Where is the best place to go backpacking this summer?
I have been looking at lists of "best" camping and backpacking destinations in North America. I disagree with most of the suggested destinations as being the "best" locations. I can observe in many lists that the most popular destinations are merely "developed" campgrounds or locations near major cities that serve as a weekend retreat for millions of people who think that their own backyard is the "best" place in the world.
I am wondering where the most dramatic adventures would be in North America for an explorer: mountain scenes; frequent wildlife encounters; abundant wildflowers; clear lakes and streams. A few locations that arise in my mind: Banff; Tetons; Kootenai; North Cascades. A few wilderness areas that stand-out: Maroon Bells Snowmass Wilderness; Collegiate Peaks Wilderness; Boundary Waters.
?2014-04-11T12:16:16Z
You don't mention how much time you have or how far you want to go. Try doing the John Muir Trail from Yosemite Valley to Whitney Portal. The trail is about 220 miles through the heart of the Sierra Nevada Mountains finishing with a summit of MT. Whitney above 14,500 feet on the last day. If you would like a little less traffic try the section of the Pacific Crest Trail from Lake Tahoe to Toulumne Meadows in Yosemite. That's a 160 or 170 mile trip that is not quite as strenuous as the J.M.T. and can be combined with the J.M.T. to make a hike of almost 400 miles. (one of my hikes last year)
Either of these can be broken down into much shorter thru hikes or there are many possible loop trips you can make. They can both be accessed from the west or the east side of the mountains.
I have a buddy in Boise Idaho, an old backcountry explorer and former ski patroller who took me on the "Tour de Idaho" some years ago. I was mightily impressed with the Sawtooth mountains which he described as 'the poor man's Tetons", but I thought they were more spectacular and actually reminded me more of the Sierras with their soaring pink spires and fantastic trails of decomposed granite switchbacks. We also hiked into the Payette Wilderness to a remote lake -- on the way up a wild wolf crossed our path and stood and stared at us, my closest such sigting in a lifetime of backpacking.
For wildlife and nature encounters, some of the routes in Glacier are amazing. The trail to lake Helen Wilson over Gunsight Pass has some of the most spectacular summer wildflower displays I have ever seen, and the mountain goats wander into camp and stick their faces in your tent.
Adirondacks, NY. There is so much going on there. Lot of trails, some so remote most don't go to. But if you did, you'll be rewarded. There are also plenty of tourist type areas up there, but so easy to get away from it all.