The Great Outdoors

[Blkmage0253]

This is a thread dedicated to outdoor activities -- hiking/backpacking, climbing, cycling, trail running, etc. Feel free to post about recent hikes/trips you've done or cool places in your area.

I'm mostly into hiking myself. I've been trying to ease my way into longer hikes since a few friends and I are looking to hike the John Muir Trail in summer 2016. Otherwise, the longest trail I've hiked was about 40 miles over 3 days in New Zealand.

I've been trying to get into trail running but it's hard due to a distinct lack of good trails where I live. I usually get on a kick while traveling, which quickly fizzles out

Nicest hike I've done was probably the Lake Solitude loop in Grand Teton. Once you get past the hoards of people near the parking lot, it's a bit more secluded, especially in late summer. I'm going back to do the Teton Crest trail later this year.

Grand Teton NP (V) by Justin Dong, on Flickr

 

[CPrime]

I've always wanted to do the Pacific Crest trail but it's like a 1000 miles long and I don't have the time or money for it...
Most fun hike I've done was with Boy Scouts, five of us did 72 miles through the Sierra Nevada mountains in 3 days to set a new camp record. It was really fun and we saw a lot of cool stuff so I'm trying to get another similar adventure planned.

 

[Lee]

I've been fortunate enough to live in the English Lakes for the past few years so I've been spoilt in the outdoors department really. Below are a few photos that I personally took, within about 10 miles of my house.

eye candy

I've also had the chance to do a lot of climbing and via ferrata out here (that's me in the middle)

...but, by far my favourite outdoor past time is fell (or mountain) running. The English Lakes are considered the birth-place of mountain-running and on any given weekend you can take your pick between dozens of races in the area where a group of likewise mentally unstable people will happily race you to the top of a mountain (or several mountains) and back down again. It's a sport of two halves I find...the ball-busting gut-check of the climb up and then the sheer wind-in-your-face exhilaration of the descent. The best runners are usually the shepherds and farmers who have spent their lives working in the hills, and it's not uncommon for the likes of them to clock 3 minute miles on particular descents or ridiculously mind-boggling feats of endurance (for example, a local stonemason holds the record for a particular route - 70~ miles over 40~ mountains - in 14 hours. Recently, Scott Jurek - star of Born to Run and the world's most successful ultra-runner - attempted it and finished it in 24 hours).

Here's me taking part in few races

Although my face usually says otherwise, running through such landscapes seems more of an honour than a chore.

A local author once wrote the following quote, which I always found quite stirring: “The fleeting hour of life of those who love the hills is quickly spent, but the hills are eternal. Always there will be the lonely ridge, the dancing beck, the silent forest; always there will be the exhilaration of the summits. These are for the seeking, and those who seek and find while there is still time will be blessed both in mind and body.”

Happy hiking, folks.

 

[Danmire]

The only time I've been camping at a camping spot was with my old swimming team back in '13. It was fun going biking down rocky hills and stuff (since there aren't mountain ranges in south Florida). when I went to Ohio though, it was really intimidating to see all the mountains and stuff.

When I went to Sierra Nevada in Spain, which is the largest mountain range, it was really a site to see. Climbing that was an amazing experience and feeling the temperature drop and drop was something I've never felt before. The elevation sickness was a bother, but you get used to it. Would definitely go back.

 

[Fluke]

I've been fortunate enough to live in the English Lakes for the past few years so I've been spoilt in the outdoors department really. Below are a few photos that I personally took, within about 10 miles of my house.

eye candy

I've also had the chance to do a lot of climbing and via ferrata out here (that's me in the middle)

...but, by far my favourite outdoor past time is fell (or mountain) running. The English Lakes are considered the birth-place of mountain-running and on any given weekend you can take your pick between dozens of races in the area where a group of likewise mentally unstable people will happily race you to the top of a mountain (or several mountains) and back down again. It's a sport of two halves I find...the ball-busting gut-check of the climb up and then the sheer wind-in-your-face exhilaration of the descent. The best runners are usually the shepherds and farmers who have spent their lives working in the hills, and it's not uncommon for the likes of them to clock 3 minute miles on particular descents or ridiculously mind-boggling feats of endurance (for example, a local stonemason holds the record for a particular route - 70~ miles over 40~ mountains - in 14 hours. Recently, Scott Jurek - star of Born to Run and the world's most successful ultra-runner - attempted it and finished it in 24 hours).

Here's me taking part in few races

Although my face usually says otherwise, running through such landscapes seems more of an honour than a chore.

A local author once wrote the following quote, which I always found quite stirring: “The fleeting hour of life of those who love the hills is quickly spent, but the hills are eternal. Always there will be the lonely ridge, the dancing beck, the silent forest; always there will be the exhilaration of the summits. These are for the seeking, and those who seek and find while there is still time will be blessed both in mind and body.”

Happy hiking, folks.

Oh whoa. Those first few pictures are incredibly amazing. It certainly must be a pleasure to live there. It's safe to say that I am jealous.

 

[Blkmage0253]

Lee great shots. I just got back up into running from a near 6 month hiatus. Running has been a relatively recent (started in the past 2 years) thing for me and I got to the point where I could run a 5K in about 22:00...not great but I was proud to have gone down from 30:00. Clocked in at 30:00 this week on my first run in a while. Hopefully I can get back into it quickly :'(


Also, not sure if there are any Swiss (or central European) smogoners here, but this summer I'll be hiking the Swiss portion of the Via Alpina trail. It's about 340 km (210 mi) over 18-ish days. There's towns in between almost all stages of the hike for restocking. My plan though is to try to camp whenever possible. Swiss laws area bit strict about this, but above the tree line and away from mountain huts/farmlands, it's legal (AFAIK). Should make for some brilliant sunrises/sunsets if a bit chilly. If anyone is interested in joining for all of part of the trip, shoot me a message! I don't know enough people IRL who like hiking...