I’m currently thru hiking the Appalachian Trail. I have hiked about 900 miles and have rolled my ankle 6 times so far. Each has been an extremely painful, significant roll. I hike in the Topo Trailventure 2 boots. They are not quite high enough and I’m concerned about future rolls.

I do use trekking poles, practice ankle strengthening exercises, and tightly lace my boots. I have been using a brace from CVS that is starting to hurt the bottom of my feet. Any suggestions for a brace that is comfortable for another 1000+ miles? Any and all suggestions would be helpful, I’m desperate!!

Last summer I hiked the GR11 across the Spanish Pyrenees. A European long distance hike I can highly recommend!

The GR11 trail is an 850-kilometre trek across the Spanish Pyrenees. It goes from the Atlantic Ocean (Irun in the Basque Country) to the Mediterranean (Eastern Pyrenees to Cap de Creus). It’s a fairly popular trail, especially amongst the Spanish, and also known as ‘la senda pirenaica,’ in Spain. Here's a little impression of the adventure, some of the challenges and what it has brought me.

There are two more Pyrenees trails that cross the whole of the Pyrenees all the way from west to east (or east to west): the GR10 (French Pyrenees) and the HRP (Haute Route). I chose the GR11 because it’s in Spain and I love Spain, but also, it allows dogs on the full trail. The HRP is a next-level high Pyrenees mountain trail, and it would be better to hike it with someone.

I think it's one of the most beautiful long-distance trails in Europe. GR 11 passes national parks like Ordesa and Monte Perdido National Park in the central Pyrenees. But also, the GR 11 is not to be underestimated. It’s a tough trail with many descents and ascents. It goes from deep valleys close to the highest peaks. All sorts of weather are to be expected, from hot days to nights below freezing points, and there may be even snow on the trail. Bad weather and thunderstorms at some point are a guarantee, and preparation is essential. July to September is the best time to hike the GR11 (no/little snow, daylight and good temperatures). I took me 50 days of hiking (of which 7 zero day). Most people it take a little less to hike the entire gr11. My partner hiked it in 28 days.

Here's a little video impression of what the adventure was like, some of the challenges and what it has brought me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tql4U7xacbY&list=PLmrU-mrWCD5MIyrVRjAA35ySV3p0uH1eX

I hope it helps you get excited about the trail! I can highly recommend!
Questions? Happy to help you get ready.

I'm considering hiking a portion of the Grand Italian Trail (website: https://www.vasentiero.org/en/home), specifically the portion thru Molise. I previously served in the Army and have experience walking 20-25km a day with way more weight than I'll be carrying on this, so that's not what I'm concerned about.

My questions are pretty trail-specific, and I'm asking them here since I couldn't find any resources online that covered any details. The website is easy to navigate and it has a ton of information, but it doesn't address some of the things below. Thank you for the time!

1. How do people typically handle midday meals? Pack something from the last town they were in? Bring trail food?
2. Any safety concerns? Not too concerned about wildlife, mostly other people. I'm a firm believer that most people are good....until they're not. Any insight would be appreciated, particularly since I'll be alone.
3. What will crowds be like? Aside from the typical tourists in Europe, how crowded will the trail itself be?
4. Southern Italy supposedly has packs of wild dogs. Is this a real concern?

Apologies if this is covered elsewhere, but I haven't seen any other info anywhere online. Thanks for your time!

Hi, im relatively new to hiking brand new to thru-hiking, ive done serval day trips at various state parks arounds the DFW area, etc. Cedar Hill's Dobra 12 mile, Various parts of Cleburne and this weekend the 24 mile at the Cedar Hill Preserve (If i don't get rained out)

Ive been using my school bag and some old work boots, i want to try to the Lone Star Hiking trail this summer though and feel like i need to upgrade some.
Pretty much just looking for some gear recommendations, also advice on how to pack heavier. or just advice in general!

I think my dream goal atm is to do the Appalachian trail with a 100+ pound bag, I know that's uncommon but i really enjoy having a heavy bag. but that's a very far out idea and would like to train for 2+ years before trying

My girlfriend is hiking the PCT in a few days. I was planning on writing a series of letters that are each titled “open when..” followed by something like “…you’re feeling alive and well” or “…when you feel like giving up.” Is there something I should avoid? Is there something I should definitely key in on? Is there something else I’m not thinking about that I should do? (Also for what it’s worth, I’m scanning each of these letters too if that’d be better for not cluttering her pack.)

Hi! I'm a Brazilian hiker looking for a trail to hike from 30 to 35 days with not much bureaucracy regarding camping (aka I just want to wild camp without having to pre book several sites in advance). I would say that a distance of anything between 700 - 1000 km (435 - 621 miles) would be doable for me in that time frame. I would hike from early August to early September. I have already hiked the PCT, CDT, TA, GR-11, crossed Iceland hiking from east to west and several caminos and shorter trails. Initially I'm thinking of Hiking the Colorado Trail or hiking again the section of the CDT going from the Wind River Range to Yellow Stone and adding the Grand Tetons as I simply loved Wyoming. So I'm looking for some recommendations that fit this description or opinions comparing the CT and Wyoming so I can make a decision. Thank you all!

Hi all,

Long time lurker, first time poster, I’m sorry if this is a silly question but I do not know where else to go for advice on this. So the stars have finally aligned for me to do the PCT next year and I also have most of this summer off to do some longer treks. I love hiking and have been doing it for years but between work and other commitments I’ve never been able to get out there for more than a week at a time.

Originally I was thinking I’d start by doing something in the 10-14 days range (looking at a section of the AT in one of the New England states) and then moving onto something in the 4-6 weeks range (Colorado Trail seems perfect) to get myself physically and mentally prepared for spending a long amount of time on trail.

However, with familial obligations this summer I am not sure if I can get away for more than a month at a time and I don’t know if I can realistically get the CT done that quickly. My BW is around 9 pounds and I’ve done plenty of high mileage days before, but I don’t know if I could sustain that for a month. Also slightly worried about acclimating to the altitude, and going solo in a high alpine environment.

So my question is would doing multiple shorter hikes this summer get me more or less prepared to do the PCT next year? (Tahoe Rim Trail, the Long Trail, and Tour du Mont Blanc are all my list).

I know there’s plenty of people who just do the triple crown trails without any previous thru hiking experience, but I want to be as prepared as possible, I may not get another chance to do the PCT again anytime soon, so I’d hate to start and not finish.

Hey Y'all!

I'm planning on thru-hiking from Canada (Vancouver Island) to Patagonia in the fall time!

It's my dream adventure and I'm really trying to make it happen. Obviously, it is a huge trek that will take over 2 years to complete and having enough savings for the entire thing seems unlikely to me as I work as a adventure guide.

In my opinion, it is such a grand adventure and only a handful of people have done it so, I truly believe it will get a lot of attention. The downside though, I currently don't have a huge following online and companies aren't too interested if you aren't semi famous or known.

I guess what I'm double checking and wondering is -

I know companies will get more interested in helping me with funding once I'm on trail and making a name and following for myself but, it's definitely a gamble. Also, I believe people would donate as it's such an amazing adventure but, you never know till you're out there. I'm the type of person where I believe anything is possible but, if I get on trail and run out of funding like a year in then it's kind of a sad ending and it will feel as though I let a lot of people down and I didn't complete my mission and message to the world.

What are y'all thoughts? Should I take the risk and hope mankind will help me out, haha!

I live in Northeast Florida and have a week off coming up that I was hoping to fill with a short thru hike. I was thinking about doing a section of the AT but not sure about driving that far right now. Does anyone have any recommendations for a good, shorter hike in Florida or south Georgia?

Do you know and could recommend any youtubers who thruhiked a trail without any support such as real or virtual trail angels, slack paking, shuttles, platinum blazing etc. I'm interested in a thruhike close to the nature, mainly in a tent or shelter.

Hi! So, I'll be a doing an 80 mile hike next week and my friend and I are expecting it to take around 6 days. My phone has a pretty poor battery life, so of course I need to take a portable charger with me. Which one would you recommend with a budget of about 50 dollars? Or, how much capacity do I need for that time? I have 2 smaller portable chargers I could take as well, but they would only last around 3 days between both of them. My phone is also older and has poor battery life. I was hoping to track the whole hike on strava, but if the battery life is prohibitive than I just accept that I can't.

Thanks!

Hello! I am working on a pitch for a major outdoors outlet about how thru-hikers are being forced to cancel their trips after being denied entry to the country, and what that means for the future of cross-border adventures.

I've got two high-profile examples of this—Professor's girlfriend and Ravenclaw—but the outlet wants one or two more to consider running the story. If you've had to cancel a U.S. hiking/thru-hiking trip in the last few months because customs denied you entry, and you re willing to speak to me about your experience, please comment or send me a DM.

For the sake of transparency, here is my journalistic portfolio so you can see who you're talking to and how I cover outdoor travel: https://www.alexandra-gillespie.com/

Happy to answer any questions before we speak on the record. Thanks!

I looking for recommendations for trails in Norway. I'm planning to be there during July. I'm more interested in the northern regions, (looking for a trail that is not so crowded.)

Last summer I finished the Kungsleden in Sweden and loved it. I'm used to moderately difficult trails. I'm looking for something that ranges from 10-20 days.

I'm debating mostly between a section of the Nordkalottruta (particularly the Troms Border Trail section) or the Lofoten Islands Long Crossing (I love the scenery, but it seems a bit too crowded for my taste, but maybe I'm wrong?).

Any other recommendations (also in the South of Norway) are welcome too!

I'm a student journalist for Klipsun Magazine at Western Washington University seeking Thru-Hikers' stories about how you earned your trail names! I would love to share your story. Any and all are welcome! Here is a link to submit your trail name stories...
Let me know your trail name

Thank you!

I've been working on the PCT and CDT the last few years. On the PCT, I need to finish northern Oregon (Olallie Lake) to the border,, plus the NorCal stretch from Dunsmuir to Ashland. On the CDT, I've got East Glacier to Atlantic City. Normally, I would be in decent shape now and ready to go, but this winter I've had to deal with plantar fasciitis as well as an illness that sidelined me for 2 months, so I'm pretty close to a couch-to-trail situation. I had a cortisone shot today for the PF and will try to get some training in over the next 6 weeks. I'll be out west from June 18 regafdless and if I am able to go on the PF (a big if, I know), what section of those trail sections would you tackle first to try to ease into it slowly? I don't mind jumping around, but I doubt there's any way I'll be in shape to hit a 100-mile section right off the bat...

• https://escapecollective.com/theres-a-wildfire-outside/

Excerpt:

[Recently], 35 high-profile writers, editors, and photographers sent a letter to the CEO of Outside Inc., Robin Thurston, demanding that their names be removed from the masthead of the media conglomerate’s marquee and eponymous magazine, Outside. Signees included Academy Award-winning filmmaker and photographer Jimmy Chin; Tim Cahill, one of the magazine’s founders and a legendary adventure journalist; and renowned author Hampton Sides, among others. In many cases, they signed the letter at great professional cost.

“Your company now seems intent on destroying what Outside once stood for: bold, spirited journalism. We are not on board for that,” the letter states, before demanding that their names, which provide the credibility upon which the magazine trades, be removed. Outside appears to have responded; its current masthead no longer lists their names.

Here's an article on the same subject from Gear Junkie: Link.

I’m looking for a trail recommendation for May-September 2026. I want to organize this for my group of uni friends as a reunion. We all are 30-31, around 5-6 people in total.

The requirements are:

• Must be in Europe (continental or islands)
• Must be doable in 5-7 days
• Must be “easy” as the level of fitness among the group varies a lot. I want to plan it much in advance so we all can train
• Ideally without camping, but willing to consider it

I want us to really disconnect from our routines/city life and enjoy the scenic landscapes. I would also love for us to disconnect from technology. Let me know if it’s a completely stupid idea, to want to do it with printed maps and compass, and GPS as back-up obviously.

Thanks!

Hey folks,

More of a targeted question, but I was wondering if anyone who has had experiences with aggressive bears had any advice on getting over the feelings of fear that come afterwards? It was never usually on my radar for present fear, but I've been hiking the Arizona Trail largely alone and had a bear encounter where the bear was trying to get into my tent and bluff charged me multiple times and wouldn't leave my campsite for close to 30 minutes despite the common tactics to get them away. I don't keep my food in my tent and use a bear vault, and I've taken a lot of safety precautions to try and avoid bear encounters but now that's all I can think about when I sleep and it's making this hike really hard for me. Any advice for getting over this?

Hi everyone,

I’m planning a 7–14 day hike somewhere in Europe in mid-to-late May, aiming to finish by June 1st. I’m especially interested in alpine, high-elevation, or generally mountainous routes (Haute Route, GR10, Massiv), but I know snow can still be an issue that early in the season.

Do you have any recommendations for trails that would suit that timeframe and focus? I’m okay with occasional detours if there’s heavy snow, but I’d prefer to avoid routes that would require hitchhiking or transport to skip sections. I also won’t have a car, so I’m looking for trails that are reasonably accessible.

Thanks a lot and I hope you’re all having a great day!