still fuckin with climb cuz climb pays: the ILX hiking thread

i know, i am crazy about that flask

man, i wanna go hiking

there are many great options nearby, lb!
jones gap :D :D :D
used to do table rock a lot when i was a kiddie.

also the dupont forest has really cool waterfalls.

man i miss the smokies so much. i don't think i ever did the rabbit creek/abrams loop. out of cades cove, we used to go up to gregory bald a lot. and spence field, i love that hike. also did a lot of day-hiking up from the cosby side. and from newfound gap. (charlie's bunion!) you know the whole time i was there, i never hiked the chimneys. some things to do in the future.

these days all my hiking is urban. which is fine and i like it, but it's not the same. i really loved getting up, stocking up, driving out and spending the whole day walking. then a big dinner and beer somewhere. (if we went up out of townsend we'd stop by that mexican place in maryville on the way home. los something-or-other.)

chimneys suck imo!!! 2 miles straight up a bunch of red clay mud and 2 miles straight back down where you just came from, and the view is great of course, but there are a lot of great views in the smokies. i dread going up there, you didn't miss anything

my favorite short hike is alum cave bluffs, nothing else like it

i'm waiting for azalea season to do gregory's bald! did andrew's bald and it was really miserable, but i picked a stupid time of year to do it.

oh man there is nothing better than finishing a huuuuge hike and just chowing down on the way back through townsend at the heart and kettle or something

*hearth

http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/images/13p2s1v6.jpg

saw three of these peeking out from a tree and was just like "do not want to be eaten by the inevitable mom" and ran through a trail junction

yeah you want the azaleas in bloom for sure.

the contours of the chimneys is why i never did it. once i got out there i wanted something more immersive than that, i guess. i love the rhythms of a nice long hike.

i think cucumber gap is the best short, completely easy hike

also love house mountain in south knoxville, so cool that a hike like that is just right there

hahaha, i must hike this!!!!

http://www.localhikes.com/Hikes/Haw_Ridge_3840.asp

house mountain is more northeast than south, isn't it? out rutledge pike? but yeah that's a nice near one. that's where i saw a whole flock of wild turkeys try to take flight. they made it up into the lower branches of the nearest tree.

i did some hikes around oak ridge, don't remember if it included HAW ridge.

also good: frozen head.

Haw, I totally meant East Knoxville

http://www.gajos.org/travel/hikes/uploaded_images/DSC_3973-737723.JPG

and big south fork! site of my bachelor party. granted there was less hiking than drinking and whatnot involved there. but there's some great hikes too. east tenn. is really A+ for hiking.

hahaha

i wish i had a pic of the sign at abrams falls

"four people have died here! please do not be next"
xpost

20 miles in one day? that's some serious hiking. what kind of elevation gain?

there's a million place to hike in the East, and it's good to get out there in the fresh air (smokies haw) and go up and down and such, but there's not a lot that's as interesting as most of the stuff in the other half of the country. i gotta start doing some stuff here though in preparation for out there.

in hawaii there were massive warning signs about swimming in waterfalls and getting caught in riptides and swept out to sea. it was scary but also kind of gnarly and awesome.

we've been out to the marin headlands a few times this year (san francisco), i like it because it's all open hills, beautiful views of the ocean, and this totally weird-ass old military stuff (like forts and stuff).

re that nalgene drink bottle: nalgene is responsible for making a lot of the equipment involved in animal testing (battery cages, immobilisers, restraints etc), fyi.

i dont know how to calculate elevation gain but it was mostly an easy hike with a couple uphill climbs, i.e. definitely climbed straight up pine mountain

xpost i did not know that

i want to hike the Tennessee Valley at some point, but the other parts of the headlands i saw weren't super exciting

guys!
http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m163/bl82/ColcaCanyon.jpg;
omg

it's true that hiking the smokies is not like hiking the tetons or rockies (or i assume so, i haven't done any western hiking except walking up camelback mountain in phoenix). a lot of southern appalachian/cumberland hikes are sort of just uphill walks in the woods with occasional spectacular views. but they're really nice walks in the woods.

i dont want to hike a place that isn't woodsy!

i suppose 20 miles isn't that bad if you've got real boots and just a daypack

that's one thing i love about the southeast! on christmas day we went on a little light hike/walk on paris mountain in the afternoon. it's nice to have that easily accessible.

mt. mitchell (in the apps) is the highest point east of the mississippi. i don't know what my point is there...

well, i dont have boots, i have tennis shoes, and my ankle was pretty fucked afterwards

lesson learned

i do have a very light pack though

yeah, the woods are nice, but i'm spoiled by early exposure to alpine scenery and i want some wow views when i go hiking. i imagine smokies vistas are a little better than most new york area hikes, though.

alum cave bluffs views are O_O

were those just something like skechers (sp?) you were wearing for 20mi???? U CRAZY

yeahhhhhhhh i will not do that again though!

smokies have great vistas

charlie's bunion:

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/18/24124971_7c24732bd9.jpg

mt. leconte:

http://www.outdoornewswire.com/v/current/htdocs/publish/public/2008/06/1213742981/cliff%20top.JPG

but then on the hikes up you also get things like this:

http://greek.wunderground.com/data/wximagenew/g/guardian75/435.jpg

yeah, those don't do much for me

katahdin and maybe jay peak are probably the most interesting things in the east, as far as i can tell, but it's probably just as easy to go west as it is to get to them from where i am

thats the kinda stuff i love, the interior stuff

do y'all use poles at all? i never have

also:

esbit stoves: yay or nay
recommend a camp stove?

jordan asked me if i wanted poles, since i'm fairly clumsy over rough terrain, but i refused since only corny old ppl use them

btw: jordan says nay to esbit stoves (they stink and take a long time to boil water); the optimus crux or the MSR pocket rocket are 2 of his recommendations - super small stoves, fairly cheap for what they are.

if hiking poles are corny, that's what i want to be

never used one myself tho

Was meant to be going up Ben Lomond yesterday but the weather was rubbish, will do it next time the weather is half-decent on a Saturday. Summit view looks nice:

http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/13462/Ben%20Lomond%20018.jpg

I've never used poles, but my hiking buddy does, and says they distribute the work load of hiking all around your body so that you don't end up with gargantuan legs and skinny arms.

so that's why

i guess! he might be nuts

I should really get a pole, last time I went hiking my calf muscles were absolutely pummeled. I've got a sweet walking-stick but it was my granddad's and I don't really want to take it up a mountain in case I lose it or whatever.

Poles are also supposed to take some of the impact off of your knees, which is why they interest me as my knees are completely shot.

My left ankle is the only thing that gives me any real trouble, although after a very long hike my whole lower left side is sore in the joints (ankle, knee, hip). I am certain that I walk stupid.

hahaha

http://i623.photobucket.com/albums/tt313/rutherfordmills/881of1.jpg

Now that it is winter, a few thumbnails from this past summer:

https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/55/77/MGzCjSfi_t.jpg
https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/6e/1d/PwfXoAmy_t.jpg
https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/8a/d2/FcMNOdFa_t.jpg

Nice. Where is the snow?

Not sure how to interpret your question.

Sorry, I meant where are you in the photos with the snow?

In the Wallowa mountains of NE Oregon. It's a place I've visited almost every year for the past two decades. I've gone there so often that I know a great many of its trees individually (no kidding)!

Thanks. Sounds and looks lovely.

Sad thing is that several wonderful old high elevation trees I loved that had survived upwards of 200 years (I'd estimate) have died lately and I blame global warming. Bare dead branches that I used to find shade under.

Yesterday was a lovely 'bluebird' spring day around here, so I took a 10 mile hike in the woods, climbing 2800 ft in the process. I saw a fair number of wildflowers blooming (considering this was deep forest) and exactly one other hiker in the seven hours I was out. When I came back down to the trailhead and changed my shoes and socks there was a fine grit between my toes; it was pale yellow pollen!

I could have put this in the thread for ilxors in their 60s and beyond, but it really is centered on my life as a hiker and how age is affecting it. I'm not sure who will be interested. Most likely I'm just talking to the wall, but here it goes.

As I've aged through my 50s and 60s I've found that the key to my continuing to do challenging hikes has been achieving a very high level of efficiency in how I use my limited energy. This consists in finding a pace where every step is taken in rhythm and I come as close as I can to equalizing how much physical energy I expend for every step. For example, when the trail steepens, I shorten my stride proportionately to keep the outflow of energy smooth and regular. On a very steep section those steps can get very short, but their rhythm is exactly the same as any other stretch of trail and no one step is harder than any other. NB: it really helps to sing songs in my head - or aloud - as I hike.

I know I'm doing it correctly when I settle into a pace and rhythm that I can maintain undiminished for several hours at a time, only stopping for brief rests of a few minutes to grab a drink of water or make minor adjustments to my clothes or gear. The trick is to keep moving forward constantly but comfortably. Using this methodology has taken me far up and into the mountains for the last two decades.

Now I'm 70 and I just got back from a camping and hiking trip to a place and on trails where I've spent a couple of weeks most summers since 2004. It makes for an interesting experiment. This year in particular it became apparent that my optimal speed on those trails has slowed down measurably over the past three or four years. What I used to do in 3 hours now takes me 4 hours. Almost as important for my future hiking is finding out that after a particularly strenuous hike my recovery time is getting longer. A good sleep between hikes isn't as effective as it used to be. I'll need to plan for more rest days.

Please understand I'm not complaining. I count this as fully expected and normal stuff. I've just been wondering how quickly the new epoch will arrive. I'm still adjusting to the care and feeding of what is now a well-cared for, but unmistakably old body that's getting older by the year. So far, the ground is shifting under me at a speed I can easily live with, but it's come to where stuff I used to take for granted, like the ability to hike a 40 mile loop with major elevation changes is probably past me. Some of my favorite places on earth are slipping out of my range. **sigh**. But I'm not giving up on them quite yet and I'm already on the lookout for some new favorites to replace them.

this story is fucking bonkers (gift link)

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/12/13/world/asia/cia-nuclear-device-himalayas-nanda-devi.html?unlocked_article_code=1.8U8.bXyg.heaKnmE9gAIA&smid=url-share

There's a book by Pete Takeda called An Eye at the Top of the World that's about a climbing expedtion he participated in that went looking for "the device" twenty years ago. The book itself is OK, but it has one of the singlemost terrifying descriptions about being caught in a avalance/crevass I've read.

I have that book! Friend gave it to me, he bought a collection from Jim Wickwire (who survived a bivouac on K2 at 27,000 feet), who obviously had an enormous collection of mountaineering books, but was also a collector of rare and old poetry.

As alluded to elsewhere I visited Greenland back in 2022. I was going to go in 2020, but shortly after I booked the tickets COVID happened. I've always wanted to do actual proper man-vs-nature hiking but it's basically absurd in England - there isn't any free countryside and you're only allowed to camp in designated camping spots - and still slightly absurd in Scotland. The Nordic nations have a tradition of wild camping and free hiking, but after doing a bit of research I stumbled on the Arctic Circle Trail, which is a hiking route that leads from Kangerlussuaq Airport in Greenland to the village of Sisimiut, eighty miles to the west.

It stood out because of its simplicity. All you have to do is leave the airport, turn left, walk ten miles, turn right and go uphill a bit, then turn left and carry on for the next seventy miles. Then you have to find a way to get back. In the winter months the trail is covered in snow and the average temperature is -25c, so Kangerlussuaq is one of the few international airports where (a) there's no car park (b) you can die by walking outside.
https://i.ibb.co/QjXFb1dq/DSCF0022.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/zV1NPrx9/IMG-20220518-075300.jpg

In the end I managed twenty miles, and then I rested in a camping hut and walked twenty miles back. My average speed was about one mile an hour on account of the fact that I went in May, when the trail was a mixture of frozen snow and slush. It was less cold than I expected, but incredibly dry.
https://i.ibb.co/qLnLDyrQ/DSCF0064.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/1fmm6wvv/DSCF0107.jpg

I remember that when I got back I found out that Vangelis had died. I keep meaning to go back, but post-COVID the air fare went up by 20%, and it takes a bit of preparation. I bought along a shortwave radio and literally the only station I could get in remote Greenland was some kind of fire-and-brimstone Christian religion radio station, which was disconcerting.

Gorgeous!

My own recent hikes have not been nearly so remote — one great thing about living near the Great Smoky Mountains is that you can get up a mountain by lunchtime and back home for happy hour. Here are photos from two in late November. The first two are from a place called Charlie's Bunion — named after a bunion on the foot of one of the first guys to map it. It's a fairly easy hike, just 4 miles from the parking lot, elevation gain of 1,500 feet or so. Made a little trickier this time by some big patches of ice on the trail that we had to skirt (and I took one tumble that left me with a still-slightly-injured left foot).

https://i.ibb.co/DDS8m2g7/Charlie-s-Bunion.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/tds7Kf7/Charlie-s-Bunion2.jpg

The other hike was to Mt. Sterling, which has one of the best 360-degree views in the park. Especially if you climb the only-somewhat-rickety old 100-foot fire watch tower that was built in 1935 and is theoretically kept in decent repair by the Park Service, even though they haven't used it for fire prevention since the '60s.

https://i.ibb.co/m5K1sKqD/Sterling-view-2.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/21Z2vNdC/Sterling-Tower.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/n5cNGCW/Sterling-tower-below.jpg

Me (right) and my hiking pal in the tower. We've been hiking in the Smokies together since the late '90s.

https://i.ibb.co/pvHrKh79/Sterling-Tower-interior.jpg

It's a bit of a brutal trail to get up there, at least by Smokies standards — 6 miles up, with an elevation gain of about 4,100 feet. So it's just basically up and up and up. It's gorgeous, though, and has several Rhododendron tunnels like this one, which are one of my favorite features of the park.

https://i.ibb.co/r1f3G8m/Sterling-Rhododendrons.jpg

Anyway, I'm glad I can still make these climbs in my mid-50s. I remember one hike I did in my 20s where I was with a group that included a guy who was about 70. He was taking it slow and used walking poles, but he made it up just fine. I made some comment to him about how I hoped I could still be doing it when I was his age, and he said, "Well, just don't stop." Been trying to follow that advice.

"Well, just don't stop."

His advice was spot on. I pay attention to maintaining my baseline conditioning and stopped worrying about how high my ceiling is.

Just remembered that this thread actually started with hikes in the Smokies courtesy of Roxymuzak. Bringing it back to its roots!

everyone is building staircases up mountains now and i hate it

stairs not staircases

I hiked 95 miles recently on the Ouachita National Recreation Trail. Here's 97 minutes about how it went:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwEa_1wNVdw

oof that’s a ways! nice

A good day for me is 22 miles or so. When I think about marathon runners who complete 25 in half a day, man. I'm just walkin' out here.