I'm back!

I'm back from Montana. It was an absolute blast! I took a ton of photos, but not sure what size they are so I haven't posted them yet. Also came back to the house being a disaster (to be fair, it was a disaster when I left) and my daughter's birthday party looming on Sunday, so I'm short on time right now. And had some Amtrak issues that caused me to get home a day later than I had planned. (Long story there.)

Anyway, just wanted to report back that I was not mauled by any bear or mountain lion, did not fall off any cliffs and did not experience any ill effects from the altitude (in fact, at the highest point on the trail, I decided to go HIGHER and climbed a nearby peak so I could call my husband on my cell phone-- yes, I know, that's kind of cheating when you're supposed to be out in the wilderness, but I couldn't resist climbing higher anyway, and it just so happened my phone worked up there and then how could I NOT call just to say, "hey, guess where I'm calling you from?!").

So, anyway, lots and lots of fun. I even enjoyed the backpacking part. I kept my pack pretty light (probably between 30 and 35 pounds, and probably closer to 30) and I think that probably made a huge difference. I did wish a few times that I had a fleece in addition to the rest of my clothes, and I was glad for my zero degree bag even if everyone else did fine in their 20 degree bags. But I wasn't miserable with cold, either. I also kind of wished I had brought a bag of marshmallows since camp fires were permitted for some portions of the trail. Oh and more toilet paper. I had to beg tp from others for the last day or so. Oops. Not a good thing to run out of! Other than that, pretty happy with what I brought.

I managed to catch one very small fish while fly fishing (first time). Not even sure what kind it was (cut throat? brookie?) because I was too busy worrying about getting someone to help me unhook it. I kept getting bites but not being able to actually hook the fish. Oh well.

Anyway, I definitely want to do this again. I think the others are looking for less elevation gain/loss next time, so I will be back here asking for trail recommendations, especially since I want to get in some early suggestions for stuff that's more in the mid-west or maybe east coast if mid-west doesn't offer what we're looking for. I'm tentatively thinking the white mountains in New Hampshire, though that's a little further from home for me. There's also Vermont, Maine and New York, New York being the closest of those options for me. Also not sure what's in Kentucky, as that's not too terribly far. I think we can do a longer hike if we don't have the kind of elevation changes we had in Montana, too. (Honestly, I really enjoy hard physical work, so I got a kick out of the hike, which was "strenuous, but not technical", but not everyone gets that kind of satisfaction out of physical labor.) What they really want most of all is beautiful scenery and not a lot of crowds. Which I think is more likely when you take a strenuous or technical hike. One thing I know, though, is that we are going to stay away from technical stuff. I enjoyed scrambling up that peak near Fossil Lake, but I would NOT have been up for doing that with a pack on!

So, yeah. Just wanted to check in, mostly, and say I'm back alive!

Wow, sounds like you had a great time. You did all the right preparation and it paid off. Sounds like you were the strongest hiker in the group.

The White mountains are said to be one of the harder parts of the Appalachian trail. You really can't escape elevation changes and have a great hike.

If you want non-technical, beautiful scenary and not a lot of people, the Colorado Trail is a great choice. I'm a little biased though as I live in Colorado.

Thanks for the suggestion. I may start a later thread looking for suggestions on trails, too. Never too early to start looking.

As far as the other hikers, well, my dad is in his 60s and smokes, so I don't think that helps him. He runs regularly and has been, thus far, knock on wood, able to do whatever he wants despite the smoking habit.

One of my stepbrothers just had back surgery about 4 months before the hike.

And the third spends so much time working that I don't know how much time he really had to prep.

So, I think that might account for some of my eagerness to do day hikes when we got to camp and their reluctance to do the same.

Glad your trip went well. I look forward to your being a regular contributor on this forum.

As far as Kentucky, there's the Red River Gorge and Mammoth Cave National Park; relatively small elevation gains and losses, but pretty. The Smokies, Virginia's Grayson Highlands, and West Virginia's Dolly Sods are a bit further, and have some more challenging terrain, but are very pretty.

Don't overlook southern Ohio - Zaleski in particular; also some other spots in the same area.

And about the same distance north, don't overlook Isle Royale NP and Pictured Rocks.

None of these places are Montana, but you can get to them easier and more often, and you'll find that they have their own particular brand of charm.

Kievalina, I'm so glad you had a great time on your trip!

Lots of places in the Midwest for backpacking. Did anyone mention Bill's home territory of the Ozarks? I second Michigan's UP; there are spots in the northern part of the Lower Peninsula, too. Pictured Rocks and the Porcupines are beautiful even by Western US standards!

I'm looking forward to your trip report! (You do know that the price of all the advice we gave you is a trip report, right?)


Of course getting caught up on the home front is important, too, especially that birthday party--hope it goes well!

Definitely agree. A lot of folks do day hikes out of the AMC huts there, but actually backpacking the Whites isn't easy. Beautiful country, especially in the overall context of the AT.
What you might do is take the cog train up Mt. Washington and do a couple of day hikes from there. You would get a lot of the scenery and a feel for the area with a lot less of the self-administered butt kicking.

I liked the most northern states the best. Maine was fun and interesting, though there were parts that I enjoyed less on wet days (smooth rocks and roots made it easier to slip and fall in places).

Just found this link: Great Lakes Hikes. Most of them are close to home for you!

I love the butt-kicking. ;-) Bring it on! (Maybe I am crazy.)

As I suspected, all of my images are way too huge to be posted on the board as they are. When I finally figure out how to take the quality down, I will post. (Though it seems a shame to take the quality down. )

You could always use Photobucket.com to host the image at full quality and used the img code it generates for each picture and post it on here.

Sounds like a great trip!

As Glenn suggested, there are several nice wilderness areas in WV, including Dolly Sods, Otter Creek, and Cranberry. Dolly Sods has plenty of open terrain, and that's probably the closest to Montana scenery. It's probably about a 9-10 hr drive for you.

The Porcupine Mountains in the UP are great too. I just went on a trip there this winter in 4 feet of snow. Beautiful!

Also consider Algonquin park in Canada near Toronto.

kievalina,

Congratulations. Once lived in Red Lodge and got up into the Beartooth and have missed it ever since.

Couple of thoughts: I now live near Algonquin Park and backpack there now and then, especially with newbies. The park is spectacular alright, but it's mostly a canoe area (I use it several times a year). The hiking trails are not much of a challenge. There's really only one that would justify several nights. I love it, but the highest point is pretty much just a hill.

You suggested you would look at New York. Check the Adirondacs. That's where I go for a quick challenge. I've tested a lot of gear on Mt. Marcy (usually up the Johns Brook trail, with a night at the lodge or the shelter just above it), and there are a lot of very worthwhile trails in the High Peaks region.

best, jcp