BootsnAll Travel Community

I'd like to go on a 3 month or more trek...a very long walk. Right now I'm leaning towards something in Australia, but I'm looking for suggestions.

My plan is to pack very minimally, and just start walking. I'd like to do a combination of camping and finding a bed for the night. I don't want to be in the wilderness for weeks at a time....I'd like to never be more than two days away from some kind of town or settlement, no matter how small. So basically I'm talking about backpacking around for a couple months, walking at 6 days a week.

So any suggestions for this epic trek? My only condition that it not be the US...otherwise, anywhere in the world would work. I'd be starting in late April, so obviously climate is partially going to dictate where I go.

ANY suggestions on routing, along with advice to prepare for this type of trip, or any other suggestions are much appreciated. Thanks much!

Hi Braveheart! Well I have never been to Australia and I have never actually done an epic walk but I SO WANT TO! I am still going to make a suggestion though, and go for New Zealand. I did a few long day hikes and I'm sure many others on this site could tell you about the week long treks that New Zealand has to offer. All in all though I suggest this because it is a very small country that can be covered a great deal by foot and yet it is inexhaustibly beautiful, everywhere. I read this really cool article years ago about a Kiwi girl who hopped on her horse and traveled for like a year on horseback through New Zealand. Really awesome. Its just a country that's made for something like that. I think though, that while you may get a million amazing suggestions, what will make your trip unique and special to you is that it will be somewhere that fascinates you!

Wow, great topic... I'm very interested in doing something similar! The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is the American Discovery Trail (coast to coast Delaware to California), but that doesn't fit your criteria of "outside the States."

I'm leaving in July for a year in New Zealand, so Erin's post made me pretty excited for the walking possibilities there... the longest established trail I know of is the Milford tramp (around three days, I think), but I'm sure it's possible to just take off and make your own way.

Sorry, no suggestions from me, but I just wanted to stop in and say that I'll be watching this topic as well.

Thanks!

New Zealand is a great suggestion...just a little worried that I'm getting late into the season...thought the upper part of the North Island should be warm for a while. Still, I love the country, and would like the opportunity to explore more of it, so I'm seriously considering it.

Amazing how strong the pull to just hit the road and start walking...

What an awesome idea.

The Lycian Way in Turkey is 500km (Fethiye to Antalya), and the St Paul Trail is 500km (Perge, near Antalya, to Antioch).

I did some day hikes on the Lycian portion, and it's wonderful.

And now, damn, I want to do it too!

I've noticed quite a lot of recent interest in El Camino de Santiago in Spain. I think it fits your request, if maybe not remote enough in some areas. I personally know little about it so see what you can find.

The Appalacian Trail in the US....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_Trail

I'd say that most suggestions here are too short. In three months you can hike a lot more than the Camino. I'd also say that most hikes around NZL would be too short - of course you could string a few together.

Here in Western Australia we have the Bibbulmun Track. That would be around 1'000 kilometers.
If you hadn't had enough after that, you can continue through the Nullarbor Plain afterwards. Now, THAT I would call epic.

You could always start in the south of NZ and just walk north. Pack a raincoat and some merino and you'd be fine.

That reminds me of the merino I bought in NZL: each time it got wettish, I stank like a sheep. That lasted quite a while.

But it certainly kept me warm.

quote:

That reminds me of the merino I bought in NZL: each time it got wettish, I stank like a sheep.

Then you should probably stay away from Kiwi men

quote:

But it certainly kept me warm.

Wait, I thought I said you should stay from Kiwi men

Hi Braveheart,

The Abraham Path Initiative might meet your requirements: http://www.abrahampath.org

Good luck with whatever path you choose!
Luci

Ok. People are saying the Camino de Santiago is too short, but they don't get the whole picture. You can start from Paris if you want, and that will take you about two months, or if you want to make it really epic, start from rome, italy, which goes through france, and into spain. I've met people who've done the Camino from Switzerland!!

The one from rome to Santiago is actually pretty traditional, if you like walkking along highways much of the time, for thatg where the trails often lead. That should take in the realm of 3 months or more. If you do this, start in may, or so, because walking in spain in july and august can be like walking in a fying pan.

Heres something interesting, if you want more camping than straight walking. The Appalachian trail in the USA is more or less well marked, there are towns along the way, and its goes on for easily 600 miles or about 960 km, which, at 30 km a day, a good clip with full gear, is one month. hmm, with full kid you'd be lucky to make 20 km a day, 45 days.

Nope, sounds like the Via Roma or Via Romanesca fits the bill,,,

http://www.peterrobins.co.uk/camino/

This gives you a map of all the routed paths, some of which go on highways, or next to highways. Note that the marked ones cover all of europe, and give you easily 3 months of walking.

Thanks to everyone for all the amazing suggestions.

And much thanks to Bunglegirl, who suggested the El Camino de Santiago, which I'm going to end up doing. I'm leaving later this month...once I decide to do something like this, I like to move quickly.

As Tortuga-Traveller points out, you can start the Camino from almost anywhere in Europe. I'll be starting in South France, in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and walking through the Pyrenees, eventually all the way to Santiago Compostella.

The difference is, I'm not planning on stopping there. I'm going to go down to Portugal, then swing back East, and walk to Madrid, and continuing on to the far south, until I get to the water. Then I'll take the ferry to Tangier, and decide then whether I've gotten the walking out of my system, and whether to continue into Africa (I've spent some time in Morocco and Algeria, so I have some idea what to expect). As I always do, I'll be packing very lite...under 10 kilos in my pack.

I won't quite be in the middle of nowhere, but I've done trips like that biking, and frankly doing this route has spiritual and historical advantages that appeal to me, especially doing the extended route down to Africa.

Again, thanks to all for the suggestions. I almost went with OZ/NZ, but I really wanted something new, and a while back I spent three months biking around NZ, and have been back down there three times since, so I'm very familiar w/ it. Also, seasonally, they are getting into their winter there, and I think I'd run out of weather before I ran out of road.

By starting early, I'm hoping to get a head start on the scorching Spanish sun...I spent a couple weeks in southern Spain a couple years ago in August, and it was brutal.

SO...any one who has done this route, I'd love suggestions (will likely start a new topic on the topic though).

Sounds fantastic! Would love to do something like it one day. Will you run out of Schengen visa before you run out of road?

Very cool. Will you document this somewhere (online)? Would be cool to read about it!