long hikes – Page 42 – besthike.com

September 29, 2008

thru hike the American Discovery Trail

We are Jennifer and Stacy. We have chosen Shaman (stacy) and Weck (jennifer) as our trail names. Our primary goal is to hike the United States starting with the American Discovery Trail.

Because we are both out of shape and overweight, we are spending the next several months, planning, training, and preparing to take to the road. We have started by hiking local state parks and trails. We plan to journal and photo document everything we do as a record for ourselves and anyone else out there that is interested in doing the same thing.

Part of the plan is to sell our vehicles, our home, and nearly everything in it. The only things we want are the things weâ€™ll need on the road. For us, this isnâ€™t just a trip, or a vacationâ€¦ it is a lifestyle change. …

They’ve put together a nice looking blog dedicated to this major life change.

ThisTrek.com

September 26, 2008

hiker Andrew Skurka on tour

Sadly I missed the world’s greatest hiker when he spoke in my city last week.

He’s on tour following his 11,000-kilometre Great Western Loop in 208 days, a blistering pace of 53 kilometres per day.

Next on his calendar:

Thurs, Nov 20 — National Geographic Adventurer of the Year — Washington DC

Sat, Nov 22 — Explorers Festival – Lodz, Poland

Fri, Jan 9 — Cuyahoga Valley National Park — Brecksville, OH

Thurs, Jan 15 — Mystic Seaport — Mystic, CT

events will be updated on his services page.

September 25, 2008

trekking across Iceland

Hardcore hiker Jonathan Ley has done the Continental Divide Trail and Pacific Crest Trail.

But I was most interested in his unique adventure in Iceland:

larger version

The photos are terrific:

more photos

I really want to trek Iceland after seeing them!

Why Iceland?

When I was hiking the CDT, I had a lot of time to dream-up other hiking trips all over the world. One of those was a hike across Iceland… No particular reason, it sounded like it’d be interesting. When my friend Dave mentioned that he had the same idea, it seemed meant to be. The trip was a lot more enjoyable and safer with a traveling companion.

Iceland is a unique place. It is located along the Atlantic rift, where the earth’s crust is separating. As a result, there are a lot of geothermal features (volcanoes, hot springs, etc) all over the country. Iceland is quite far north – the Arctic circle was just offshore from our starting point – but, the climate is kept somewhat temperate by ocean currents. The land is one of stark beauty, shaped by ice, wind, and volcanoes.

How long was the route?

Even after completing the hike, I’m still not sure. Our best estimate was somewhere around 360-380 miles.

When did you hike?

We started on June 23, 2006, and finished on July 11, 2006.

…

Where / how did you resupply?

The population of Iceland is a sparse 300,000, and most of those live near ReykjavÃk. Virtually nobody lives in the interior. Still, we passed through a couple areas where we could resupply. There is a small town near the lake MÃ½vatn in the north, and a summer “backpacking village” at Landmannalauger in the south. We sent packages to both places, but it’s possible to buy provisions “as you go”.

…

Has anyone else done this?

People have hiked across Iceland via a number of routes, but each trip has probably been somewhat unique, and the total number is likely small. Since returning from the trip, I’ve been contacted by at least one other American who completed a similar trip a number of years ago… I’m not sure if there are more. …

FAQs

August 24, 2008

Pacific Crest Trail – movie

There have been a number of trailers posted for the upcoming documentary Tell it on the Mountain, “tall tales and alluring lore from the Pacific Crest Trail”.

Here is the latest.

Trailer – Tell it on the Mountain from TellitontheMountain on Vimeo.

(via Take a Load Off)

April 10, 2008

hiker and builder – Ron Strickland

Ron Strickland has a site dedicated to long distance trails and the National Trails System in the USA.

He’s authored a number of books including:

THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST TRAIL GUIDE

SHANK’S MARE: A COMPENDIUM OF REMARKABLE WALKS

I’ve been writing about hiking since around 1999. Ron’s done more. And for somewhat longer than that.

Ron Strickland began to create the 1200-mile Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT) in 1970. Seven years later he founded the non-profit Pacific Northwest Trail Association (PNTA) to locate, develop, maintain, and protect the Trail. He described its Continental Divide-to-Pacific Ocean route in The Pacific Northwest Trail Guide.

His current project is the creation of the transcontinental Sea-To-Sea Route.

He is excited about C2C’s (1) vast scale, (2) proximity to record numbers of potential hikers, and (3) potential to transform Americaâ€™s National Trails System. He says, “Hikers know that initially a proposed long walk can seem overwhelmingly difficult. But the wiser heads among them realize that even the longest journey is accomplished one step at a time. So, too, the Sea-To-Sea Route at first glance may seem like an impossible dream. But in 2007, having already convinced many skeptics, I know that I am on the right path and that this project is the perfect way for many hikers `to give back to the trail'” …

Keep up the good fight, Ron!

And congratulations on your March 2007 wedding to Christine Hartmann. There’s hope for us old bachelor hikers yet.

… married him even though she’d been winter hiking with him on the Appalachian Trail and knew what she was getting into.

It’s a great story. To learn more, start with Ron’s Biography.

March 20, 2008

cost of trekking in Bhutan increasing

Bad news for me.

I’ve been waiting on Bhutan to open up for independent trekking. Planning on being one of the first to get a hiking permit.

It was Rogier Gruys of BluePeak.net who first got me interested in hiking Bhutan.

original – BluePeak on flickr – more photos

Now Kira Salak penned a wonderful Snowman Trek trip report / article for National Geographic.

A small excerpt:

… Then I saw the tiny fortress, Lingshi Dzong, sitting on a hilltop before the great audience of the Himalaya. I stopped. For some reason I never quite understood, I sat down and wept. Maybe it had something to do with the starkness of the distances, with the dramatic vying of sunlight and storm. Or perhaps it was subtler, harder to explain. As if, in that ancient dzongâ€”that speck of human proclamation sitting before the indifferent valleys and rise of the Himalayaâ€”it was my own voice calling out into the void. I found myself making an appeal of grief about my brother, who’d had his own history, his stories. What would happen to them now? Where do theyâ€”where do any of our storiesâ€”go? …

Lingshi Dzong – larger version – flickr – reddoggirl01

read the entire lengthy, intense travelogue – Trekking Bhutan’s Higher Planes

VISITING BHUTAN: Though there is no cap on the number of annual visitors, the Bhutanese government charges at least $200 a day for any in-country travel, and all tourists must book trips with one of 77 government-approved outfitters. Once you’re there, a guide accompanies you at all times.

National Geographic Bhutan Adventure Guide

In her article, Kira Salak states that she’s heard price will double in the near future. Go from $200 to $400 / day.

Leave a comment if you can confirm that rumour.

(via The Adventure Blog)

trekking in Bhutan

Snowman Trek, Bhutan

March 19, 2008

hiking the John Muir Trail in 2008?

I’ve been section hiking it for the past three years. Can I get there once again?

And I’ve got friends planning to honeymoon hike this coming summer.

If you are considering it yourself, check out this great new resource. It’s a virtual JMT hike via photo pages.

screenshot sample

Click through to the start page. And follow the links. Within 5min you’ll have a good overview of our #2 hike in the World.

If that’s too low tech for you, there is a .kmz file you can load into Google Earth for a fly over.

The site is called Hiking the John Muir Trail, a great starting point. It’s very professionally put together.

Mt. Whitney at sunrise from above 12,000′

Leave a comment if you plan on hiking the Sierras in California this year.

besthike information page – John Muir Trail

March 8, 2008

Earth Expedition – 18,000mi hike

Sponsored by Kelty, Daren Wendell starts today on a really, really, really LONG walk.

Mix 11 languages, 18,000 miles, 7 years, 3 continents, 17 times zones, 14 countries, 36 million steps, one man, a backpack and a dream and you get The Earth Expedition. A mans dream to walk the worlds continents on nothing but two feet.

Why The Earth Expedition?

The inevitable “cause” is the global water crisis.

(via The Goat)

December 22, 2007

honeymoon on the John Muir Trail

Just learned that contributor Dave Hayley (who organized our Tombstone, Yukon hike last summer) is proposing to honeymoon on the JMT.

The ideal wedding present:

Jeff Alt convinced his wife (Beth), a woman raised with the belief that vacations include hot showers, beaches, and warm beds, to chuck her domesticated amenities and â€œTake a Hikeâ€ to help her overcome the loss of her brother.

Jeff had to spend quite a bit of time convincing Beth that the hike would be romantic, skillfully leaving out some minor details about the journey.

They walked the 218-mile John Muir Trail across Californiaâ€™s Sierra Nevada mountain range as a depression awareness campaign, carrying all their supplies on their backs and sleeping on the ground for weeks on end.

Jeff Alt – Motivational Speaker and Two Time Award Winning Author

A Hike For Mike: An Uplifting Adventure Across the Sierra Nevada for Depression Awareness

Our John Muir Trail information page.

December 22, 2007December 22, 2009

#4 best hiking region in the world is the …

Sierra Nevada

The longest, highest, most diverse mountain range in the continental United States is not the Rockies. It’s the Sierra Nevada range in California.

Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Yosemite … everyone loves these mountains.

In the summer of 2007 we met a hiker there who enjoyed 41 days in a row of perfect weather. Where else in the mountains can you get that? (Starting day 42 he had pounding hail and was at risk of death by lightning.)

The range is about the same size as the Alps, 430mi long, 40-80mi wide. It’s all great.

Many come here specifically to climb Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the contiguous States. Others come to see astonishing Yosemite Valley. And to scramble Half Dome.

Lower elevation hikes are accessible year-round. The Parks are within easy driving distance of major urban areas and, unusual for the USA, have good public transportation. Kids love this region.

In fact, everyone leaves John Muir’s “Range of Light” elated.

More information on our new Sierra Nevada information page.

Our favourite hike in the Sierra Nevada is the John Muir Trail, our #2 hike in the world. (Every photo of the JMT is a postcard.)

See our JMT Information page.

A good starting point is the somewhat dated Lonely Planet Hiking in the Sierra Nevada – Mock & O’Neil, 2002. There are many other good guidebooks for this region, however.