Hiking

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/53136416

I've done the vast majority of my hiking in north-central PA, and even after moving away I keep going back because of the incredible trail network. It's always possible to put together an worthwhile loop of any distance you want, from 2-200 miles (attached screenshot of my day hikes in the area as evidence).

I'd like to break my pattern and explore more areas, particularly Virginia. Any specific forest/area in VA (or the rest of the Mid Atlantic) with a comparably dense and extensive trail network?

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/52781561

Big tracks on a hike through Michaux (size 12 shoe for scale). Been running into way more bear tracks than usual this winter, but no bear sightings yet.

Hey all, I just created a new community for hiking and other outdoor activity in the Mid Atlantic region of the US ([email protected]). Maybe a bit ambitious given the size of the hiking community here at present. Cross-posting for visibility.

cross-posted from: https://lemm.ee/post/52430135

In a quest for the steepest, toughest climb in the area, a friend convinced me to hike the Half Dome trail in Pine Creek gorge on a brutally cold December morning. I think we succeeded; Half Dome is a dead end climb of around 1300' in 0.5 miles.

We started from the end of Naval Run Rd, just south of the town of Slate Run. It was around 6°F when we started, enough to make my eyes water as soon as we got out of the car. The ~4" of snow was untracked almost all day. We headed south on the Pine Trail, which was decent if wet until Callahan Run. After this it because surprisingly sketchy, as it was often reduced to a narrow, sloping ribbon of icy trail, skirting a sheer rock wall to the right and a steep, long drop to the river on the left. I'd like to revisit this without snow, since it was a unique and beautiful section of trail. The climb up Half Dome started abruptly once we hit Pine Run, veering off sharply to the right as Pine Trail continued upstream. The climb is brutally steep and relentless. We're both reasonably fit, but climbing this 50% grade in 4" of untracked snow kick our asses. There were a few nice winter views along the way though, and a decent vista at the top. From here we took advantage of the winter and deer trails to bushwhack the ridge top over to Big Trail Rd and down Callahan Trail. Maybe we can blame the snow, but despite finding the sign and trailhead for Callahan Trail we essentially bushwhacked our way down the valley to the Black Forest Trail. We followed this back up to Hemlock Mountain for some nice vistas before dropping back down to Naval Run to end the day.

Anyone got any personal anecdotes or experience with hiking destinations in southern Chile (lake district or Patagonia)? Planning to be there in April for a few weeks, so I'll miss the penguins. But the weather should be decent in the mountains. Thinking Torres del Paine due to being outside of peak season, but open to suggestions and anecdotes :)

Me and my wife are planing to do a lot of hiking and camping in 2025. Starting off with just the trails around Austin, TX and expanding as we go.

Got the basics:

• Hiking Boots
• light day pack w/ bladder
• simple first aid kit
• downloaded maps

I used to go all the time when I lived near a trail head, but I would never go much further than 4 miles in before turning around. We won’t be that far from civilization most of the time, nothing too intense.

Thanks y’all!

Edit: thank for the advice y’all!!

Can’t believe I forgot hats, definitely picking up some. Will also pack my leatherman too.

And I agree hiking boots are probably a little overkill for most the trails we’ll be doing at first. But we want to get used to them and break them in for longer and rougher hikes we’re planning later this year.

Hello,

I'm looking for a pair of hiking boots to walk on snow without slipping or losing grip. I rarely go in the woods, I'm planning to buy these boots mostly for city/urban walking when there's snow out there. I live in Italy, so USA stuff is hard/impossible/expensive to get.

USAGE: For example, when it's snowing I'd like to bring my nephews/nieces to play outside, launch snowballs to each other, build snowman's etc We'd usually stay in an urban enviroment but sometimes we also go near a more off-road, very small little mini woods.

Another occasion I'd like to have them is to walk around with my partner while it's snowing to enjoy it.

Basically the time usage would be one afternoon length usually, afternoon till mid evening at max.

The last usage would to actually commute around during snow days/heavy rain days.

They'd be use at best 1-5 times a year

In case you may think "You don't need hiking/snow boots for this": While I understand that some may say that for these activities I don't even need hiking boots, but I'd feel more at ease to have then on my feet rather than not. I used to use full leather boots, blackstone ones, and they're hella good, but I slipped once and broke an arm last year, it was painful and I got pretty scared. I'm clumsy so it may as well have been my fault, but I'd just feel more safe with some more sturdy, grippier hiking boots in these situation after that experience.

I was about to purchase Lowa Renegade Evo GTX Mid, then I discovered about PU midsole and read the hydrolysis page on their website and got hella scared of making the wrong purchase...am I overreacting?

Could you guys help me pick a pair that fits my needs?

Right before reaching the highest peak, 13h hike. What a ride!

Planning a roadtrip early this fall. Will be in the Ozarks for around 3-4 days. Anyone have hikes or camping spot recommendations?

I'm looking for a wiki to use and contribute to that provides information similar to what AllTrails provides, and functions similarly to Wikipedia. I would like for the wiki's data to be free and open, and for it to operate under a reasonably permissive license.

Cross-posted to: https://sh.itjust.works/post/23459715

Bucamante Waterfall (Italy) - Loop trail - 5/7/24

A nice and relaxing hike during which I visited the Bucamante Waterfall (le cascate del Bucamante), in Pazzano di Sopra, Italy, then looped around Monfestino and came back to where I started

@hiking

https://www.wikiloc.com/hiking-trails/cascate-del-bucamante-e-castello-di-monfestino-da-pazzano-di-sopra-176307627

The main trail starts from this church [...]

#Wikiloc #Hiking #Trekking #Nature #Photography #NaturePhotography #Outdoor #Italy #Nature

From 2018, Manzano mountains in New Mexico, USA.

Took me an hour to hike to this spot

Hey! Unsure if this is a thing, but are there any useful sites or apps that can predict the current snow conditions on trails? Specifically looking for info on hikes in the PNW.

Top to bottom left to right (mostly): A random shirt, running shorts, leki trekking poles, 6 moons sun umbrella, sea to summet pillow, deuce of spades poop shovel, Anker 20,000 mah battery, two cables two wall dongles, 6 moons lunar solo tent, gossamer gear Mariposa pack, titanium spoon, 54 deck playing cards, allergy pills, sunscreen, allergy nasal spray, nemo switchback sleeping pad, hoka speedgoat 5 trail running shoes, plastic bags, light buff, Patagonia puffy jacket, 2 pairs darn tough socks, 2 pairs injinji sock liners, 2 pairs aso ankle braces, skiing gloves, enlightened equipment 0°F quilt, 2 off-brand smartwater bottles, smartwool tights, outdoor research rain jacket (might replace before leaving), Patagonia fleece, jetboil stove, wool cap, Sawyer squeeze full size water filter, black diamond headlamp, running Bluetooth earphones, random tent stakes, teva sandals. Not pictured: ibuprofen, Imodium, I think I'm replacing the rain jacket with a poncho, the pixel 6 phone I took this with.

North of Winnemucca. Rugged, remote.

Not pictured - the super loud road to the right