I feel like I’m currently in this limbo land. I’ve finished a tasting tour of the United States and I’m on the precipice of starting Peace Corps and all I can think about is adventure. My brain is starting to storm adventures that I want to go on and rough plans for them. I wanted to catalog my ideas someplace before this storm rages away from me. Maybe they will inspire you as well.
- The North Country Trail: When you talk to people about a multiple month long hike, most people look at you like you are crazy. Some people think of the Appalachian Trail (the AT) or the Pacific Crest Trail (the PCT). Almost no one has heard of or knows about the North Country Trail in spite of it being twice as long as the AT, probably because it is one of the newest National Scenic Trails in the country. It stretches from North Dakota, runs through Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, across the Mackinac Bridge down into Ohio and then through Pennsylvania and up into upstate New York. It clocks in at about 4,600 miles. I really want to thru-hike this trail, which means hike end to end in one go. The biggest logistical challenge to this is that there is only one day a year, Labor Day, that people are permitted to walk on the Mackinac Bridge and only north to south. Only a handful of people have hiked the entire trail and less have thru-hiked it, but I think I am up to the challenge.
- The Hayduke Trail: The Hayduke Trail is an unofficial 800 mile trail entirely on public lands on the Colorado Plateau. It is inspired by a fictional character in Edward Abbey’s book “The Monkey Wrench Gang.” The route includes Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon and Zion National Parks plus Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Bureau of Land Management lands, National Forests and Wilderness Areas. I feel like I just got a taste of the Colorado Plateau on my drive and I felt so guilty that I wasn’t able to experience as much of the trails as I wanted to. With a trip like this, I would definitely be able to heed Edward Abbey’s advice and get away from my car.
- Mississippi Source to Sea Paddle: I was inspired by a high school friend’s paddle trip down the river. It seems like a blast.
- Bike Tour through Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Burma and Thailand: I met a woman in 2006 in New Zealand who had done this. She showed me pictures from her trip and gave a brief overview of it and I was so impressed and amazed. I wanted to do a similar trip of my own. And it looks like the opportunity to do so soon has presented itself. I know it is super early to be thinking about it, but I think I know what I want to do when I am done with Peace Corps.
Other trips that I am extremely intrigued by, but have not done nearly as much research into are the Inca Trail, the AT, the PCT, the John Muir Trail, climbing Annapurna, rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon, backpacking around Isle Royale and canoeing in the Boundary Waters.
What adventures do you dream of doing someday?