pull down to refresh

Simple question; I'd like to make my life a great deal more interesting and worth living, starting 2024, i'd would like to do some of the more "difficult" things one could do outdoors, but within the realms of hiking, trekking and staying outdoors with only my backpack, pretty much being dependent only on myself.
Any ideas or recommendations of things you've done yourself?
As a westerner I think an epic journey would be to go to Asia and get into the massive mountains of Nepal and Tibet. That would put most Euros and North Americans way out of their comfort zone I'm sure. The Rockwall Trail in the Canadian Rockies is pretty awesome. 3 long 20-25km hike days. Plenty of other stuff around there too. There's a ton of stuff in western Canada really. You would feel very isolated very quickly on most of it. If you like coastal trails there's some epic multi day stuff like the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island (Island is 700km long, so it's not small 😂). Most of the popular backpacking routes in the parks you need to apply for a permit, or reserve your campspots. You could easily spend years hiking around western Canada and the USA in areas that few other people go.
reply
reply
Yeah, there are many awesome trails, too!
However, i'm still a very bloody beginner and would like to start small in my home country :D
I'd only do those longer trails with at least one other person though, maybe i'll find someone around my place.
reply
I would research some of the hut routes in the Alpes. At least get comfortable with hiking in big mountains on well known and popular trails. My understanding with lots of the hut trips is you can pack super light because you can stay and eat at all the various alpine lodgings. From there you just start doing more and more solo adventures as your experience grows.
reply
Well, I'd like to keep the costs low, that's why I'm opting for solid gear :D
reply
Sweet. 👍 Get out there and do it. It's a great experience and always makes you appreciate the small comforts of home when you get back. Have fun!
reply
My buddies and I do mancations every few years. Hiking 14ers, doin via Ferrata. Tubing down rivers
reply
See how long you can float in icy water
reply
There's a book I read which unfortunately I can't remember the title of. Darn it.
But the author gave all kinds of ideas for weekend outdoor adventures. I'm pretty sure he was English. Also I remember a photo of him on the Bromson folding bikes, in an island, close to England. Maybe the Isle of Man? Maybe that's enough go on. But he had lots of great ideas.
reply
Found it! The book is called Microadventures: Local Discoveries for Great Escapes by Alastair Humphreys. Really fun, doable outdoor ideas. A few of them are:
  • Just sleep outside, in a sleeping bag, in your yard
  • Climb up the nearest large hill. Doesn't have to be a mountain
  • Go catch a fish. Cook and eat it. If you don't catch it, go hungry
It's a fun read, inspiring.
reply
Hmm, yeah I like it.
reply
Do you have a lot of time on your hands? Doing the pacific coast trail, or any significant portion it, would be great. Surely if you kept your eyes, ears, and mouth open you'd run into some fun bitcoin activity which would be cool to hear about. Or perhaps any of the 6 month long type hikes around the world.
reply
I'm based in Western-Europe :D
reply
A 7 day self supported backpacking trip is an "achievement unlocked" type adventure. It will change you.
Requires a lot of planning and thoughtfulness, probably something to work up to. It's a lot more fun if you hike in and set up a basecamp in one place, then can do day hikes/ peakbagging missions from there.
I did this a couple times and still dream about those trips. In my home state there are some designated wilderness areas which allow pack animals, and companies that will rent their horses/ llamas/ donkeys. I always wanted to have some beasts carry 21 days of food in for me and do a 3 week wilderness retreat that way. It's cheating a little bit, but I don't know how else to spend that much time out there.
reply
Well, if you combine some form of fasting and lots of dehydrated, high-calorie foods... You can definitely stay out a bid longer I'd say.
Good one, was already thinking about this myself! Although I think that I'd start with a three-day trip first.
reply
hunting/fishing can provide you with enough protein:)
reply
True that!
reply
~Outdoors would've loved this post.
reply
Yeah, too bad my last post about gear didn't get a single comment, so I've chosen to move this one to here.
reply