Travel Forum - Traveler Mania

Long Range Traverse, Newfoundland, Canada
 
 
 
 Western Brook Pond to Gros Morne Mountain
 
 Round-Trip: 23 miles, 3 to 5 days
 
 When to Go: Relatively low elevation means this route opens in June and can be hiked until late September. But come prepared: The Long Range Mountains are on the Gulf of St. Lawrence and take the brunt of some of the worst weather in the world. Go with a guide service if you’re not an expert navigator.
 
 This off-trail traverse takes you from inland fjords lined with 2,000-foot-high granite cliffs draped with wispy waterfalls deep into Gros Morne National Park. The rugged seaside plateau is just one reason Newfoundland is the new mecca for adventure. The landscape here is as dramatic as it is remote: It was carved by glaciers from massive, uplifted blocks of granite that form the expansive plateau, a wild place still loaded with moose and caribou. Good skills with map, compass, and GPS are required here, as no marked or maintained trails penetrate this unique wilderness. So wild is this trek that the park wardens won’t give you a permit unless you carry a locator beacon (they call it a caribou collar). This ensures they won’t have to search the whole park if you fail to emerge on time.
 
Insider Tip: The impenetrable alpine krummholz vegetation (called tuckamore on Newfoundland) in Gros Morne is so dense it seriously complicates navigation. One useful technique is to follow “caribou leads,” trails carved through the tuck over centuries by moose and caribou. Then take a GPS waypoint and adjust your vector as required when you pop out the other side.

Mountains of the Moon, Uganda
 
 
 
 
 Central Circuit, Ruwenzori Range
 
 Round-Trip: 38 miles, 6 to 7 days
 
 When to Go: December to March, the “dry” season. Go with guides and porters; they know the way and are not expensive.
 
 When approaching high-altitude glaciers, you don't often hear locals say, “There are elephants here.” But everything about the Ruwenzori Range, Ptolemy's legendary Mountains of the Moon, is unexpected. Looming on the Uganda-Congo border, these peaks make up the highest range in Africa, rising to 16,765 feet at the Margherita summit of Mount Stanley. (Kilimanjaro and Kenya are taller, but they aren’t ranges.) You’ll hike three days through two 14,000-foot passes and mind-bending forests of giant groundsel and giant lobelias to get to the Bujuku Hut, base camp for those wanting to climb Mount Speke. Hike one more day to Elena Hut, base camp for those who want to climb the glaciers, and try for the summit of Mount Stanley for its unique views of the Congo Basin. Two more trail days take you over Scott Elliot Pass, the highest on the circuit at 14,344 feet, and back to the starting point for your eventual return to Kampala.
 
 Insider Tip: Bring a pair of indestructible camp shoes impervious to moisture, such as Crocs. The circuit can be a muddy mess. Walking in the creek beds often makes for the best progress. It is essential to be able to change into something dry and reasonably comfortable for your feet at day's end.

Croagh Patrick, Ireland
 
 
 
 
 Summit Climb, Westport, County Mayo
 
 Round-Trip: 8 miles, 1 day
 
When to Go: Spring through fall is best for weather, but the climb can be done year round when the summit isn’t covered with snow and ice. Expect fog, wind, rain, and hail rolling in off the Atlantic at any time.
 
 A climb of this gnarly, holy peak provides ample beauty, challenge, and spiritual power to really experience this long-settled country. Croagh is the Gaelic word for "sharp mountain," an apt term for this steep ascent of the 2,507-foot mountain where St. Patrick is said to have spent 40 days and nights in prayer at its summit. More than half the people who come to climb the rocky, exposed, and lung-churning trail to the top are not hikers of any stripe, but pilgrims paying homage to St. Patrick, who, with his Celtic cross design, symbolically brought Christians and pagans together. Stunning views of Clew Bay and all of verdant County Mayo are the payoff for making it to the top, with its tiny white chapel. A Guinness in the centuries-old Campbell’s Pub at the base is the mandatory finish. There, the most oft heard phrase is, “Wow, that was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
 
 Insider Tip: Myth says that if you climb Croagh Patrick seven times, your entry into heaven is assured despite previous bad behavior.