International Thru-hiking Trails

[lkaluzi]

Hey guys,
so I finished my AT thru-hike in August with two other girls who I met along the way. We want to do another thru-hike together in the future. We're all in school so we'd like to do a hike that would take 2-3 months. I'm wondering what international trails are out there that would be safe for three girls. Any ideas?

[T.S.Kobzol]

Hmm... I have been researching and planning this hike that should take about 2 + months.

The country of Czech republic is surrounded by several mountain ranges similar to the Appalachians. There is a well developed network of trails and upon checking the maps one could hike the red blazed trail for pretty much the entire circumference of the country. There is plenty of supporting shelters, hostels and camping is pretty much allowed anywhere in the woods provided you practice LNT. (except within national park boundaries where there are more restrictions)



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[Tundra]

The Te Araroa in New Zealand. Safe, amazing and about 1,800 miles. Unfortunately their summer is our winter so that might not work with school plans. Check it out though.

[SCRUB HIKER]

The South West Coast Path (http://www.southwestcoastpath.com/) in England ... ~650 miles long. I have two female friends who walked it right after college. If you check it out and like it I could put you in touch with one of them.

[Dogwood]

Uh oh, you got the bug as well. LOL! Long distance backpacking, when you know it's for you, is ridiculously addictive, isn't it? I've been going virtually non-stop yr after yr. Right after finishing one thru I'm so eager to jump into planning for the next one.

As Americans we can get so caught up in our own country's FABULOUS trails, we can sometimes forget about all the other great hiking around the world. As a first thought, I wouldn't overlook some of the outstanding thru-hike possibities closest to our country. For example, the Great Divide Trail(fits your timeframe) in canada which is an extension of the CDT going in Canada. Goes through several Canadian National Parks which we sometimes can overlook but can be equally as stunningly beautiful as some of the National Parks in the U.S. Of course, here on WB, we know about the international AT going into Canada(fits your time frame) too. Mexico also has some National Parks that are worth hiking or stringing together on a 1-2 month below the border international romp.

I'll also give a big holla for the Te Araroa in NZ. Outrageous scenery, flora, and fauna stretching across the lengths of the north and south islands. Supposedly just was finished too. Might take more than 3 months though. It's one of the TOP 3 on my MUST DO international hikes. Lots of other trails in NZ too that you can string together or thru-hike one right after the other. I'm juiced up thinking about the Te Araroa.

The Pilgrimmage in Spain(fits your time frame) comes to mind as well as the Annapurna Circuit, although the Annapurna isn't going to last 2 months.

Bibbulmun Track in OZ(Australian) comes to mind. Fits your time frame too.

If you want the GRAND daddy of of all long distance trails I think it would be the Grand Himalayan Trail though. As far as I know it hasn't been thru-hiked in a continuous fashion yet. Difficult to nearly impossible unless you like lots of snow and ice. I wanna see Skurka do that one. He's the guy I think could do it.

There's lots of - good for starters - info in CLASSIC HIKES OF THE WORLD by Peter Potterfield(GREAT BETA AND PICS!, he has a new book on U.S. hikes also) as well as FIFTY PLACES TO HIKE BEFORE YOU DIE by Chris Santella, which includes hikes both in the U.S. and abroad, and if you want to expand your thinking to some trails here in the U.S. try THRU-HIKERS GUIDE TO AMERICA by E. Schlimmer(lots of excellent beta in this book as well!). Also, for a rather comprehensive list of long distance footpaths start by looking up LONG DISTANCE FOOTPATHS on WIKIPEDIA and you'll get more long distance trails than you can hike in several life times!

Hope to see you out there.

[evecolombettes]

Hello Ikaluzi,

You could look at the viaalpina.com site. The trail runs from Monaco to Italy and there are several variants through Italy, Switzerland, Austria etc. There are always mountain refuges & campsites. The refuges always have food served, or you can bring your own but there's not always the possibility to use the kitchen.

[Statue]

I lived in Eastern Europe/Asia for 3 years and have done parts of the following trails:

1. Arno Trail in Austria, it's in the alps, 10,000 ft, simply breathtaking.
2. Counrywide blue tour in Hungary which is part of one of the european long distance walking routes
3. The glowny szlak sudecki trail in Poland - wouldn't recomend doing it in the winter because some of the trail will close down although it does stay open all year
4. Lycian Way which is another part of one of the european long distance footpaths in turkey

[OzJacko]

Come to Western Australia!!!
The Bibbulmun definitely fits your criteria! Exactly 600 miles and the highest point is 1909 feet (we are a flat state).
Australia is as safe as you will get and three girls together should have no problems at all. (Like anywhere in the world one alone has it's dangers).
The one overriding issue is the time of year.
The Bibbulmun is not suitable for hikes from December to March due to heat and although the southern part can be done in November or March I would avoid the northern half for all of November to March.
As well as having a chance to see some of our wildlife (you will see kangaroos and emus), the huts are excellent and all have water tanks (necessary as other water sources are not to be relied upon).
The Track goes through several distinct forest types (some trees are only outsized by sequoias and not by much) as well as about two weeks of excellent ocean views.
PM me if you want more info.
Cheers
Jacko
http://www.bibbulmuntrack.org.au/

[OzJacko]

Sorry - I can't remember if you can PM if not a donating member.
If you want me to contact you leave a post here or drop in and say hello at the cafe!

[Datto]

In addition to hiking in New Zealand (fabulous!), The West Highland Way in Scotland is about 100 miles long or so (a relatively easy trail terrain-wise) and you could combine the WHW with another trail in Great Britain (Pembrokeshire Coast Path for instance in Wales) while you're there and see the sights in Great Britain during your travels. The people of Scotland and the people of New Zealand are the nicest people I've met during my international hiking excursions.

West Highland Way
http://www.west-highland-way.co.uk/home.asp

Pembrokeshire Coast Path
http://nt.pcnpa.org.uk/website/sitefiles/nt_page.asp?PageID=2


Datto

[tiptoe]

Apparently there's an 870-mile-long trail that runs through both Koreas, and here's a nice account of an intercultural hike through a small section.
http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/travel/along-the-trail-of-koreas-mountain-spirits.html

[oldbear]

The Te Araroa in New Zealand. Safe, amazing and about 1,800 miles. Unfortunately their summer is our winter so that might not work with school plans. Check it out though.
Thanks Tundra
I know that I'm getting waaaaaaaay ahead of myself But after thru -hiking the AT if I still have the long distance hiking bug then hiking the Te Araroa a couple of months later may be too tempting to resist.
Here's the link if anybody wants to check it out
http://www.teararoa.org.nz/index.cfm
Youre sick of hangin around and you'd like to travel;
Get tired of travelin and you want to settle down.
I guess they can't revoke your soul for tryin,
Get out of the door and light out and look all around.

[Hill Ape]

I suggest the The Way of St James, the Camino de Santiago. Customize your trip with additional trails in the Grande Randonnée network.

[Spirit Walker]

Europe has a lot of different long trail systems:
See http://www.era-ewv-ferp.com/?page_id=29
Also France and Spain have the Sentiers de Grande Randonee - look it up.
England has dozens of long distance paths as well.
In the US, the John Muir, Tahoe Rim Trail or Colorado Trail are great shorter trails.
The Great Divide Trail is gorgeous, but very difficult - best done after you've completed the CDT.

[Marta]

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

This is high up on my list. I've only done a liitle bit so far.

+1 for the idea of putting together several of the shorter long trails in Europe. The amenities will spoil you for hiking in the US, though. There's nothing like starting the day with a full Scottish breakfast, stopping for a cream tea, and having dinner in a pub, sitting in front of a coal fire.

[Snowleopard]

Go back to Katahdin and hike north: http://www.iat-sia.com/index.php
This is definitely on my list of hikes I want to do.
The International Appalachian Trail/Sentier International des Appalaches (IAT-SIA) goes from north from Katahdin through Maine, New Brunswick and the Gaspe peninsula (Quebec). It also goes through Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. Katahdin to the tip of the Gaspe is a reasonably well established trail.

The last I looked the Newfoundland part was spectacular, unfinished, but a lot of work is being done. There are also sections in Greenland and Great Britain (>1500 km in GB). I don't know how continuous the Greenland and European sections are. There are at least chapters of the IAT-SIA in Iceland, Faeroe Islands and Sweden, Norway and Denmark. I suspect there will be a lot of effort in linking up existing trails in these countries in the coming years.

[Overlandtrack]

Overland Track, Tasmania, Australia

Alpine, tundra & moorland, 75km long, has nice huts.

Outstanding with excellent side trips.