What is your favorite hike of all time?

[ellisonz]

I like short hikes (lame, I know), but I think it's cool when anyone can do them.

I really loved hiking in Partington Cove in the Big Sur area of Central California.

Introduction
A quick and steep hike takes you down through a tree-lined canyon to a scenic rocky beach and through a tunnel to Partington Cove.

Used as a loading point for tanbark around the turn of the nineteenth century, Partington Cove's history comes alive as you walk through the 60 foot tunnel and pop out in a secluded cove where rusty remains of the loading apparatus perch on the rocks.

• Length: 1 mile
• Type: Down & Back
• Difficulty: Moderate
• Path: Steep, good
• Elev. Gain: 280 feet
• Parking Fee: No
• Restrooms: Yes

http://www.hikinginbigsur.com/hikes_partingtoncove.html

[rrneck]

1. Cant narrow it down to one. Here's three faves.

Jedidiah Smith National Park
http://www.redwoodhikes.com/Jed%20Smith/Jed%20Smith.html

Bright, open, and lush, Jed Smith's redwood groves are the most scenic in existence. There's an unusual amount of variety in the the size of the trees, and even in the understory vegetation, making the woods an interesting place to hike. The park isn't known for the height of its trees but it does have many of the world's largest redwoods by volume, and on the best trails trees of truly stupendous size are set among smaller redwoods.

http://www.oregontrails.com/page.aspx?id=12

I have to kiss my right knee goodbye every time I hike it, but there's lots of stuff all around it as well when I'd rather walk normally afterwards.


The Pacific Crest Trail skirts the eastern and northern sides and also accesses the only trail to the summit. On a clear day, the Sky Lakes Wilderness area, Crater Lake, Rogue Valley, and Mount Shasta are visible from the summit.

McKenzie River has lush tree lined trails, waterfalls , and stark lava flows all within a half hour of each other.

http://www.everytrail.com/best/hiking-oregon

[bluedigger]

2. The next one.

Bluedigger and friend on the Appalachian Trail in Maine, 1987?ish.

[Kolesar]

3. Elephant Canyon to Big Spring Canyon in the "Needles District" of Canyonlands National Park

The red rock desert of Canyonlands NP is amazing. This hike takes you through two passes. Going counter clockwise from the Squaw Flat campground, you climb up one terrace after another until you climb to the top of the pass using a steel ladder.

http://www.protrails.com/trails/view/90
http://www.nps.gov/cany/index.htm

[lastlib]

4. Big Piney Trail near Ft. Leonard Wood,

southeast Missouri. 17 miles, a great overnight hike! Once I didn't make the campground at the midpoint (late start...) and had to throw down in the woods just off the trail when it got dark. Middle of the night I wake up hearing something, shine my flashlight around to it--a bobcat, 15 feet from me! I just said "good Kitty!", talked nice and gentle to him, real friendly, and he walked on around me and went on his way. And I went to the nearest tree and peeeeed.......

[gejohnston]

5. I have three

Browns Park in Colorado and Wyoming
Yanbaru on Okinawa.
Can't remember name of the place, but it is in central Luzon.

[Juneboarder]

6. I like to get high

I'm a peakbagger, like to get up on the top of anything possible.

I'm always off on a new hike at least once a month, but two of my fav's at this point are:

Needles Lookout in Sequoia - http://www.hikespeak.com/trails/needles-lookout-sequoia-national-monument/

and

Devil's Bridge Trail in Sedona - http://christene.hubpages.com/hub/Devils-Bridge-Trail

[MichaelMcGuire]

7. An Caisteal and Beinn a'Chroin.

http://www.walkhighlands.co.uk/lochlomond/an-caisteal.shtml

[Hoyt]

8. I like hikes like that, maybe a little longer. That one's going on my list.

[petronius]

9. Bit of a cop-out, but I'm going to say the JMT between Whitney Portal

and the south fork of the San Joaquin River. Special mention to the section from Dusy Basin, over Muir Pass, and down through Evolution Valley...

http://www.google.com/search?q=dusy+basin

http://www.google.com/search?q=evolution+valley

[Hula Popper]

10. my favorite hikes were all short

We took a trip to Arches National Park and hiked into Delicate Arch, Landscape Arch and
the Double O arch. Then to Capital Reef where we hiked high above the creek and watched as deer crawled along the creek. Hard to believe the life in those canyons and deserts.

[ellisonz]

11. Welcome to DU!

This whole country used to support a bounty of wildlife. The pockets that we have left are national treasures

[johnsolaris]

12. big bend national park

Hi,

The Lost Mine Trail in Big Bend NP is a favorite of mine. I have seen a variety of wildlife on this trail: javelina, Mexican black bears, foxes having fun & white tail deer. The views of Casa Grande are great & once you make it to the top it is wonderful. Big Bend National park has one of the lowest attendances in the lower 48. It is a geologic wonder & the best time to go is in the Fall to March, after March & April, that Texas heat is scorching.

Another great place is Arches National park in Utah, you can't go wrong there. It is a place of beauty.
One other place in Utah that is fun is Goblin valley state park. They filmed parts of that Tim Allen space movie & one of Billy Crystal's western movies there. It is a great place.

[mokawanis]

13. Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana

Did a hike to Sunburst Lake where I caught a bunch of native cutthroat trout. On the hike out we camped on a peak that was so small and steep I had a difficult night because I kept sliding down the slope. Finally anchored myself to the ground with tent stakes attached to my sleeping bag.

Other great hikes:

Alaska. Four-mile hike with my wife for our 25th wedding anniversary. We hiked to a forest service cabin near Juneau, situated on a beautiful lake where we did some canoing and fishing. Saw a black bear on the other side of the lake our first night there.

Grand Gulch in Utah. Definitely worth doing because the hike takes you through a canyon that contains many Anasassi ruins.

Glacier National Park. Hiked the Belly River to Glenn Lake, Crossley Lake, and Lake Mokawanis. Mokawanis has the most beautiful campsite I've ever seen. Had my 14 y.o. son with me on that hike and we had a very uncomfortable encounter with a large bear. Had a bit of a stand-off, the bear approaching to within 40 feet. We finally backed down the trail, bush-whacked around the bear, and then got back on the trail.