BootsnAll's Travel Community

Last June, I hiked the Inca Trail with my family and it hit me that trekking/hiking appeals to me a whole lot more than I had realized.

What are your favorites? There's obviously the Inca Trail, as well as: Kilimanjaro, Everest base camp, the Long Trail, Appalachian Trail, etc. I've heard of a week-long (?) trek on Tasmania... help me out!

Which (multi-day) hikes have you done? Which were your favorites?

The best hike I've ever taken was through Mahoosuc Notch. You rarely set foot on the ground - it was all rock hopping, which I LOVE. Plus the last site we stopped at before we hiked out - it was a reserve where students stayed. The tent sites overlooked a lake cradled in a valley, and it was turning fall (up there, anyway) so the foliage looked amazing. The students that stay there for a week or two take care of the compost and hike it out. Since it's a reserve, you're not allowed to pee in the woods, and since they do compost, you're not allowed to pee in the outhouse, so you have to pee on the trail. Ironically, we had a bunch of boyscouts camping with us that night so I kind of decided to hold it until we got outta there. I always thought it'd be awesome to be one of the people who maintained the site, though.

I would be amiss if I did not tout the Pacific Northwest Trail.

The Great Walks in New Zealand are all incredible. I have only done 3 (Routeburn, Kepler, and Abel Tasman) and they were all RIDICULOUS.

I am going to do the Inca Trail next year, and I could not be more excited. Did you go on your own or with a guide when you went with your family? Did you plan it ahead of time or arrange details when you got there?

The Torres del Paine Circuit in Chile is easily the most beautiful and adventurous trek I ever tried. Everything about it--the wind that knocks you on your ass, the mountain scenery that also knocks you on your ass, and the rugged hiking--is epic.

One of the most underrated is the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail in the Santa Cruz mountains of California.

It's about 50 km, and takes two or three days to go from Castle Rock state park downhill to Big Basin state park. You begin hiking in barren scrub brush, then slog through a dank primeval forest of massive redwoods, and finally end by strolling through a meadow of wildflowers that leads you to the beach.

Also in California, Yosemite Nat'l Park has some outstanding backcountry trails. I've only done three or four, but the ones around Tuolumne Meadows have got to feature some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. Best part about it is that only about 5% of Yosemite visitors actually get out of the Valley, so even in summer you'll have some space.

From Tuolumne Meadows one can hike south on the John Muir Trail to Mt. Whitney. This 211-mile trail is one California and America's classics.

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From Tuolumne Meadows one can hike south on the John Muir Trail to Mt. Whitney. This 211-mile trail is one California and America's classics.

Except to do the full 211 miles you'll have to start around 20 miles and 4000 feet lower down in Yosemite Valley.

True, the hike should really begin in Yosemite Valley. But once you've seen much of the valley, it's nicer to launch from TM to avoid the crowd.

I would also say Inca Trail is my favorite...

Hopefully I can take Simien Mountain trail (in Northen Ethiopia) some day. I heard it is very beautiful...

Adventure of the Yangtze, Mekong and Salween is ideal for adventurous exploration.
Originating from the Tangula mountains in Tibet, the Yangtze, Mekong and Salween rivers flow from west to east through the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. At the juncture of Yunnan, Tibet and Sichuan, blocked by a great fault fracture caused by the plateau’s collision with the Indian sub-continental plate, the three great rivers are forced to turn south, all flowing through Northwest Yunnan, sometimes at distances as close as 66km apart.
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http://www.edward-adventures.com/Article_Show5.asp?ArticleID=18

I haven't personally done it yet (but soon hopefully), however a bunch of my family and friends have gone on the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island, BC. It is about 7 days and looks amazing gorgeous! That and the Juan De Fuca trail are my goals...

My two favorite two-day hikes have been Mount Olympus in Greece and Mount Kinabalu in Malaysia. Both are incredible climbs -- several thousand vertical feet in each case and pass through incredible varieties of scenery and flora. I'd do either one again in a heartbeat.

Sadly I'm stuck on day hikes. (Can't get past that whole needing a toilet thing.) My favorite place to hike is in the Redwood National Park in Northern California. Lovely scenery plus you never know if you'll stumble on a dinosaur or an Ewok.

My dream hike, the one I've wanted to do most of my life and have done parts of many times is the Pacific Crest Trail. A 2,600 mile long trail that goes from the Mexico border into Canada. An interesting fact about it, less people have completed the entire trail than have climbed Everest. One day I will take it on!

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Originally posted by Landire:
Sadly I'm stuck on day hikes. (Can't get past that whole needing a toilet thing.)

Try this guide!

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My dream hike, the one I've wanted to do most of my life and have done parts of many times is the Pacific Crest Trail. An interesting fact about it, less people have completed the entire trail than have climbed Everest. One day I will take it on!

Don't just dream ... practice your squatting and go do it!