Comment your “Thru-Hiking Bucket List”

I’m curious what trails & paths are on the bucket lists of this community. I want to ruck a total of 5,000 miles in one year; but doing 15-20 miles a day around the same trail won’t cut it. I will be using a combination of Full-Kit Rucks (75lb+ of Gear) all the way down to Ultra-Light (Less than 10lbs of Gear). I want to ruck at least once during the year in the mountains, the desert, the arctic, and the jungle. It’s all part of a bigger plan. I appreciate your help, as i will be taking notes from the comments.

Thank you, in advance.

in Thruhikingby [deleted]

75%

5mo

TheTobinator666

5mo

Why would anyone willingly carry 75 lbs of gear, and what on earth would you need that for?

agaperion

5mo

That's basically expedition-tier loadout. Like, the sorta thing where people start dragging sleds. I don't know why anybody doing regular backpacking would need so much gear. Even my 4-season kit with bridge hammock, crampons, ice axes, snowshoes, and bear canister is still under 25 lbs.

TheTobinator666

5mo

Exactly. On a sled for a whole team, I get it. On your back? Ouch

King_Jeebus

5mo

And what's a "ruck" in this context? (Google says it's just hiking with a pack, but is there more weight/nuance to it than that?)

Alter_ego_2868

5mo

It’s like if hiking, CrossFit, and military cosplay/roleplay had a baby.

agaperion

5mo

Grand Cascadian Circuit (TLDR is that it's basically the Oregon Coast Trail to Siskiyou Peaks Trail to Pacific Crest Trail to Pacific Northwest Trail with a few scenic detours here and there)

I've also been toying around with the idea of an 18-month "Slowest Known Time" hike of the Pacific Crest Trail that includes a whole bunch of hikes, landmarks, peak-bagging, and tourist attractions along the way.

King_Jeebus

5mo

Grand Cascadian Circuit

Huh! So is this something you are putting together? Are all those trails actually walkable or is it still in need of checking?

The Oregon Coast Trail alternates to avoid road-walking looked particularly interesting - I assume the blue lines are the alternate, but what are the green lines? (They didn't seem to be the original, too discontinuous...?)

And do you think it will have as good a character as the original? (I mean, the original is really on/near the beach a lot, whereas yours seems mostly a forest walk...?)

Have you got a single pic that simply shows the whole route as a circle?

agaperion

5mo

The Cascadian Circuit is of my own invention to provide a long-distance alternative to the dry, barren southern portions of the PCT of which I am not a huge fan.

Dark blue and green are actual hiking trails, light blue and green are road-walking. Green is "official" route, blue is any other route (i.e. "blue blaze"). The main reason for distinguishing them is just for ease of reading the map; I'm not actually that concerned with what anybody considers an "official" route. For the most part, the gaps are just places where many route options are available and it's the sorta thing one would decide in the moment. For instance, there's a few spots where one could just do a normal resupply at a nearby general store or one could go into a larger town if one needs to, say, hit up the dispensary.

Personally, I think it's an improvement to oscillate between the coast and the forest just to switch it up and get some variety. The longest hike away from the beach is through the Tillamook. Most of the other detours inland are much shorter and closer to the coast. And they're mostly optional too. Many of the road walks aren't that long and it's easy to hitchhike on the 101. So, this is another thing that's left up to one's whims in the moment.

King_Jeebus

5mo

Thanks for the info, interesting!

I've haven't done much hiking in the area (just the PCT, and a scattering of dayhikes), I always wanted to do more... but I confess I like to know the current trail-condition of any big endeavours: I've done too many looks-good-on-paper-but-was-impossible/non-existent epics to want to do any more :)

GrumpyBear1969

5mo

Looks like a lot of logging roads. Looks like a fun route with a dual-sport. But I think I would pass on most of it on foot. Though each unto their own. Or I guess around these parts that would be HYOH.

agaperion

5mo

Some of the Oregon coast has a bit more logging roads than I'd prefer but the Klamath and Cascades are pretty much all hiking trails. And if one's hiking the Oregon Coast Trail then one's already doing a lot of walking on the 101 anyways so a logging road is an upgrade, IMO. (i.e. paved highway vs low-traffic forest roads that're often dirt/gravel)

GrumpyBear1969

5mo

Yeah. That is why I have limited interest in the Oregon Coast Trail. There is a lot of road walking. And agreed that gravel logging roads would be better than walking along 101. But not a large enough upgrade for me. I live between Corvallis and Newport and have spent a lot of time on the logging roads in the area. All of it is heavily logged areas. Pretty good for foraging. But I personally prefer to spend my hiking time in wilderness as much as possible. And the Oregon coast range has very little wilderness left in it.

agaperion

5mo

Agreed. I'm the same way. I prefer to be in the forest and I prefer to avoid walking on the road. But I've learned that it's not a hard-and-fast rule that forest/logging roads are an unpleasant walk. There are a lot of areas in the PNW where walking on a forest road is essentially just like walking on a really wide trail. Though, you're correct to point out that the coast has been more thoroughly logged than the Cascades so the ratio will be different in that area.

Also, there's a conversation to be had about the difference between hiking and backpacking. In my mind, there's a meaningful distinction to be made there. Put simply, I'd say backpacking is a broader category and type of travel that often includes hiking and camping among other things. Generally speaking, I'm usually in a backpacking mindset and don't hesitate to hitch past unpleasant walks.

Or, another way of looking at it would be to borrow from rock climbing the concepts of "sport" and "trad". Sport hikers are the ones who are very concerned with doing it a particular way. They're the ones who care very much about the "official" route. The purists. They're ticking boxes and counting miles and going from one terminus to the other. Like a marathon runner. There are rules that need to be followed and criteria to be met or you're not doing it right. On the other hand, trad hikers are basically backpackers. They're in it for the experience. They're on an adventure.

In this regard, a "sport hiker" is not going to be interested in my Cascadian Circuit idea. And that's okay. They're two different types of activities that people prefer for different reasons. But my point here is that I'd enter into a different mentality when I set about on this hike. It's not going to be a straightforward sport hike. In some ways, it's more analogous to backpacking the Banana Pancake Trail than a thru-hike on a more established hiking trail like the PCT.

KinkyKankles

5mo

CDT (planned for 2025), AZT, maybe GDT one day.

airbornermft

5mo

PCT, CDT, CT, PNT, AZT, finishing the AT (this summer). No particular order, besides the AT.

And a few shorter ones, Tahoe Rim, Ice Age, Superior Hiking Trail.

Sloth-Walker

5mo

Trails that have not been mentioned yet and that are on my list are

Israel National Trail in Israel

The "European Triple Crown": Sentiero Italia in Italy HexaTrek in France Nord-Süd-Trail in Germany Hiking in Europe is not as much a wilderness experience as the big trails in the US but has a lot more cultural aspects. Seeing how people live and cultivate their land...

The most beautiful and remote wilderness trail in Europe I know of: Nordkalottleden in northern Scandinavia

oceanpreneur

25d

This year I plan my first really long thru-hike, as in longer than 200Km. I'll go do the GR 11 across the Pyrenees together with dog :) It's about 900km.

MrsAnnaClark

5mo

Pacific Northwest Trail 2024

Hiker97531

5mo

AT, PCT, CDT.

sbhikes

5mo

Perhaps you would be interested in Aria Zoner's Hot Springs Trail. Could give you ideas for connecting your bigger plan, whatever it is.

FuzzyCuddlyBunny

5mo

Thru hike connecting the east coast peakbagging lists (new england 4000 footers, ADK46, Catskills 35, southeast 6k peaks)

Going to all of the landslides in the Adirondacks

Thru hike of Colorado centennial peaks

AZT+Deseret Trail+ICT north and hot springs trail south

Florida to Pacific going on Florida+Pinhoti+Benton MacKaye+AT to Vermont, cut west on North Country trail, connect to either Pacific Northwest Trail or CDT->GET->winter desert thru hike

Some of these are more planning intensive than others and some are tighter weather windows than others. Sadly I have to work 2024 and pay off student loans and save up, but 2025 I'm planning on hitting one of these.