It looks like I'll have 2 weeks off during the second half of May to dedicate to a hiking trip/travel and I'd love some help choosing a location. I live in Minneapolis, and am planning on either heading to the Southwest (Utah, Arizona, etc) or possibly Europe or South America if I can find an inexpensive-enough flight.

I've got a friend or two that have expressed interest in coming along, but only tentatively so. I'd like to approach planning this as a solo trip with the possibility of having one or two buddies joining. A 10-14 day backcountry trip would be ok, but I'd be open to multiple shorter trips within that two week period as well. I've been to Canyonlands, Arches and Grand Gulch in Utah, and would like to explore new areas. I've never been to South America or Europe. I looked into Iceland a bit, but it seems a lot of the backpacking trails are snow-covered until mid-June.

So, what are your ideas? The timing of the trip (May) seems to limit a lot of Alpine options and northern options. Flights appear more expensive than usual lately, so a trip to the Southwest (as opposed to South America, etc) may be more reasonable, but I don't want to rule anything out.

For what it's worth, I'll be more than happy to post a trip report of wherever I end up.

Thanks!

Matt

It isn't cheap to get down there unless you luck out, or I've heard it's a good idea to fly to Peru cheaply and take land transportation down, but it would be an adventure. And it might be a little chilly at this time of year... or super nice. I believe it would be fall in South America.

I'm heading to the Grand Canyon/Sedona myself around that time, but seems you've been down that way before.

SA would be well worth it, not much necessary in the way of preparation/logistics. You may want to double check the bus schedules as May could be considered low season in Patagonia.

Patagonia: Chile and Argentina

or San Francisco: GGNRA, Mt Tam, Pt.Reyes ..seriously easy logistics and if you've never been to the city itself, well worth spending some time there. You can figure out the bus schedules/routes online before you go. The maps I used helped immensely, they are excellent.

I've had my eye on Corsica (GR20) or the GR54 for some time. I've never been there, but will likely make a go of it the end of June, beginning of July.

Good luck and definitely do a trip report.

Edited by elf773 on 04/12/2011 19:57:26 MDT.

Scott -

thanks for the ideas....just more places to add to the life list, i guess. As far as the Southwest goes, I actually haven't been to the Grand Canyon, Zion or Bryce Canyon areas, so those are all on my short list for this spring. I'm starting to think I'll need to cruise for plane tickets on a weekly basis in the hopes of finding a cheap international flight, though I'm not terribly optimistic about ticket prices plummeting as we near summer.

Any ideas about Zion, the Grand Canyon or Bryce?

Matt