I feel as though the list of trails that I want to hike is ever growing. Many of the trails on my bucket list have come from the Local Adventurer blog post "25 Best Hikes in the World to Put on Your Bucket List" (https://localadventurer.com/25-best-hikes-in-the-world-bucket-list/), but others have been inspired by YouTubers, friends, and family. While I am stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is nice to dream of the hikes that might attempt once the social distancing mandates have finally lifted.
1. West Coast Trail
Distance: 75 km (47miles)
Location: Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
Since I grew up in Victoria and the Nitinaht Village Trailhead is less than a 2 hour drive away, people often assume that I have hiked the West Coast Trail. I am ashamed admitting that I have not. My dad has hiked the trail numerous times, the first when he was only 13 years old. Growing up hearing his stories inspired me to want to hike the trail myself. Reservations for the West Coast Trail open at the beginning of January each year and all spots are usually filled that day. I have always had tentative work or academic obligations for the summer months that have made it difficult for me to commit to hiking the West Coast Trail 6 months in advance.
2. Sunshine Coast Trail
Distance: 180 km (112 miles)
Location: Powell River, British Columbia, Canada
The Sunshine Coast Trail is Canada's longest hut-to-hut hiking trail. The trail was established back in 2000, but the 14 huts are a recent edition. This trail boasts all the features that I love about the West Coast: coastal shorelines, old growth forests, and panoramic mountaintops. Since a permit is not required for hiking this trail, I could set off on a whim.
3. Kilimanjaro
Distance: 64 km (40 miles)
Location: Tanzania, Africa
Mount Kilimanjaro is Africa’s highest peak at 19,340 feet. One of my favourite YouTubers, Carly Rowena, posted a vlog of her hiking Mount Kilimanjaro in 2018 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEy5CA6m1CE) and I have wanted to hike Mount Kilimanjaro myself ever since watching this. I do worry about how my body would handle the altitude change on this trail, as I have quite low blood pressure and sometimes feel light-headed just standing up from a chair. I also feel it would be wise to wait until the situation in the neighbouring country of the Dominican Republic of the Congo (DRC) has settled before travelling to Tanzania to attempt Mount Kilimanjaro.
4. Pacific Crest Trail (PCT)
Distance: 4,270 km (2,653 miles)
Location: California, Oregon, & Washington, United States
I first was intrigued by the idea of section hiking the PCT, but I eventually starting coming around to the idea of attempting the whole trail. I plan to conquer a few shorter thru hikes before giving any serious thought to the PCT. As I will be finishing graduate school at the end of the year, I am currently too broke to hike the PCT anyways, and I will need to work for a couple of years before I will have saved enough money. Mari Johnson is a YouTuber who hiked the PCT in 2019 and I watched the 36 vlogs she posted which covered her 165 days on the trail (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLU_lUDBq5HMxNG3LKX22eYu5fG7Vhjym5). I honestly do not remember how I stumbled across her channel, but I loved following her adventure.
5. Inca Trail
Distance: 42 km (26 miles)
Location: Peru
Peru has been top of my list of international travel destinations since I was a child and I would definitely want my trip to include hiking the Inca Trail. With the number of Inca Trail permits being limited each year in response to environmental damage caused by tourists, I worry about the trail closing before I ever have the chance to cross this hike off my bucket list. While I could still visit Machu Picchu, which is the final destination of the Inca Trail, without hiking, I would miss out on the beautiful mountain scenery, lush cloud-forest, subtropical jungle, and Inca ruins that are experienced along the trail.
6. Chilkoot Trail
Distance: 53 km (33 miles)
Location: Alaska, United States & Yukon Territory, Canada
Alaska and the Yukon are known for expanses of untouched wilderness teeming with wildlife, so I expect this trail is among the finest in backcountry hiking. The trail is roughly divided into three climatic zones: coastal rainforest, high alpine, and boreal forest. This is such a diverse landscape for a relatively short distance, so it seems that each day on the trail would offer unique scenery. The Chilkoot Trail is also studded by artifacts left behind by gold rush stampeders, giving it the name of the "world's longest museum". If I ever feel that I really need an escape from my life, the Chilkoot Trail is where I will go.
7. Kalalau Trail
Distance: 35km (22 miles)
Location: Kauai, Hawaii, United States
I have visited Hawaii multiple times on family trips, where we mostly stuck to the popular tourist areas and spent our time lounging on the beach. I would love to return to Hawaii to explore more of the natural beauty by hiking through the Nāpali Coast State Wilderness Park on the Kalalau Trail. Apparently the trail has been named one of the most beautiful and most dangerous hikes in the world, so I am both intrigued and a little intimidated.
8. El Camino de Costa Rica
Distance: 280 km (174 miles)
Location: Costa Rica
In September 2019, my mom mailed me an article on the El Camino de Costa Rica that she had read in The Globe and Mail newspaper. I damned her for this because I had schoolwork that I should have been completing, but reading the article got me completely distracted and I spent the rest of the night researching the trail. The article boast that the El Camino de Costa Rica traverses six distinct climate zones, two mountain ranges, virgin tropical forest, several river crossings, and encounters with Indigenous peoples. After reading this, I was sold.
9. East Coast Trail
Distance: 336km (209 miles)
Location: Newfoundland, Canada
I have never been to Atlantic Canada, but it is a region of my home country that I would very much like to visit. Hiking the East Coast Trail seems like the perfect way to experience the rugged beauty that Eastern Canada is famous for. The East Coast Trail Association reports that this trail unites genuine wilderness hiking with richly historic communities, which sounds like a winning combination to me. The list of scenic attractions along the East Coast Trail is lengthy (https://www.eastcoasttrail.com/en/index.aspx#), with icebergs being the standout to me.
10. Tour du Mont Blanc
Distance: 167 km (105 miles)
Location: France, Italy, & Switzerland
I have yet to travel to mainland Europe and the Tour du Mont Blanc would give me the opportunity to explore the rural parts of three European countries: France, Italy, and Switzerland. Of course I want to see the Eiffel Tower in Paris, I also want to spend time outside of the cities and experience what the remote areas of the country have to offer. The Tour du Mont Blanc sounds as though it holds beautiful and diverse scenery, traversing mountain passes, alpine meadows, glacial valleys, and the base of the highest mountain in Western Europe. A friend I made while hiking the West Highland Way in Scotland is considering attempting the Tour du Mont Blanc in 2021, and it would take very little convincing to get me to join him.
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