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Best. Hike. Ever.

What makes a hike a “best ever”?

Kimberly explains why her Great Wall of China day was her best hike ever:

Because it was the sunniest day.

Because the challenge was to reach the Great Wall at the ridge of the mountain, and we made it.

Because the view was spectacular.

Because it was HARD. My quads were quivering three quarters of the way up — and then I still had to get *down*.

Because a bunch of random people agreed to go hiking with me and they liked each other.

Because there was a feast of fresh grilled trout and fish dumplings at the end.

Because I went into it tired from a long week and came out of it happy happy happy.

Because it was preceded and followed by a night of dancing.

Because I still have Sunday.

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Best. Hike. Ever. – Kimberlyland

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OneDayHikes.com – best day hikes

We include relatively few day hikes on our list of the best hikes in the World.

For more, check out the excellent OneDayHikes.com list. Here’s a sample of their overview page:

Aiguilles Traverse, Chamonix, France
Take the Grand Balcon Nord, beneath the serrated cliffs and pinnacles of the Aiguilles, to an awe-inspiring view of the Mer de Glace.

Aira Force, Ullswater, England
This easy walk through a picturesque gorge is a good choice in wet weather, when the waterfalls are at their most dramatic.

Alpine Circuit, Lake O’Hara, Canada
Experience some of the finest hiking in the Canadian Rockies on a dramatic high country route past jagged peaks and glacial lakes.

Alpine Lakes-Glacier, Great Basin, USA
A beautiful hike through the mountains of the Snake Range, climbing to a close-up view of the Wheeler Peak glacier.

Alum Cave Bluffs, Great Smoky Mountains, USA
A trail that combines interesting rock formations with beautiful valley views.

Angels Landing, Zion Canyon, USA
An exciting trail that climbs steeply to the top of a promontory overlooking Zion Canyon, with long sheer drops on three sides.

Bahia Lapataia, Ushuaia, Argentina
A coastal walk between two beautiful bays on the southern shore of the Land of Fire, one of the remotest regions on earth.

…

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We’re linked to OneDayHikes.com from our right hand navigation column under WEBSITES.

OneDayHikes.com – Full Hike List

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BEWARE Devil’s Club when hiking

Devil’s Club (Oplopanax horridus, Araliaceae) is a large shrub native to the Pacific Northwest coastal forests of North America. Also known as Devil’s Walking Stick, it grows to 1-1.5 m tall normally, however instances exist of it reaching in excess of 5m in rainforest gullies, with the erect stems covered in short, stout spines. …

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The brittle spines break off easily and contain a chemical that may cause dermatitis. The fruit is considered poisonous, …

Wikipedia

Photo is George negotiating the Devil’s Club near Whittier, Alaska. (Unfortunately he lost his shirt on this scramble.)

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We were extracting spines for days afterwards.

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hike Wrangel – St. Elias National Park, Alaska?

First MAPS:

In a huge and wild park such as Wrangell-St. Elias, you can never have too many maps

National Geographic – Trails Illustrated has produced a 1:375,000 (1 inch = 6 miles) scale map of Wrangell-St. Elias that is a great tool for initial trip planning.

It is waterproof, tear resistant, and covers the entire park, including detailed inserts of the Nabesna Road and McCarthy/Kennecott areas. This map is available at all park ranger stations, or online through the Alaska Natural History Association for $9.95

We highly recommend that backcountry hikers also purchase the highly detailed USGS 1:63,360 (1 inch = 1 mile) topographic maps, also known as 15-minute quadrangle maps of the particular route they plan to travel. Note: this part of Alaska is not covered by USGS 7.5-minute maps.

maps – National Parks Service

Next, GUIDEBOOK:

The best I can find is Hiking in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
by former mountain guide Danny W. Kost (2000)

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Amazon

This Park is very intimidating.

Get all the information you can before you travel to hike here.

We will simply dayhike from the road access.

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bigger than Switzerland, with much higher mountains

Flying in to Anchorage, Alaska from Juneau I was already worried.

How can anyone possibly hike Wrangell-St. Elias?

It looks the realm of mountaineers, not mere hikers like myself.

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Because there are very few maintained trails within the park, travel through dense brush, along steep scree slopes, and across fast and cold glacial streams and rivers should be expected.

For most routes, map and compass reading skills are essential. Weather in these mountain ranges can vary to extremes in relatively short time periods. It is best to expect (and prepare for) almost any possibility with a variety of layerable clothing (polypropylene, wool or pile), raingear, and extra food. Summer snow storms may occur at elevations of 4,500 feet and above.

Trip Planning

A successful hiking trip requires adequate planning. You should be prepared for everything and should not count on aid or rescue from others. Here, you will be on your own. Caution and good judgment are key ingredients for a pleasant expedition. For many hikers, hiring the services of a local guide will make the trip safer and more enjoyable. In general, the areas above tree line (~3,000′) afford the easiest hiking and best views. These areas are often accessed by chartering a flight to one of the many possible “bush” landing strips. Note that there are many more places to land than are shown on maps. Air taxis will often land on gravel bars or on the tundra.

Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve – Hiking & Backpacking in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park (U.S. National Park Service)

w-ste-map.jpgWrangell-St. Elias is the largest National Park in the USA. Indeed, if you combine it with the adjacent Parks and reserves it’s the largest protected land mass in the world.

But how does one hike it if you have only a small vehicle, not a helicopter or light plane? (Perhaps I can find some gold nuggets to pay for this trip.)

This will take some reconnaissance.

Wish us luck.

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blog – Outdoor Food Simplified

Sarah’s Freezer Bag Cookingâ„¢ | Outdoor Food Simplified is simply the best on the net for hikers looking for great grub.

Check this post as an example:

Often I get asked if one can actually save money by doing their meals at home versus running down to the local REI for meals.

The answer is always “Yes!” but I hadn’t really ever run how much one could save. And simply put, I decided to see if it was more than just money that one could save.

Could you also eat healthier and save money? …

Sarah compared the $6 Mountain House Spaghetti and Meatballs meal-in-a-bag vs preparing her own:

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Made at home Spaghetti (16 ounce serving):

600 calories
700 mg Sodium
13 g Fiber
29 g Protein

As you can easily see, you can save a lot in cost, sodium and you will get a LOT more fiber if you make your own. You will also know exactly what is in your meal. At a savings of about $4 per serving and half the sodium, that alone makes it worthwhile to make your own. You are also avoiding potential hidden MSG, and fillers.

Freezer Bag Cookingâ„¢ | Outdoor Food Simplified

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Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument, Utah

I’ve been getting to the “Four Corners” of the USA for hiking about once a year.

Next trip I plan on checking out Grand Staircase – Escalante and Capitol Reef.

The best hiking photos I can find on this region are posted by Phil Armitage:

The 1.7 million acres of the Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument, together with the nearby Death Hollow wilderness and Capitol Reef National Park, contain some of the best canyon hiking to be found in the Southwest US.

Although the region is famous for its slot canyons, backpacking trips, and technical canyoneering possibilities, the relatively sparsely visited area also has easier trails that can be accessed out of the small towns of Boulder and Escalante.

This page summarizes some of the best day hikes I’ve found in the Escalante. …

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Day hikes in Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument, Utah

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slogging the Dusky Track in New Zealand

Adventurous Jenni and Nick are on an around-the-world trip with stops for some of the best hikes on Earth.

I asked Jenni which was the “best” so far. Instead she let me know which was most “challenging”:

The “epic”, and one we always refer back to as to judge how difficult a trek has been, has got to be the Dusky Track in NZ, a tough 8 days. In fact all the treks we did in NZ were great (Rees Dart, Banks, part of the Copland, Routeburn, Tongario Circuit …

Jenni on Day 1 of the Dusky Track

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Fiordland in New Zealand (like Southwest Tasmania and coastal west Patagonia) is fearsome. Rainy, windy, cold and boggy. And buggy. Did I mention the deadly sandflies?

I was too “chicken” to try any of the more daunting, remote trails in Fiordland when I was there.

Happily, Nick and Jenni were able to complete the entire tramp:

So that was Dusky Track. Damn hard work – you had to concentrate on every step (we reackon we took about 250,000 over the 9 days and 84km) – up and over slippery tree roots, slippery mossy rocks, through mud, bog and rivers, across three wire walkwires to the end all for two good views – the rest was spent in the forest.

I made it, with a lot of help, and my limits were certainly tested.

Would I do it again – no – but I’m glad I’ve done it and I’ve learnt that I prefer the hard slog up the mountain and then spending time high rather than in the forest.

We were so lucky with the weather, it would have been 100 times worse in the rain and the mud would have been dreadful.

Dusky track for me = mud, blood, sweat and quite a few tears.

Dusky Track trip report – Jenni

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Related posts:

Nick & Jenni’s Choquequirao to Machu Picchu trek

Nick & Jenni’s Dientes Circuit Trek in Patagonia

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climb Bukhan Mountain, Seoul, Korea

The ROK Drop blog has an excellent post on getting into the wild in Korea:

Seoul is a city that is literally surrounded by mountains that provide many great outdoor opportunities for those who want to escape the hustle and bustle of modern, urbanized Korea.

The most popular destination for Seoulites looking to get away from the city and reconnect with nature for a little while is a day trip to Bukhansan (Pukhansan) National Park that towers over the northwestern landscape of Seoul.

So many people visit this park that it is actually the most popular national park in all of Korea. On some days its popularity with the locals leaves you wondering if you have actually left the city or not when you are surrounded with visor wearing ajummas and ajushis dressed as if they are about to undertake a Himalayan expedition.

To escape the crowds, you have to get away from the lower reaches of the park where visitors congregate around the restaurants and soju bars and find your own piece of solitude on one of the upper peaks of the park. …

This national park was first established in 1983 and encompasses nearly 80 squared kilometers of land. There are three main peaks on the mountain, Baekundae (836.5m), Insubong (810.5m) and Mangnyeongdae (799.5m).

This travelog will focus on the route up to the highest peak Baekundae. …

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Things to Do In Korea: Bukhan Mountain National Park at ROK Drop

Bukhansan National Park – official website