I was originally intending to hike from Denver to Las Vegas but instead I hiked from Durango to Vegas. I walked into Las Vegas after dark on October 31 completing the Durango to Vegas hike. With all of the hiking that I have done, I don’t think the re-entry has ever been quite as overwhelming or thought provoking as walking into Las Vegas after seeing less then 10 people (besides for resupply stops) during the 3 week hike. A city with so much excess in a place where there shouldn’t be anything but barren desert.

I decided to change the pace a little bit and swim unsupported around Lake Tahoe this summer. It took me about 7 days to swim the 72 miles. This was a nice change of pace compared to hiking. I like swimming and it feels great to actually get some upper body exercise. The water temperature was between 45 degrees and 65 degrees depending on where I was on the lake. It was a bit chilly at times so I would have to stop every 2-3 hours to warm up, since I didn't wear a wetsuit. My intention was for no advantage, so no wetsuit, fins, or anything like that. Except for a few days with afternoon thunderstorms, this was really a great challenge.

Traverse of the South Island of New Zealand and the Southern Alps

Starting from the southern tip of the South Island I made my way to the northern end through the Southern Alps.  The scenery was stunning and the topography was steep and amazing.  New Zealand is planning a long distance hiking trail somewhere along this route, but nothing has been built yet.  So much of this 805-950 mile route was cross-country and trying to connect pre-existing trails, many of which were in disrepair and terrible shape.  The trail qualities are completely different form what we are used to in the U.S.  They generally only build trail through the bush and anywhere it is open you are left on your own to go cross-country with map and compass.  This trip was very difficult.  In places a speed of .5 miles per hour was the most that was possible because of the technical terrain.  However, the scenery around the next corner always made up for everything.  It was awesome and quite an adventure.  

10,000 Miles In One Year

Starting November 1, 2005, Yoni and I hiked for almost a full year (through the winter).  It took us 356 days (this is not a typo) to walk across the U.S., longitudinally, three times incorporating the three major hiking trails in the United States, but we also extended it by about 2800 miles.  This trip was over 10,000 miles long.  We started from Cap Gaspe, Quebec, Canada to Key West, Florida following the Eastern Continental Trail (which is the International Appalachian Trail, Appalachian Trail, Benton MacKaye Trail, Georgia Pinhote Trail, Alabama Pinhote Trail, Alabama Trail, Florida Trail, and a bit of road walking).  Then we drove over to the Pacific Crest Trail and thru-hiked that northbound from the California/Mexico border to the Washington/Canada border.  After that we drove to Waterton Lakes National Park in Alberta, Canada and southbounded the Continental Divide Trail, back to the Mexican border. It was fun and challenging hiking through the winter and during different seasons than last time.  I did the math if you are all interested: 

• Total mileage:  a bit over 10,000 miles
• Days: 356
• Avg. mileage per day: 28.1 miles
• Zero days: 26
• Avg mileage per day on hiking days: 30.3 miles 

It was very challenging maintaining this pace for the entire year, especially through the fresh snowfall and short daylight in the winter, the heavy snowpack of the Sierras and Cascades, and fresh snowfall in Colorado.  Some days in the fresh snow, I hiked about 19 hours to get my mileage in, averaging about 1 to 1.5 miles per hour.  It was amazing though because so many people say, “there is no solitude on the AT”, so after this trip my reply to them is “that they are not hiking during the right time of year”.  We hardly saw anybody on any of the trails, since I was slightly off-season in most areas. 

Continental Divide Trail and Great Divide Trail 2005

I started hiking from the Mexican border in New Mexico on May 17th. I finished hiking in the Canadian Rockies on September 18th, 2005. This trip was awesome. I have only found two stories about the GDT on the internet, since it is sort of a makeshift trail.

You can find out more at this link.
http://www.rmbooks.com/gdt/history.htm 

The GDT is a difficult trail it dwarves the cross-country of the CDT, but everything you have to go through is well worth it.  The GDT goes through some of the prettiest places that I have ever been.  The color of the lakes from the glacial run-off are unbelievable.  

Pacific Crest Trail and Pacific Northwest Trail Thru-hike 2004

I finished this journey at Cape Alava, WA on September 15, 2004.  I had finished the PCT faster than I had expected and had some extra time before the weather turned sour since I got to the Canadian border on August 24^th, so I turned around and headed back to Holman Pass, WA, about 17 miles south of the Canadian border. From Holman Pass the Pacific Northwest Trail leaves the PCT to go west to Cape Alava, WA, the westernmost point of the continental US.  Since I had some extra time, I figured why not head west, about 500 more trail miles.  After all, my Mom, being a history teacher, always told me about Horace Greeley.  So I decided to listen and “go west young man”.  It was definitely worth it. The PCT is definitely my favorite trail of the Triple Crown of long-distance hiking and PNT is a beautiful addition and quite a change from the good tread of the PCT. The PNT is a CDT-esque experience.      

Appalachian Trail and International Appalachian Trail Thru-hike 2003

I hiked these trails with my friend, Windsong, and my dog Yoni.  However, we had an unexpected addition in Virginia.  We found a sick dog, which we named Ottie.  We carried him out of the woods and to a vet.  Four days later he was walking, recovered, and hiking with us the rest of the way.  He now has a great home with Windsong.   We started at Springer Mountain, Georgia on April 15, 2003 and finished hiking on November 7, 2003.  We originally did not know about or intend to hike the IAT.  But, when we heard about it at Trail Days in Damascus, VA, we couldn’t resist seeing caribou, whales, and being surrounded by a completely different language.  We had to flip-flop from Bear Mountain, NY up to Cap Gaspe, QC because part of the trail in Quebec closes in September.  This hike, over 2,800 miles just happened to be in one of the wettest years on record, but it was still awesome.