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[RedNalgene]

My wife and I will be visiting New Zealand in January, and we'll be spending a day in Tongaririo National Park (at the Chateau). We were looking into the Alpine Crossing there and would like to hike at least to the base of Mt. Ngauruhoe. Any idea how long that usually takes from the nearby car park, or to the summit even? If we had more time and the right accommodations, I'd love to do the whole Alpine trail, which I read can take 5-7 hours I think.

As for the South Island, we're planning a day around Franz Josef to hike nearby the glacier. I'll get back to you in January on that one.

Hiking to the base is really short, maybe an hour and a half. Getting to the top and back down is really, really long, like 7ish hours. It's also very sandy and steep, so it's really slow going. My wife and I did the one day Alpine Crossing instead and it was awesome. You can see the peak from the hike, you get to see volcanic pools and holes in the earths crust where steam comes out, and you cross these moonscape vistas which are otherworldly. It's a long hike, and has very little shade, but was incredible. Being lots of water!

 

[itsbenoclock]

Subbed. I spent 7+4 days hiking in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan three years ago and have been craving another trip similar ever since, so I may just have to go to all of these locations.

 

[paskowitz]

Just wanted to say that this thread has the most useful title ever. As somebody who started going up Mount Washington too late in the day (~20F temp drop + darkness = baaaad) in October (years ago)... thank you.

 

[BriareosGAF]

Honestly not trying to plug my YouTube channel but thought you might be interested to see some hiking in China and a bit of the (in)famous plank walk in the sky at Huashan. Around the 9 minute mark is when the mountain section starts and a few minutes later is the plank walk, so jump to there if you feel so inclined.

Great video, enjoyed watching this with my daughters who thought he belay bit was insane.

Hiking in China is way different than in the states or nepal, Korea or Europe (my only other experiences). The trails are always (let's say 99 percent of the time) paved or bricked

It's very striking how odd this looks to me. We have some gravelled entryways to trails that I help maintain and I really despise them but it's the most cost effective way to deal with large marshy areas--long bog bridges are hell to maintain.

 

[vern]

Great video, enjoyed watching this with my daughters who thought he belay bit was insane.



It's very striking how odd this looks to me. We have some gravelled entryways to trails that I help maintain and I really despise them but it's the most cost effective way to deal with large marshy areas--long bog bridges are hell to maintain.

It was pretty insane! But also tons of fun glad you and your daughters watched and enjoyed it.

I think with regards to the hiking trails out here it helps to maintain them, considering the sheer number of people hiking, especially the popular trails. The only times in China I've really encountered non paved trails they've been kind of unofficial (some hiking around crouching tiger hidden dragon filming locations in zhejiang province) and/or not so popular, like yesterday's day trek. But even then much of it was paved. Definitely very different from everywhere else I've been.

 

[anonymous_abc]

We went on a great 8 mile hike in the Topanga Canyon yesterday. Climing up rocks along the mountain ridge while the fog was creeping up the mountain. Really cool.



Route

 

[milanbaros]

I'm looking for suggestions for a 7-10 day hiking route from refuge to refuge in the Alps for the summer.

The Mt Blanc loop looks good but concerned it will be overly crowded.

Have done multiday in guided hikes in the Andes before and really enjoyed it and have never been to the Alps before.

 

[robox]

did everest base camp + 3 passes in 13 days.
pictures on instagram

i like to test how little i can get away with:

-no hiking stick (fuck hiking sticks)
-my backpack is my usual travel duffel. no waiststrap, no back ventilation.
-i bought a bottle of water in kathmandu and just kept refilling it. i held that sucka in my hands for 99.9% of the time i was out on the trails
-regular pants, albeit they are lululemon stretchy slacks, with a pair of overpants for the extra cold days
-uniqlo heat tech long sleeve as my thermal layer. they're awesome
-bootleg hiking boots from a random shop in ktm. sole started separating so that was disappointing; i had to get some superglue to keep going. i normally do day hikes in my regular sneaks, but they've been worn down and i'm not chancing it on a multi-day trek
-spent under 250$ on food out there, as i only brought that much cash with me. good thing i brought some granola bars n' dried mango

 

[Madrugador]

Didn't know we had a hiking thread. Last week I went to Altos de Lircay in The Andes, Chile.

It's spring over here but we got like 25 cm of snow, which is very rare at this time of the year. Always be careful with The Andes guys.

That's a friend's tent. Here are some other pictures from the same trip.

And here is a picture of the Frozen Lake of El Morado (about three hours from Santiago) from last May.

I'll share more trips in the future. My plan is to go to Torres del Paine in Patagonia soon (hopefully).

 

[vern]

did everest base camp + 3 passes in 13 days.
pictures on instagram

i like to test how little i can get away with:

-no hiking stick (fuck hiking sticks)
-my backpack is my usual travel duffel. no waiststrap, no back ventilation.
-i bought a bottle of water in kathmandu and just kept refilling it. i held that sucka in my hands for 99.9% of the time i was out on the trails
-regular pants, albeit they are lululemon stretchy slacks, with a pair of overpants for the extra cold days
-uniqlo heat tech long sleeve as my thermal layer. they're awesome
-bootleg hiking boots from a random shop in ktm. sole started separating so that was disappointing; i had to get some superglue to keep going. i normally do day hikes in my regular sneaks, but they've been worn down and i'm not chancing it on a multi-day trek
-spent under 250$ on food out there, as i only brought that much cash with me. good thing i brought some granola bars n' dried mango

I spent 2 months in Nepal this year working on some projects but didn't have a chance to do Everest at all besides the mountain flight out of Kathmandu, super jealous.

250 on food in Nepal should be good for months though lol... what were you buying? Momo and coffee in the villages is like 50 cents.

I did a couple treks around Kathmandu valley while I was there, longest was 6 days. Beautiful place. I got lots of pics on Instagram too. @crossingchina is me, Already follow you lol. And anyone else that posts hiking or travel photos share your IG.

 

[robox]

nah man, gets expensive the further up you go. for example at the far end, by gorak shep or any other place over 4000m

600 for momo, 650 if fried, 700 for fried meat
600 for fried rice
600 for dal bhat
300 for plain omelette, 350 if added veggies
120 for black coffee

in rupees, 105npr ~ 1usd

talked to guys who started in Jiri, and it said it was dirt cheap there
but a 2 week trek is all i could stand before wanting to get back to civilization. with internet and hot showers... ^_^

 

[vern]

nah man, gets expensive the further up you go. for example at the far end, by gorak shep or any other place over 4000m

600 for momo, 650 if fried, 700 for fried meat
600 for fried rice
600 for dal bhat
300 for plain omelette, 350 if added veggies
120 for black coffee

in rupees, 105npr ~ 1usd

talked to guys who started in Jiri, and it said it was dirt cheap there
but a 2 week trek is all i could stand before wanting to get back to civilization. with internet and hot showers... ^_^

Yea that makes sense I guess it getting more expensive. On the treks I made around Kathmandu and one brief one in pokhara outside the cities was dirt cheap. Up early Everest I guess supplies are tough to get plus you don't have many options so they rip you off.

I still have like 200 bucks worth of rupees I haven't been able to exchange. Not even India would take them. Hoping when I get back to the USA I can figure something out. Otherwise just burn it.

 

[BriareosGAF]

I still have like 200 bucks worth of rupees I haven't been able to exchange. Not even India would take them. Hoping when I get back to the USA I can figure something out. Otherwise just burn it.

Give it to a parent who wants to give their kids something more interesting from the tooth fairy. We're always looking for foreign currency for this reason.

 

[vern]

Give it to a parent who wants to give their kids something more interesting from the tooth fairy. We're always looking for foreign currency for this reason.

200 bucks?! My mom always gave me a quarter.

 

[M52B28]

Going to Mt. Diablo this Friday. It will be my first time doing mostly scrambling, so I'm excited.

I don't want to pack too much, but I've gotten reports from my co-workers telling to carry more water than average. I'm a sipper and conserver, but I'm hearing the slopes here are enough to help prep for half-dome (supposedly)

Other than that, the rest of my pack weight will be my DSLR, Binocs, food, emergency change of clothes, light first aid, headlamp and battery bank/torch.

I'm guessing it will be 15-20lbs max.

Spoiler

I was supposed to make an updated OT 😛 I'm lazy.

 

[suberzat]

Where are some good places to hike in the DMV area? Willing to travel the east coast for a good hike

 

[M52B28]

I don't know what DMV stands for.

 

[Fuchsdh]

I don't know what DMV stands for.

DC/MD/VA

 

[thespot84]

Not my area really but I did a hike along the Potomoc to great falls on the MD side that was pretty nice. Flatter than I'm used to (I'm from CO) but the river makes it

 

[Fuchsdh]

Yeah the MD side of the river has the Billy Goat trail that intersects with the C&O Canal Towpath. There's some elevation up in the heights and there's a nice little path that leads to Great Falls. The C&O towpath takes you through some really scenic areas although for the most part it's flat. There's the shorter but more rugged Rock Creek Park trail in DC and the Potomac Heritage Trail which leads to Teddy Roosevelt Island. These are all less than 30 minutes from the capitol.

If you're willing to go further afield there's a ton of battlefield hiking trails in VA and some in MD. If you want bigger views then the Shenandoah valley in VA is probably a good bet. There's Old Rag Mountain (some drone shots my friend took from the peaks) and Overall Run trail.

 

[rjc571]

Took a day trip Sunday from Pittsburgh out to Dolly Sods/Bear Rocks Preserve in West Virginia... unfortunately the fall colors seem to have passed but the view from the rocks was still quite nice.

 

[M52B28]

Mt. Diablo kicked my ass hard.

 

[isaacnukem]

Hello, Hiking GAF. How's everyone? I'm from the Philippines and hiking is really huge right now. I mostly will be sharing photos of mountains I've climbed.

Hiking is so much fun, though it's tiring as exercises are alien to me and diet is not on my vocabulary. I still persevere though.

What're some of your favorite hikes?

 

[thespot84]

Hello, Hiking GAF. How's everyone? I'm from the Philippines and hiking is really huge right now. I mostly will be sharing photos of mountains I've climbed.

Hiking is so much fun, though it's tiring as exercises are alien to me and diet is not on my vocabulary. I still persevere though.

What're some of your favorite hikes?

I always enjoy the wildlife, here we see mountain goats and pika a lot above tree-line, this is from a fourteener called grays and torres.

IMG_20160717_143317092.jpg by adamwolach, on Flickr


Most of my long hikes are on new mountains since there are so many here (Colorado). I live for the vistas.

 

[M52B28]

Nice to see this thread popping up from time to time.

I'm currently planning to get out in the woods with someone this Saturday. There's so many places we can go in California.

Also, I'm going to be purchasing another car soon, so that means I'll be able to do a lot more camping and hiking in remote places. I don't even plan on using the car for commuting to work and school, it's literally going to be a car for getting to trails. I'm going to get a nice kit put together so that I can have my gear in my car whenever I want.

 

[mrkapawutzis]

Hello, Hiking GAF. How's everyone? I'm from the Philippines and hiking is really huge right now. I mostly will be sharing photos of mountains I've climbed.

Hiking is so much fun, though it's tiring as exercises are alien to me and diet is not on my vocabulary. I still persevere though.

What're some of your favorite hikes?

If you have any pics of the mountains you've hiked in the Philippines, please post them. The last time I was there (in Davao), I remember being impressed with Mt. Apo. I'd love to see more pics of the hikes across the Philippines.

 

[BriareosGAF]

I always enjoy the wildlife, here we see mountain goats and pika a lot above tree-line, this is from a fourteener called grays and torres.

This is great, interesting to see how different the condition is from our dwarf Nigerian milkers...

We're in off-season maintenance here in Maine, good time to go into the properties we steward and use sleds to hike out any trash or debris we found as part of our baseline monitoring. Not much serious hiking beyond that, though, although I did get the snowshoes out the other day.

 

[Laekon]

Planned on doing a lot of hiking around LA this week but it's been raining a lot. There is actually a decent amount of hiking here between the coastal range, the higher inland range, and the dessert.

This year I want to do more dessert hiking. Telegraph Peak, at 11,000 ft in Death Valley, is my main goal just cause I like the idea of being at the highest point of the lowest spot in the US.

 

[lawnchair]

Planned on doing a lot of hiking around LA this week but it's been raining a lot. There is actually a decent amount of hiking here between the coastal range, the higher inland range, and the dessert.

This year I want to do more dessert hiking. Telegraph Peak, at 11,000 ft in Death Valley, is my main goal just cause I like the idea of being at the highest point of the lowest spot in the US.

i just moved out here and i've been looking for some good hikes in the area. i hiked sandstone peak the other day and it was pretty cool. lot of people up there though..

 

[thespot84]

Planned on doing a lot of hiking around LA this week but it's been raining a lot. There is actually a decent amount of hiking here between the coastal range, the higher inland range, and the dessert.

This year I want to do more dessert hiking. Telegraph Peak, at 11,000 ft in Death Valley, is my main goal just cause I like the idea of being at the highest point of the lowest spot in the US.

The Lowest Highest Point!

 

[ACE 1991]

In the pre-planning stages of doing a 5 day 54 mile hike in Rocky Mountain National Park with some buddies (this route: http://www.backpacker.com/trips/colorado/rocky-mountain-national-park/rocky-mountain-national-park-continental-divide-loop/#bp=0/img1) in July. Looking to apply for permits as soon as possible.

 

[isaacnukem]

I always enjoy the wildlife, here we see mountain goats and pika a lot above tree-line, this is from a fourteener called grays and torres.

IMG_20160717_143317092.jpg by adamwolach, on Flickr


Most of my long hikes are on new mountains since there are so many here (Colorado). I live for the vistas.

When I found out about mountain goats I immediately went and read more stuff about them, they're fascinating. Colorado probably ranks as the #1 place I would love to visit on the US: the views look incredible, snow, South Park. Oregon is the second one. Oregon is the next one on my list.

Nice to see this thread popping up from time to time.

I'm currently planning to get out in the woods with someone this Saturday. There's so many places we can go in California.

Also, I'm going to be purchasing another car soon, so that means I'll be able to do a lot more camping and hiking in remote places. I don't even plan on using the car for commuting to work and school, it's literally going to be a car for getting to trails. I'm going to get a nice kit put together so that I can have my gear in my car whenever I want.

What kind of car are you planning to get? I always half-joke to my hiking pals that someone should get a van so we can go on farther hikes.

If you have any pics of the mountains you've hiked in the Philippines, please post them. The last time I was there (in Davao), I remember being impressed with Mt. Apo. I'd love to see more pics of the hikes across the Philippines.

Will do. Sadly, Mt. Apo has closed because of a mountain fire caused by some hikers who probably left their campfire burning. No one knows when it will be open again, but I think it's for the better so the mountain can truly recover.

In the pre-planning stages of doing a 5 day 54 mile hike in Rocky Mountain National Park with some buddies (this route: http://www.backpacker.com/trips/colorado/rocky-mountain-national-park/rocky-mountain-national-park-continental-divide-loop/#bp=0/img1) in July. Looking to apply for permits as soon as possible.

Good luck with your hike! Permits are easy to obtain here, usually you just need to send an email and then you pick it up on the jumpoff point.

 

[M52B28]

What kind of car are you planning to get? I always half-joke to my hiking pals that someone should get a van so we can go on farther hikes.
.

It's a 1995 BMW 525i 5spd Manual, Alpine White White/ black interior.

It's a really nice car and has a huge trunk. I really like mountain driving, so when I go out to drive, want to end those drives with a hike, so I'm going to keep my pack with various gear in it. I also plan on keeping a lightweight sleeping bag as a bivy in it for impromptu camping.

Usually, before a hike, I drive the routes back and forth a few times for fun.

 

[isaacnukem]

It's a 1995 BMW 525i 5spd Manual, Alpine White White/ black interior.

It's a really nice car and has a huge trunk. I really like mountain driving, so when I go out to drive, want to end those drives with a hike, so I'm going to keep my pack with various gear in it. I also plan on keeping a lightweight sleeping bag as a bivy in it for impromptu camping.

Usually, before a hike, I drive the routes back and forth a few times for fun.

Can that car handle rough trails? Scoping out the trails, eh? Never done that before, but maybe if I had a car that might occur to me as something to do.

 

[ACE 1991]

Booked my flight to Denver, decided to go with the Four Pass loop hike near Aspen, which is only four days. I expect it'll be packed if the the route is passable over the 4th of July weekend (fingers crossed!)

 

[Peltz]

Wow, I had no idea this thread existed. I've fallen in love with hiking over the past 2 years and have gone about 10 times to various locations around NY.

I'm looking to try some trails in Utah sometime soon.

 

[ACE 1991]

Wow, I had no idea this thread existed. I've fallen in love with hiking over the past 2 years and have gone about 10 times to various locations around NY.

I'm looking to try some trails in Utah sometime soon.

Where in NY? I did trail work for a summer in the Catskills a few years back, it was an awesome few months.

 

[Messofanego]

This is my kind of thread. Thank you OP for making it.

 

[Peltz]

Where in NY? I did trail work for a summer in the Catskills a few years back, it was an awesome few months.

I've done Bear Mountain and Breakneck Ridge. What else do you recommend?

 

[ACE 1991]

I've done Bear Mountain and Breakneck Ridge. What else do you recommend?

The escarpment trail is a wonderful day hike (beautiful!) that connects to other trails if you want to make the ending point of a multi-day trip.

 

[anonymous_abc]

We recently camped in Death Valley and hiked up Wildrose Peak Trail.
Just gorgeous scenery and views across the valley from atop.

 

[M52B28]

I may shred a trail on Friday. I'm looking to hit Kings Canyon National Park in early April.

For now, here's an image of mine:

 

[thespot84]

Took a break in the weather and got up to a limestone canyon with ice falls/caves near rifle, colorado.

IMG_20170225_140740-Pano.jpg by adamwolach, on Flickr
IMG_20170225_140845.jpg by adamwolach, on Flickr
IMG_20170225_141430.jpg by adamwolach, on Flickr
IMG_20170225_144259-Pano.jpg by adamwolach, on Flickr
IMG_20170225_151841.jpg by adamwolach, on Flickr
The Road Home by adamwolach, on Flickr

 

[anonymous_abc]

I may shred a trail on Friday. I'm looking to hit Kings Canyon National Park in early April.

For now, here's an image of mine:

Very atmospheric, nice!

 

[M52B28]

Very atmospheric, nice!

Thanks. It was an interesting morning, that one.

 

[isaacnukem]

I may shred a trail on Friday. I'm looking to hit Kings Canyon National Park in early April.

For now, here's an image of mine:

Is this real life?

Anyway, what are everyone's thoughts about hiking in rainy season?

 

[BriareosGAF]

Anyway, what are everyone's thoughts about hiking in rainy season?

It builds character through misery, especially if you're young and dumb like I was and have terrible equipment that isn't suitable for the rain (hello late Spring in the Adirondacks). Otherwise you don't want to be causing rutting/mudding to trails so depending on where you're hiking and when in the season it may simply be poor manners and/or prohibited. Check ahead with the park management where you intend to hike, they can give you a good sense of what to expect.

 

[isaacnukem]

Yeah, I think it isn't wise to hike in the rainy season but where I'm from, the rainy season lasts half a year. So I'm torn.

 

[Stinkles]

Just did an amazing hike up Goat Wall in Washington's Methow Valley.

Not my photo but that's the wall.

 

[Head of Vengarl]

Hiked to the peak of Mt. Baldy today with my friends. It's a holiday weekend so there was definitely a crowd factor, but that also meant lots of eye candy. It was a beautiful day and most of the people we came across were very friendly and in good spirits (even if they were hurting on those steep switchbacks near the summit). It was a great time, and a hell of a workout.