where in the US should I go backpacking?
I have $500 dollars worth of plane tickets because I took a later flight on a previous occasion so I have free air fare that expires at the end of the summer.
I need to do some backpacking this summer since I am taking 12 units of college credit during the summer term and my schedule is all booked up except for the last two weeks of summer. During those last two weeks I plan to go backpacking but I don't know where to go.
What I have been thinking is Portland Oregon for the beer and backpacking, or New York for backpacking and visiting the city.
This trip will be in from August 17-30.
Does anyone have any great ideas of where to go? I live in SoCal so I want to go someplace other than the desert.

Edited by Tijos1 on 06/11/2010 17:23:04 MDT.

If you want the variety of great nature scenery plus the most vibrant urban scene... you can't go wrong combining upstate NY with NYC. Summertime, the only downside I can think of is the humidity. A small price to pay I suppose.

Edited by ben2world on 06/11/2010 17:25:47 MDT.

In that season, I would suggest to go high and cool. Either some high route in Washington, Montana, Wyoming, or Colorado. Pick a national park, any national park.

--B.G.--

Are you renting a car or relying on public transportation?

The nice thing about flying into either Portland or Seattle is the number of incredible options all within fairly easy driving distance. Olympic NP, Mt. Ranier NP, North Cascades NP, Goat Rocks Wilderness, Alpine Lakes Wilderness, etc., etc.

You could put together a trip with two 4-5 day trips in Olympic and Mt. Ranier and hanging out in Seattle in between.

$500 might get you to Fairbanks, AK. That's not a place you get to go everyday.

Glacier

My mom is saying Alaska is out of the question.
Since I am only 21 I can not rent a car so public transportation or hitch-hiking is my transportation from the airport, that is why I was thinking Portland or NYC. I am a very experienced hitch-hiker so I love hitchhiking especially in the northern US, souther US is not an easy place for hitch-hiking (and I know from experience).
Thanks for the suggestion for Glacier National Park, I have been trying to convince my parents to let me go to Glacier and I hope that your post will convincing them to let me go there.
Another option is that my sister is living on Oahu, Hawaii and I think bpl'ing there could be fun, but I don't know a nice place to go for an entire week.
And most importantly I don't want to upset my parents.

I can't believe you might choose NYC area if you could go anywhere.. or maybe it just means people come in all varieties. I dread Tuesdays because I have to be in NYC for my job.

I live in NJ, have lived here for 6 years now and find this entire north east area a dump. I go backpacking for nature and remoteness from man-made structures and 'civilization'. That's pretty much not possible in these areas.

Sure, hiking in the Whites (which I haven't really do too much of actually) or in Virginia are nice.. if you have never been to Colorado or California. And that's the best it gets -- the Catskills in NY, Poconos in PA etc seem worthwhile after living here a while but I'm so incredibly jealous of people living in places in Colorado, California (where I lived before coming here), Washington state, Oregon, Utah, New Mexico .. they drive 3 hrs and they are some of the MOST beautiful places in the world. I get a view of the Hudson valley.

Even if you like hiking in forests on green rounded mounds, there might be other places..

I've tried to stay positive and think about what I might miss about the northeast when I move away from here.. and try to enjoy those things now (fall colors.. ).

But when I get the chance (about once or twice a year), I spend $$$$ to get to the Rockies and to the west coast.. I mean real $$$$, more than I can afford.

Waaaaaaaaaay too much 'civilization' around here...

-- Dreaming of Boulder in central Jersey

Edited by longhiker on 06/11/2010 21:02:22 MDT.

Besides my rant above, I think you should choose a place that you wouldn't have occasion to visit for other reasons anyway..

Places like NY are places you might have to visit for other reasons anyway (work, family etc).. maybe even with airfare paid for.

So I'd pick a place as far from where you live as possible and least likely to visit for other reasons.

How about Utah or New Mexico if places like Alaska, Montana, Idaho and Wyoming seem too out-there? Your parents are probably not worried about Utah or New Mexico and there are amazing places there..

Dont Wantto thank you sooo much, I know that I live in the most beautiful part of our great country, however, the West coast is my home and the east coast is so far away.
My favorite places are the yole bolies, the lost coast, the sequoias, and San Jacinto. So I want to get out of my comfort zone, or out of California.
Bryce canyon, Yellowstone, crater lake, MT. rainier, canyon land, and the old growth forest in (NC that is named after a historic woman). These are all places I would like to visit however I don't know exactly where to go.

Without a car, you're going to have lots of problems trying to backpack in the Pacific Northwest. For example, in the Portland, OR area, about the only place where you can get anywhere near a trailhead by public transit is the north (Washington) side of the Columbia River Gorge. There are various hiking groups (half a dozen in the Portland area) with whom you can carpool, but they primarily dayhike.

I went skydiving when I was 18 -- and mailed a photo home after the fact.

Not saying you should disobey your parents, but it boggles the mind why Alaska is any different than anywhere else in the Lower 48? Nowadays, every place is just a plane ride away (so to speak).

Look for Barrow on Google Map. That's America's northernmost town. Summertime, you get 24 hrs. sunlight (2am is just as bright as 2pm). A really cool place to go -- but expensive to fly to. It's where I went when I got a free ticket for giving up my seat.

But if you don't want to upset your parents, then I still say upstate NY and NYC is a winning combo.

Edited by ben2world on 06/11/2010 22:24:25 MDT.

I would suggest you at least consider Colorado, by flying into Durango you can get to the South San Juan Wldns and hike along the CDT, I did this last year and it was so nice im going back in August. It is far less traveled than its neighbor, the Weminuche.

Dont, I appreciate the frankness and I agree fully. That's part of the reason that I don't have a large interest in the triple crown. The east is lame.

Tim, I've been to most of the places you've wondered about. Check out my videos at outside365.com They're all great. Haven't been to NC and am not interested though. My advice is to research your parks online and go. They're famous for a reason, and you'll enjoy whatever hike you go to.

America is beautiful!

you mentioned yellowstone. i bet you could fly into bozeman and hitch a ride to yellowstone, assuming you don't look scary. just make sure people can see your backpack.

Fly to SeaTac, Take Ferry to Port Townsend- Hike Olympics to Forks, Wa- Hitch back to Port Townsend, Ferry back to SeaTac

Timothy,

Here's just another biased suggestion to throw in the pot, how about flying into Albuquerque, NM and heading up into the Santa Fe and Taos area? You can backpack right out of Santa Fe and into the Santa Fe National Forest in a day entering the Pecos Wilderness area, it's beautiful and wild up in this part of the country, no crowds, no hassles, no permits, no schedules, just free roaming wilderness area. You can hang out in the Truchas Peaks region of the Pecos and be up @ 13,000 ft. looking down on the Taos Valley and Santa Fe to the south with no one else near you. Sure, NM isn't Yosemite, Yellowstone, Glacier, etc. but it is off the beaten path and could offer a rewarding experience and would definitely not be a locale millions of other people are flocking to annually. We have 13'ers, rivers, flyfishing, Calderas, wildlife, alpine lakes, etc., there is definitely no shortage of features to explore.

The local food in this region is amazing, New Mexican food is inexpensive but delicious. Hitchhiking isn't a difficult affair, there are many travelers and drifters and in general, people are quite generous and hospitable in this part of the country, the sense of regional culture and heritage hasn't been fully stripped away yet. You should experience northern New Mexico while you can as it currently stands, a laid back region with beautifully wild land, the transplants from the west are transforming it on a daily basis and in another 10yrs. things may change.

Edited by Eugeneius on 06/12/2010 08:06:51 MDT.

Eugene's suggestion of NM is a good one. Hitching is easier around there. The Durango area is another good idea, and would have spectacular terrain and ideal conditions in late August.

Yellowstone is a third good idea. If I were going to try to hitch to a TH, I'd fly into Jackson. The road north from Jackson to the S Entrance of Yellowstone is full of tourists, including many Europeans, who in my experience are far more likely to pick a backpacker up than yuppie Americans (who are amazing in their ability to avoid eye contact). The southern reaches of Yellowstone would be great that time of year, as would the Teton Wilderness. That last is key, as permits in the park might be hard to get for certain areas, and spending some nights outside the park would give you flexibility.

There are, of course, grizz.

Glacier would also be excellent, but the flying issue is more complex. Amtrack does pass right by the southern boundary of the park, so that's an option.

If you can get a $500 ticket into Missoula (unlikely with our tiny airport) and are ok hiking in Griz country I could help you with transit to the Bob or Glacier. PM me if interested.

If you're going to hike in NY, go to the Adirondacks. Montreal is a lot closer to the ADK than NYC is. Best choices in the Northeast are Adirodacks, White Mts. (NH), and Maine. Popular areas in the ADK and Whites can get crowded in summer.

Timothy,

It's too bad your folks aren't thrilled with Alaska. It probably offers the best chance to go from the airport to wilderness with little effort. For example, Juneau has several great hikes (http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1997/02/scaling-alaska-apos-s-heights/6242/) that are accessible right from town, or at worse, a bus. The drawback of Juneau, however, is that the weather is probably not going to be that good that time of year.

The Pacific Northwest, however, will probably be very good. The best time to be here is late July, early August, but late August is very good as well (http://www.climate-charts.com/USA-Stations/WA/WA458089.php). Likewise for most of the mountain west. I would not go to the Southwest that time of year. There is gorgeous country down there, but in my opinion, it is best enjoyed in the Spring (fewer people and cooler weather).

You mentioned Portland. Portland is a fine city. It is Seattle's equal in many ways, and perhaps better in others (I wouldn't say it has better beer, but that could be a long discussion). I can understand why folks might prefer Portland for purely city reasons (some prefer apples over oranges). However, for hiking opportunities, Seattle is clearly better. Portland has basically two great things going for it: Mount Hood and the Columbia Gorge. The Gorge is really nice and can be enjoyed very easily all year round. However, I wouldn't consider it great (unless you are a wind surfer). It reminds me of the Bay area hiking trails (which are also great, but not as great as the Sierras). Mount Hood is a very fine place. It is a big volcano with lots of great hiking places. However, I don't think it is as good as the Mount Rainier area. That being the case, it wouldn't rank in the top five areas in Washington state. I would rank the (broadly defined) areas like so: Glacier Peak, North Cascades (north of Glacier Peak), Olympics, Rainier, Alpine Lakes, Mount Hood, Mount Adams, Goat Rocks. Just about everyone would argue about that order, but hardly anyone would put Mount Hood at the top. To put it plainly, Seattle is probably the best combination of a big city with big hiking. Salt Lake City is in the same league. Just about everyone else (in the U.S.) is either significantly smaller, or is further away from the good stuff.

The tricky part with all of this is the transportation. Depending on your ticket, you may be able to just land in a small airport. If that is the case, then you should definitely consider it. A lot of smaller cities are close to the great places, and fairly cheap transportation can be arranged (and the hitch hiking can be easier).

Can you go to Canada? If so, then Calgary, followed by a bus to Banff or Lake Louise might be really good (neither town is great in itself, but they are surrounded by world class hiking).

If you decide to go to Seattle (or would like to consider it) I suggest you get onto nwhikers.net. They have a ride sharing section as well as a more generic forum where you can just re-post the original suggestion. Lots of folks there know how to manage the public transportation situation, so they should be of great help. I would imagine the easiest hike from a public transportation standpoint would be to hike from Snoqualmie Pass to Stevens Pass (either direction). This is an outstanding hike that is as good as anything anywhere (especially if you go on side trips). The only possible negative is that it might have more people than some of the other hikes, but you still won't have too many.