalayas, a fascinating memoir that traces his solo trekking odyssey from Pakistan to Nepal across thousands of kilometres of mountain terrain. No-one has ever before attempted to walk the length of the Western Himalayas alone, but Jono’s intentions were more psychological than physical. It was about integrating the Himalayan culture he had grown to love, assimilating the wisdom of the place and coming to terms with his loss.
Jono’s openness with everyone he meets on the trail – from Pakistani military officers to Tibetan lamas and naked Hindu Saddhus – lies at the heart of one of the most complete portraits of the Himalayas ever written. Jono Lineen – a lone, disarming man – crosses borders, religions, castes, languages and philosophical boundaries to find the way to embrace his future.
He explains why an adventure from 1995 was not published until April 2014.
Have you heard of the Sunshine Coast Trail?
… a 180-kilometre trail that stretches from Sarah Point in Desolation Sound to Saltery Bay. …
… this epic trail now boasts (12 shelters) …, making it the only free hut-to-hut hiking experience in Canada. …
more maps
The huts are basic. First come, first served. I’ll carry a tent, just in case.
No fees. No registration. Easy access from multiple trailheads means you can resupply en route. Logistics will be easy. It’s coastal and fairly flat – aside from 3 mountain ascents of about 4000 feet.
Check the Facebook page for another book – A Dream of Giants: the story of the Sunshine Coast Trail
The soonest I could do all or part of the SCT is summer 2015. Leave a comment if you are interested. This is a terrific excuse to visit the Sunshine Coast of Canada.
One more thing.
There’s a paddling route roughly in parallel with a large section of the Sunshine Coast Trail. From Shinglemill to Canoe Main. Hikers could switch to canoes or kayaks for a break from the trail, or meet up with paddlers at designated campgrounds. Portage is required.
In September, serial adventurer Mike Horn, 48, will weigh anchor on one of the world’s last undone firsts: a motorless circumnavigation of the earth via the two poles. …
Yeesh.
Emma Rowena Gatewood, better known as Grandma Gatewood (October 25, 1887–June 4, 1973), was an extreme hiker and ultra-light hiking pioneer who was the first woman to hike the 2,168-mile (3,489 km) Appalachian Trail …
Gatewood hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1955 at the age of 67, wearing Keds sneakers and carrying an army blanket, a raincoat, and a plastic shower curtain which she carried in a homemade bag slung over one shoulder …
She hiked it again in 1960 and then again at age 75 in 1963, making her the first person to hike the trail three times (though her final hike was completed in sections). She was also credited with being the oldest female thru-hiker by the Appalachian Trail Conference until 2007. …
In addition, she walked 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of the Oregon Trail from Independence, Missouri, to Portland, Oregon, averaging 22 miles (35 km) a day. …
Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail (2014)
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