Category: long hikes

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Grandma Gatewood – Appalachian Trail

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 …

Grandma

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. …

Gatewood

Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail (2014)

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treking Iceland north to south

A short video showing some of the highlights of our traverse of Iceland during the summer of 2014. It took us 21 days to cross about 500km from the northern shore at Hraunhafnartangi to the southern coast at Skogar. …

We had 2 food parcels on the route – one in myvatn and another in landmannnalaugar. This meant the maximum amount of food we had to carry was 12 days giving a backpack weight of between 15 and 25kgs. We also got caught in a storm in the highlands midway through and had to use our SPOT device to get picked up by Iceland’s amazing Search and Rescue volunteers …

http://vimeo.com/101096882

(via Hiking in Finland)

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‘String Bean’ crushes the PCT

A 23-year-old Seattle man has smashed the speed record for hiking the full length of the Pacific Crest Trail. Recent college grad Joe McConaughy crossed into Canada on Sunday, exactly 53 days, 6 hours and 37 minutes after leaving the Mexican border on the storied trail. McConaughy says he felt elation and disbelief at the finish of the 2,660 mile journey. …

There is no official time keeper for long distance trail records. McConaughy had a support team and a satellite tracking beacon to verify his time. He says he ran the downhill and flat sections and generally hiked the uphills.

Even McConaughy sounds astonished by the pace he maintained. “I can’t believe that I averaged 50 whole miles a day over some of the toughest mountains in the West …

Seattle Runner Smashes Speed Record For Full Length Of Pacific Crest Trail

Click PLAY or watch an interview en route, near Bend, Oregon.

The long distance hiking fraternity recognizes a separate record for trekking border to border alone, without an accompanying support team. Heather ‘Anish’ Anderson of Bellingham continues to own that record of 60 days, 17 hours.

(via Fedak)

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Superior Hiking Trail

The Superior Hiking Trail, also known as The “SHT,” is a 275-mile (442 km) long footpath in Northeastern Minnesota that follows the ridgeline overlooking Lake Superior for most of its length. …

Facilitating this purpose are 81 campsites spread throughout the northern section of the trail. …

Joy Santee just finished.

Music: Akins Birmingham Boys “I Walked and Walked”

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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WHY the Appalachian Trail?

Ever wonder what it’s like to hike 2200 miles through 14 States?

“Five months of solitude”, says Matt Hayden, “it just gives you a lot of time to think”.

Hayden and GreenLife Adventure Sports co-owner Tommy Dunn each completed the trail, 14 years apart. Here they share the experience and advice they picked up while on the trail.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

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Pacific Crest Trail – documentary

Thru-hikers Ian Mangiardi and Andy Laub met doing the Appalachian Trail in Winter. In 2011 they  trekked over 2,600 miles northbound on America’s Pacific Crest Trail in order to create a documentary that would show, first hand, Americas backcountry and its’ splendor.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

By the time they reached the Washington State border, Ian and Andy were falling apart physically. Their intense friendship in distress.

related – this season Joe McConaughy and at least 5 others are trying to set a new record time for the PCT by  averaging 45+ miles per day, every day, for almost two months.

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Outside magazine – BEST new Trail

Via Dinarica, the Balkans

The Dinaric Alps have 8,000-foot stegosaurus spines, fairy-tale meadows, and stone guesthouses. Decades of conflict made them tough to experience, but the area is amping up its tourist offerings, and access is improving on the new Via Dinarica. Our favorite stretch: the 600-mile White Trail, which stitches together old routes from Slovenia to Albania and follows the highest peaks. …

2014 Travel Awards: Best New Trail

trail-vic-dinarica_fe

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Pacific Crest Trail in 3 minutes

One of the best edits on the PCT I’ve seen.

In the summer of 2013 Casey Gannon and Colin Arisman thru-hiked the Pacific Crest Trail with cameras in hand. “Only The Essential” is the story of their 5 month, 2668 mile journey on foot from Mexico to Canada across the wilderness of California, Oregon, and Washington.

Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.

(via Outside Online)