Hiking and backpacking

me0231 wrote: »

I love hiking! Nothing better to recharge the batteries. I stepped it up this year and went once or twice a week to prep for the Inca trail which I did about a month ago. Spectacular! I definitely want to get into more backpacking next year

I also did the Inca trail. Thank God for porters. Lol takes your breath away, quite literally.

NorthCascades wrote: »

This is my favorite trail, in North Cascades National Park.

Heather Maple Pass? Also my favorite hike!

I do 5-10 mile hikes w/1-3k ft elevation changes locally when I'm in the mood.

Use to do a lot of backpacking when I was younger. Still have all the gear and could take off on a BP trip at the drop of a dime but don't have the motivation anymore.

Same applies to motorcycling and downhill skiing which I don't do anymore either.

jjpptt2 wrote: »

NorthCascades wrote: »

This is my favorite trail, in North Cascades National Park.

One of the reasons I like hiking, especially in different parts of the country, is how different the terrain can be. I've never been to the PNW, but I've seen a lot of your pictures - that's very different than what I have here in the northeast which is also very different from what I've hiked in both California and Arizona.


Hiking in the Adirondacks -

There are a handful of hikes around here that go through places of extreme change. Like the west side of our mountains is cool and rainy, the east side is dry and warm, and as you go over the crest, the change can happen pretty quickly. I've always loved these "tour of everything we've got" hikes, for the same reason you just said. Or maybe a smaller version of it.

It's just incredible how much variety there is.

I love hiking. There is nothing like being in the great outdoors to recharge those batteries and connecting with yourself and nature. It is just frustrating because I have problems with my right knee which means I can't do steep slopes without pain which limits where I can go and what I can see.

My dad in his 70's was still backpacking (I like hiking but also like a comfy bed at the end of it) and hiking the pilgrim tracks in Spain.

I love hiking but didn’t get out much this summer because heat and smoke. Last year we spent 2 weeks in Switzerland for for our anniversary and hiked every day. One of the most incredible experiences of my life!

jdubois5351 wrote: »

Oh my goodness, all your pictures are making me soooooooo jealous! I want to go to the mountains RIGHT NOW (not feasible, though, as it's a 7 hour drive, and I have no vacation time coming up until the end of December, when hiking in the mountains isn't really an option anymore). Beautiful, beautiful picutres! Keep them coming, let me live vicariously through you!

I live in Iowa and I'm pretty busy / would like more vacation time too, so I don't get out to the mountains nearly as often as I would like. However, we have lots of woods, lakes, streams, and hills (I live near the Loess Hills, which is a rare land formation only existing 2 places in the world: here and in China).

Even in the plains, there are neat places to hike. For example, Prairie State Park in MO has natural prairie (i.e. not restored). Whether you are interested in seeing animals (from bison and elk to crayfish and turtles) or plants (indian paintbrush is the prettiest prairie flower), there is something.

From a winter hike near Loup Loup Pass. There must have been a nest nearby because there was an entire family of baldies.

Cascade Pass trail again.

I love hiking but have never done an overnight camping/hiking trip. We always have our toddler so we are pretty limited as to how far/how long we can go out. I used to have a baby carrier but I sold it and I wish I hadn't. Unfortunately for me I live in the Kansas City area which is dirty and there's not much in the way of hiking areas here. No mountains or anything cool like that. Pretty much flat. I'm getting depressed looking at all these pictures. I have to travel if I want to go anywhere that beautiful. I don't understand how anyone could not love hiking. It is my favorite thing to do. Something about being out in nature makes me so happy. I hate to be stuck inside.

hesn92 wrote: »

midwesterner85 wrote: »

jdubois5351 wrote: »

Oh my goodness, all your pictures are making me soooooooo jealous! I want to go to the mountains RIGHT NOW (not feasible, though, as it's a 7 hour drive, and I have no vacation time coming up until the end of December, when hiking in the mountains isn't really an option anymore). Beautiful, beautiful picutres! Keep them coming, let me live vicariously through you!

I live in Iowa and I'm pretty busy / would like more vacation time too, so I don't get out to the mountains nearly as often as I would like. However, we have lots of woods, lakes, streams, and hills (I live near the Loess Hills, which is a rare land formation only existing 2 places in the world: here and in China).

Even in the plains, there are neat places to hike. For example, Prairie State Park in MO has natural prairie (i.e. not restored). Whether you are interested in seeing animals (from bison and elk to crayfish and turtles) or plants (indian paintbrush is the prettiest prairie flower), there is something.

That is true, there are places to hike around here (I am in the Kansas City area) but I have a love for mountains. We go down to southern Missouri often and I love it down there (the Ozark "mountains") it is beautiful down there. Lots of streams and creeks, and the water is so clear (compared to around KC where the water is all *kitten* gross and dirty.)

All of my vacation plans revolve around hiking lol

I was just down in the Ozarks last month (Buffalo River in AR) for 9 days. Unfortunately, I didn't have a whole lot of time to explore the area because I was there for a WFR training course that was pretty demanding of time and energy. But I did get a little bit of chance to run the Old River Trail for some short distances (only about 10 miles on 2 runs). I remember that some of the wild hogs I saw really looked like something I would like to take for food, lol.

Between Ozarks and Ouchita, I really need to explore that area more. I'm running a Trail Ragnar in TX next month and will be in Tulsa in November for the Route 66 Marathon. I don't think I'll have time to stop off on the way down or back next month, but may have a couple days after the Marathon in Nov. to head out for some hikes.

This thread is awesome. I celebrated turning 50 by climbing Mt. St. Helens with my sisters this summer. We all did our own training, but got in a few hikes to get the gals used to carrying a pack for 12 straight hours. We were in the coast range of Oregon where we could see the Pacific and 5 mountains in OR and WA from the summit. We also got up into the Cascade range. We'll be back up there this weekend on part of the PCT before the snow flies. We're day hikers for now, but with ideas of overnights... I love all of these photos. My husband and I feel strongly that where we live must have mountains and/or water, preferably an ocean, close enough. I'd be hard pressed to be in the midwest after growing up here.