Category: long hikes

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Constantine & Magpie – 30,000 miles

In six years, Constantine and Magpie have collectively hiked 30,000 miles. What do they do now that they’ve learned their lessons from—and found love on—the trail?

Their early November completion of the NCT (North Country Trail) also earned the duo five American hiking records in an instant. …

Constantine is the first person known to have thru-hiked the 11 National Scenic Trails, a gargantuan network that reaches almost every corner of the Lower 48.

His feat makes the Triple Crown of American hiking—the Pacific Crest, Appalachian, and Continental Divide Trails—seem like a Sunday stroll.

He believes he set an unofficial speed record on the 500-plus-mile Potomac Heritage Trail …

Outside – Meet the Couple Who Just Set 5 Long-Distance Hiking Records
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Rain in Spain – Camino Finisterre

Pilgrims who walk or cycle to the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral on the Camino de Santiago celebrate — then decide whether to continue on to Finisterre on the coast. That name is from the Latin for “end of the earth“.

That’s an additional 88.9 km (54 miles) by the most popular route.

This N.W. corner of Spain — Galicia — is the rainiest.

The Stingy Nomads had one of their worst, and best, hiking days while on the Camino Finisterre.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Weather was bad when I reached Santiago on my 6 day cycling adventure from León, Spain .

I’m happy I cycled rather than walked. There is a lot of pavement. 😀

I decided to sign up for a very inexpensive (25€) all day van tour offered through my accommodation, the excellent Albergue Seminario Menor:

A Costa da Morte – Finisterre

  • Noia
  • Muros
  • Carnota
  • Corcubión
  • Finisterre

A few photos from my trip:

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FINALLY – the Camino de Santiago

I’ve many times been asked IF I’d done the Camino. Surprisingly, the answer was NO. Until now. 😀

The Camino de Santiago … known in English as the Way of St James … is a network of pilgrims’ ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition holds that the remains of the apostle are buried.

As with most hikes that can be cycled, I prefer to cycle. At least 10% of pilgrims cycle rather than walk or arrive on horseback. They are known as ‘bicigrinos’ or ‘bicigrinas’, bike pilgrims.

My PLAN is to ride León to the famous cathedral. About 325km. Perhaps a week. No rush.

The total length starting in France is 825km.

You need to cycle at least 200km in order to receive a Compostela certificate in Santiago (as opposed to minimum 100km walking).

Nearly 350,000 Compostela pilgrim certificates were issued in 2019. I won’t be lonely. 😀

The Camino Francés, or French Way, is by far the most popular of many routes. Roughly 60% of pilgrims choose this camino over other options.

Though no guidebook is needed, I picked up a paper copy of Mike Wells’ Cycling the Camino de Santiago (2019). I’d listened to a good interview with the author.

Wish me luck.

Many folks only know the famous pilgrimage from the 2010 Martin Sheen movie. It’s very good, by the way.

Click PLAY or watch the trailer on YouTube.

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NEW – 3000km HexaTrek in France

HexaTrek is a 3034 km hiking trail, connecting 14 of the most beautiful nationals parks and crossing France from the Vosges to the Pyrenees.

The path follows the highest mountain regions of our country, often nicknamed “l’Hexagone” for its hexagonal shape, joining together some of the most emblematic summits, natural wonders and wildest places.

47 Great Hiking GR®  trails have been brought together in a single path to create this thru hike.

en.hexatrek.com

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

2022 is the first year of the thru hike. But they already have an app.

Wild camping in France is technically illegal. But you are allowed to … Bivvy. Tent only in the dark in certain areas.

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Continental Divide Trail in 4 Minutes

Mac from Halfway Anywhere traveling the length of the Continental Divide Trail from the US/Mexico border to the US/Canada border across 3,100 mi / 5,000 km or trail through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. One second / day.

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Angela Maxwell walked 20,000 miles in 6 years

… On 16 December 2020, Maxwell’s pilgrimage ended right where it started: at the house of her best friend Elyse back in Bend. Just as she had answered the call to begin her journey, she knew the time was right to end it. …

The woman who walked around the world
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Thru-hike the new 1,800km Transcaucasian Trail

We’re seeking intrepid, experienced hikers to be the first thru-hikers on the new 1,800km Transcaucasian Trail. Will you be one of them?

For the past 6 years, we’ve been stitching together routes, building trails, and putting new destinations on the map (literally) across the Caucasus. …

The route weaves between high alpine passes, red desert canyons, bucolic meadows, volcanic plateaus, and more– all while traveling through one of the most culturally and biologically diverse regions on the planet.

Now, we’re inviting the first cohort of intrepid hikers to hike the Transcaucasian Trail through Armenia and Georgia in summer 2022. …

transcaucasiantrail.org
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International Appalachian Trail Ulster-Ireland

We’ve added the IAT Ulster-Ireland to our list of the best hikes in Europe.

Traversing lush coastlines, rugged mountains, and everything in between, the Ulster-Ireland section of the International Appalachian Trail (IAT) takes hikers on a tour through some of the most stunning landscapes in the country.

The section’s governing body was established in 2011, and since then the organization has worked towards constructing this 279-mile trail, which runs from west Donegal in the Republic of Ireland to Larne, Co. Antrim in Northern Ireland. …

The Trek
  • Established 2011.
  • Ireland’s only coast-to-coast hike
  • average 24 – 30 days
  • section hiking is popular
  • Slieve League Mountain, one of Europe’s highest cliffs
  • Giant’s Causeway Coast

Official website – IATUlsterIreland.com

Click PLAY or watch a teaser on YouTube.

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500 Days in the Wild

Dianne Whelan is making a film about her solo adventures on the non-motorized Great Trail (the Trans Canada Trail).

From pushing 150-pounds of bike and packs over rocks, to hiking through flooded bogs, paddling the largest lake in the world, snowshoeing through dense coniferous forests, skiing across wind-blown plains, the trail beckons.

Dianne travels the ‘Old Way’, the slow way of the turtle,seeking wisdom from those that live close to the land, asking the questions “what have we forgotten?”

“What do we need to know?”

500daysinthewild.com

Click PLAY or watch a teaser on YouTube.

related – Is it called the Trans Canada Trail … OR Great Trail?