Backpacking & Day Hiking
Trip Reports
Backpacking is the heart of 448wild. Browse firsthand backpacking guides, individual day hikes, and day-hiking itineraries, with route notes, logistics, maps, and photos.
Backpacking Guides
Firsthand guides to continuous multi-day routes, with trail details and practical planning notes.
-
2-Day Mont Aorai Backpacking Guide in Tahiti
A first-hand guide to backpacking Mont Aorai in Tahiti, covering the Fare Mato and Fare Ata huts, exposed ridges, fixed ropes, water, weather, access, and a two-day itinerary.
-
3-Day Cranberry Wilderness Backpacking Loop from WV 150
An 18.5-mile, 3-day Cranberry Wilderness loop from WV 150, with quiet forest, riverside camping, waterfalls, faint trail, and three major creek crossings.
-
4-Day Trans-Catalina Trail Backpacking Guide
A 4-day island traverse across Santa Catalina with coastal camps, ocean views, steady climbs, and rugged interior terrain.
-
3-Day Dolly Sods Backpacking Loop from Bear Rocks
A 3-day West Virginia loop through Dolly Sods Wilderness with open meadows, spruce forest, rocky overlooks, and boggy high-country terrain.
Day Hikes
Explore individual day hikes, with route details, access notes, maps, and photos.
Following a summit list? Browse my peak checklists for the Adirondacks, New Hampshire and the Catskills.
-
Wittenberg-Cornell-Slide Loop Day Hike from Woodland Valley
A firsthand guide to the Wittenberg Cornell Slide loop from Woodland Valley: 14.0 miles, 4,800 feet of gain, scrambling, water, and road-walk advice.
-
Rooster Comb Day Hike in Keene Valley
A firsthand guide to hiking Rooster Comb and Valley View Ledge on a mapped 4.7-mile out-and-back with 1,820 feet of gain, Route 73 parking, and where the hike fits in a longer Adirondacks trip.
-
Algonquin Peak and Wright Peak Day Hike
A firsthand guide to hiking Wright Peak and Algonquin Peak from Adirondak Loj, with practical notes on steep rock, light scrambling, parking, and crowds.
-
Mount Elbert East Ridge Day Hike
My first 14er via Mount Elbert's East Ridge, with deep late-May snow, altitude symptoms, access notes, and the mistakes I would not repeat.
Day-Hiking Itineraries
Plans that connect separate day hikes, with lodging, transportation, and the sequence between trails.
-
3-Day Adirondacks Hiking Itinerary: Lake Placid to Lake George
Three day hikes from Lake Placid to Lake George, with lodging moves and travel between trails.
-
2-Day Adirondacks Hiking Itinerary: Algonquin, Wright & Rooster Comb
Two day hikes from a Saranac Lake base, with transportation from New York City.