Saturday Diversion: Epic Backpacking Trips in America (and Canada)
Saturday Diversion: Epic Backpacking Trips in America (and Canada)
When spring hits the east coast, the local trails are perfect for warming up the legs in a mostly bug free and low humidity environment. For backpackers, spring also marks the start of planning season for big trips later in the summer or early fall in places with seriously impressive peaks, lung-busting climbs, and dramatic vistas.
Here are a few of my favorite spots for multi-day backpacking trips—away from the hassles of everyday life and into some of the best terrain in the world.
Wonderland Trail, Mount Rainier National Park. The crown jewel of long-haul backpacking loops, the Wonderland takes you on a 93-mile journey around Mount Rainier with thousands of feet of climbs and descents into designated camping spots with superb views of “Tahoma.” I did this trip over 9 days back when I had black hair but would recommend it for anyone who loves the mountains—and a real physical and mental challenge. Summerland, Indian Bar, and Klapatche are particularly nice spots to rest weary legs.
Uinta Highline Trail, Utah. This 100+ mile through-hike across the Uinta Mountains high country is stunning, isolated, and a total bear if you don’t do your pre-trip exercises! The trip can be broken up into sections, but if you have time I recommend starting from the east side and moving west. My well-laid plans to cover a huge chunk of the trail a few years ago got stymied by a massive snowstorm that forced us to turn around halfway through making it out to 4.0 beers in Vernal just in time.
The Enchantments, Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area. This one will require some luck in terms of winning a lottery just to get a chance to hike in and camp. Perhaps the most pristine high alpine lake district in the country, getting to The Enchantments involves a super steep climb straight up and then down into a basin filled with hundreds of crystal blue lakes, snowfields, mountain goats, and rocks galore—absolute heaven.
Brazeau Loop, Jasper National Park. This famous loop in the Canadian Rockies is hard to match. The drive from Banff to Jasper alone is worth a trip, but the hike itself takes you away from the crowds and up into a wilderness wonderland of high meadows, fast moving creeks, untouched mountain lake shores, and snow-capped passes that look like something out of Lord of the Rings (Alberta). The view from the top of the Jonas Shoulder (below) is probably one of the finest I’ve been fortunate enough to see in North America.
Wilderness Coast, Olympic National Park. Hiking and beach camping with cool sea stacks everywhere? I’ll take it! Olympic has tons of dense rainforest hikes and other big peaks to explore. But if you get a few days—and hopefully good weather—the far northwest of our fair country features some 73 miles of undeveloped coastline with endlessly rewarding cliff climbs and tidal pools to explore. Remember to monitor the tide charts or else you’ll get stuck on a big rock surrounded by sea water like I did. Could be worse places to kill a few hours.
Other grand hikes: Anything in the Wind River Range, the Loowit Trail around Mount St. Helens, Big Bend Ranch State Park in Texas, and the Sahale Arm and the rest of North Cascades National Park.
