TOP 10 hikes ➙ Chamonix to Zermatt, Alps

The Haute Route, from France to Switzerland, is one of our top 10 hikes in the world.

Click PLAY or watch a 1 minute introduction on YouTube.

Haute Route

Chamonix to Zermatt, Mont Blanc to the Matterhorn – in two weeks of mountain travel you will see the greatest collection of 4000 metre peaks in the Alps!

AT A GLANCE

  • also known as the Walker’s High Route
  • 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
  • 9-15 days
  • 180+kms (112mi)
  • best months June-Sept
  • crosses 11 passes, gains more than 12,000m elevation
  • difficult hiking
Ibex-horns

Read more on our Haute Route information page.

documentary – 500 Days in the Wild

Dianne Whelan is the only person to complete The Great Trail (Trans Canada Trail), a network of greenways, trails, waterways, and roads that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic oceans.

It extends over 24,000 km (15,000 mi); it is now the longest recreational, multi-use trail network in the world

Hiking, biking, paddling, snowshoeing and skiing.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Canada’s Great Divide Trail – documentary

The Great Divide Trail in the Canadian Rockies … closely follows the Great Divide between Alberta and British Columbia

… southern terminus is in Waterton Lakes National Park at the Canada–US border (where it connects with the Continental Divide Trail) and its northern terminus is at Kakwa Lake in Kakwa Provincial Park, north of Jasper National Park. …

In 2017, Kodak & Cinnamon hiked 1100km south to north.

Out There: The Great Divide Trail is FREE on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Getting permits is difficult.

Start on this page ➙ Great Divide Trail AssociationTrip -Planning Resources

BestHike #2 – John Muir Trail, California

John Muir Trail is one of our top 10 hikes in the world.

Click PLAY or watch a 1-minute preview on YouTube.

John Muir Trail

If there’s a hiker’s paradise on earth, it’s the JMT in the Sierra Nevadas.

213 miles without a road. Fantastic weather. 11 high passes. Unbelievable nonstop vistas. And Mt Whitney.

AT A GLANCE

Yosemite map
  • Yosemite, Ansel Adams and John Muir wilderness, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks
  • start in stunning Yosemite, Muir’s “Range of Light”
  • 223mi (360km) to Whitney Portal adding sidetrips to Half Dome, Vermillion Resort and Mt. Whitney 14,505ft (4,421m)
  • 15-21 days recommended
  • carry your own food and tent
  • JMT about 10% the length of the Pacific Crest Trail

Read more on our John Muir Trail information page.

Women – 140 days Great Himalaya Trail

Wow. What an undertaking.

The Great Himalaya Trail (GHT) Women Leaders on the Trail Campaign (GHT Women Leaders campaign) is a once in a lifetime opportunity to elevate the roles and status of female Nepali guides and porters in Nepal.

The campaign involves organizing a group of female Nepali guide(s) and porters to trek on the Great Himalaya Trail for 140 days beginning February until July of 2024.

This campaign is in support of the mission of the non-profit human rights organization, The Porter Voice Collective, which aims to advocate for the human rights of porters in Peru, Nepal & Tanzania via all forms of media and storytelling. …

Details

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Anu Shrestha, Campaign Manager (Nepal)

Gauri Malakar, Campaign Advisor

Sara Frenning, PVC Researcher & Campaign Coordinator, Videographer

Pema T. Sherpa, GHT Logistics Coordinator

Marinel de Jesus, Campaign Manager (Global)

Thor Pedersen 203 Nations without Flying

Trailer for the planned 2024 documentary called THE IMPOSSIBLE JOURNEY.

Danish traveler and adventurer Torbjørn C. Pedersen (Thor) made history on May 23rd by becoming the first person ever to visit every country without air travel. …

Onboard a container ship, he arrived in Male, the capital of the Maldives, marking his 203rd and final country.

Thor, a Salomon ambassador, described the journey as “an incredible and challenging adventure that aimed to promote peace, understanding and cultural exchange while raising awareness about global issues”.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Chris Lewis Walked 19,000 Miles, 6 Years

An ex-paratrooper has completed a 19,000 mile walk around the UK coast and raised £500,000 in the process.

Chris Lewis, 43, was joined by hundreds of cheering supporters as he finished the final mile of his journey …

He set off with just £10 in his pocket and has returned with a fiancee, a baby son named Magnus and a pet dog called Jet. …

Mr Lewis, who served with 2nd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, struggled to cope after entering civilian life.

He decided to walk the UK coast after suffering anxiety and depression. …

BBC

Overrated ➙ Scotland’s West Highland Way

I was looking forward to the West Highland Way in 2009. Ended up quitting early. Now we don’t recommend that adventures.

There are MANY better hikes in Scotland.

Kraig Adams went in 2023. And his lovely drone videos make it look appealing.

Watch his entire video, however, and you’ll see he was tortured by midges.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

NEW – Pamir Trail, Tajikistan

The Pamir Mountains are a mountain range between Central Asia and Pakistan. It is located at a junction with other notable mountains, namely the Tian ShanKarakoramKunlunHindu Kush and the Himalaya mountain ranges. They are among the world’s highest mountains. …

The Pamir Highway, the world’s second highest international road, runs from Dushanbe in Tajikistan to Osh in Kyrgyzstan through the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province, and is the isolated region’s main supply route. …

The Pamir Trail is a proposed 1000km+ route. A work in progress.

Jan Baaker, author of Cicerone Trekking in Tajikistan, hopes to connect the entire route in 2024.

We wish him luck. Some of the rivers can be impassable.

To learn more, click through to the PamirTrail.org.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.