By Michael Lanza
Imagine this: You’re heading out on a long, beautiful hike deep in the backcountry, but instead of a full backpack, you carry a light daypack. You’ve avoided hassles with getting a backcountry permit and there’s no camp to set up and pack up. I love backpacking—and I do it a lot. But sometimes, I prefer to knock off a weekend-length—or longer—hike in one big day.
A completely different way to experience a hike, walking 15 to 20 or more miles in a day feels liberating in how lightly you travel and how much ground you can cover. The following list of 15 hikes represents the very best long—and huge—dayhikes I’ve taken over more than three decades of hiking all over the country, as a longtime field editor for Backpacker magazine and running this blog.
I’ve taken huge dayhikes many times simply because I had just one day free and wanted to see as much as possible. But there are some long stretches of trail that, to me, just cry out to be hiked in a day—for aesthetic reasons and because the length and access are just right and the scenery top shelf. The hikes on this list possess those qualities.
If you have a favorite long dayhike that you think belongs on this list, tell me in the comments section at the bottom of this story, and I’ll try to get to it. Or just tell me what you think of my list. I try to respond to all comments.
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The Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim
Arguably the granddaddy of ultra-dayhikes, traversing the Grand Canyon from the South Rim to the North Rim and back again constitutes not only the most demanding stroll on this list, but a mind-blowing, top-to-bottom tour of one of Earth’s most magnificent and unfathomable natural features—twice in one day. By its shortest route (depending on which trails you use), the r2r2r, as it’s known, is 42 miles round-trip with a cumulative elevation gain and loss of over 21,000 feet.
Backpacking the route requires obtaining one of the most hard-to-get backcountry permits in the National Park System, so if you possess the fitness and skills to knock it off in a day, that may offer your best chance of actually doing it. Of course, the shorter (and perhaps saner) alternative is to hike across the canyon in just one direction, halving the distance, using available shuttle services to travel between the rims before or after your hike (depending on your lodging arrangements).
I hope it goes without saying that this is an extremely arduous undertaking in an extreme environment and should only be attempted by very fit, experienced desert hikers: Every time I’ve done it, I’ve seen a surprising number of people attempting to hike it in just one direction (rim to rim) who were already suffering mightily long before they would finish it. This is no place to experiment with how far you can hike in a day: Be certain you are prepared for this massive undertaking.
See my stories “Fit to be Tired: Hiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim in a Day,” “How to Hike the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim in a Day,” and “A Grand Ambition, Or April Fools? Dayhiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim,” and all stories about the Grand Canyon at The Big Outside.
Click here now for my expert e-book to hiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim!
Logan Pass to Many Glacier, Glacier National Park
Take one of the prettiest moderate-length dayhikes in the National Park System—Glacier’s Highline Trail—and tack on waterfalls, a view from above a glacier, and a walk down a valley flanked by peaks, and you have the 16.4-mile, point-to-point traverse from 6,646-foot Logan Pass on the Going-to-the-Sun Road to Many Glacier, via Swiftcurrent Pass. This hike delivers uninterrupted views of the park’s jagged peaks and cliffs, and there’s a good chance you’ll see bighorn sheep and mountain goats. The distance includes the optional but very worthwhile side hike—1.2 miles and a steep 1,000 feet—to the Grinnell Glacier Overlook, a notch in the long cliff known as the Garden Wall.
See my stories “The 8 Best Long Hikes in Glacier National Park” and “Descending the Food Chain: Backpacking Glacier National Park’s Northern Loop,” and all of my stories about Glacier National Park at The Big Outside.
Do you want to backpack in Glacier? See The Big Outside’s E-Books page for a menu of all expert e-books available at this blog, including to two five-star trips in Glacier.
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Tenaya Lake to Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park
From the post-card view of the granite domes and cliffs flanking Tenaya Lake, to two of Yosemite’s finest summts and two of its most spectacular waterfalls, this 21-mile traverse hits many of the park’s best and most famous landmarks.
After admiring the view from Tenaya Lake’s southwestern shore, hike up 9,926-foot Clouds Rest, culminating with its gripping, sidewalk-width summit ridge, with a drop-off of several hundred feet on the left and a cliff on the right that falls away a dizzying 4,000 feet—a thousand feet taller than the face of El Capitan.
Then comes Half Dome’s thrilling cable route (lead photo at top of story) and a view of Yosemite Valley that would otherwise require you to have rock climbing skills or wings—for which you need a permit—followed by a descent of the Mist Trail past 594-foot Nevada Fall and 317-foot Vernal Fall, before finishing at the Happy Isles Trailhead in Yosemite Valley.
See more photos and information in my stories “The 10 Best Dayhikes in Yosemite,” “Hiking Half Dome: How to Do It Right and Get a Permit,” “Best of Yosemite: Backpacking South of Tuolumne Meadows,” and “The Magic of Hiking to Yosemite’s Waterfalls,” and all stories about Yosemite National Park at The Big Outside.
Gear up right for huge hikes like this. See the best hiking shoes and the best hiking daypacks.
Traversing Zion National Park
Few “dayhikes” on any list of ultra-hikes stretch as long as this—or get as scenic—but the north to south traverse across Zion National Park has earned something of a cult following among uber-fit hikers and ultra-runners.
From Lee Pass Trailhead to East Entrance Trailhead—with a short shuttle-bus ride in Zion Canyon from The Grotto to Weeping Rock—you’ll navigate a 47-mile grand tour of some of the most amazing scenery in the Southwest: deep chasms with burnt-red and white walls, soaring cliffs and beehive rock formations, and edge-of-the-rim walks high above labyrinths of slot canyons.
Throw in a few stunning, short side hikes along the way—Northgate Peaks, Angels Landing, and Hidden Canyon—and you log more than 50 miles on one of the most incredible days of hiking in the entire National Park System.
For a shorter but still full day of hiking that’s a reasonable length for many more fit hikers and trail runners, hike the West Rim Trail, 16.6 miles from the upper trailhead near Lava Point to the Grotto trailhead (shuttle bus stop no. 6) in Zion Canyon, a mostly downhill hike with about 800 vertical feet uphill and 3,600 feet downhill.
But the most scenic stretch of the West Rim Trail lies between its lower switchbacks, starting below Walter’s Wiggles and the spur trail to Angels Landing, and the upper junction with the Telephone Canyon Trail—and you can see all of that on an out-and-back dayhike from the Grotto that’s the same distance as hiking the West Rim Trail from top to bottom, without requiring a shuttle—but of course, requiring you to hike up and down about 3,000 vertical feet.
See my stories “The 10 Best Hikes in Zion National Park,” which provides details about an ongoing trail closure that has prevented completing this full traverse, although it’s still possible to hike about 40 miles from Lee Pass to Zion Canyon, and “Mid-Life Crisis—Hiking 50 Miles Across Zion In a Day,” and all stories about Zion National Park at The Big Outside.
If you like this list, check out “The 25 Best National Park Dayhikes.”
Paintbrush-Cascade Canyons Loop, Grand Teton National Park
Probably the most popular backpacking trip in the park, the nearly 20-mile Paintbrush Canyon-Cascade Canyon loop from String Lake Trailhead, with a bit over 4,000 feet of elevation gain and loss, sees hikers and runners regularly notching it in a day.
The scenery is classic Tetons: serrated peaks and deep canyons with rock walls soaring thousands of feet overhead, and waterfalls tumbling off those walls in Cascade Canyon. Plus, the loop crosses one of the highest points reached on any trail in the park, 10,720-foot Paintbrush Divide, where the panorama takes in a huge chunk of the Tetons. It also passes cliff-ringed Lake Solitude in the North Fork of Cascade Canyon, where you’re looking straight down the glacier-carved valley at the towering north walls of the Grand Teton and Mount Owen.
See “10 Great. Big Dayhikes in the Tetons” and all stories about Grand Teton National Park at The Big Outside.
Dying to backpack in the Tetons? See my e-books to the Teton Crest Trail
and backpacking the beginner-friendly loop described above.
Presidential Range ‘Death March’
This archetypal huge dayhike—the first known traverse dates back to 1882—the 20-mile, 8,500-foot “Death March” of New Hampshire’s Presidential Range remains above treeline for 15 miles, with vistas spanning the White Mountains. And the distance and difficulty hit a sweet spot—within reach for fit hikers, yet hard enough to fire aspirations, especially given the notoriously rocky and steep character of trails in the Whites.
Starting at one of the trailheads below 5,367-foot Mount Madison (the Air Line and Osgood Trail are personal favorites) and hiking south to Crawford Notch (to tick off the harder, northern summits first), purists tag all nine summits along the way, including the Northeast’s highest, 6,288-foot Mt. Washington—where winds exceed hurricane force an average of 110 days a year, and the average year-round temperature is below freezing, at 27.2° F. Pack some layers.
See my stories “Step Onto Rock. Step Down. Repeat 50,000 Times: A Presidential Range ‘Death March’,” “Big Hearts, Big Day: A 17-Mile Hike With Teens in the Presidential Range,” and all stories about the White Mountains at The Big Outside.
Get ready for your next big hike. See my stories “Training For a Big Hike or Mountain Climb”
and “How to Know How Hard a Hike Will Be.”
High Divide-Sol Duc Loop, Olympic National Park
Like the above hike, this 18-mile loop with over 3,000 feet of elevation gain is popular with backpackers, but a doable objective for many fit dayhikers—and a great day in a mountain range that’s largely beyond reach to all but backpackers and climbers on strenuous, multi-day outings.
Hiking counterclockwise, you’ll pass lovely Sol Duc Falls, with its triple columns, and climb through old-growth rainforest to higher meadows carpeted with lupine and other wildflowers. On a clear day, the High Divide Trail’s long alpine traverse delivers views across the deep, lushly green trench of the Hoh River Valley to ice- and snow-blanketed Mount Olympus. After passing beautiful Heart Lake, set in another sprawling meadow, the loop makes a gentle descent below ancient, giant trees along the Sol Duc River. You’re likely to see elk and mountain goats at higher elevations and black bear almost anywhere.
See all of my stories about Olympic National Park at The Big Outside.
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Crossing the Wind River Range
Huge vistas for much of the way, in one of the highest ranges of the Rocky Mountains, are the payoff on this 27-mile, east-west crossing of the southern Winds, from the Bears Ears Trailhead in Dickinson Park to the Big Sandy Opening Trailhead.
With a cumulative elevation gain of about 4,500 feet, this traverse stays above 11,000 feet for many miles, with views of peaks rising above 12,000 feet on the Continental Divide. Don’t pass up the 20-minute, off-trail side trip up 12,250-foot Mount Chauvenet, overlooking a row of peaks that includes Buffalo Peak, Camel’s Hump, and Mounts Washakie and Hooker. But the hike’s highlight is the Cirque of the Towers, a mind-boggling horseshoe of sheer-walled granite peaks standing shoulder to shoulder.
See my story “A Walk in the Winds: Hiking a One-Day, 27-Mile Traverse of Wyoming’s Wind River Range,” and all stories about the Wind River Range at The Big Outside.
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Great blog. Where would you rank Mt. Borah in Idaho? 8.7 miles with 5,101 ft of elevation, reach an elevation of 12,662 ft, plus a technical ridge you have to navigate. For the mileage, it’s got tons of elevation gain.
Hi Aurora,
Thank you. I’ve hiked Borah a couple of times, it is very steep and the crux section, Chickenout Ridge, does involve some scrambling, though it’s not technical in the sense that you need special gear or skills; it’s more about dealing with the exposure and scrambling carefully. But even with its difficult level, I don’t think we can compare it with many of the hikes on this list.
Thanks for the question. I highly recommend that anyone comfortable with exposure hike Idaho’s highest peak, Mount Borah.
I would propose the loop in Two Medicine in Glacier. The 3 mile goat trail portion along the continental divide is spectacular. Permits these days in Glacier are nearly impossible to obtain, so a long day hike solves that issue.
Great suggestion, Jerry, I assume you mean the Dawson Pass-Pitamakin Pass loop and I do include that dayhike in my story “The 8 Best Long Hikes in Glacier National Park.”
I’m a fan of the Hermit Loop at GCNP. Approximately 24 miles, great access to water and relatively easy logistics. The views are stunning and there are some nice side excursions available on the route as well. Another great long day hike at GCNP is the out and back to Cape Solitude. It’s 30 tough, water-less miles, but simple logistics and you are treated to an incredible view of the confluence. You can also divert to Cherokee point for that view. This hike also grants you extreme solitude as I’ve never seen another soul out there. It’s also likely the only long day hike at GCNP where you’re likely to see large herds of elk.
Thanks for that suggestion on hiking to Cape Solitude, Joshua. I haven’t done that but I have hiked to the overlook of the Colorado-Little Colorado confluence at the end of the Beamer Trail in the canyon, on an 18-mile dayhike from our campsite at Tanner Beach (read about it in this story). That’s a gorgeous spot with a nice campsite and the Beamer Trail is a beautiful hike all the way out and back.
What about the Black Mountain Crest Trail in NC?
Yes, thanks for the suggestion, Joe. The Black Mountain Crest Trail in North Carolina is actually in this story. Like many stories at my blog, this one is partly free for anyone to read (about half of the hikes in it) but requires a paid subscription to The Big Outside to read in full. A subscription gives you full access to all of my blog’s stories, including the trip planner section in stories about specific trips, where I share details of the itinerary and other logistics and tips on planning a trip, plus you get access to member gear discounts.
Thanks for pointing that out. Keep in touch.
Makes me want to pull on my boots and start walking.
Yes, it has the same effect on me, too, Melinda.
Super list, thanks.
Suggest adding the Enchantments trail in Leavenworth, Washington; 24 mi, 5,000 ft; certainly on par with several of the others listed.
The Enchantments basin is a great suggestion, Brian. I have hiked through there while climbing Prusik Peak. Thanks.
Should definitely have the cactus to cloud hike which is 21 miles with 10.4k elevation gain in palm springs CA
Thanks for the good suggestion, Sanjay. I’ve had that hike in my sights for a while and hope to get to it.
Love these ideas! I’d love to see your recs for the best long dayhike in the Sawtooths. You have some great material on the Sawtooths already (thank you!), but what would be your top choice for a 15-20 mile loop with views and lakes and fewer crowds? Ideally it wouldn’t be a death march, but still a proper challenge.
Hey Liz,
That’s a great question and suggestion, thanks. The obvious long dayhike in the Sawtooths is the Alice Lake-Toxaway Lake loop from Pettit Lake, about 17-18 miles and some 2,200 feet on good trails, crossing a pass at about 9,200 feet. Beautiful hike. I’ve run-hiked that loop in a day and included the side hike-scramble up the third-class east ridge of Snowyside Peak, one of the highest in the Sawtooths at 10,651 feet, which has a relatively small summit area with a commanding panorama of the range and east to the White Clouds. It’s only really busy on nice weekends in August.
A longer variation of that loop is the roughly 28-mile hike from Redfish Lake (taking the boat shuttle from Redfish Lake Lodge) to Pettit Lake via Cramer, Edna, Toxaway, and Alice lakes and three 9,000-foot passes.
Enjoy.
Thanks so much – this is perfect!
You’re welcome, Liz.
Hi Michael, thanks for all the great info. I love many of these and also love converting backpacking loops into dayhikes, partly because my wife dislikes the camping part but is a strong hiker and can knock these off with me.
There is a loop in the Linville Gorge that is a common backpacking loop: ITAYG (Is That All You Got). Requires some planning due to 2 river crossings, but really amazing.
I also would like to try to knock off the 4-Pass loop in Apsen area and the Pawnee-Buchanan loop in Indian Peaks Wilderness (south of Rocky Mountain NP) in a day eventually—both done before as one-nighters.
Thanks again.
Lance
Hi Lance,
Thanks for the nice words and those excellent suggestions, I love all of them. I’ve backpacked Colorado’s Four Pass Loop and have long considered dayhiking it, which is undoubtedly feasible for a strong party. Beautiful hike, too, especially when the wildflowers bloom. I’ve only gotten a taste of the Linville Gorge (see this story), but I know how rugged that place is. I’m not actually familiar with the Pawnee-Buchanan loop, though I’ve hiked in Colorado’s Indian Peaks Wilderness, so now you’ve added a hike to my to-do list!
Keep in touch.
I have been getting into longer dayhikes and trail runs over the last few years, and really appreciate this list – thank you for sharing! I’m currently training to do the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne as a day hike/run with a friend and hoping to use this list to inspire her for future (and longer!) trips. We hiked Clouds Rest from the Valley floor a few weeks back – a lot of overlap with the Tenaya route you’ve listed, but it has the plus of being accessible before Tioga Pass opens and very few folks on the summit during that nice window.
Thanks for the comment, Meagan. Did you encounter much snow going up Clouds Rest? And what date did you do it? That’s a great hike. I know the Sierra got less snow this year, just curious how early you were able to get up there.
We were out there on May 1. There were a few snow patches towards the final scramble up to the summit but nothing serious. It looked like significantly more snow if you went over the saddle to the north, but didn’t continue through to see.
I live in the south and one hike that should make this list is the Black Mountain Crest Trail. Only 12 -14 miles but extreme elevation gain and very challenging. Outstanding hike in the beautiful Black Mountains.
I agree, Jason, and that’s exactly why I included it on this list. Thanks for affirming that.
Cactus to Clouds.
I see in the comments Paul already mentioned “Cactus to Clouds”.
Having done C2C November 2019 & 2020, just wanted to give it another mention.
Thanks, James, great suggestion, it’s been on my radar for a while. I hope to get to it. Keep in touch.
Great story! It’s funny: immediately when I saw the title without scrolling down I thought to myself “Logan Pass to Many Glacier is the best one I’ve done” so happy to see it on the list! Highly recommend the Grinnell Glacier overlook as you mention. Another incredible vista is Swiftcurrent Lookout which adds another 1000 ft of elevation gain I believe. Steep but more spectacular views to be had.
Dawson Pittamakan is another epic day hike.
Another good one is combining Iceberg Lake & Ptarmigan Tunnel – not as long as the prior two but beautiful nonetheless. GNP never disappoints!
Great article as always; quick question though: your intro says “14 hikes” but there were only 8 in the body of the article. Or did I miss something?
Thanks, Jeffrey, and I’m so glad you asked that question! Yes, you saw eight hikes in this article because to see the entire article (all 14 hikes), you must be a member/subscriber to The Big Outside (and logged in), which costs as little as 5 bucks. See my Join page for details. Thanks for asking.
OK thanx; I actually am a member/subscriber; I just wasn’t logged in.
Oh, perfect, and thank you for being a subscriber.
Actually it looks like my login expired; I don’t recall receiving an email asking me to renew. How long does a subscription last?
Are these really day-hikes? I mean, 42 miles seems a bit much as does some of these other hikes. I get that uber-fit people might hack it, but the most I’ve ever hiked in one day was slightly over 20 and that was to backpack overnight.
I’m sure a lot of hikers would ask themselves that question, Mickey, and obviously, there are at least some hikes on this list that many hikers could not do in a day. There are undoubtedly some hikers who couldn’t hike any of these in one day. There’s enormous variation in the abilities of hikers, right?
But more to the point, I did not randomly choose the hikes on this list—which range in distance from 11 to 47 miles, with eight of them under 25 miles, a goal within reach of many fit hikers and trail runners. I selected them, first and foremost, because they are established, one-day hikes that many hikers attempt and accomplish every year. Dayhike or backpack the Grand Canyon’s corridor trails (South and North Kaibab and Bright Angel) in April or October and you may be shocked at how many hikers and runners are crossing rim to rim (21 to 23.5 miles) in one day, and some are going in both directions. (See my story “Fit to be Tired: Hiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim.”) These hikes are also all exceptionally scenic and enjoyable challenges.
If this isn’t your cup of trail mix, that’s understandable. I wrote this story because I know many readers are interested in attempting hikes like this. Thanks for the comment, it’s a good perspective.
Great website. It’s refreshing that you’ve done everything on your list — that’s actually rare for write-ups like this.
I also love long day hikes. I’ve done four on your list, R2R2R, Pemi, Zion and Yosemite, except we did Yosemite the other way, starting in the Valley and ending at Tenaya Lake. Our plan was to do Half Dome, but we just kept going.
I have some favorite extreme day hikes that aren’t on your list. My all time favorite is Telescope Peak from Shorty’s Well (bottom of Death Valley). Over 11k one-way gain, half of it off trail. Best day I ever had hiking.
I also enjoyed Cactus to the Clouds on Mt. San Jacinto. Similar to Telescope but much more civilized. We did the full round trip, which made it more of an adventure.
Devil’s Path in the Catskills. 26 miles. Didn’t love this one, but it’s a tough day hike for sure. First half is great — scrambling up and down very steep, small mountains. Second half is kind of a slog. We did it in a November downpour, which made it especially dark, cold and wet.
Thanks, Paul, and you’re correct, I only write about hikes and trips I’ve done personally. And you’re correct that many articles like this at other sites and magazines are written by people who didn’t do the hikes.
By anyway, congrats on having knocked off some excellent, long dayhikes. I’ve hiked Telescope Peak, but from the usual trailhead, not the bottom of Death Valley (which would be tough!). Nice piece of work there! I actually consider it one of “The 25 Best National Park Dayhikes.”
I’ve been aware of both San Jacinto and the Devil’s Path for some years, but haven’t gotten to either, yet. Maybe I’ll eventually get to them. So much to do, so little time!
Great post! I’m happy to see some hikes in the east included. Have you hiked the Great Range Traverse in the Adirondack High Peaks? I have only done sections of it, not the entire traverse, but it seems like a good fit with this spectacular list.
Thanks, Sara, and yea, the Great Range Traverse in the High Peaks of the Adirondacks is certainly a good fit for this list. I’ve only done some peaks there, not the entire traverse, although one of my good buddies and regular ultra-hiking partners has done it and urged me to do it for years. He’s living in New Hampshire, so maybe I’ll finally get to it with him one of these days.
Keep in touch.
I scrolled through, disillusioned as usual — west, west, west, west. Finally at the end I found *one location* in the southeast. Yes, we actually exist! Yes, an outdoor blog finally sees us! (Yes, sarcasm.)
Hi Nikita, sorry to leave you disillusioned. I’m only one person and I admittedly do most of my hiking in the West. But there are three hikes in the East on this list, and I’ll add more as I’m able to get to them. Suggestions welcome!
Such an awesome post! My dream is to hike the Grand Canyon! What time of the year is best to do so?
Hi Agness, best times of year are the second half of April into early May, and late September to around mid-October.
Great list! I enjoyed packing light and completing a longer hike without having to set up camp. I did the Yosemite hike and Half Dome Cables to celebrate last fall. I’m looking forward to doing some of the hikes you listed, especially the Grand Canyon.
Thanks, Heidi, and congrats on hiking Half Dome. The Grand Canyon is the granddaddy of ultra-hikes, but be ready for it, it’s a very tough one.
Hi Mike. Nice list you’ve put together. As we enter another summer hiking season up here in the White Mountains I’m starting to think about tackling two of the hikes on your list. The Pemi loop and the Presidential death march. I was hoping you could share some tips on how you prep in the days leading up to these monster day hike, and maybe a few tips on recovering after 32 miles, 10,000 feet of elevation change and 16 hours on the trail. Maybe even a short article to help other readers to get ready for any other the ultra dayhikes on the list. Thanks Mike!
Eric
Hi Eric,
Good to hear from you and thanks for that question. Huge days like the to Pemi Loop and Presidential Range Death March definitely require building up strength not only in the large muscles of the legs but in your core and back. I’ve found that when your core is getting tired, the effects ripple through your entire body, affecting your posture, stride, and efficiency moving on the trail, and eventually accelerate fatigue and soreness in your legs. The connective tissue in joints like knees and ankles takes even longer to strengthen for the abuse of long dayhikes, particularly in the White Mountains, where trails, as you know, are notoriously steep and rocky.
Recovering from a day like that—besides requiring at least a couple of rest days—is greatly helped by replenishing your body with what it’s craving, which is fluids, electrolytes, fat, protein, and salt. I like to have a big bottle of Gatorade or similar electrolyte drink and salty/fatty snacks waiting in the car when I’m done, to immediately start the process of giving my body nourishment. Follow that with a good meal of real food. The worst mistake I’ve seen people make after a huge day is deciding they’re too tired to eat, which almost guarantees that you’ll wake up feeling worse than when you went to sleep. I personally always give my body a good session of stretching and/or yoga post-hike and the next morning, to speed recovery and just feel better.
Check out my story to “Training for a Big Hike or Mountain Climb,” I think you’ll find it helpful.
Thanks again. I hope we connect for one of those big days in the Whites soon.
I can attest to the necessity of eating after a long hike. I made the mistake of missing dinner after day-hiking the Grand Canyon South Kaibab to Bright Angel. The following morning I could barely walk and experienced great discomfort. Stupidly, I repeated the same mistake after completing Half Dome only a few weeks later. A few years later I vowed not to make that mistake again when I day-hiked the Teton Paintbrush/Cascade Canyon loop. The first thing I did after the hike was find a good barbeque restaurant, and I pigged-out on ribs, chicken, beans, corn, fries, etc. I felt great the next morning, drove to Estes Park, CO, and completed Longs Peak the day after. Another valuable food tip, is don’t wait until you are hungry to eat during a long hike. It will take a few hours to digest that food, and your body will be waiting for that energy. I call it hitting an energy wall. Eat continually while on the trail to maintain a sufficient energy level.
All great points, David, thanks for sharing. And those were all great hikes you knocked off! I’ll also emphasize that some of that feeling wrecked the morning after could have been exacerbated by dehydration. An electrolyte-replacement drink is another good post-hike rehab habit to form.
Good luck on your next big adventures.
Thanks for your blog. I love the pictures and learning about places to explore the outdoors. Please offer more ideas for the East Coast — particularly the Southeast.
Thanks, Jennifer. I appreciate any specific suggestions, and I get to them as I’m able. Keep in touch.
How about the Art Loeb?! It spans incredible views in Shining Rock Wilderness and then plunges into the depths of the forest. Around 30 miles (we added a scramble up Cedar Rock which tipped the mileage a bit and made for a view towards the end of the day as well).
Thanks for this list!
Hi Sommerville,
Thanks for suggesting the 30-mile Art Loeb Trail in Pisgah National Forest in western North Carolina. I’ve only hiked part but not all of it, so I appreciate your report. Thanks also for the compliment about this story, I hope you get to some of the hikes on it.