Maren Horjus - Backpacker Hidden Gems: 100 Greatest Undiscovered Hikes Across America

Maren Horjus is the Destinations Editor at BACKPACKER . Her trips section, the Play List, which delivers more than 20 hikes from coast to coast in every issue, was a National Magazine Award finalist in 2016 and 2018. She has written for Skiing , Mountain , Mens Health , Sports Illustrated , and SI Kids , and she is the author of Haunted Hikes (Falcon). She lives in Boulder, Colorado.

HIDDEN GEMS
100 GREATEST UNDISCOVERED HIKES ACROSS AMERICA

FALCON GUIDES

An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.
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Falcon and FalconGuides are registered trademarks and Make Adventure Your Story is a trademark of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK
Copyright 2018 Backpacker magazine, a division of Active Interest Media

Cover photo by Stephen Yocom
Back cover photo by Harry Hitzeman
Maps by Melissa Baker The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

All rights reserved . No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Information available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Horjus, Maren, author.

Title: Backpacker Hidden Gems : 100 greatest undiscovered hikes across America / by Maren Horjus.

Description: Guilford, Connecticut : Falcon, [2018] | Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORKT.p. verso.

Identifiers: LCCN 2018002523| ISBN 9781493033867 (Paperback) | ISBN 9781493033874 (e-book)

Subjects: LCSH: BackpackingUnited StatesGuidebooks. | HikingUnited StatesGuidebooks. | WalkingUnited StatesGuidebooks. | TrailsUnited StatesGuidebooks. | United StatesGuidebooks.

Classification: LCC GV199.4 .H67 2018 | DDC 796.510973dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018002523

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

The author and Rowman & Littlefield assume no liability for accidents happening to, or injuries sustained by, readers who engage in the activities described in this book.

All permit information was verified with this books publication, but is subject to change. Check individual park regulations before heading out.

SPOILER ALERT

Yes, were into oversharing when it comes to the outdoors. Heres why.

WHERE YOU HEADED? asks the silver-haired man, slightly incredulously, as he hoists a wobbly external-frame pack near where ice-blue Tapeats Creek spills into the silty Colorado, deep in the belly of the Grand Canyon. Im a two-day walk from the nearest trail-head, an overgrown user path on the national parks North Rim, itself a days drive away from the nearest incorporated town. Im surprised to see him down here, and apparently he feels the same about me.

Deer Creek, I reply, pointing downriver to where the chocolate-colored Colorado disappears between sky-kissing walls of orange sandstone.

The BACKPACKER hike, huh?

I smile and nod. Im midway through the Thunder River-Deer Creek Loop, a 26-mile epic scoutedand somewhat popularizedby BACKPACKER . The man who held my post at the magazine more than a decade ago had heard rumblings about a spectacular (and tough) loop on Grand Canyons seldom-visited North Rim that descended to the Colorado River on the Thunder River Trail and back out on the Deer Creek Trail. The catch was that you had to get a little creative on the in-between because no official trails connected the two. He, along with a few other former BACKPACKER editors, put boots to (very faint) trail and did it. It was a gem in every sense: challenge, scenery, and solitude.

And then they did what weve been doing since 1973. They shared it. Some would say they spoiled it by publishing directions for other hikers to follow, but after more than four decades of scouting and writing about undiscovered routes, we know what it really means: Others would get to see the Mars-like Esplanade fall off into the chasm of the Big Ditch and witness freshwater Thunder Spring burst through a limestone amphitheater into an emerald oasis. Others would get to ford a route through rocky rubble above where the Colorado River sluices through the cliff-pinched Granite Narrows, and then ride a natural flume that time and Deer Creek have made so smooth it rivals any water park slide.

I stood at the bottom of the Grand Canyon that day because I wanted to see it feel itfor myself. I wanted a lifetimes worth of desert highlights packed into a single trip, and I didnt want to throw elbows with the hordes on the Bright Angel Trail to get it. It worked: I encountered just three parties on that three-day circuit, and they were all there on BACKPACKER s recommendation. You can try it, too. Find an exact trip description for the Thunder River-Deer Creek Loop on page 102. Ive updated some of the logistics, but I promise youll savor the same challenge, scenery, and, yes, solitude that made the hike a must-do epic when BACKPACKER first put it on the map.

Photo: iStockphoto

The same is true of the other ninety-nine hidden gems in this book. Each one has been vetted by one of our editors or field scout who explored a wild lake, a quiet canyon, a lonely peak, or a secluded hideaway and chose to spoil it on you. Thats because the miserly pleasure of holding a secret spot to yourself isnt anywhere near as gratifying as sharing outdoor joy. And were confident that youas a wilderness steward of the highest orderwill protect these places so theyre truly unspoiled for others to discover. So head out and try one of our favorites. Start small with the 6.6-mile trip through Texass Lost Maples State Natural Area (page 105) or the easy, 3.2-mile walk through Wyomings Snowies (page 141). Go nuts and tackle an off-trail ridge walk in Washingtons North Cascades (page 36) or a forgotten route to a beachy oasis in Hawaiis Kohala Forest Preserve (page 11). No matter where you end up, I guarantee youll find mind-melting scenery worthy of the classicsbut a lot less crowded.

I guarantee you wont be disappointed, and I should know.

UPGRADE YOUR SUNSET PHOTOS

Master exposing these high-contrast scenes to capture the outdoors at its best.

GET READY Figure out when and where the sunwill set. Best bet:The Photographers Ephemeris appwill tell you the exact angle for any spot and date. The iOS version includes an option to forecast whether the clouds will light up (this usually happens after the sun is down). Low-tech option: Find west with a compass, and look for high clouds with a clear horizon. Start getting in position to shoot an hour before sunset.