Dream Hike?

[chknfngrs]

I just picked out a route on the AT that would be my dream: from my house, walk to Harper’s Ferry along the C&O canal towpath. Turn right on the AT, and north to Katahdin. Turn around and head south to Springer. Turn around and hike north to Harper’s Ferry. Turn right on towpath and walk home. Life goes back to normal?

What’s your dream Hike?

[chknfngrs]

Almost 5000 miles, one traditional thru and one flip flop, all without the need for a shuttle.

[JPritch]

A thru of Te Araroa. PCT and Hayduke get honorable mention.

[JC13]

Pinhoti Southern Terminus to the BMT/Pinhoti Northern Terminus.
BMT Nobo to AT at the end of GSMNP.
AT NOBO to Katahdin.
AT SOBO to Springer.
Springer NOBO on the BMT to the Pinhoti Northern Terminus.
Pinhoti SOBO.

Would end up with an AT yo-yo, a BMT thru and a Pinhoti yo-yo.

[trailmercury]

an AT thru before I die

[Puddlefish]

I was planning another section hike for the beginning of June, I decided I wanted to adopt a dog instead. So, I guess my dream hike will be daily day hikes this year throughout NH with the Australian Shepard'ish mutt.

[Back on the trail]

A week n half at Yellowstone with the family - then hop on the John muir trail with no time limit and the funds to have the pack mule bring me in food drops as I head toward whitney. Who know's maybe I can get a Drone food drop.

[JNI64]

I just picked out a route on the AT that would be my dream: from my house, walk to Harper’s Ferry along the C&O canal towpath. Turn right on the AT, and north to Katahdin. Turn around and head south to Springer. Turn around and hike north to Harper’s Ferry. Turn right on towpath and walk home. Life goes back to normal?

What’s your dream Hike?

That sounds like a good plan. You must not be to far from me. There's a lot of beautiful trails in America and the perfect 1 for me would be the 1 where I wouldn't have to get off trail to go back to work. And the matrix. Just out there for as long as I want, FREEDOM!!

[margo]

My fantasy hike would be trekking in Nepal. I've been on a Himalaya kick lately. I've never been but I've been reading books and watching YouTube videos.

[Dogwood]

I prefer thinking in terms of dream hike(s).

I'd peddle the towpath rather than walk it.

My hikes are increasingly becoming a multi sport affair including paddling/yakking/pack rafting, cycling/bike packing mixed with hiking, mountaineering, climbing, spelunking, bush craft, and primitive survival.

Traveling across the entirety of OZ or from Terra del Fuego to AK hiking all the AK NP's sounds appealing over 2-3 yrs. If the Chinese gave me permission I'd like to thru the Great Wall Of China.

[JNI64]

I peddled the tow path a few years ago great trip. No shelters great tenting/ hammock. Porta potties with toilet paper and blue goody smelling water. Pump water treated with iodine yuuuk... the exercise routine I've been following Shaun birch hyperfittness, travelled the great wall on ground fkt... sorry if I'm drifting, damn attention deficit....

[JNI64]

Diversity the spice of life!!

[devoidapop]

One of the silk road routes.

[OwenM]

A thru of Te Araroa.
I have little interest in thruhiking, but I think that would be it.

There's way too many out there to pick one, though.
My "dream hike" is always the next big trip I'm planning.
I just completed the plans for mine today, turning the original, much less ambitious and fairly easy one into something with way more mileage than I've ever done in a single outing(same time frame, >50% mileage increase)..
It'll be quite manageable if I show up ready to bang, more of a test of manhood, if not. I don't need my manhood tested any more at this point, so will be training for it all summer.
And to me, that's what a dream trip is-one I'll be anticipating and daydreaming about daily until it happens, and remembering forever, afterwards.

[lucky luke]

dream hike?

pack up, close door and never come back. just keep on hiking, sleeping at a different spot every night until i drop dead in my boots.


unfortunately i do not have enough money to realize that.:cool:

[T.S.Kobzol]

I don’t really understand the concept of a “dream hike” . Many people who know me personally or who somehow end up sharing inspirations with me on social media seem to be amazed how much I can squeeze out of every day, week or month or life as we know it. Yet I have not stopped working full time .

One of my dreams that will come is to stop working full time or retire entirely. When it happens it will be only a matter of months before I will do my first of the big 3. But my list is far bigger than my time on this earth.

There is one dream I do not think I will fully realize. It is a dream of creating a new long distance hiking trail in central Europe that I have been pondering for a long time. I will probably realize hiking the route but I probably won’t realize promoting it as an official route with all the “condiments” it deserves.


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[fiddlehead]

I have a new one every year, because I do my dream hikes most years.
This year, it's the Kungsleden trail in Lapland Sweden and then a few hikes in the Republic of Georgia and the beautiful Caucasus mountains there. (I leave in 3 weeks)
Next year, I'm looking at either the Alta Via 1 or 2 in the Dolomites OR possibly Kazahkstan. (did anyone see the movie "the rise of Gengis Khan? That movie was filmed in Kazahkstan, I fell in love with the scenery) (the girl is pretty hot too LOL)

[chknfngrs]

This is certainly an angle we all take on... thanks for naming it!! And Central Europe has beer, right?!


I don’t really understand the concept of a “dream hike” . Many people who know me personally or who somehow end up sharing inspirations with me on social media seem to be amazed how much I can squeeze out of every day, week or month or life as we know it. Yet I have not stopped working full time .

One of my dreams that will come is to stop working full time or retire entirely. When it happens it will be only a matter of months before I will do my first of the big 3. But my list is far bigger than my time on this earth.

There is one dream I do not think I will fully realize. It is a dream of creating a new long distance hiking trail in central Europe that I have been pondering for a long time. I will probably realize hiking the route but I probably won’t realize promoting it as an official route with all the “condiments” it deserves.


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[JNI64]

dream hike?

pack up, close door and never come back. just keep on hiking, sleeping at a different spot every night until i drop dead in my boots.


unfortunately i do not have enough money to realize that.:cool:

Then maybe you should change your name, lol just kidding.

[Thrifty Endurance]

I just picked out a route on the AT that would be my dream: from my house, walk to Harper’s Ferry along the C&O canal towpath. Turn right on the AT, and north to Katahdin. Turn around and head south to Springer. Turn around and hike north to Harper’s Ferry. Turn right on towpath and walk home. Life goes back to normal?

What’s your dream Hike?

That's great you can literally walk home! My DREAM trek - hiking to Mount Everest Base Camp. I have it on my bucket list. I don't have a big enough ego to climb Mount Everest but hiking to base camp would be pretty sweet!

[bigcranky]

I always dreamed of a thru hike with my partner/spouse. We love spending time together and we both love hiking and backpacking. The Long Trail e2e we did a few years ago confirmed all of that for us.

But I think now we're planning to do the AT in big sections, five or six weeks at a time. There are so many things we like to do here at home, so many people with whom we want to spend time before they are gone. We host a weekly Old Time jam, and go to festivals, and have a little band that mostly plays on the porch. I'd miss too much if I were gone for 7 months or more. (We're not fast hikers....)

So we'll do the AT over a three or four year period after my partner retires, when I can partially retire and get summers off (I hope.) Then we want to do a Camino pilgrimage, and hike some of the trails in Ireland and England. Maybe bring a fiddle and a banjo with us :) I still want to hike out West, though my partner isn't as excited about that (grizzly bears! mountain lions!), and I want to do some month-long driving trips in our camper. Up to Cape Breton, back to Glacier and the PNW, back to Utah and the Southwest. A month of kayaking and camping along the Southeastern coast. So much to do!

So I guess my real dream is to stay healthy enough to do some of this stuff.

[devoidapop]

I always dreamed of a thru hike with my partner/spouse. We love spending time together and we both love hiking and backpacking. The Long Trail e2e we did a few years ago confirmed all of that for us.

My wife likes to hike, but she's not into backpacking. Sometimes I get weepy, not because I miss her, but because I wish she was sharing the experiences on a trail with me.

So I edit my previous post. My dream hike is any long distance hike that she will do with me. One day :)

[Dogwood]

I have a new one every year, because I do my dream hikes most years.
This year, it's the Kungsleden trail in Lapland Sweden and then a few hikes in the Republic of Georgia and the beautiful Caucasus mountains there. (I leave in 3 weeks)
Next year, I'm looking at either the Alta Via 1 or 2 in the Dolomites OR possibly Kazahkstan. (did anyone see the movie "the rise of Gengis Khan? That movie was filmed in Kazahkstan, I fell in love with the scenery) (the girl is pretty hot too LOL)

We gotta do some hikes. You invited me on one but I just couldn't get away at that time. Kungsleden, Alta Via, and the Caucasus are high on my list.


Say what we want but here's where the buck stops: "I have a new one every year, because I do my dream hikes most years."

[T.S.Kobzol]

I did Kungsleden with my wife in the winter ... loved it. One day I want to return and do the southern portion. Word of advice: prevailing winds south to north...

Here is a trip report...we were just starting with instagram : https://www.instagram.com/p/BS01nmVlgL3/?igshid=152zfjx6j9x8w


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[fiddlehead]

I did Kungsleden with my wife in the winter ... loved it. One day I want to return and do the southern portion. Word of advice: prevailing winds south to north...

Here is a trip report...we were just starting with instagram : https://www.instagram.com/p/BS01nmVlgL3/?igshid=152zfjx6j9x8w


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Thanks for that info. I just decided last week to do the trail NOBO. (was going to start at Abisko, but now will finish there)
2 reasons, both sun related.
I don't want to have the sun in my eyes all the time and dont like to wear sunglasses and it's the way most people hike that trail and I'd rather it be less crowded.
I think also, most only do the top half, so, the beginning will be the best.
I believe the weather will be fairly good.
I live in Thailand now and doubt I'd enjoy a winter hike although I did the AT once through the winter (when I was much younger of course)


Dogwood: I don't know how flexible you are, but you're welcome to join us for any of these hikes. Starting Kungsldedn June 23rd.
Meeting up with friends in Tbilisi for the Caucasus around July 25th.

Next year. Haven't decided yet, but feeling strongly about the Dolomites and will probably start with the more easy Alta Via 1 hike.
But also, on my mind is the E1 trail and it's northern end in Norway. (pics look spectacular)
Plans for next year can change of course.
There are so many good hikes and I fell in love with eastern Europe 2 years ago when we did the Via Dinarica.
I don't like to leave my son for more than 2 months at a time though. That's why these are shorter than my old US long distance hiking days

[Leo L.]

..It is a dream of creating a new long distance hiking trail in central Europe that I have been pondering for a long time...
If it happens that you'll pass by here in the vicinity, feel welcome to plan a stop at my place. Yes, we have some beer.

[T.S.Kobzol]

Send me a pm with location. One never knows. We are starting a bike touring trip from Barcelona in July.


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[Thrifty Endurance]

I always dreamed of a thru hike with my partner/spouse. We love spending time together and we both love hiking and backpacking. The Long Trail e2e we did a few years ago confirmed all of that for us.

But I think now we're planning to do the AT in big sections, five or six weeks at a time. There are so many things we like to do here at home, so many people with whom we want to spend time before they are gone. We host a weekly Old Time jam, and go to festivals, and have a little band that mostly plays on the porch. I'd miss too much if I were gone for 7 months or more. (We're not fast hikers....)

So we'll do the AT over a three or four year period after my partner retires, when I can partially retire and get summers off (I hope.) Then we want to do a Camino pilgrimage, and hike some of the trails in Ireland and England. Maybe bring a fiddle and a banjo with us :) I still want to hike out West, though my partner isn't as excited about that (grizzly bears! mountain lions!), and I want to do some month-long driving trips in our camper. Up to Cape Breton, back to Glacier and the PNW, back to Utah and the Southwest. A month of kayaking and camping along the Southeastern coast. So much to do!

So I guess my real dream is to stay healthy enough to do some of this stuff.

AWWWW! That is so sweet! Section hiking the AT is awesome! Happy trails!

[slowdive]

I don’t really understand the concept of a “dream hike” . Many people who know me personally or who somehow end up sharing inspirations with me on social media seem to be amazed how much I can squeeze out of every day, week or month or life as we know it. Yet I have not stopped working full time .


One of my dreams that will come is to stop working full time or retire entirely. When it happens it will be only a matter of months before I will do my first of the big 3. But my list is far bigger than my time on this earth.

There is one dream I do not think I will fully realize. It is a dream of creating a new long distance hiking trail in central Europe that I have been pondering for a long time. I will probably realize hiking the route but I probably won’t realize promoting it as an official route with all the “condiments” it deserves.


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Its cool you mentioned a creating a long distance trail thru Europe. When we went to do one of the Camino's last year we stopped off in Hamburg to visit family and there is a place we went nearby to hike and there were Camino signs there. Well upon further investigation, there are many Camino routes through Europe. They seem to be loosely tied together in some places, but it seems like the framework would be there to link one major route to carry you all over Europe. BTW we would up not doing the Camino and went to Saxon/Switzerland NP and hiked into the Czech Republic. Guess what? Saw little yellow shells there too.

[T.S.Kobzol]

What sections of Czech Republic did you hike?


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[TexasBob]

......... and I want to do some month-long driving trips in our camper. Up to Cape Breton, back to Glacier and the PNW, back to Utah and the Southwest.........

Not a hike but something I have been dreaming about for years. In July I will drive from Houston to Canada and up the Dempster Highway above the Arctic Circle then over to Alaska where my wife will join me for a week (she doesn't camp) then come back down British Columbia to the Pacific Northwest and back home. I have fixed up my minivan so I can sleep it in and will car camp except for the big cities.

[windlion]

I always dreamed of a thru hike with my partner/spouse. We love spending time together and we both love hiking and backpacking. The Long Trail e2e we did a few years ago confirmed all of that for us.

But I think now we're planning to do the AT in big sections, five or six weeks at a time. There are so many things we like to do here at home, so many people with whom we want to spend time before they are gone. We host a weekly Old Time jam, and go to festivals, and have a little band that mostly plays on the porch. I'd miss too much if I were gone for 7 months or more. (We're not fast hikers....)

So we'll do the AT over a three or four year period after my partner retires, when I can partially retire and get summers off (I hope.) Then we want to do a Camino pilgrimage, and hike some of the trails in Ireland and England. Maybe bring a fiddle and a banjo with us :) I still want to hike out West, though my partner isn't as excited about that (grizzly bears! mountain lions!), and I want to do some month-long driving trips in our camper. Up to Cape Breton, back to Glacier and the PNW, back to Utah and the Southwest. A month of kayaking and camping along the Southeastern coast. So much to do!

So I guess my real dream is to stay healthy enough to do some of this stuff.Sounds great! Wishing you many miles together.

Virginia Is Flatter, But It's Not Flat

[slowdive]

What sections of Czech Republic did you hike?



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We went to Saxon Switzerland NP near the border of Germany and Czech and hiked the sandstone mountains and wandered over in to the Czech Republic from there. Very nice area. There is a gorge that you can take a little boat down, get out and hike, then boat some more. Really cool. That was on the Czech size near Hrensko. The German side is beautiful as well.

[LazyLightning]

I'm currently making one up around New England using many different trails and including all six states. It involves some stretches of road walking but keeping it off roads as much as possible, and making them as scenic and non busy as possible when I could, using dirt roads and small sections of trails that connect streets, small rail trail sections, ect. It pretty much involves some of every long distance hiking trail in New England, including the complete North-South, Monadnock-Sunapee, Cohos, Long Trail... a good portion of the NET, Midstate... lots of CT blue trails and a lot of the AT, mixing up the AT throughout the Whites and with other trails throughout the way. It also involves leaving my house on foot, doing this big awkward loop that crosses itself in the Whites, and returning back home on foot from a different direction. Lots of planning still but it's looking good... if I run into long stretches where theres not much for hiking trails or rail trails I'm going to look into using waterways or even a bicycle route to be able to do this under my own human power, with no use of anything motorized along the way... no idea of the mileage yet but I'm hoping I can stretch it to a early spring-late fall thru hike.

[DuneElliot]

Too many to list, but the top 5 are PCT, CDT, Te Araroa, Kungsledden and the Pyrenees

[MichaelK7]

K2 base camp trek.

I want to see that mountain in person.

[T.S.Kobzol]

K2 base camp trek.

I want to see that mountain in person.

I like that dream. I felt that way about the Matterhorn but that dream has been fulfilled... [emoji846]


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[Tipi Walter]

My dream hike is that first step away from a car with the pack full of enough crap to get me through 3 weeks of backpacking. Pisgah NF, Cherokee NF, Nantahala NF, Chattahoochee NF, Jefferson NF---don't matter. The dream is that I'm able to do it one more time.

Every trip is a dream trip.

[LittleRock]

Arctic NWR in Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, Argentina.

[flemdawg1]

Start at Yosemite Valley, South on the JMT to Whitney, back down to the PCT, Nobo PCT to Canadian Border, teleport to Northern Terminus of CDT SOBO CDT to NM (teleport), then AZT (teleport), then NOBO PCT back to Yosemite.

[Tender Fire]

whoops, deleted

[Tender Fire]

I'm currently making one up around New England using many different trails and including all six states. It involves some stretches of road walking but keeping it off roads as much as possible, and making them as scenic and non busy as possible when I could, using dirt roads and small sections of trails that connect streets, small rail trail sections, ect. It pretty much involves some of every long distance hiking trail in New England, including the complete North-South, Monadnock-Sunapee, Cohos, Long Trail... a good portion of the NET, Midstate... lots of CT blue trails and a lot of the AT, mixing up the AT throughout the Whites and with other trails throughout the way. It also involves leaving my house on foot, doing this big awkward loop that crosses itself in the Whites, and returning back home on foot from a different direction. Lots of planning still but it's looking good... if I run into long stretches where theres not much for hiking trails or rail trails I'm going to look into using waterways or even a bicycle route to be able to do this under my own human power, with no use of anything motorized along the way... no idea of the mileage yet but I'm hoping I can stretch it to a early spring-late fall thru hike.

Hey, did you end up doing this? I'm completely obsessed with the idea of doing a door-to-door loop... a friend and I are brainstorming the "New England Loop Trail." Basically I'm trying to go from Amherst on some portion of the Mohawk (maybe paddling part of the Deerfield?) to the LT to the AT to Sunapee to NET to Robert Frost, which takes me home. I'm stuck on the Deerfield-Charlemont stretch because I don't want to walk Route 2 (way too fast, big trucks), but I'm obsessed with the hikeable parts of the Mohawk Trail, even though it's a mess with washouts and jerk landowners. I also have no idea how to link the Sunapee to the AT. Any suggestions?

[nsherry61]

. . . I'm stuck on the Deerfield-Charlemont stretch because I don't want to walk Route 2 (way too fast, big trucks), but I'm obsessed with the hikeable parts of the Mohawk Trail, . . . I also have no idea how to link the Sunapee to the AT. Any suggestions?
Being close to home, how about a friend with a car. Give up on being a purist. Focus your time on the beautiful, "close-to-home" hiking without spoiling your peace of mind with miserable roadside walking. And heck, you have to enter civilization anyway to resupply, so tie a car ride to the resupply(s)?

Good luck. Have fun!

[RockDoc]

I started what you describe in June, 1974, age 17, the day after graduating high school in Potomac, MD. I got a ride to Swain's Lock, walked the C&O canal towpath to the AT, turned north up the Weaverton Cliffs, and went all the way to Andover, ME (about 100 days walking). Then while crossing a road I casually put out my thumb as a truck passed. The next day I was back home in MD, somewhat relieved that it was over for then (later I finished the trail). Frankly, it doesn't take long to get "enough", and there are a lot of other things to do in the world besides walk the long green tunnel. I love it, and return often to do favorite sections, but I mean, geez...

[Tender Fire]

Huh. Interesting. Well you both bring up good points, and that's helping me clarify what this particular expedition is about for me. I just found Wandermap and that's the tool I've been looking for. I can always bail if I've had enough in Vermont - I have friends along the way from Brattleboro to Burlington.

It's not so much a nature walk as an exorcism, and these farms and fields that turn into hills that turn into mountains have been good medicine... so maybe it's devotion.

Anyway, still curious to hear from people who have plotted their own connecting trails or unofficial routes.

[Odd Man Out]

Glad to see love for some love for international treks. I've researched some extensively.

I'd start with a coin flip flop hike. Go to HF and flip a coin. Heads north, tails south. When I get to the end, it will be time to go to northern Sweden. Will want to hike some of the Padjelantaleden which branches off the Kungsleden at Kvikjok, first through Sami areas and circumnavigates Sarek NP, a trailess wilderness with Sweden's biggest mountains to traverse. The Kungsleden is by all accounts a bit of a highway, so going off trail in Sarek and the area north of Kebnakaise (Tarfala to Nallo). When done there it may be a good time to get summit Kilimanjaro using an Alternate Lemosho route around the northern circuit and a walking safari in Zambia. Then to Nepal, independent tea house trekking in Khumbu and Solukhumbu regions, especially exploring little trekked areas like South Lhotse face, the ridges by Gokyo lakes 4 and 5, and Bhota Kushi north of Lumda. As it will now be winter in the northern hemisphere I will trek some of the Te Araroa until optimal weather to do a GCNP trek (Hermit to Kaibab, steak at Phantom Ranch, Clear Creek). Once it warms up enough, go to the Pamir Mtns of SE Tajikistan, explore the Wakhan valley and hike up to Lake Zarushkul and over to Bartang Valley, east to Murghab, over Kyzyl Art Pass to Kashgar China and take the Karakorum hwy over Kuhnjerab pass and explore the Hunza district of Pakistan. Maybe I could find a cruise ship to take me back home.

[rdljr]

There is a bike trail that follows most of 89, If it allows people to walk that should connect Sunapee back to the AT. Don't know how much of it is also on regular roads.

[Prov]

Odd Man Out, I’ve hiked around Nepal and the Gokyo Lakes were the best part of the Everest Base Camp circuit. And the Annapurna Circuit was better than EBC. For some reason, Europeans are familiar with the Annapurna Circuit but Americans aren’t. I don’t know why.

My dream hike is around Gilgit-Baltistan (I saw that others mentioned K2). I don’t know that I’ve ever seen more beautiful pictures and descriptions of anywhere in the world. I travel and hike by myself and I know this isn’t a possibility there. That’s the only thing holding me back.

Months ago I found a $168 round trip error fare to Tokyo for early March. I was hoping things would be so much better with the pandemic, but they aren’t so I’m not going to be able to use it. I’m disappointed because I was going to hike the Kumano Kodo, the only pilgrimage trek besides the Camino on the UNESCO World Heritage List. It looks breathtaking and I vow I will be able to do this trek with things are better.

[Deadeye]

A few months in Scotland would do the trick for me. West Highland Way, Great Glen Way, a bunch of Monroes and hillwalking and a whole lotta pubs.

[Deadeye]

Months ago I found a $168 round trip error fare to Tokyo for early March.

Still trying to figure out if that's a Freudian slip, an excellent pun, or just bad phonetic spelling!:-?

[Odd Man Out]

Odd Man Out, I’ve hiked around Nepal and the Gokyo Lakes were the best part of the Everest Base Camp circuit. And the Annapurna Circuit was better than EBC. For some reason, Europeans are familiar with the Annapurna Circuit but Americans aren’t. I don’t know why.

My dream hike is around Gilgit-Baltistan (I saw that others mentioned K2). I don’t know that I’ve ever seen more beautiful pictures and descriptions of anywhere in the world. I travel and hike by myself and I know this isn’t a possibility there. That’s the only thing holding me back.



I certainly know the Anapurna Circuit. It has traditionally been the most popular trek in Nepal, but it has become less popular recently due to road construction that has greatly reduced the roadless part of the trek. They are also building roads below Lukla, but for now you still have a few days hike from the end of the road to Namche.

One option for independent hiking in Gilgit is to hitchhike up and down the highway and take day liked or overnights up from there. My understanding is that if you don't go too far up the side valleys you are ok. It would be more of a cultural trek, but the mountains are still huge. It's not Concordia, but the base of Rakaposhi is the only place in the world you can take public bus on a paved road to within a few miles of a summit 5 km above you.

[Prov]

I certainly know the Anapurna Circuit. It has traditionally been the most popular trek in Nepal, but it has become less popular recently due to road construction that has greatly reduced the roadless part of the trek. They are also building roads below Lukla, but for now you still have a few days hike from the end of the road to Namche.

One option for independent hiking in Gilgit is to hitchhike up and down the highway and take day liked or overnights up from there. My understanding is that if you don't go too far up the side valleys you are ok. It would be more of a cultural trek, but the mountains are still huge. It's not Concordia, but the base of Rakaposhi is the only place in the world you can take public bus on a paved road to within a few miles of a summit 5 km above you.

I’m a woman and go all over the world by myself, usually to developing countries. Some places are more challenging than others, but that is part of the joy. I know there is tourist infrastructure here so people are probably used to seeing all things, but solo travel and hitchhiking here just gives me pause.

[Odd Man Out]

I’m a woman and go all over the world by myself, usually to developing countries. Some places are more challenging than others, but that is part of the joy. I know there is tourist infrastructure here so people are probably used to seeing all things, but solo travel and hitchhiking here just gives me pause.

From what I have read, I don't think independent travel in the Hunza valley poses significant hazards. It is quite distinct from the surrounding areas. Remarkably, you can also safely travel through the Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan, although the difference there is that there is zero infrastructure so if you have problems, you are completely on your own, plus you have to enter and exit via Ishkashim. Logistics are a challenge. This part of the world is called visa hell for a reason.

[JNI64]

At this point in time, my dream hike is...........

Well just a hike anywhere, anytime. Without Covid-paranoid, politics controversy, race issues...........

Kinda like it used to be just 12 months ago before all hell broke loose!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Leo L.]

Same here...
Just dreaming of a hike anywhere without having to obeye Corona-rules (or sneak around them, respectively)

[4shot]

A few months in Scotland would do the trick for me. West Highland Way, Great Glen Way, a bunch of Monroes and hillwalking and a whole lotta pubs.

My wife and I did this 3-4 years ago. We had planned to go from the western Isles east to the coast utilizing a mish-mash of trails but the weather didn't allow us to do a "thru-hike" as we had planned. so we just did a random assortment of trails in north Scotland/the Highlands over the 6 weeks we were there and just sort of drifted around as we saw fit. We went into numerous little towns and villages off the beaten path and had the tome of our lives. I loved my AT thru hike but it is also a hell of a lot of fun to just go each day in the direction you feel like going.

Highly support and recommend your idea here Deadeye.

[Prov]

Scotland is very high on the to-do list. West Highland Way, Islay scotch, a side trip up Ben Nevis, Great Glen Way, small hikes in the Cairngorms, Islay scotch, explore some castles and cities, and Islay scotch. I love international travel for the chance to experience history and culture.

I’ve done one thru hike and 850 miles in section hikes on the AT and I really believe that the best decision I made was buying all the books that provided the history of the sections I was walking on (most were purchased used, jeez those things are not cheap). I love being out in nature, but learning about Native Americans, settlers, wars, industry, and various history that took place where now there are only trees was amazing.