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Your Trekking/ Hiking experiences


Raja

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1 hour ago, zelticgar said:

Raja, That trip you linked looks awesome. Not sure about the exact conditions in Chile but if it is like winter in my area you need crampons, microspikes and snowshoes for traction. It seems like they are taking you on a circuit around the high peaks so it should be fine. As long as you are committed to getting some outdoor practice ahead of time it seems like a cool option. I'd love to join you but no way i can break away from work and family!

Here is a picture of Bondcliff in New Hampshire. I'm heading out on Sunday for an 18 mile day hike across the Pemigawaset Wilderness . I'm planning to hit three peaks including Bondcliff. Hoping for nice weather.

 

 

Super jealous.  Bondcliff is my favourite hike in the Whites.  Where are you going in from?  Also recommend doing the West Bond spur if you have a chance but if you're not overnighting it it might be pushing it, time-wise.

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3 hours ago, larrytheimp said:

Super jealous.  Bondcliff is my favourite hike in the Whites.  Where are you going in from?  Also recommend doing the West Bond spur if you have a chance but if you're not overnighting it it might be pushing it, time-wise.

I'll go in from Lincoln Woods. Otherwise known as the death march. I'm planning to run the first 5 miles until I get to the Bondcliff trail split. I ran it a few weeks to visit some friends who were camping over there and i made it to the trail split in 50 minutes so I'm hoping that will cut off some time :). Looking at the weather and toying with the idea of going for the full Pemi loop. I'd probably go counter clockwise but I'm not really thrilled about being on the ridge in the afternoon on labor day weekend. Too crowded and I'd be 15 or 20 miles in with the crowds.

I can't wait for the snow to come so the crowds will go away. I'm planning on hiking out to Owl's head this winter and will also be doing an overnight on the North Presi's. Love it up there. Heading up to the cabin at 6am tomorrow. 

 

 

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On 9/1/2016 at 7:39 AM, Sir Thursday said:

Hiking around Machu Pichu - Peru

The Inca trail is the most well known route, as it spits you out right at Machu Pichu itself and is full of historical significance. But the local authorities only issue a limited number of permits for the trail, so when I went we couldn't get on it. Instead I was part of a group that did a different trek nearby, then took a bus to Aquas Calientes (the town below the ruins) when we were done. Once again it was at altitude - we went to about 3500m and I found it much harder going than Annapurna for some reason, despite being lower altitude. We had a local guide who knew the routes and found us some interesting stop-off points along the way (for example, we had lunch with a Peruvian llama herder at one point). Unfortunately the weather wasn't great so most of the trip was bathed in fog. But it was still a cool trip to go on just because of how alien (and at times inhospitable) the landscape felt.

Once again, there are a bunch of other hiking opportunities in the area. Some of them are well off the beaten track (I believe there are a few more jungle-y ones at the lower altitudes) and would probably require going in a group and/or hiring a guide. If you're going in that direction, you should start at Cuzco - it's a big backpacker hub and you can go off in all sorts of directions from there.

 

Hope that's helpful! As others have said, there are lots of different components to hiking/trekking and if you can articulate which bits are the ones you find interesting you'll get much better tailored recommendations :).

ST

Going to the Machu Pichu is in my to do list. Sorta planned the trip for 2011, but for one thing or another (money mainly) never did it. The grand idea was to travel across Bolivia to reach Perú, so I could finally visit the Salar de Uyuni too. If I want to carry on my original plan, I'll need at least 3 weeks, but unfortunately I don't have such vacation time nor the trip partners anxious to join me.

Every year I meet someone that has gone recently/is about to go to the Machu Pichu and I can't help getting jealous :D 

Where else did you go in Perú? Did you visit the Amazon jungle region?

 

On 9/2/2016 at 10:39 AM, Raja said:

WHERE ARE THE PICTURES, YOU FIENDS?! - How am I supposed to live vicariously through my fellow boarders if they refuse to share their pictures? 

Firstly, thank you guys for all your suggestions. I've got plenty of time to plan this *potential* trip so I'm going to have a look at some of the places mentioned above. The Iceland trip won't be one where I'm by myself, there are 3 of us planning to go, but it's a bit chaotic trying to schedule it around 3 people. 

Nas, I have a pretty close friend that's in Abbotsford, so that's a decent suggestion. I'm sure he would be more than willing to put me up for 10 days or so if I wanted to. I think what I'm looking for isn't wild camping per se, I'm perfectly fine with following trails and setting up camp in a camping ground. 

That's one of the reasons why I picked the W circuit in Torres Del Paine, Patagonia. It's a 5 day, 4 nights hike ( maybe 6 days for me given that I walk *very* slowly). 

Pros:
1) t'll be in the middle of winter in Chile, so less wind.
2) Plus, there will be hardly anyone around during that time so it will be cheaper. I
3) It's a region I've never been in. 
4) It's a very popular national park with a town that is close by which is basically set up to help people trek the W. 

Cons:
1) It'll be the middle of winter - so the number of people hiking that trail will be way lesser than the numbers in the summer season. 
2) If I go to chile, I'll almost certainly have to do this trip by myself. 
3) All the cabins ( dorms) are closed during the winter, except for 2 of them. If you want to do the trail, you'll have to camp in the official camp grounds. 

Tsk Tsk, Datepalm trying to hijack my thread. For shame! ( I kid, of course) 
 

Torres del Paine is wonderful, I've been told. Sadly, never been but definitely hoping to go soon.

Seems like you've already searched info about the place, so you already know about the weather limitations you can get, besides in winter there's less hours of daylight. Check this page if haven't yet (it's an official page I found). There are recommendations, and I guess you can always send them an e-mail to clear doubts.

 

And for pics, here you have some potato quality photos I took this summer while visiting El Chaltén (it's about 500km from Torres del Paine, in the argentinian side of the Andes). My camera broke during the trip, and I'm not a very good photographer. The photos do no justice to nature. I have friends that visited the place in winter and the upper (?) part of the trails were all closed because of snow. I don't know if in this season the forest ranger allow people to camp in the mountain though. It all depends on the weather I think.

 

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On September 1, 2016 at 5:39 AM, Sir Thursday said:

I've done a couple of hiking trips with guides:

Annapurna Sanctuary Trek - Nepal

This was about a week of trekking in the Himalayas. Mostly a straight climb and descent from 900m to 4100m in elevation. It's a beautiful route with a wide variety of different terrains as you go up the mountain. I went with my dad and we hired porters, but you could probably do it solo if you didn't mind travelling light. The route we took was quite well trodden - in places there were lots of steps and you were going through villages. But there were occasional bits of scramble and still plenty of interesting trails. The latter part of it is at altitude, which can be difficult for some people. I had a bit of difficulty near the top (which might have been because we tried to get up a 4AM to get to Annapurna Base Camp for sunrise), but otherwise wasn't too badly affected - the main thing I noticed was how much quicker you get out of breath.

The Sanctuary trek is quite condensed, but there's quite a lot of hiking around Annapurna is you've got a bit more time. The Annapurna Circuit is the most famous route - takes about 3 weeks and basically goes around the outside of all the Annapurna mountains. It's got one ridiculously high pass (5100m, I believe), and plenty of spectacular scenery along the way. The people I spoke to while I was there who had done it said that it could get quite crowded, and often there isn't enough guest-house capacity for everyone in the tiny towns on the way through.

The treks around Annapurna may or may not be what you want. There really are some spectacular views on offer - watching the sunset on Machapuchre (Fish Tail) mountain is an incredible sight. But it is quite a well-trodden path at this point, and if you're looking to get off the beaten track this may not be it. Pokhara is probably the place to start from - it's the biggest nearby city and there are plenty of guides willing to drive you out to the interesting trails. Watch out for the mountain roads though - they're pretty hairy!

 

I hope everyone noticed this. ^^^^^^ That sounds like a great trip, that right there.

I have a little voice that keeps prodding me to visit one of the base camps at a great mountain like K2 or Everest some day. Maybe one of these days I'll get to try an expedition like that, sounds spectacular.

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On 9/4/2016 at 1:50 AM, DireWolfSpirit said:

I hope everyone noticed this. ^^^^^^ That sounds like a great trip, that right there.

I have a little voice that keeps prodding me to visit one of the base camps at a great mountain like K2 or Everest some day. Maybe one of these days I'll get to try an expedition like that, sounds spectacular.

Yes, that is a dream trip. Someday I would love to visit.

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I went hiking to Cecret Lake, in the Alta Ski Resort (I live in the Salt Lake Valley). It was a nice hike, tougher than the ratings had suggested, but the lake at the end was very pretty and I took tons of pictures. Definitely worth going.

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On 9/4/2016 at 1:50 AM, DireWolfSpirit said:

I hope everyone noticed this. ^^^^^^ That sounds like a great trip, that right there.

I have a little voice that keeps prodding me to visit one of the base camps at a great mountain like K2 or Everest some day. Maybe one of these days I'll get to try an expedition like that, sounds spectacular.

Annapurna from one of our very own boarders on Just A Pack

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19 hours ago, larrytheimp said:

Annapurna from one of our very own boarders on Just A Pack

Very cool.

 

Larry - made it out to the Bonds this weekend. Absolutely beautiful. Took my time and just hung out on all three peaks for a while so no Pemi Loop this year. I'll probably do a full one next year. I'm off the mountains for the next 6 weeks with the kids starting school but I have a hike to Owls Head planned in October and will likely take some friends up the Tripyramids as well. Once the snow kicks up I'll head back over to the Presidentials for a few overnight hikes. Cannot wait for the snow to fall!

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3 hours ago, zelticgar said:

Very cool.

 

Larry - made it out to the Bonds this weekend. Absolutely beautiful. Took my time and just hung out on all three peaks for a while so no Pemi Loop this year. I'll probably do a full one next year. I'm off the mountains for the next 6 weeks with the kids starting school but I have a hike to Owls Head planned in October and will likely take some friends up the Tripyramids as well. Once the snow kicks up I'll head back over to the Presidentials for a few overnight hikes. Cannot wait for the snow to fall!

Awesome!  I'm hoping to get up to the pemi this fall, but I'm probably doing a couple loops up in the Adirondacks High Peaks area instead.  I'm going out to NH this spring though if the conditions are right, my brother and I want to ski Tuckermans.  

What do you do for winter overnights? Hut or tent?  

 

2 hours ago, Relic said:

Haha,  didn't see your post Larry! Thank you :P

No, thank you

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On September 6, 2016 at 1:32 AM, Electric Bass said:

I went hiking to Cecret Lake, in the Alta Ski Resort (I live in the Salt Lake Valley). It was a nice hike, tougher than the ratings had suggested, but the lake at the end was very pretty and I took tons of pictures. Definitely worth going.

I just love both Cottonwood Canyons, really miss Utah. 

 

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On 9/4/2016 at 8:24 AM, Baltan said:

Torres del Paine is wonderful, I've been told. Sadly, never been but definitely hoping to go soon.

Those pictures are great! From everything I've read, and there isn't *that* much out there about Torres Del Paine in the winter ( when compared to the amount of writing re: trekking the park in the summer), they generally leave the 'W' trail open whilst closing down 'the circuit', which is a much longer trail that takes about 7/8 days. 

The park apparently has no way to charge phones/ music players - this isn't really an issue as I have plenty of spare batteries for my camera - but I listen to music *all* the time, so I'm not sure how I'm going to get around that ( time to look for my walkman). 

8 hours ago, Relic said:

I can highly recommend the Annapurna circuit in Nepal. 

http://www.justapack.com/hiking-the-annapurna-circuit-nepal/

I've done some trekking in Peru and Spain as well,  if you are interested in knowing more send me a pm 

I actually read that article when you posted it on the site. Your comment re: western culture's impact in Nepal/ India was interesting, though I'm not sure I completely agree ( but that's another conversation). I've never been to Nepal, and I wouldn't even need a visa ( One of the *very* few places Indians can travel without a visa). I'll PM you re: Peru and Spain at some point. 

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I had ankle reconstructive surgery a couple of weeks ago, so my definition of hiking and trekking may be a little bit different. Every day, I make the small jaunt from my bed to my recliner and back again. I also take a trek once a day to visit the bathroom. It involves a four wheel tiny bicycle that I rest my knew on and scoot though the house. 

 The other day, I made a long hike all the way out the front door, and into a car in order to see a doctor to get my stitches removed and a cast set. That was a long and arduous process. 

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10 hours ago, larrytheimp said:

Awesome!  I'm hoping to get up to the pemi this fall, but I'm probably doing a couple loops up in the Adirondacks High Peaks area instead.  I'm going out to NH this spring though if the conditions are right, my brother and I want to ski Tuckermans.  

What do you do for winter overnights? Hut or tent?  

 

No, thank you

I tent with friends at lower elevations once or twice a winter. For higher elevation I stay in the Randolph Mountain Club huts on Mount Adams. We usually stay at Crag Camp which is unheated. It was -5 last winter but we were out of the wind :)

We usually climb Madison and Adams in one day then head to the hut. Day two is Jefferson and Washington. Long weekends but it is amazing being up there in winter.

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I know this isn't what the OP is looking for but I think it would be of interest to this thread anyway.

Canada Opening 22,000 km Car-Free Path Across the Country

It's scheduled for completion in 2017 and will be the longest network of recreational trails.  Biking, hiking and horseback riding in summer would give way to snowmobiling and cross-country skiing in winter.

I'm sure lots of people already knew about this trail and many more have already used the various parts that are already completed, but I just thought it was pretty cool.  I now want to spend six months walking this.  

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The thing about going to Patagonia is time. If you want to take ten days off it will be at least 2 days before you hit the mountains, if you fly to Chile. If you go to Argentina make it 3 or 4. 

This might be of some interest to you. wWe did this hike last year and LOVED it. It's also pretty short, 5 days if you do the Spanish part only. 

http://www.justapack.com/hiking-the-cami-dels-bons-homes-in-spain/

 

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On Wednesday, September 07, 2016 at 9:27 PM, Dr. Pepper said:

I know this isn't what the OP is looking for but I think it would be of interest to this thread anyway.

Canada Opening 22,000 km Car-Free Path Across the Country

It's scheduled for completion in 2017 and will be the longest network of recreational trails.  Biking, hiking and horseback riding in summer would give way to snowmobiling and cross-country skiing in winter.

I'm sure lots of people already knew about this trail and many more have already used the various parts that are already completed, but I just thought it was pretty cool.  I now want to spend six months walking this.  

I just checked the map of the trail and I have been on parts of it over the years. Part of it follows the Bruce Trail and other parts follow snowmobile trails.  Part of it is just a few miles from where I am right now, on the shores of Georgian Bay. There are some great hiking spots there.

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I like to mix in some sand and swimming with my trekking, have been visiting these areas every summer since I was knee high.

The U.P.- Hiking the Pictured Rocks National Shore (Lake Superior)

And on our Lower Peninsula theres a fantastic array of choices for hiking dunes and forests along the lake. This is the Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness (thats Lake Michigan shoreline). 

 

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On 9/7/2016 at 4:15 PM, Raja said:

Those pictures are great! From everything I've read, and there isn't *that* much out there about Torres Del Paine in the winter ( when compared to the amount of writing re: trekking the park in the summer), they generally leave the 'W' trail open whilst closing down 'the circuit', which is a much longer trail that takes about 7/8 days. 

The park apparently has no way to charge phones/ music players - this isn't really an issue as I have plenty of spare batteries for my camera - but I listen to music *all* the time, so I'm not sure how I'm going to get around that ( time to look for my walkman).

Not only no electricity, be careful and ask before time about fire restrictions: the usage of gas stoves seems to be restricted to specific camping sites (not even talk about starting your own fire -.- ). I assume National Parks in Chile (and probably everywhere) follow the same zero garbage rule, so you'll probably have to carry around til you exit the place whatever disposal you make (empty cans, papers, fruit peels/seeds), and bury your stuff far from water courses if there are no latrines.

All this seems obvious in restrospection, but in Tierra del Fuego National Park (about 700km south from Torres) the fire restriction caught me off guard. A cold meal in a cold night is not something amusing in my book.

Relic is right about the time it takes to move from one place to another. Aside from the hours it takes you to arrive to Santiago de Chile from your country, you'll have to add the flight/ride to Puerto Natales (the nearest city to Torres), and then the ride to the Park itself.

 

On 9/7/2016 at 8:12 AM, Relic said:

I've done some trekking in Peru and Spain as well,  if you are interested in knowing more send me a pm 

You're the third person in a few days I hear suggesting Spain (plus Perú, but that's already on my list). Although I've never been interested in Europe, Spain is gaining little by little points.

These kind of threads are the perdition, with people tempting me to travel to all this places :D 

 

On 9/7/2016 at 6:11 PM, Howdyphillip said:

I had ankle reconstructive surgery a couple of weeks ago, so my definition of hiking and trekking may be a little bit different. Every day, I make the small jaunt from my bed to my recliner and back again. I also take a trek once a day to visit the bathroom. It involves a four wheel tiny bicycle that I rest my knew on and scoot though the house. 

 The other day, I made a long hike all the way out the front door, and into a car in order to see a doctor to get my stitches removed and a cast set. That was a long and arduous process. 

Haha, well, good to know you're recovering and taking it with humour :)

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