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Hiking Plans for 2020

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    • Hiking Plans for 2020

      It looks like I'm going to get lucky this spring as the wife is going on a trip for two weeks with her best friend. So I'm going to plan something as I just don't get these opportunities much.
      Where should I hike? I'm thinking maybe I go back to the Grand Canyon and maybe hit Bryce too. I'd like to finish off New Hampshire and start Maine but I think it'll be way too early to go that far north. I guess other options are the BMT, Linville Gorge and ?????
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • jimmyjam wrote:

      It looks like I'm going to get lucky this spring as the wife is going on a trip for two weeks with her best friend. So I'm going to plan something as I just don't get these opportunities much.
      Where should I hike? I'm thinking maybe I go back to the Grand Canyon and maybe hit Bryce too. I'd like to finish off New Hampshire and start Maine but I think it'll be way too early to go that far north. I guess other options are the BMT, Linville Gorge and ?????
      When?
      I may grow old but I'll never grow up.
    • Drybones wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      It looks like I'm going to get lucky this spring as the wife is going on a trip for two weeks with her best friend. So I'm going to plan something as I just don't get these opportunities much.
      Where should I hike? I'm thinking maybe I go back to the Grand Canyon and maybe hit Bryce too. I'd like to finish off New Hampshire and start Maine but I think it'll be way too early to go that far north. I guess other options are the BMT, Linville Gorge and ?????
      When?
      I don't have an exact date yet. Waiting on girls to complete their plans. I should know where my window is next week.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • After a trip to Scotland (mostly Edinburgh) last year in 2018, I thought a hike in the Highlands might be interesting. I have a sister who's a researcher and professor at the U of Edinburgh and lives in the "New Town" section of Edinburgh. Makes not having to deal with hotels really nice.

      Anyway, she took us, my son and I, on a three day trip to Mull, Iona, and through the Highlands in that area. That was the spark and it's all her fault. I started working and a hike of the West Highland Way.

      It was just to be me,
      then my sister (Fort Lauderdale) and I.
      then the two of us AND son and his fiancée (local),
      then the four of us AND sister (in Sarasota),
      then the five of us AND husband of sister (Edinburgh) for the second half of the WHW,
      then all of the above AND sister (Edinburgh) for the part from Milgnavie to the Glengoyne Distillery (6.5 miles in).

      For those of you keeping count, that's 3 sisters, I have 4 and a brother who passed on the trip.

      It's a good thing I've been the guy who plans the high adventure trips (groups of 10 to 35) for the local Boy Scout Council. This was way easier.

      Everyone is responsible for their own flights - thank God. We leave Edinburgh Thursday, May 21 and hike for 7 days, ending in Fort William. On the last day we'll figure out if the weather is good enough to climb Ben Nevis and/or if we're still alive. Return to Edinburgh May 28-29 depending on Ben Nevis.

      I did book hostels and hotels for every night so this isn't really a camping trip. We will carry shelter, but don't expect to use it. If it had stopped with the first four of us, camping would be our choice. Also not taking a stove. There appear to be sufficient pubs/markets along the way to not worry about cooking.

      I think this hike is nicely bookended by a distillery (Glengoyne) on the front end and a distillery (Ben Nevis) on the back end. gif.014.gif
      I'm hoping we are able to do the stages as planned as we have hostels/hotels already booked the whole way. Most of us have experience doing worse trails/elevation changes with heavier packs. By the way, the WHW is 96 miles so I get to do a thru-hike this year. Then, it's back to the 20 year plan on the AT.

      WHW site

      I can post the stages if anyone's interested.
    • Planning to knock out the last 167 miles of the AT in July. Have Pinkham Notch to Grafton notch, and then Monson to Mt. Katahdin.

      So far my Tuesday hikes coming back from Fort Smith have been prevented by bad weather and meetings, but I do plan to get quite few miles done around AR by June to prepare for my AT final section(s).
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Astro wrote:

      Planning to knock out the last 167 miles of the AT in July. Have Pinkham Notch to Grafton notch, and then Monson to Mt. Katahdin.

      So far my Tuesday hikes coming back from Fort Smith have been prevented by bad weather and meetings, but I do plan to get quite few miles done around AR by June to prepare for my AT final section(s).
      I like the sound of July! HB is in Maine August......and I still need to do Wildcats.


      We will still have bugs in July.......but snow in cold spots is the worst of it! ^^
      Cheesecake> Ramen :thumbsup:
    • muddywaters wrote:

      Lots of options, no plans.
      Im wanting a 3-4 wk trip somewhere.

      Guy I met on CT is hiking PCT this yr ,wants me to do some with him. But I expect once he's past Yosemite he'd be leaving me in dust.....
      I would say come join me in NH & ME, but I know 3 weeks for me is probably more like 1 week for you, and I wouldn't see you after the first day. :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Astro wrote:

      muddywaters wrote:

      Lots of options, no plans.
      Im wanting a 3-4 wk trip somewhere.

      Guy I met on CT is hiking PCT this yr ,wants me to do some with him. But I expect once he's past Yosemite he'd be leaving me in dust.....
      I would say come join me in NH & ME, but I know 3 weeks for me is probably more like 1 week for you, and I wouldn't see you after the first day. :)
      Doubt that.
      Im looking to do western half ouachita in late feb-mar when a clear weather week occurs
    • Muddywaters wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      muddywaters wrote:

      Lots of options, no plans.
      Im wanting a 3-4 wk trip somewhere.

      Guy I met on CT is hiking PCT this yr ,wants me to do some with him. But I expect once he's past Yosemite he'd be leaving me in dust.....
      I would say come join me in NH & ME, but I know 3 weeks for me is probably more like 1 week for you, and I wouldn't see you after the first day. :)
      Doubt that.Im looking to do western half ouachita in late feb-mar when a clear weather week occurs
      Beware there are some parts where water is iffy (assume you have Tim Ernst's book).
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Astro wrote:

      Muddywaters wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      muddywaters wrote:

      Lots of options, no plans.
      Im wanting a 3-4 wk trip somewhere.

      Guy I met on CT is hiking PCT this yr ,wants me to do some with him. But I expect once he's past Yosemite he'd be leaving me in dust.....
      I would say come join me in NH & ME, but I know 3 weeks for me is probably more like 1 week for you, and I wouldn't see you after the first day. :)
      Doubt that.Im looking to do western half ouachita in late feb-mar when a clear weather week occurs
      Beware there are some parts where water is iffy (assume you have Tim Ernst's book).
      Yeah. But its all perspective.
      20 miles isnt too far without water.
      Ive done 23 on 1 liter before....the other i had was cow tainted and i wasnt drinking it unless i had too.
    • Muddywaters wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      Muddywaters wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      muddywaters wrote:

      Lots of options, no plans.
      Im wanting a 3-4 wk trip somewhere.

      Guy I met on CT is hiking PCT this yr ,wants me to do some with him. But I expect once he's past Yosemite he'd be leaving me in dust.....
      I would say come join me in NH & ME, but I know 3 weeks for me is probably more like 1 week for you, and I wouldn't see you after the first day. :)
      Doubt that.Im looking to do western half ouachita in late feb-mar when a clear weather week occurs
      Beware there are some parts where water is iffy (assume you have Tim Ernst's book).
      Yeah. But its all perspective.20 miles isnt too far without water.
      Ive done 23 on 1 liter before....the other i had was cow tainted and i wasnt drinking it unless i had too.
      Muddy,

      I think 23 miles on one liter is dangerous. I know I pack 1 liter per five miles and I am usually glad to have that.

      I tried to cross the PCT Mojave section after Christmas, but that turned out to be a bust (record snows). Now I am looking at doing that sectiont this coming June. Not excited about doing it in the summer. but we will see how it goes. I understand one leg in the CA section F is a 45 mile water carry. I do not gamble my life on water caches, so my plan is 8 whole liters for that section. After that, I should be done with the desert.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • IMScotty wrote:

      Muddywaters wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      Muddywaters wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      muddywaters wrote:

      Lots of options, no plans.
      Im wanting a 3-4 wk trip somewhere.

      Guy I met on CT is hiking PCT this yr ,wants me to do some with him. But I expect once he's past Yosemite he'd be leaving me in dust.....
      I would say come join me in NH & ME, but I know 3 weeks for me is probably more like 1 week for you, and I wouldn't see you after the first day. :)
      Doubt that.Im looking to do western half ouachita in late feb-mar when a clear weather week occurs
      Beware there are some parts where water is iffy (assume you have Tim Ernst's book).
      Yeah. But its all perspective.20 miles isnt too far without water.Ive done 23 on 1 liter before....the other i had was cow tainted and i wasnt drinking it unless i had too.
      Muddy,
      I think 23 miles on one liter is dangerous. I know I pack 1 liter per five miles and I am usually glad to have that.

      I tried to cross the PCT Mojave section after Christmas, but that turned out to be a bust (record snows). Now I am looking at doing that sectiont this coming June. Not excited about doing it in the summer. but we will see how it goes. I understand one leg in the CA section F is a 45 mile water carry. I do not gamble my life on water caches, so my plan is 8 whole liters for that section. After that, I should be done with the desert.
      Not 49. There is(was) a pond a little way down Kelso Rd. That whole section is twentyish miles between water sources. If I did it again I'd consider getting Guthook for it.
    • Muddywaters wrote:

      Yeah. But its all perspective.20 miles isnt too far without water.
      Ive done 23 on 1 liter before....the other i had was cow tainted and i wasnt drinking it unless i had to
      Muddywaters refusing to drink muddy water? I'm disappointed.

      On my first AT hike I was heading NOBO toward Dragons Tooth near Roanoke VA. That section has a series of dry ridge walks and it was summer so I was paranoid about having enough water. I came down from one ridge and the first water was a stream by a beaver lodge downstream of a cow pasture. I was a little worried about the cows and beavers, but cameled up anyway (with filter), worried more about the next dry ridge. But then about a mile further on other side of the valley, the trail followed a beautiful stream coming off the next mountain. I was mad at myself for not paying attention to my trail guides, dumped the cow water, a filtered another few liters. Ended up dry camping on that ridge. Great site, although I was lucky I wasn't killed by lightning.
    • IMScotty wrote:

      Muddywaters wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      Muddywaters wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      muddywaters wrote:

      Lots of options, no plans.
      Im wanting a 3-4 wk trip somewhere.

      Guy I met on CT is hiking PCT this yr ,wants me to do some with him. But I expect once he's past Yosemite he'd be leaving me in dust.....
      I would say come join me in NH & ME, but I know 3 weeks for me is probably more like 1 week for you, and I wouldn't see you after the first day. :)
      Doubt that.Im looking to do western half ouachita in late feb-mar when a clear weather week occurs
      Beware there are some parts where water is iffy (assume you have Tim Ernst's book).
      Yeah. But its all perspective.20 miles isnt too far without water.Ive done 23 on 1 liter before....the other i had was cow tainted and i wasnt drinking it unless i had too.
      Muddy,
      I think 23 miles on one liter is dangerous. I know I pack 1 liter per five miles and I am usually glad to have that.

      I tried to cross the PCT Mojave section after Christmas, but that turned out to be a bust (record snows). Now I am looking at doing that sectiont this coming June. Not excited about doing it in the summer. but we will see how it goes. I understand one leg in the CA section F is a 45 mile water carry. I do not gamble my life on water caches, so my plan is 8 whole liters for that section. After that, I should be done with the desert.
      Dangerous depends on conditions. When its under 50F early in morning, i can easily go 10 miles without drinking a drop. Especially downhill. Done that too many times to count. 95 F, not happening.

      Usually to stretch water i camel up , hike 5-10 miles. Camp, drink half liter. Get up next morning in cool, drink other half, knock out 10 mi before warms up.

      Ive done this numerous times on 15-20 mi areas....even carrying water that went unused because didnt want the poor quality water, or didnt want to stop. Its not that hard really.

      On jmt i drank 1 liter at guitar lake before leaving for whitney at 130 am. Carried 2. Only drank about 2" out of 1 bottle by whitney portal at 11am. Almost 14 miles? And half pack mms...

      Vast majority of time i have more water, i just dont stop to drink it once moving.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Muddywaters ().

    • Kathy and I have an overnighter planned for either next weekend, or the following weekend, starting on the Saturday.
      We'll start from New York's Bear Mountain, walk across the Hudson River on the Bear Mountain Bridge, and continue on the AT northbound to the first camping spot on the east side of the river. Then on Sunday we'll hike back southbound and switch trail and hike up Anthony's Nose. It's part of a mountain on the east side of the Hudson across from Bear Mountain. We've talked about hiking up there for years and years but never have since it's on the opposite side of the river from Harriman State Park. Well, we're finally going to do it if all goes as planned. I'm looking forward to spending a night outdoors. :)
    • Amazing!!! I have been awarded a Grand Canyon below the rim backcountry camping permit!!!! I had to go to a non-main corridor trail to do it, but hey I'll be away from the crowds trying to hike in flip-flops. I'm so excited thinking of the Dark Sky experience from the inner gorge. I'm hoping and praying that this Coronavirus thing does not get out of control between now and then.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • jimmyjam wrote:

      Amazing!!! I have been awarded a Grand Canyon below the rim backcountry camping permit!!!! I had to go to a non-main corridor trail to do it, but hey I'll be away from the crowds trying to hike in flip-flops. I'm so excited thinking of the Dark Sky experience from the inner gorge. I'm hoping and praying that this Coronavirus thing does not get out of control between now and then.
      Very cool !
      When is the trip planned for?
    • LIhikers wrote:

      jimmyjam wrote:

      Amazing!!! I have been awarded a Grand Canyon below the rim backcountry camping permit!!!! I had to go to a non-main corridor trail to do it, but hey I'll be away from the crowds trying to hike in flip-flops. I'm so excited thinking of the Dark Sky experience from the inner gorge. I'm hoping and praying that this Coronavirus thing does not get out of control between now and then.
      Very cool !When is the trip planned for?
      April
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • Astro wrote:

      JimmyJam,
      First congratulations!
      How difficult was the permit process?
      Had you tried many times before?
      The park permit system is a PITA. You cannot do it on the phone. You have to download the form, fill it out and FAX it back. They will not accept an email. However they will notify you of your rejection or that you got your permit by email and they usually take a full 10 days to do that. Camping permits at the campsites along the main cross canyon trail, ie Bright Angel and North Kaibab are almost impossible to get. I tried with different schedules and using the South Kaibab but no go. The off corridor trails and campsites are much easier to get, the trails aren't as well maintained but there are no crowds- I usually go all day and only see maybe half a dozen people.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • IMScotty wrote:

      Look on the bright side. It weeds out all those Millennials who have 'cut the cord' and gives all us old codgers who still have a Fax machine an edge...
      I had to go to the library and use their fax machine. Mine was an old thermal paper one that I finally got rid of.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • LIhikers wrote:

      As of yet Kathy and I don't have any summer, section, hike plans. I assume we'll go back to Maine but the when and where haven't been discussed. It'll either be Baxter park to Monson, or the other direction. I think we'll be hiking without our dog, she said she's done with long hikes.
      My plan is Monon to Katahdin in mid-July after I do Pinkham Notch to Grafton Notch. That is unless I can convince Coach Lou to do Katahdin again after we finish Grafton Notch, and then I would go SoBo from there to Monson.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Astro wrote:

      LIhikers wrote:

      As of yet Kathy and I don't have any summer, section, hike plans. I assume we'll go back to Maine but the when and where haven't been discussed. It'll either be Baxter park to Monson, or the other direction. I think we'll be hiking without our dog, she said she's done with long hikes.
      My plan is Monon to Katahdin in mid-July after I do Pinkham Notch to Grafton Notch. That is unless I can convince Coach Lou to do Katahdin again after we finish Grafton Notch, and then I would go SoBo from there to Monson.
      we'll, maybe we'll see each other again :thumbsup: or not
    • LIhikers wrote:

      Astro wrote:

      LIhikers wrote:

      As of yet Kathy and I don't have any summer, section, hike plans. I assume we'll go back to Maine but the when and where haven't been discussed. It'll either be Baxter park to Monson, or the other direction. I think we'll be hiking without our dog, she said she's done with long hikes.
      My plan is Monon to Katahdin in mid-July after I do Pinkham Notch to Grafton Notch. That is unless I can convince Coach Lou to do Katahdin again after we finish Grafton Notch, and then I would go SoBo from there to Monson.
      we'll, maybe we'll see each other again :thumbsup: or not
      I would love to run into you and Kathy again, but I know things do not always work out as we plan. If they did I would have already finished the AT a few years ago. :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • jimmyjam wrote:

      Amazing!!! I have been awarded a Grand Canyon below the rim backcountry camping permit!!!! I had to go to a non-main corridor trail to do it, but hey I'll be away from the crowds trying to hike in flip-flops. I'm so excited thinking of the Dark Sky experience from the inner gorge. I'm hoping and praying that this Coronavirus thing does not get out of control between now and then.
      so what is your itinerary? I really want to do a GC hike. I would want to do the loop that includes the Hermit and Tonto trails and camping by the river. Can't you mail in your permit request?
    • I guess I am lucky to have once been young and stupid. In my twenties I drove to the South Rim on a cross country road trip. Just walked up to the ranger station to book a night in Indian Gardens and got a spot no problem. Did a hike to Phantom Ranch on the Bright Angel Trail over a relaxing two days and had a great time.

      Ten years later I brought my future wife to do he same hike and scored another walk-up spot at Indian Gardens. Sometimes it pays to be stupid but lucky :)

      On the road into the South Rim entrance I also wild camped on what I presume were BLM lands. At least I hope they were BLM lands. :P
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier