As we prepare for our adventure this summer, we have been focused on our gear. Taking into account the lessons we learned from hiking the PCT, we have strived to review every backpacking item to lighten our load. If we aren’t going to use something extensively, it stays home.
With our goal of finishing the entire PCT in 2019, we decided to complete a missing piece of trail that we needed to detour around three years ago. It is a challenging section, climbing over 7,000 feet in elevation from the desert sand to the forest snow.
Sandy introduces this year’s adventure – 1,000 miles of trekking in the Western United States on the Pacific Crest Trail and Arizona Trail!
Earlier this year we undertook our latest journey: a Trekking Europe adventure. During our travels we hiked over 500 miles in seven countries. Take a look at our summary video.
This summer, we trekked over 500 miles on four different long distance hikes in seven European countries. Even though we have now trekked over 3,000 miles in the past six years, I am always learning new things while hiking. So I wanted to share the twelve things I discovered this summer while on our Trekking the Planet Europe journey.
Beginning back on June 17, we took our first steps on our Trekking Europe adventure, as we left Porto, Portugal, on the Camino Portugues. Now, after completing that trek and two others in France and Germany / Austria, we had just five days left on our latest hike across Switzerland.
The Swiss Alps are comprised of some of the most iconic mountains in the world. After completing the first six days of our Swiss Alpine Pass Route trek, beginning from Liechtenstein, we were ready to hike among some of these giants during our next 10 day section into the heart of the Alps.
The 230-mile Swiss Alpine Pass Route hike, by far the most challenging of our Trekking Europe adventure, crosses numerous alpine passes, alternating between climbing up mountainsides and descending to valleys. Over the first six days of the trek, we crossed three passes. Each one was different, and we quickly learned to take the passes one at a time.
Two months into our Trekking Europe journey, Sandy writes about how our gear has held up to the goal of keeping our weight to a minimum, yet satisfying all of our hiking and traveling needs.
Sandy provides an overview of our final trek in Europe – the Swiss Alpine Pass Route (230 miles, 23 days) through Switzerland.
The Lech River flows 158 miles through the countries of Austria and Germany before it merges into the Danube River. It also forms the backdrop to one of Europe’s newest long-distance trails, called the Lechweg. We spent six days hiking the 125-kilometer (78-mile) path, from Fussen, Germany, to the source of the river, at the Formarinsee Lake in the Austrian Alps.
The Alsace region of Northeastern France has a rich history, with roots in both French and German culture. The area is dotted with Medieval castles and quaint villages. It is also home to the Northern Vosges Regional Park, a UNESCO Biosphere with lush forests. We spent six days hiking a little over 100 kilometers (65 miles total) on the northern two-thirds of the GR53 trail.
