7-Day trip planning

Hello,

This is my first post here, and I'm really hoping it will be a good stay.

My parents and I are planning on taking a backpacking trip during the summer break (I'm a full time college student) as we travel to visit family.

We are looking for a trip, around 7 days, that is somewhere between Arizona and Ohio. My dad and I both backpack pretty often here (Arizona), and in Colorado, so we'd rather go somewhere else, but are not sure where.

While my dad and I are both experienced, my mom has only been on a few trips, and will be the limiting factor for the difficulty of the trip (Not to say she can't do it, just nothing too epic).

So I would really appreciate any help for both a trip, but also help planning the trip.

Thanks,
Cole

www.needGod.com

The Ozarks, Great Smoky Mountain National Park (slight detour to get there), or there are some pretty pockets of backcountry in Kentucky, Illinois, and Indiana (might not be able to get a 7 day trip in one of them, but you could always spend 2 or 3 nights in several of them, with a shower at a motel between hikes. Kentucky offers, among others, the Red River Gorge (natural arches), Mammoth Cave NP (nice backcountry as well as the caverns), and parts of the Sheltowee Trace. Southern Illinois has, I think, a nice area, though I've never been there. Indiana has the Hoosier National Forest and Knobstone Trail. Don't overlook Ohio, either: Zaleski, Shawnee, Vesuvius, and other areas in southeast Ohio.

If you don't mind a bigger detour, you could swing up to Lake Superior and spend some time at Isle Royale NP.

Awesome, thank you very much for the suggestions, I'll look into those places.

Any other suggestions from people would be appreciated.

Montana is a possibility too.

Thanks,
Cole


www.needGod.com

I would pick Colorado, but since it's off the list Montana be a great choice. I've never been to either places it's on my bucket list. I live near the Great Smoky Mountains and it would be a fine place to hike, but summer months brings a very large crowd.

I forgot to mention two other places, in southern Kentucky, along the Tennessee border: Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, and the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.

Since you're talking Summer I'll say you can do better than the Ozarks. If it were early Spring, or mid to late Fall, the Ozarks are awesome, but the summers can be vicious.

Since your mom will be along you might consider looking for a lake or stream you can hike to in an easy day, then stay a day or two, or more, before moving on. If you find the right spot it can be pretty nice to just hang out for a few days. You can do some day hikes and come back to your camp still set up.

Some spots are just too good to walk up to and look at and then move on. Some spots deserve a few days of your time. A 7 day trip is perfect for planning that in.

Summer is not a great time for backpacking in the lower midwest and south. I backpack mostly in the Missouri and Arkansas Ozarks, and have been to Red River Gorge in Kentucky and Big South Fork in KY/TN. I can't really recommend any of those during the summer. I've done it, and managed to have fun, but if you have any higher-elevation options at all, they will be better.

I'd agree - spring and fall are better times (especially fall, if you hit the fall colors just right.)

However, in this case, the two givens were "summer" and "between home and Ohio." So, since we can't do anything about those, places were the only remaining variable. The heat is one reason I tossed Isle Royale in - late summer is actually fairly pleasant there.

Thanks guys (or girls)!!!!!

Colorado isn't completely off, but a more unkown area would be good.

I would really like to hike in a different season, but like I said, this will be while I'm on break from college, so that's not an option. Early, or late summer, is doable too. Doesn't have to be the peak of the heat.

My mom is definately a capable hiker, I just wanted to make sure to avoid anything too extreme.

Thanks again for all the suggestions, I'll do some research on the different areas.

Thanks,
Cole

I would heartily second Isle Royale as a destination. Easy trails and moderate elevation gain, as well as an abundance of water make it a good proposition for a neophyte hiker. it is not easy to reach (typically year after year it is the least visited national park) but it is really an incredible place. You can also tailor your trip for different degrees of difficulty and you have civilized facilities available on island at either the beginning or end of the trip.

Since you put Colorado back on the list, almost any 7 day trip in the first 15 segments of the Colorado Trail would be good. It is easy to get information.

I'd recommend leaving your car at the Leadville Hostel in Leadville. They can shuttle you 3 days away. Spend a night at the hostel and they can shuttle you 3 days the other direction.

The best way to head first would probably be south so you can get used to the elevation. We seldom see many people on the Colorado Trail.

Consider Glacier NP in Montana, or the Winds or Grand Tetons in Wyoming.

Thanks everyone.

Looking at the isle royale website, it seems very touristy (many national park websites are), is this the case, or is it possible to get to a more secluded area and backpack for a few days?

Thanks,
Cole

You have two "developed areas" on Isle Royale - Rock Harbor and Windigo. Step ten feet away from both of those and you are backpacking or canoeing, as much or as little as you might desire.

If you look at the map, you will note there are shelters throughout the island. I would use those (I have stayed at the one at Malone Bay and it was minimal but insect proof and quite satisfactory). My personal experience with IR has been business only - SCUBA investigations of shipwrecks there - but my bucket list incorporates backpacking - fascinating country without hordes of tourists.

The negatives are that a trip to IR is not cheap or casual. You can get there only by boat or float plane. That is why the visitation is so low - typically the smallest of the national parks. If you want tourists, go to Yosemite or Grand Canyon (though even there, you are only a few minutes from wilderness as raw and screaming as you might like).

Been there twice. You spend an hour in the touristy corner at Rock Harbor ("touristy" is a small restaurant, boat dock, gift/provisions shop, and 50-room lodge, plus a small "Class B" campground. Most of the hour is a mandatory "orientation" by a ranger; the other 15 minutes is strolling to the edge of the area where the trails begin. The rest, except for the marked campgrounds (which are, at best, Class B and totally delightful) is foot-travel-only, with trails being the only touch of man.

The park gets about 10,000 visitors a year (compared to 10,000 a day at parks like Yosemite?) Definitely not the usual national park.

I woke up one morning at Amygdaloid Ranger Station, peered out the window, and saw my first moose, grazing on the lawn- pretty impressive!

Awesome, I'll definitely look into IR then. I'm definitely trying to avoid a touristy location.

Can a trip to Yosemite be done avoiding a lot of the tourism? At least once you've started the trip that is.

Thanks,
Cole

Alright, plans have changed. No specific destination anymore, so I'll be looking into montana and wyoming.

Thanks, for the help, still looking for any suggestions,
Cole

[quote=Birdkiller
Can a trip to Yosemite be done avoiding a lot of the tourism? At least once you've started the trip that is.
[/quote]

The big national parks all have their magnet attractions, which attract huge crowds, often for good reason. Yosemite Valley really is an exceptional place, but it is, and has been for a long time, rather crowded. The NPS has just released for public discussion a revised plan for improvements in the valley. The end result will be no caps on visitor numbers.

In any park, get away from the developed areas, and you will leave "touristy" behind, often very quickly. Throughout our country, there are scores of little known gems that are not big tourist attractions.

In Yosemite, there are about five or six trailheads outside of the Valley that are crowded. We've often picked up permits the morning of a hike, and then spend the rest of the day pretty much alone in some of the lesser known or lesser traveled parts of the park,

But if you want to hike the John Muir Trail of the waterfalls of the Valley, you are going to have a lot of company