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Mt. Tâmpa, Brașov, Romania

Tampa is almost entirely surrounded by the city of Braşov. …

A lit sign bearing the name Braşov was restored in 2006. It’s very Hollywood. You can’t miss it from town.

A number of routes to the summit exist: there are 25 winding paths cut in 1837 by Brașov’s forest administration …

A cable car makes the journey … in under three minutes. …

This hike is super popular with tourists. Most take the cablecar up. Hike back down via the RED trail. It’s the shortest and easiest option.

There’s not much at the top. Best fun is hanging out at the sign, wondering if you could sit on top at night. (You could.)

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AWOL on the Appalachian Trail

I enjoyed this trip report. It’s basically his trail diary.

In 2003, David Miller left his job, family, and friends to fulfill a dream and hike the Appalachian Trail. …

While this book abounds with introspection and perseverance, it also provides useful passages about safety and proper gear, showing a professional hiker’s preparations and tenacity.

 

This is not merely a travel guide, but a beautifully written and highly personal view into one man’s adventure and what it means to make a lifelong vision come true.

Amazon

GoodReads reviews.

If you want to hike the A.T. this is a good read. Very systematic and well organized information. He was a 41-year-old computer programmer at the time.

David Miller went on to publish Appalachian Trail guidebooks.

That said, I’d recommend you hike the Pacific Crest Trail instead. It’s a better thru hike. 🙂

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Colorado Trail Fest

Backpacker Magazine:

In partnership with Mountain Hardwear, the state of Colorado, and the Colorado Outward Bound School, we launched the first annual Colorado Trail Fest in September 2016.

Nearly 40 BACKPACKER readers gathered for a four-day trek in the San Juan Mountains, followed by a train ride to Durango and a music-beer-food-prizes celebration. …

Backpacker

Click PLAY or watch 2016 highlights on YouTube.

The 2017 Colorado Trail Fest is scheduled for mid-September. Leave a comment if you have final dates for that.

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Michael Lanza’s 25 most scenic hiking days

A terrific list.

  1. Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim
  2. Yosemite’s Clouds Rest and Half Dome
  3. Walking Across Zion
  4. Alta Via 2, Dolomite Mountains, Italy
  5. Many Glacier to Logan Pass, Glacier National Park
  6. Hiking Mount St. Helens
  7. Laugavegur Trail, Iceland
  8. John Muir Trail – Evolution Basin to Mather Pass
  9. Death Canyon Shelf to South Fork Cascade Canyon, Grand Teton National Park
  10. Volcanoes of Tongariro National Park, New Zealand
  11. The Narrows, Zion National Park
  12. Gray Glacier, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
  13. Mosquito Creek to Toleak Point, Southern Olympic Coast
  14. Paria Canyon Narrows
  15. High Sierra Trail, Sequoia National Park
  16. Crossing the Wind River Range, Wyoming 
  17. Royal Arch Loop, Grand Canyon
  18. Rockwall Trail, Kootenay National Park, Canadian Rockies
  19. Timberline Lodge to Cooper Spur, Timberline Trail, Mount Hood
  20. Europaweg (Europe Trail) Zermatt, Switzerland 
  21. Spider Gap-Buck Creek Pass Loop, Glacier Peak Wilderness, Washington
  22. Galdhøpiggen, Norway
  23. Crown of Idaho’s Sawtooth Mountains
  24. Thorung La, Annapurna, Nepal 
  25. Traversing the Sierra de Aitana in Southern Spain

Click over to his excellent site for details and links to trip reports:

The Big Outside – MY 25 MOST SCENIC DAYS OF HIKING EVER

Geoff Sears on the Highline Trail, Glacier National Park.
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have you trekked Paine in Patagonia?

Without question one of the best hikes in the world. Most popular is the W Circuit.

Click PLAY or watch a teaser on YouTube.

Cost is about $600 / person for 5 days / 4 nights in 2017 if you sign on with Vertice Patagonia.

Even better and longer is the the full Paine Circuit (often called the “O” as contrasted with the red “W”).

w_sm

If interested know that logistics are getting increasingly difficult. Costs are going up. But it’s still well worth making your way to southern South America in the trekking season.

Paine

Click over to our Paine information page for details.