Best hikes, treks, tramps in the world.
In a new installment of The road chose me, our hero joins Sonny, a mountaineer from Lithuania, who’s a terrific photographer.
They … “team up for the hiking circuit around the mighty Mt. Fitz Roy (3405m) and equally impressive Cerro Torre” …
Click through for more photos and a brief trip report on their 3-day adventure – Hiking around Fitz Roy & Cerro Torre
Lucky with the weather, or what?
Of the major thru hikes, the AT is least interesting to me. I don’t like being tree trapped.
A six month journey along the 2,200 mile long Appalachian Trail, condensed and reinterpreted into five minutes of stop-motion.
A full quality version is available for purchase on DVD. Go to smtgltd.bigcartel.com and look for it on Stephen Vitiello: Soundtracks.
Green Tunnel from Kevin Gallagher on Vimeo.
I’ve not heard any complaints, however, from anyone who’s done the A.T.
(via The Goat)
Locked and loaded.
I fly out of Halifax on the red eye June 2nd one way to Reykjavik. ($315 direct on Iceland Air)
There are even cheaper fares out of Boston and Chicago on the discount airline, Iceland Express, but I had no luck contacting them by email or phone.
It’s not my style to book so early … but both the last two summers I found that airfares skyrocket around June 1st. And those flights fill quickly.
I understand weather is a factor.
One of our top 10 hikes in the world, Annapurna in Nepal, has had some negative press in the media:
… It is a shame, then, that by 2012 a road will have been built on this path, destroying this experience and, according to many, placing the last nail in the coffin of what was once the greatest trek on earth. …
hmm …
Are these reports of doom and gloom true?
Andrew Ostrowski sends us some notes from last year:
Oct 2010 when we hiked independently (no guides/porters, 10 kg pack plus water, total ~12 kg/person) the combined Circuit and Sanctuary trek in 21 days, hikers age 58 and 62 years old couple with average hiking experience in Canadian Rockies
electricity or back up system was available in all places, cell phones everywhere and carried by most guides/porters and others in case of emergency, expensive internet is readily available at almost all stops at Annapurna Circuit
padlocks and blankets were always provided
free medical high altitude clinic is daily offered at 3:00 PM in Manang in high season
there was no snow in the first week of Oct 2010 and temperature at Thorung La was around zero when we passed it around 11 AM
trekking independently is very easy, providing you do your homework/planning ahead of time
excellent maps are readily available everywhere, very difficult to get lost on the main trail, trails/lodges were busy
used cost effective UV light for water treatment every day with good results
you can take micro bus(Toyota/Nissan van) from Kathmandu bus station to Besisahar trail head (350 Rupees) and further down on the jeep (500 Rupees) if you wish
you can plan and see the whole trek on Google Earth, GPS tracks are easy to find on the web and plot on Google Earth and hundreds of pictures taken every 100 m are also shown
all gear (poles, back pack, jacket, sleeping bag) except hiking boots was rented in Kathmandu and is readily available from dozens of places, total cost for two person/23 days was 8320 Rupees($110) , all gear survived with no problems
daily cost on the trek for two persons (food + room) was 30 to 35 dollars, with no alcohol drinks, can be more if you order most expensive dishes/drinks
flying back 1/2 hr from Pokhara to Kathmandu is definitely worth ~$60 dollars ticket price vs seven hrs on the bus on busy and poor road
had no high altitude sickness problems, with acclimatization as recommended by guidebook only fatique/slow speed while passing Thorung La, we had to slow down and take 2 diamox pills each to speed up hike at critical ascent
overall great experience with no health or any other problems, lost few lbs
… Although people still circumvent the system, trekkers are now required to hire at least one Nepali staff member (a porter or guide) per group. …
… are not true.
Andrew never heard of any such regulation in 2010. They hiked independently. And they loved the adventure, independently.
Jostedalsbreen National Park, in the Sognefjord region of central Norway, is home to continental Europe’s largest ice sheet – the Jostedal glacier – which spills over from a high plateau into a succession of dramatic lake-filled valleys and fjords.
Although Jostedalsbreen is a popular tourist destination (you’ll see plenty of tour buses at the best-known spots) the hiking trails in the region – which given the forbidding topography tend to be steep and strenuous – don’t seem to be well-known outside Norway. …
A few good day hikes:
• Climbing the Skala
• Briksdalsbreen
• Storevatnet trail from Briksdalen
… Norway is expensive, …
Prices range from the merely high (hotel rooms, rental cars) to the eyewateringly exorbitant (restaurant meals, alcohol of any kind).
Camping is very popular in Norway (in addition to official campgrounds, you see impromptu campsites in many rural areas) so for a visit on the cheap you might consider taking a tent and buying food in supermarkets.
That’s all from the excellent site by Phil Armitage, landscape photographer.
Start on his home page.
Western North America:
Kalalau Trail
Buckskin Gulch
Havasupai
Coyote Gulch
Zion Narrows
Coyote Gulch
And more in California, Colorado, Utah and Arizona.
… details
Here’s a sample Guide page for Escalante, Utah:
Length: 12 miles
Difficulty: 5/10; 1B VI
Season: Spring and Fall
Type: Point-to-pointCoyote Gulch is one of the most beautiful and popular hikes in the area. Though located in the remote Glen Canyon National Recreation Area of Southern Utah, Coyote Gulch is worth the time and effort required to visit, and worthy of its famed status.
Although those who enjoy the feeling of seclusion might resent the evidence of past grazing, for most the beauty of the high Navajo Sandstone canyon walls, the sparkling streams, and the three main attractions – two arches and a natural bridge – will make this hike a favorite.
The best seasons for the hike are spring (March to mid-June) and fall (September to October).
… a little something called swinglining. It’s kind of like the canyon swings that you find in places like Glenwood Springs, Colorado and New Zealand, only of the DIY variety. …
Uncooped – Chris Weiss
Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.
Ridgerunner by Richard Ripley sounds a terrific read:
… “During the early 1940s in Idaho’s expansive Selway-Bitterroot wilderness, a few items disappeared from a tent camp, a lookout tower, and a ranger station.
Eventually, the continuing loss of food and supplies at such isolated sites confirmed the presence of a mysterious solitary.
For years no one saw him, even though he entered Forest Service quarters while employees slept. In the winter, when he did leave tracks, they were found on the most inhospitable ridges and earned him the regard of locals who appreciated the cost of survival under such circumstances.
Once apprehended, the Ridgerunner proved to be both witty and ornery – a man who said he simply wanted “to live like a coyote,” and who was so woodswise and contentious that he vexed the government and a major timber company for the next 20 years.”
as quote in Adventure Journal
A must read for anyone familiar with the North Central Idaho Mountain Country (Lewiston, Orofino, Pierce, Headquarters, Elk River). A well written biography about a incredible man who lived his life alone in the mountains of Idaho.
I picture him looking something like this …
If you’ve ever considered hiking the most famed trail in Scotland, click over to books bike beer …
… The trail is ridiculously easy to follow. Plenty of people along ‘the Way’ had guidebooks and maps, but we simply brought the photo-copied article I mentioned above. I should say that the article itself says it is no substitute for a true guidebook. Well, that might be true for some of the other hikes the authors write about, but for the WHW, I’d say save money and weight and leave the guidebook at home. …
They loved this section, as did I.
But my own trip report is titled not recommended – West Highland Way, Scotland …
As Lonely Planet Walking in Scotland says:
… you can’t help but wonder what Muir would think of a path through two power stations, one of them nuclear …
I couldn’t understand why so many German hikers made the pilgrimage here when they could go to one of the truly best hikes in the world – Picos de Europa – instead.
Spain is just as easy to access as Scotland.
We have a category on this site called Urban Hikes.
But this is the first time I’ve linked to a History Hike.
Tom Mangan on Guilford Courthouse National Military Park:
… This park is a history buff’s dream — right here in good ol’ Greensboro, the general famous for losing America to the Revolutionaries eked out a Redcoat victory at Guilford Courthouse, a win so hollow that a member of Britain’s House of Commons declared “another such victory would ruin the British Army!” …
A 3-mile loop trail passes most of the key sites in the battle. …
Two-Heel Drive – History Hike at Guilford Courthouse National Military Park
besthike.com 