Live data from Hacker News

Show HN: Thruhikes – A list of long distance hikes around the world

thruhikes.net

91–100 of 133 posts

Re: Show HN: Thruhikes – A list of long distance hikes around the world

#92
post #38

Nice list! Noticed a few decent US hiking trails that aren't on it though. There are tons more of course, especially if you include BDR stuff. Ice age trail - https://www.iceagetrail.org Superior hiking trail - https://superiorhiking.org/ John Muir trail - https://www.johnmuirtrail.org/ Long trail - https://www.greenmountainclub.org/the-long-trail/ Pacific Crest trail - https://www.pcta.org/ Hayduke trail - http://ww…

Adding my two favorite adventure hikes (hike into caves, up ladders, to waterfalls, rock scramble, etc..not just a trail through the woods)...

Old Rag Mountain (Shenadoah, VA) https://home.nps.gov/places/old-rag.htm

and

The Mohonk Labrynth Trail (Catskills, NY.. so much fun hiking in caves, up ladders, etc) https://www.mohonk.com/a-day-at-mohonk/hiking/

Re: Show HN: Thruhikes – A list of long distance hikes around the world

#93

List of long-distance footpaths https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_long-distance_footpath... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest_cross-country_... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-distance_trail https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_long-distance_hiking_t... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-distance_trails_in_the_Un... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GR_footpath First, you think you have a neat idea, b…

OT, but "Long-distance trails in the United States" is a great example of how Wikipedia lists tend to spiral out of control. It includes "long distance" trails that go down to a 26 mile loop trail around a lake.

Re: Show HN: Thruhikes – A list of long distance hikes around the world

#94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks, I appreciate the advice. I am comfortable hiking long distances, it is just the multi-day aspect that I find daunting.

Start out car camping. My progression was: 1. Avid day hiker (10-16 mile hikes every weekend, 5-8k ft gain) 2. Car camping in Ojai (near Los Angeles). Drive in, setup your tent, chill, sleep, leave next morning. 3. Backpacking around LA on the trails from step 1 4. Thru-hiked PCT 5. Mountaineering / alpine climbing Lots of people do the PCT with little hiking experience and are fine though. It's just walking, and the…

^^ this!

Don’t overthink, go and enjoy.

(trips in bear country take a bit of additional preparation, but also that can be done w/o too much hassle, lots of info online)

Re: Show HN: Thruhikes – A list of long distance hikes around the world

#95
I have done full El Camino de Santiago twice. If you want to do a thru hike but don't know which one - do this one. It's fairly easy with lots of stops along the way. It's easy to navigate. There are many many people on the trail. But, most importantly, it'll get you mentally ready for uncertainty of being on the trail and just winging things every day. It doesn't come nearly as close to more serious thru hikes such as the Continental Divide, but it's a good way to get introduced to the world of thru hiking.

Re: Show HN: Thruhikes – A list of long distance hikes around the world

#96

Is there a good resource or tutorial on how one would prepare and execute one of these hikes? I would love to try a multi-day hike, but I have zero experience camping / backpacking. Where to get started? Are there hikes for complete novices that e.g. go from town to town with places to stay overnight?

I would really recommend doing an organized hike like Fjällräven Classic. You have to do everything yourself and carry all your stuff, but there are checkpoints with volunteers, marshals that you can join to get a good pace, loads of friendly people and so on. You also get to refill your food at checkpoints, and they make sure people know where to find water.

I have done Fjällräven Classic in Sweden two times and Hong Kong once and love it.

Re: Show HN: Thruhikes – A list of long distance hikes around the world

#97
post #23

You definitely need to link to the map file or the open street map walk details on your site, the rest is great but as a user I want to be able to see an overview map of the trails. It would also be easy for other users to contribute by uploading the map files and thus help every future user.

I find it absolutely aggravating there are no maps!

Re: Show HN: Thruhikes – A list of long distance hikes around the world

#98
post #2

I wanted to suggest an entry, there is a form for it. They ask six question for describing the new hike, and the last one is your email. You can only see it when you have filled all the other information. I think that is a 'dark pattern'. If you are going to ask for my email, ask for it at the beginning, not at the end.

Thanks for the feedback. The email address was actually just so that I could email a "thank you" note to the submitter. I thought it was optional but doesn't seem to be, so I'll fix that

Nice site! How about adding "country" (or region) to "Sort by"?

Re: Show HN: Thruhikes – A list of long distance hikes around the world

#99
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just want to add, for actual American-style backpacking, I think the best place for somebody who wants a managable challenge is the Sierra Nevada mountains in California, maybe a trip that would have you enter the mountains via Bishop or Kearsarge passes. Here are things that can make a backpacking trip easier or harder: * Grizzly Bears - Some great backpacking places - the Winds, Alaska - have grizzly bears which…

+1 on the Sierra recommendation generally, but a couple things: - Bears: You still need to be disciplined about food/smellables. Bear canisters are required for most of the Sierra—not bringing one is a recipe for a fine or getting escorted out by a ranger. Also, other critters are a problem. I had a raccoon steal my unguarded shorts (they had a bag of weed in the pocket) while I was sleeping, and I had to walk back t…

Regarding "Bishop/Kearsarge passes are quite remote and rugged". I'm not sure what this means, but obviously everybody has their own personal database of experiences.

The town of Bishop would be your base, and you can get there with public transportation from the airport in Reno, NV. Good stores if you need to replace equipment.

The roads to the trailheads are paved - a normal passenger car can handle the roads. Only about an hour from Bishop. There are commercial shuttles too. Even hitchhiking (I've done it, and I'm an ugly old man, and still had no trouble getting rides). The parking lots are already at high altitude, about 10,000 feet, so you only have to go another 2,000 to get over the passes.

The actual trails are in good shape, good surfaces, not narrow, not scary. There are places to camp both before and after the highest point of the passes so you can hike at your own pace. If you wanted to camp at the trailhead the night before to get adjusted to the altitude, then go just, say, just 5 miles and 1200 feet your first day, you could do that, and the trails are beautiful the whole way.

Re: Show HN: Thruhikes – A list of long distance hikes around the world

#100
post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

+1 on the Sierra recommendation generally, but a couple things: - Bears: You still need to be disciplined about food/smellables. Bear canisters are required for most of the Sierra—not bringing one is a recipe for a fine or getting escorted out by a ranger. Also, other critters are a problem. I had a raccoon steal my unguarded shorts (they had a bag of weed in the pocket) while I was sleeping, and I had to walk back t…

Regarding "Bishop/Kearsarge passes are quite remote and rugged". I'm not sure what this means, but obviously everybody has their own personal database of experiences. The town of Bishop would be your base, and you can get there with public transportation from the airport in Reno, NV. Good stores if you need to replace equipment. The roads to the trailheads are paved - a normal passenger car can handle the roads. Only…

Remote = far to drive for essentially everyone (farther than Mammoth/Tahoe, even coming from Reno). Hitchhiking is not the best option to rely on. Once you’re in, you’re also the farther from help than anywhere else in the Sierra. Duck Pass and much of the Tahoe area has cell service.

Rugged = safety traversing passes can require an ice axe and/or crampons (plus the skills to use them properly), depending on the conditions. That region is at high elevation which becomes problematic for people. Lots of inexperienced backpackers get airlifted out of there because of acute altitude sickness. There is a lot of weather exposure (harder to get below treeline if a storm rolls in). Bigger stream crossings, which tend to be the most serious danger to hikers.

I don’t disagree that Bishop rules and the area is (extremely) beautiful, but it’s absolutely not the best recommendation for people who are trying to backpack for the first time. Doable? Yes. Advisable? Not really.

Post reply on HN