Years ago I did my "into the wild" thing.I took off for about six months of hiking. I was young and dumb and strong. I carried an enormous pack (with everything and more) into the Canadian rockies and discovered the benefits of ultralight the hard way... 2 months later my toothbrush was sawn in half and my base weight was a third of what I started with. I did long backcountry routes through Banff and Jasper and Mount Robson. The longest trip I did was 12 days solo... I learned a lot and was very skinny by the end of it! I did the West Coast trail, Garibaldi Park and excursions along the coast mountains. I'm lucky to have survived my "brute force and ignorance" method, but I learned a lot. (I won't be doing any more solo glacier crossings)
Fast forward 20+ years later... Pondering my own mortality... I want to do it all again.
This time I have a lot more knowledge and much better gear($$$)
I want to do a few "bucket-list" worthy trips this year.

I'd like some suggestions as to places I can go reasonably cheaply to do some long (5 to 14 day hikes) and see some amazing scenery.

Some treks I am considering:

-Santa Cruz trail in Peru
-Teton crest trail in US
-Long Range + North Rim traverse in Gros Morne Newfoundland (my Home)
-East coast trail , Newfoundland.

The Newfoundland trails are pretty much a sure thing, as I live here already, I will be using them to get myself in some kind of shape to do something more dramatic.

I am a slow and steady hiker, not afraid of bad weather at all ( I live in it ) I do not like overly steep scary scrambling (not a climber at all) though I love to get to very high places.

Feel free to suggest amazing hikes... I need to do something spectacular this year.

Thanks In advance,
NLslacker

Edited by NLslacker on 02/15/2013 13:08:20 MST.

Travel time to and from Newfoundland will restrict your west coast options. However, these might fit - assuming you have 14 on-trail days available.

Tahoe Rim Trail. 165 mile loop. Can be done in 9 long, hard days, but 13 is more comfortable and allows for an on-trail layover day enroute. Many nice lakes for that.
http://www.tahoerimtrail.org/?tstyle=style4&bgstyle=full


Collegiate Loop (Colorado Trail and CDT). 180 mile loop through the Collegiate Wilderness.
http://coloradotrail.org/collegiate-west.html

Note elevation differences between the lower Collegiate East (CT) and the higher Collegiate West (CDT), starting from Twin Lakes. For reference purposes, the horizontal red line is at 10,000 feet (3,048 meters).



Logic strongly suggests starting from Twin Lakes and taking the Collegiate East route, returning to Twin Lakes on the Collegiate West side. I am told that Hope Pass is so named because after climbing the northbound 2.5 mile 18% grade to reach it (vs. the 3.9 miles at 16% going south), you hope you never have to do it again. Also, going north on the CDT side, your pack is almost empty when you climb Hope Pass, and it's all downhill to your car and the motel. Starting by going south on the CDT side, you get to ascend Hope Pass on day one with a full pack. Logic Rules!

Edited by wandering_bob on 02/15/2013 15:58:25 MST.

Have you considered flying east for something different? To Europe? Wales, England, France, etc? Check out Cicerone Press for many ideas. Mike

Givewn your location, you might also consider some of the great hikes available in Iceland.

If memory serves, there have been some posts regarding such on BPL in the past.

Thanks for your feedback,
I've decided on doing a section of the Great Divide in Alberta from Saskatchewan Crossing to Jasper.
The following pic show the route not including the Skyline trail (a cakewalk) I will be doing the Skyline trail as well in this route.

I figure 9 days maybe up to 12 if I want to do some exploring or peak bagging along the way... I've spoken to a helpful Parks Canada employee who says I "may" be able to cache food at warden stations, thus lightening my load.

I am thinking of doing it Southbound... Heavier loads on the easier terrain.
Is there a way to easily share this route so others can view it in Google Earth?
I have a .kmz file of this route, but I don't know how to attach it to this post.

The view looking North... Jasper/Skyline is just offscreen on the top left.
Uploaded photo is blurry... this looks better from my end. (link below)

http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-frc1/883578_10151354978710143_1805658801_o.jpg

Edited by NLslacker on 03/20/2013 14:40:47 MDT.