Where is the toughest hiking in the US?

[camojack]

That last 5000 feet to the top of Everest is pretty tough, too.

Last time I checked, Mt. Everest was not in the US.
(You might want to read the original question...)

[GeneralLee10]

Frankly I'll take climbing a mountain to walking in a swamp any day. So the Florida Everglades get my vote.

HA! swamps are nothing to walk in my friend. I have spent 13 years in and out of them. Now if you have to carry a 60lb bag of concrete and a 8' 4x4 post @ 110deg temps, I'd vote the swamp. Just my opinion

[slow]

Done MAGS fav in his state,PA most of my childhood,NY upstate.

FL in the swamp in aug ...even for a month is the REAL BIG GRIND.

[Mags]

Done MAGS fav in his state,P

Why..that's Jerimoth hill, of course! Hardest. Hike. Ever.

http://www.pmags.com/jerimoth-hill-ri

[SwitchbackVT]

Anyone hike up the Mt. Flume Slide Trail, along the Franconia Ridge, NH? That stands out to me as the most challenging (scary) hike I've done, the last mile or so at least. Even on a nice day, the rocks are slimy and wet and there's no alternative but straight up the slide. Almost took the express route down, got lucky that day.

[coss]

I've hiked all over the Whites and Adirondacks, and in my opinion, the ADKs are more difficult both overall and in their individual tough sections. Trail design has something to do with the differences. The ADK trails are usually a straight line on a map, directly down the fall line, where the trailbed eroded down to rock, without switchbacks, etc.

Difficult Whites trails:
South slope of South Kinsman
Huntington Ravine (only short segments are tough, but what a beautiful place)
Flume Slide Trail, downhill, with a pack (bad idea)
Wildcat E, downhill
Bad weather on any of the 3 long ridgwalks (Franconia and Presidentials)

Difficult ADK trails:
West slope of Saddleback, downhill
Ditto for Basin and Gothics
Both Wolfjaws, down to the col (short sections)
Sawteeth via Scenic Trail
Mudwallows on any number of unmaintained trails (like Cliff after a rain)
Ditto for unmaintained trails after a windstorm with blowdowns
Weather above treeline is not as much of an issue as in the Whites

I'm not as familiar with VT and ME, but from what I've seen, you have to seek out trouble with greater effort in those states, whereas the trouble seems to come to you in the ADKs.

[ki0eh]

The Harry Johns Trail in PA. I bet nobody has hiked that...except for one other.

At least two, presumably "Hairy John" Vonada did...

[fonsie]

Hiking on the Arizona Trail is pretty rough for the reason much is thru a desert and the water issue. When you do find water you have to stock up and carry extra. Well any desert is rough to hike thru, but that's my opinion.

[BradMT]

ADK High Peaks, Whites, Mahoosucs... take your pick. Eastern hiking in general is tougher than Western hiking IME.

[garlic08]

Hiking on the Arizona Trail is pretty rough for the reason much is thru a desert and the water issue. When you do find water you have to stock up and carry extra. Well any desert is rough to hike thru, but that's my opinion.

I agree, but I guess it depends on your skills, too. A friend of mine, an accomplished desert hiker, is heading out to attempt the AT soon. He's kind of worried about rain, which he very seldom experiences. That might make it hard for him, and he might be happier carrying 40 miles worth of water across open desert.

The toughest trail I've yet attempted is the Pacific Northwest Trail, but that's mainly because it's not really there for much of the route. Much of it is choked with alder and/or deadfall and progress can be agonizing. (And Yogi hasn't written a book for it yet.)

[takethisbread]

Only thing out west I have hiked is the Colorado Trail, so I can't speak to many of them, but the mahoosics in Maine is tougher than the Whites. The Whites are fun. Maybe because I grew up near them .

[DapperD]

How about Guadalupe Mountains National Park of West Texas:http://www.summitpost.org/guadalupe-peak/150689

[keepinitsimple]

The Everglades National Park contains some of the most inhospitable conditions I have ever seen. 3-4 inch long bug landing and biting- immune to any dope you could put on. Heat, humidity. We did 7 flat miles in an afternoon. It took the next day to recover. It is a different zone of weather- tropical.

[samgriffin4]

Slickrock, Wilderness in Western NC has some rough trails, notably the Naked Ground Trail and the Hangover Lead (nicknamed the "Ball Buster").

[Shutterbug]

In my naive and biased opinion, I'd be inclined to say the White Mountains of New Hampshire, because I've heard the gradings in parts of the country outside of the northern northeast, especially outside of the Whites, are much more rational -- though the eastern US is all pretty tough I've heard, probably because its comparatively less rugged ridges allow and challenge trails to climb virtually anywhere. After all, the 500-mile-longer PCT supposedly has only 300,000 feet of elevation change compared to the AT's 475,200 feet, according to the sources cited on wikipedia.

So, I'd vote for the Whites. Not really talking individual trails, but regions or long-distance trails.

Whiteblaze member, Colter, probably won't blow his own horn, but his hike across Alaska from east to west is about as challenging as hiking gets in the U.S. His video is "Alone Across Alaska" or something like that. Check out Colter's website -- www.bucktrack.com

[brian039]

I'd say Southern Maine was tougher than the Whites but not by much. From people I've talked to, the Northern section of the Long Trail is pretty comparable to Southern Maine also. Of course summiting Mt. Doyle in Duncannon after sitting at the bar for 4 hours is pretty tough also.

[WingedMonkey]

The Everglades National Park contains some of the most inhospitable conditions I have ever seen. 3-4 inch long bug landing and biting- immune to any dope you could put on. Heat, humidity. We did 7 flat miles in an afternoon. It took the next day to recover. It is a different zone of weather- tropical.

But you missed the fun parts...wading thru skin cutting sawgrass or climbing mangrove roots when the mud gets too thick.

[RockDoc]

I believe that Karl Meltzer said that the Maine AT was the toughest trail he'd ever seen. And he has seen some tough trails... including Hardrock, Leadville, Pikes Peak, Western States 100, etc..

"Everyone has one", but the reliability of Opinions always depends on the credentials of the speaker, you know.

[TheChop]

I won't be bold enough to say in the US but I believe the Duncan Ridge Trail is the hardest in the southeastern US.

[modiyooch]

MT Washington was the toughest thing that I have ever done in my life. It wasn't the terrian, but the conditions. 70mph gale force wins slamming me to the ground, no to mention the snow & sleet. This was in August.