Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
This would be yet another story of the mad French doing some insane long distance hike. …
If William and Laetitia hadn’t decided to bring a cat along with them on a walk from Miami to Ushuaia, Patagonia.
Kitty looks to be enjoying the adventure.
Check their videos, podcasts and press releases.
official blog (translated to English)
Thanks George.
Guest post from Angie of Outdoor Look in the U.K.:
The English countryside, I would argue is the best in the world for walking and hiking.
With diverse scenery and terrain ranging from the magnificent sights of the Yorkshire Dales to the mountains and waterfalls of the Lake District, whether you’re after an adventurous hike up a mountain or a peaceful walk where you can take in some of the amazing sites, there’s something for everyone no matter what your time requirements of fitness levels.
With this in mind, I want to share with you 2 of my favourite UK walking holidays. So whether you’re after a full walking holiday, or a couple of days, please don your outdoor clothing and walking shoes and enjoy England!
1. Wainwright’s Coast to Coast – This is not an official walking trail, so not for the novice walker, but is one of the most beautiful walking holidays in the UK.
This walk starts in St. Bees on the Cumbria’s Western Coast and stretches across onto Robin Hoods Bay in the north of England, passing through three absolutely beautiful and picturesque national parks: The Lake District NP (pictured), The Yorkshire Dales NP and the North Moors NP.
This self guided walk which obtains its name from the well known travel writer, Alfren Wainwright, covers somewhere in the region of 200 miles of stunning and diverse terrain, which can be covered comfortably in 14 days – so you’ve got to be after a full walking holiday to attempt the whole of this walk.
There are also many alternative routes that are available if at two week walking trip is more than you are after in one go.
Most of the walking its self is not particularly demanding in this terrain, however, does have a few challenging areas along the way – all in all, the views and experience outweigh the effort by far. Normal hiking precautions should be taken, maps and compasses will be necessary along with good outdoor clothing and walking boots and a moderate level of fitness will be required. You’ll need to plan well before you go, to enable you to book suitable accommodation stops along the way.
More information can be obtained at: wainwright.org.uk/coasttocoast.html
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My second option is another one based in the North of England, sorry, I do live in the north so tend to go walking there more often, but there are many great places to hike in the south also.
The Cumbria Way – Starts off in Ulverston and cuts through Cumbria.
Passing through a lot of the Lake Districts most famous and spectacular scenery, so covers some of the same terrain as the previous walk, but is more manageable if you’re short of time. This walk is split up nicely into 5 manageable stages of approximately 14 miles each.
Some of the dramatic scenery you will encounter includes the famous beauty spot of Tarn Hows, the thunderous cascades of Slelwith Force, the delightful lake Elterwater and the extraordinary Langdale Pikes (pictured). Before ending in the historic Border city of Carlisle, you will walk along the valley to Derwentwater and pass through the quaint village of Caldbedk.
This walk can be comfortably completed in 7 days and requires a moderate level of fitness.
More information can be obtained at: thecumbriaway.info
Don’t hang about, get out your backpack, fill it with your favourite outdoor clothing, and walking shoes and head to the North of England for one or part of one of my favourite walks.If you’ve read this post and you’ve got any special places you like for walking or hiking in the UK, please share.
Check Outdoor Look for gear and hiking togs.
How I Lost My Mind–And Almost Found Myself–On the Pacific Crest Trail
Excellent.
Traversing broiling deserts, snowy mountain passes and dank rain forests on its crooked way from Mexico to Canada, the Pacific Coast Trail is an epic challenge for die-hard backpackers. White and his girlfriend, Melissa, set out, late in the season and bereft of experience, to tread all 2,650 miles of it, leaving behind lousy reporting jobs and hoping to find self-definition and a deepened relationship. (They call their trek the Lois and Clark Expedition.)
Hilarious greenhorn misadventures ensue—including the author’s ill-advised chomp, while dizzy with dehydration, into a reputedly moisture-laden prickly-pear cactus—that tested their survival skills and commitment as a couple. …
This book reminded me of both A Walk in the Woods and A Blistered Kind of Love: One Couple’s Trial by Trail.
It confirmed the certainty that I would never do a thru hike with any partner.
The biggest question I had as the sorry tale unfolded … Will Melissa come to her senses and finally dump this loser?
related – Brad Wieners and his wife Mary – Couple’s Therapy via Adventure Racing
We’ve added a category of walks called “spiritual”. This is a perfect example.
For example, one adventure recommended by Aasmund Midttun Godal, the Shikoku Pilgrimage.
… Neon Pilgrim (2009) is a rollercoaster account of an Australian woman’s 1200km trek around the island of Shikoku, the famed 88 Temple Pilgrimage performed in honour of the ninth-century monk who brought Buddhism to Japan. Depressed, unemployed and overweight, 28-year-old Lisa Dempster undertook the epic walk to cure her body and mind ….
I checked out a review by Andy Hayes. His summary:
… this book has a terrible cover and an even worse title.
But it was probably the best ‘travelogue’ I’ve read all year. …
I’ve added Neon Pilgrim to my books-to-read list.
Sarah of Trail Cooking was given a hard-to-find copy of this book.
The Great Divide: A Walk Along the Continental Divide of the United States (1987) by Stephen Pern
Sarah recommends it, saying on Facebook:
As you get into the heart of the book my mind thought of another book, Dances With Marmots – A Pacific Crest Trail Adventure. George’s book has a similar flow. If you liked Dances, you will enjoy this book.
The Continental Divide Trail (CDT) is a wild trail even today. I cannot imagine his walking it even in the 80’s, picking a path of his own to beat the weather and to be able to get food drops. There wasn’t much of a trail back then.
Andrew Skurka is the greatest hiker of all time. His 6,875-mile Great Western Loop was only one of many fantastic hiking accomplishments.
What could he do to top the Great Western Loop?
4,700 miles in 7 months via skis, foot, and a packraft
official Alaska-Yukon Expedition home page
… On Saturday, March 13, a small plane will land early morning in Kotzebue, Alaska. Andy Skurka will get off the airplane, put on his headlamp in the pre-dawn darkness, pull on some clothes in the zero degree temperature, and start skiing. He would ski for 12 hours straight, and do at least that every day for the next month and a half. Then he’ll hike and packraft 16 hours every day for the next 5 months.
He’s circumnavigating the entire state, crossing the entire Alaska Range, Brooks Range, and parts of the Yukon. An estimated 4,720 miles, in hopefully 6 1/2 months. Almost all off-trail. Plenty of bears, brush, snow, raging rivers, glaciers (and mosquitos). …
read more from Buzz on the Adventure Running Blog)
This is Ryan Commons.
He got it into his head to try to complete the 211mi JMT in only a week. Nuts.
Just to make it a little more challenging, he started with a pack weight of about 1/3 body weight. And climbed the highest mountain in the continental U.S. at the beginning of the adventure. (Sensible people finish on Mt. Whitney. They don’t start there.)
Many have done similar things. But none that I’ve seen have documented it so beautifully. Here’s Ryan’s 40min movie slide show of his week in the footprints of John Muir.
Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.
The JMT is our #2 best hike in the world. If you want to hike some of it yourself, check our JMT information page.
(via The Adventure Blog)
British Adventurer Ripley Davenport will attempt the first recorded solo and unassisted traverse across the vast landmass of Mongolia, on foot from east to west, starting in April 2010.
This effort to push the frontiers of human capabilities, challenge ecological values and inspire youth to reach beyond their perceived limits and engage their dreams.
The Expedition will involve walking 1700 miles / 2750 km’s across the Eastern Mongolian Steppe, Gobi Desert and the Altai Mountain Range, while hauling provisions and equipment weighing in excess of 200kg in a wheeled trailer, specifically designed for the journey, in 90 days or less. …
Kraig Becker posted an interview with Davenport, 90 days in advance of the start, on The Adventure Blog.
We received a strong recommendation for an historical walk inspired by the classic Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes by Robert Louis Stevenson.
It was chosen by Forbes as one of their Top 10 Travel Adventures.
252km (156mi), most do it Inn to Inn.
Enlightened Traveler – details and more photos
Robert Louis Stevenson’s account of his 140 mile trek through the Massif Central of southern France has long captured the imagination of walkers and lovers of literature alike. In 1991 the Stevenson Trail was finally adopted by the French footpath authorities as the GR70. This guide will prove indispensable to the holidaymaker planning to follow in the nineteenth century author’s footsteps.
It includes a comprehensive list of facilities, accommodation and places of interest along the route, detailed route directions and account of Stevenson’s adventures with his sole companion and beast of burden, the donkey Modestine, at each stage. …
Cicerone 2007 guidebook – The Robert Louis Stevenson Trail: A Walking Tour in the Velay and Cevennes, Southern France
The Haute Route
Also known as:
• The Walker’s Haute Route
• Chamonix-Zermatt Haute Route
• “High Route”
• Mt Blanc to the Matterhorn
• Chamonix to Zermatt
It’s official. The Haute Route in the Alps replaces the Tour de Mont Blanc at the #9 position in our list of the top 10 hikes in the world. The TMB is awesome, … but too crowded.
Long live the Haute Route!
“the greatest collection of 4000m peaks in the alps!”
Why we love it:
the best hike in Europe! Alpine charm: valleys, lakes, glaciers great food, history, culture from Mont Blanc, the highest peak in Europe (4810m, 15,781ft) … to the Matterhorn, the most beautiful peak in the alps staying in huts, and eating your meals there, you can hike with a very light pack see ibex and chamois in the wild finishes with the 2-day Europaweg – a true high-level path opened in recent years (and sometimes closed due to avalanche) some mountaineers use this trek for altitude acclimatization, climbing Mt. Blanc, the Matterhorn or, best, Weisshorn, after they finish
Considerations:
Rain is highly likely. It can even snow on high passes any day of the year. mid-July through August accommodation may be full mountain huts can be crowded & noisy (we prefer tenting, to be truthful) in 2009 cost was around $70 for bed, bedding, breakfast and an evening meal iron ladders bolted into the mountain en route, though there is a way to bypass them cable-cars and chair-lifts are cheating, but you certainly may want to use them to shorten some hiking days
German is the main language of the Haute Route though French is useful too. Anglophones may struggle.
Get our preferred guidebook long in advance of your trek – Cicerone – Chamonix to Zermatt: The Walker’s Haute Route by Kev Reynolds.
Details on our Haute Route information page.
besthike.com 