BellaOnline Forums Sports Hiking & Backpacking Furthest Hike you've Taken

What's the furthest you've hiked in a single stretch - not just a single day, but a series of days in a row if applicable.

Good question, Lisa! In one day, my longest hike was 40 miles - but this was on paved roads (long story). My longest backpacking day was 27 miles, up in the Sierras at King's Canyon National Park. That was a fantastic day! Sore feet, though!

My longest backpacking trip was three weeks long, and encompassed many miles. I really don't remember how many miles. I can travel at a pretty good clip when I manage to keep the backpacking load down. I find that carrying capacity is key to moving well. I'd rather not have a stove at all, and eat cold food, than tote the weight of a stove and fuel, for example.

Of course, when basecamping, it's totally different. Then we all hump in lots of fresh food, firewood and coolers...LOL!

But that is off-topic. I am wondering about other people. What are other's longest miles?

My younger sister is the champion hiker in the family, and last year she and her boyfriend spent 11 days hiking all the way around Mount Ranier. I think they had four food drops spread out at the different ranger stations so they could be out that long and not collapse from carrying all they needed.

- Rae

Food drops are a good idea. Your sister was smart. You can travel a lot fastere and more comfortably when you don't have to hump all your chow for a long trip at once. And, of course, you can then have fresher, more appealing food, when you pick up each drop.

On my various 21-day trips, I generally had at least one resupply. It makes all the difference!

This will sound puny to you REAL hikers, but it's a good story anyway.

We (my traveling buddy Marisa and I) were in Uzungol, Turkey, a tiny little village up in the Black Sea Mountains. We had decided to take the mini-bus to the last stop and then just start to walk, as far as we could go. The folks at the Trout Farm Hotel there in Uzungol were so APPALLED that two women (sans men) were planning such a thing that they called their friends up in the last village on the road, 17 and a half miles away. They came back to us wreathed in smiles and bearing packages of food for our hike.

We had planned to camp out when we got tired, but after their kindly telephone call, we were expected at the headman's house in the village. People were WAITING for us. So on we trudged. Up and up. By the time we got there, you can imagine we were exhausted! But the ladies of the house immediately took us in, plied us with hot black tea, and showed us our bedroom.

So...17 and a half miles. Uphill. All day. In the Black Sea Mountains.

Wow, Trish, that's awesome and outrageous! What a worthy day and how wonderful a reception from the village in question. Stories like that remind me that many people in the world are loving and generous - even to strangers - and that maybe our species will make it after all.

It's true. I've found people all over the world that were incredibly giving, incredibly caring, and incredibly open to new experiences and new people. The key is just getting off the beaten track and putting yourself in their path. That's a scary thought for most people. Exposed? Vulnerable? But only in our vulnerability do we give ourselves the opportunity for magic and wonder!

It is sort of amazing that you can travel thousands of miles to get to somewhere - and then just by hiking around the area you can still get to spots further than some of the natives have gone. I suppose it takes a brave spirit to reach the unknown - whether that's a thousand mile journey or just a journey over "that hill".

I've read about people who were proud that they'd never travelled more than a few miles from where they were born. It's certainly nice to be really familiar with your roots. But it's also nice to see other things, so you can put your own world in context.

But I guess as I think about it, what if you're just really content with your home and life? If you "risked" the travel, what if you now became less satisfied with your home life? Maybe this would be a bad thing? I *love* travel myself, but I can see how this might be a real risk for someone who can't travel a lot and who was ... until that time ... really happy just being home ...

Interesting you should bring that up, Lisa. I was talking to a woman just two nights ago, in Carthage, Texas, who claimed she had no desire to travel and that her world was just great right here at home. She wasn't curious about the Eiffel Tower. She didn't care if she ever saw the pyramids in real life.

My own experience is that both of the things you mention happen. Travel makes me less comfortable about my life at home, and also makes me REALLY appreciate what I have. I don't think you can really travel and not find, out in the world, better ways of doing things, better attitudes, better values. You come home seeing for the first time flaws that were simply invisible before. But a critical spirit is a good thing. It makes the choices we finally make more meaningful.

I agree, Trish, about developing a critical spirit. It's interesting that some folks are just happy to stay in one place, and I can't say I really understand that. But if they are spiritually happy right where they are, I think that's fantastic.

Me, I've always been a bit of a gypsy. I LOVE the Southwest, and am happy enough mainly exploring it's nooks and corners, but I also ache to get back over to Europe...explore more of Italy, for example, and hike around in Wales and Scotland.