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Seriously, take a backpacking trip that takes you out at least a few days. I get out to the mountains a few times a year (it really should be more) but three years back I hiked the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada. It links Yosemite Valley with Mount Whitney, 200 miles south. Some breathtaking California backcountry and hiking, as you might expect. Here's some pretty pictures:    From the summit of Mt Whitney   You know what's really cool about all this? I'm not athletic or special, I just felt like doing a big awesome hike and did it. Chances are you can too! Try planning and training a little but really the logistics are not all that hard and you'll get in shape on the trail to some extent. There are long distance trails all over the world -- in the US the big prestigious ones are the Pacific Crest and Appalachian Trails but there are actually quite a few to choose from. Personally I'm hoping to hike the West Coast Trail, on Vancouver Island, one day. Talk about your long hikes and ambitions below ok!! Vivian Darkbloom fucked around with this message at 04:04 on Jan 6, 2016 |
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Jan 6, 2016 03:55
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I haven't done any proper long distance hike before but I've been reading a lot about them recently and the more I read, the more I want to do one. Luckily I've already planned to do one, the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal. Will be going out in early October. It's just under 200 miles of Himalayan beauty. I mean just look at this:     As well as this I've also been reading a few blogs of people who thru-hiked the PCT and gently caress me, if the hike in Nepal goes well and I don't have any physical issues doing it then I might actually consider doing that.
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Jan 8, 2016 11:31
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Vivian Darkbloom posted:Seriously, take a backpacking trip that takes you out at least a few days. I get out to the mountains a few times a year (it really should be more) but three years back I hiked the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada. It links Yosemite Valley with Mount Whitney, 200 miles south. Some breathtaking California backcountry and hiking, as you might expect. Marie Lake while heading up Seldon Pass I think?  quote:Guitar Lake in the lower right, one of the Hitchcock Lakes on the left, Timberline Lake in the middle background I hiked the JMT in 2014 with my wife, it was pretty sweet. First time I had been in the Sierra Nevada, fun times. It's both a little weirdly crowded at times and very remote at others, plus everyone camps right next to the trail which is kind of strange. If you go a little away from the trail though there's often no one around though. I'd love to do it again, maybe I will sometime in the next 5 years or so, but popularity has really gone through the roof probably due to a few movies that came out in the past several years. Thinking it might calm down a bit in a few more years but you never know. In the meantime I'll just spend some time in the Sierra Nevada in general and take some weeklong and weekend trips. The Sierra High Route is a long distance trip I really want to do. It's roughly the same area as the JMT but mostly off trail and staying in the high parts of the mountains. Seems really cool...cross country travel across the remote areas of the mountains, finding your way up mountain passes with no trails, etc. I'm planning on doing a section of it this summer if all goes well. Might also look to do a long section of the PCT some day, maybe from around Donner Pass to Horseshoe Meadows. Would like to do the whole thing one day but that's probably far far off. Probably either when I switch jobs some day and can take off the entire summer, or when I'm old and retired (assuming these trails are still around at that point). Also sounds like the PCT is starting to get a party atmosphere like the AT but that probably mostly just depends on how you travel and if you want to avoid those people or not. Don't really have any desire to do the AT. The Wind River High Route is something I might try to do in the near future too. Kind of an unofficial route through the Wind River mountain range, which is a really cool place. Basically lots of poo poo I'd love to do but it's tough to take a large chunk of time off of work at this point! A week or two isn't bad but more than that starts getting difficult. I took 3 weeks off for the JMT and could probably do it in 2 weeks since I now live out near there and don't have to travel + I'm sure I could hike it faster than I did last year. Some JMT pictures Camp just below Donahue Pass  Garnet Lake and Banner Peak  Wanda Lake in the morning (loved this area)  Posing at the Muir Hut  Hiking towards the Palisades 
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Jan 8, 2016 17:19
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NaDy, just make sure you give yourself time beforehand to fully acclimate. When I went through Tibet for a couple weeks, it was pretty brutal in some spots and I was doing as little as possible physically for the first few days. That trip seriously has the potential to be incredible though. The Himalayas are the most incredible sight you'll ever see in person.
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Jan 8, 2016 20:01
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I've hiked and backpacked Canadian portions of the Great Divide Trail, but would really like to do the whole thing in one go someday. Highlights include: Waterton  Carthew and Alderson Lakes  Upper Kananaskis Lake  Bryant Creek area  Mt. Assiniboine  And a short half-day detour would let you stop at Berg Lake, which is one of my favourite places in the world  There's a hell of a lot more, but I just posted pics I took. It passes through a lot of great parks, like Waterton, Banff, Yoho, Robson, and Kakwa. It follows the continental divide, where are the really big peaks are in our Rockies. It crosses over the divide several times through some of the lower passes. It's easy to tell when you're crossing the divide, because it marks the boundary between the provinces of Alberta and BC, and none of the parks cross the border, so there are usually signs that inform you of when you're entering a new park/province. 
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Jan 8, 2016 20:05
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buddhanc posted:NaDy, just make sure you give yourself time beforehand to fully acclimate. When I went through Tibet for a couple weeks, it was pretty brutal in some spots and I was doing as little as possible physically for the first few days. That trip seriously has the potential to be incredible though. The Himalayas are the most incredible sight you'll ever see in person. Yeah, I've already made a rough itinerary based on other people's experiences and advice which include 3 or so zero days at higher altitudes to get properly acclimated for the day you go over Thorung La pass, which is 5,416 metres (17,769 ft). I really am looking forward to the trip, going to try and get some shorter hikes in beforehand to just get my gear dialled in and get used to walking longer distances. Probably try and spend a few days hiking in the Lake District this spring. Going to have to try and keep my equipment weight down quite a lot as well, since I'm going to want to take my dslr. I can't not go into the Himalayas without taking pictures. Those are some unbelievable pictures Picnic Princess, gently caress!
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Jan 8, 2016 20:15
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Levitate posted:Marie Lake while heading up Seldon Pass I think? Nice spotting. Yeah, I also have an ambition to do some PCT section-hiking. I wonder if I'm really up to spending a month or more on the trail, but the JMT was just so freaking impressive, and I know that much of the Sierra has great stuff to see too. Picnic Princess posted:I've hiked and backpacked Canadian portions of the Great Divide Trail, but would really like to do the whole thing in one go someday. That is a really nice trail, more west coast hiking for my bucket list!
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Jan 9, 2016 19:24
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Vivian Darkbloom posted:Nice spotting. Yeah, I also have an ambition to do some PCT section-hiking. I wonder if I'm really up to spending a month or more on the trail, but the JMT was just so freaking impressive, and I know that much of the Sierra has great stuff to see too. I found the JMT the best vacation I've taken since spending a week in Kauai. Being out there for awhile just made everything feel normal and comfortable and it was great to not have to worry about "real life" stuff. Months long might be different but I think as long as your gear is good and you can clean up every once and awhile it sounds fine. Biggest problem I feel like I had was getting some dry and chapped skin...a lot dryer up there than I would have anticipated. We had to buy some lotion at Muir Trail Ranch
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Jan 9, 2016 20:08
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Vivian Darkbloom posted:Nice spotting. Yeah, I also have an ambition to do some PCT section-hiking. I wonder if I'm really up to spending a month or more on the trail, but the JMT was just so freaking impressive, and I know that much of the Sierra has great stuff to see too. It's not quite West Coast, it's like 10-12 hours drive east tbh
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Jan 11, 2016 06:24
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