Your favourite hikes

[Lance Uppercut]

Hiking is a great thing to do when travelling IMO. A really good way to see parts of the world you would never otherwise get close to. What are the best hikes you've ever done?

For me, the two stand-outs are:

1: The Inca Trail to Maccu Pichu, and

2: North Rim to South Rim, Grand Canyon.

Both so special because they are so remarkable. The Inca Trail is incredible - hiking over the Andes on some of the oldest trails you can find. Dead Woman's Pass is around 4200m and above the tree line, just below the snow line. You are surrounded by incredible snow-capped mountains, and hike through some amazing cloud forest. The porters have to be seen to be believed, and they cook some relatively incredible food. Then, after this amazing hike, you finish watching the sun rise over Maccu Pichu from the Sun Gate, and finish at one of the worlds most amazing man made sites.

The Grand Canyon is just out of this world. It is so freaking big it almost literally boggles the mind. Your faculties aren't built to take in something so massive. And to see literally millions of years into the past via the sediment layers is also more than a little mind-blowing - to think you're looking at layers of the Earth from so long ago, that have been built up, then eroded back down, it's crazy. The hike itself is pretty brutal on the way up. Step after step after step. Also, the temperature difference is remarkable below as above.

What are some of your most memorable hikes?

 

[checkraiseulite]

Annapurna circuit in Nepal is the stone cold nuts. Has one pass at around 5500m where it can be pretty tough to breath.

Federation Peak in Tasmania is pretty good too for somewhere close to home.

Hiking in general in mountainous regions in North America is amazing.

 

[Lance Uppercut]

Yeah the Appalachians (sp?) is meant to be awesome. On the bucket list. But that Nepal one sounds sick. I'd love to go to Nepal so bad.

 

[blues4flag]

Hiking to Machu Picchu is something I'd absolutely love to do. Looks such an incredible, picturesque trail.

 

[G.O.B]

The W circuit in the Torres del Paine national Park in Chile is amazing. Extremely picturesque and ends with a glacier hike.

Milford Sound in NZ 'aint too bad either.

They're the only 2 I've done so not much to compare with.

 

[raskolnikov]

The Tien Shan mountain range in Kyrgyzstan. We hiked for four days and stayed in yurts with the local Kyrgyz people overnight. Amazing experience.

 

[2009premiers]

1. Grand Canyon Bright Angel Trail - Rim to River
2. Great Wall of China - Jinshangling to Simitai
3. Jungfrau to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland
4. Cinque Terre, Italy

 

[Lance Uppercut]

Hiking to Machu Picchu is something I'd absolutely love to do. Looks such an incredible, picturesque trail.

it is a real bucket-lister. If it's something that interests you I cannot recommend highly enough you do it. It's incredible. We did it through Gap Adventures, who did a brilliant job - we had a really good guide. Cusco is an amazing city to start from, then you get the bus down the sacred valley and kick off.

I remember day one of the hike, looking around at these snow capped peaks, just unable to believe where I was. It is awesome.

Just make sure you spend a few days in Cusco before starting, so you can acclimatise to the altitude. I didn't have any sickness whatsoever, but my wife was pretty crook and knackered for a few days, and found it pretty tough to hike in the thin air.

 

[estibador]

Machu Picchu is definitely on my bucket list. Along with the Pyramids its the 'ancient' heritage site I'd most like to see.

I've only done two hikes worth mentioning. One was the Tongariro Alpine Crossing in NZ, which is pretty tame and boring compared to others mentioned in this thread.

And the other, which I only just got back from a week ago, was climbing Mount Rinjani, a volcano in Lombok. It's the 2nd highest mountain in Indonesia and we took 5 days to climb it, though the more hardcore way is to do it in 3.

Some amazing views up there, particularly inside the crater of the old volcano, which contains a smaller smoking volcano as well as a 230m deep lake you can catch fish in. We camped there for two nights before attempting the summit.

Getting to the summit itself was a pretty hardcore experience. You wake at 2am in the freezing cold to try reach the top as the sun comes up, because if you leave it much later the clouds roll in and it can be dangerous trying to get back down. The last half a km is a 45 degree incline of sand and pebbles where every step you take you slide back half a step, so you end up virtually crawling on your hands and knees.

Add to that it's bitterly cold and windy, so much so you can only stay at the top for 20 minutes before you start shaking, so it makes for a pretty tough morning. The American girl I was climbing with was literally in tears by halfway up the slope.

The view of the crater from the summit:

 

[rocker_oz33]

some of you guys have been on some great hikes l'm a bit green with envy.anyway l kinda like hiking but only do about 3 hours at a time the missues bitchs and moans about sore feet grr.l did some nice walks in sunny coast queensland glass mountains and few other nice places around that area.blue mountain nsw was alright aswell along the coast around phillips island (vic) is quiet good aswell.and some good walks along the otways these a prob not great hikes more like good walks.

 

[Lance Uppercut]

Machu Picchu is definitely on my bucket list. Along with the Pyramids its the 'ancient' heritage site I'd most like to see.

I've only done two hikes worth mentioning. One was the Tongariro Alpine Crossing in NZ, which is pretty tame and boring compared to others mentioned in this thread.

And the other, which I only just got back from a week ago, was climbing Mount Rinjani, a volcano in Lombok. It's the 2nd highest mountain in Indonesia and we took 5 days to climb it, though the more hardcore way is to do it in 3.

Some amazing views up there, particularly inside the crater of the old volcano, which contains a smaller smoking volcano as well as a 230m deep lake you can catch fish in. We camped there for two nights before attempting the summit.

Getting to the summit itself was a pretty hardcore experience. You wake at 2am in the freezing cold to try reach the top as the sun comes up, because if you leave it much later the clouds roll in and it can be dangerous trying to get back down. The last half a km is a 45 degree incline of sand and pebbles where every step you take you slide back half a step, so you end up virtually crawling on your hands and knees.

Add to that it's bitterly cold and windy, so much so you can only stay at the top for 20 minutes before you start shaking, so it makes for a pretty tough morning. The American girl I was climbing with was literally in tears by halfway up the slope.

The view of the crater from the summit:

that is absolutely amazing

 

[estibador]

that is absolutely amazing

Yeah that last morning was one of the toughest things I've ever done but it was well worth the pain.

Apparently the majority of people who do the hike/climb only go to the rim and don't even attempt the summit. Screw that - after days of climbing just to get that far there's no way I could come down satisfied if I didn't at least try to conquer the top.

 

[Lach72]

Not as strenuous as those above, but I really like the walk from Doolin to the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare. Really beautiful rockwalled roads, windy as hell on the day I did it.

 

[Lach72]

My old man, who turns 70 on Saturday just completed this, in it's entirety:
http://www.caminodesantiago.me.uk/camino-frances/

I get leg cramps just thinking about it

 

[sabre_ac]

Those considering the Machu Pichu trek I'd recommend avoiding the mainstream trek and looking into Salkantay.

It's harder but far more rewarding as you get to trek to a glacier and then down to the famous ruins.

 

[morri]

Not much of a hiker all i have done is hiking a bit in various parts of the alps.

Apart from that I don't mind it, but I prefer just going for a walk to proper hiking. (and since i live in more flat regions here I prefer the bike)

 

[Rear Admiral]

Hiking is a great thing to do when travelling IMO. A really good way to see parts of the world you would never otherwise get close to. What are the best hikes you've ever done?

For me, the two stand-outs are:

1: The Inca Trail to Maccu Pichu, and

2: North Rim to South Rim, Grand Canyon.

Both so special because they are so remarkable. The Inca Trail is incredible - hiking over the Andes on some of the oldest trails you can find. Dead Woman's Pass is around 4200m and above the tree line, just below the snow line. You are surrounded by incredible snow-capped mountains, and hike through some amazing cloud forest. The porters have to be seen to be believed, and they cook some relatively incredible food. Then, after this amazing hike, you finish watching the sun rise over Maccu Pichu from the Sun Gate, and finish at one of the worlds most amazing man made sites.

The Grand Canyon is just out of this world. It is so freaking big it almost literally boggles the mind. Your faculties aren't built to take in something so massive. And to see literally millions of years into the past via the sediment layers is also more than a little mind-blowing - to think you're looking at layers of the Earth from so long ago, that have been built up, then eroded back down, it's crazy. The hike itself is pretty brutal on the way up. Step after step after step. Also, the temperature difference is remarkable below as above.

What are some of your most memorable hikes?

Annapurna circuit in Nepal is the stone cold nuts. Has one pass at around 5500m where it can be pretty tough to breath.

Federation Peak in Tasmania is pretty good too for somewhere close to home.

Hiking in general in mountainous regions in North America is amazing.

Yeah the Appalachians (sp?) is meant to be awesome. On the bucket list. But that Nepal one sounds sick. I'd love to go to Nepal so bad.

Hiking to Machu Picchu is something I'd absolutely love to do. Looks such an incredible, picturesque trail.

The W circuit in the Torres del Paine national Park in Chile is amazing. Extremely picturesque and ends with a glacier hike.

Milford Sound in NZ 'aint too bad either.

They're the only 2 I've done so not much to compare with.

The Tien Shan mountain range in Kyrgyzstan. We hiked for four days and stayed in yurts with the local Kyrgyz people overnight. Amazing experience.

1. Grand Canyon Bright Angel Trail - Rim to River
2. Great Wall of China - Jinshangling to Simitai
3. Jungfrau to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland
4. Cinque Terre, Italy

it is a real bucket-lister. If it's something that interests you I cannot recommend highly enough you do it. It's incredible. We did it through Gap Adventures, who did a brilliant job - we had a really good guide. Cusco is an amazing city to start from, then you get the bus down the sacred valley and kick off.

I remember day one of the hike, looking around at these snow capped peaks, just unable to believe where I was. It is awesome.

Just make sure you spend a few days in Cusco before starting, so you can acclimatise to the altitude. I didn't have any sickness whatsoever, but my wife was pretty crook and knackered for a few days, and found it pretty tough to hike in the thin air.

Machu Picchu is definitely on my bucket list. Along with the Pyramids its the 'ancient' heritage site I'd most like to see.

I've only done two hikes worth mentioning. One was the Tongariro Alpine Crossing in NZ, which is pretty tame and boring compared to others mentioned in this thread.

And the other, which I only just got back from a week ago, was climbing Mount Rinjani, a volcano in Lombok. It's the 2nd highest mountain in Indonesia and we took 5 days to climb it, though the more hardcore way is to do it in 3.

Some amazing views up there, particularly inside the crater of the old volcano, which contains a smaller smoking volcano as well as a 230m deep lake you can catch fish in. We camped there for two nights before attempting the summit.

Getting to the summit itself was a pretty hardcore experience. You wake at 2am in the freezing cold to try reach the top as the sun comes up, because if you leave it much later the clouds roll in and it can be dangerous trying to get back down. The last half a km is a 45 degree incline of sand and pebbles where every step you take you slide back half a step, so you end up virtually crawling on your hands and knees.

Add to that it's bitterly cold and windy, so much so you can only stay at the top for 20 minutes before you start shaking, so it makes for a pretty tough morning. The American girl I was climbing with was literally in tears by halfway up the slope.

The view of the crater from the summit:

some of you guys have been on some great hikes l'm a bit green with envy.anyway l kinda like hiking but only do about 3 hours at a time the missues bitchs and moans about sore feet grr.l did some nice walks in sunny coast queensland glass mountains and few other nice places around that area.blue mountain nsw was alright aswell along the coast around phillips island (vic) is quiet good aswell.and some good walks along the otways these a prob not great hikes more like good walks.

that is absolutely amazing

Yeah that last morning was one of the toughest things I've ever done but it was well worth the pain.

Apparently the majority of people who do the hike/climb only go to the rim and don't even attempt the summit. Screw that - after days of climbing just to get that far there's no way I could come down satisfied if I didn't at least try to conquer the top.

Not as strenuous as those above, but I really like the walk from Doolin to the Cliffs of Moher in County Clare. Really beautiful rockwalled roads, windy as hell on the day I did it.

My old man, who turns 70 on Saturday just completed this, in it's entirety:
http://www.caminodesantiago.me.uk/camino-frances/

I get leg cramps just thinking about it

Those considering the Machu Pichu trek I'd recommend avoiding the mainstream trek and looking into Salkantay.

It's harder but far more rewarding as you get to trek to a glacier and then down to the famous ruins.

Not much of a hiker all i have done is hiking a bit in various parts of the alps.

Apart from that I don't mind it, but I prefer just going for a walk to proper hiking. (and since i live in more flat regions here I prefer the bike)

Have a gander here....then scroll to the bottom of all the "quoted" comments.