The Mountaineering Triple Crown consists of three long-distance thru-hiking trails, the Pacific Crest Path, the Continental Divide Path, and the Appalachian Path.
These trails journey by 22 states within the USA and canopy round 7500 miles. The mixed elevation acquire of all of the ‘Mountaineering Triple Crown’ is greater than climbing Mt Everest 41 occasions. It’s a uncommon membership of hikers which have hiked all these three trails. Some have even hiked the ‘Triple Crown of Mountaineering’ in a single calendar 12 months.
Hikers who full all 3 trails are often called ‘Triple Crowners’. The American Lengthy Distance Mountaineering Affiliation, often called ALDHA-West, acknowledges such an achievement. Solely a few hundred hikers have accomplished the Mountaineering Triple Crown.
Some individuals have accomplished the climbing triple crown in a single calendar 12 months. I’ll make a daring prediction and say that I feel the extremely match freaks of the climbing and ultra-marathon world might be lining as much as ‘Full the Calendar 12 months Mountaineering Triple Crown’ sooner or later.
Triple Crown of Mountaineering
Pacific Crest Path
Intro
- The Pacific Crest Path is 2650 miles
- Traverses 13 mountain ranges
- It runs by the western states of California, Oregon, and Washington
My expertise
The Pacific Crest path was my first long-distance climbing path, you’ll be able to solely do issues for the primary time, as soon as. I hiked the path northbound (NOBO) from the Mexico border to Canada however an growing variety of individuals are climbing southbound to flee the crowds. The path weaves it’s manner by the California desert earlier than climbing as much as the spectacular Sierra Nevada mountains. It continues by northern California and previous the volcanic mountains of Oregon to the spectacular Cascade mountains of Washington. It’s a powerful lengthy distance path.
In some ways that is the simplest of the three trails. The grades of the climbs are not often too steep because the path additionally caters for horses.
Risks
- Excessive snow within the Sierra Nevada
- Very excessive probability of fires closing components of the path
- Quick flowing rivers within the Sierra Nevada
- Lack of water within the deserts
- Rattlesnakes
- Early season snow within the Cascades of Washington
- Should end in Canada earlier than 1st October, or danger an opportunity of loss of life
Highlights
- Desert dawn
- Kings Canyon, Sierra Nevada
- Cascades of Washington
Additional Info
Continental Divide Path
Intro
- The CDT is between 2700-3100 miles lengthy (there are a lot of alternate routes)
- It traverses the size of the continental divide watershed
- New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana
My Expertise
The Continental Divide Path was the second of my lengthy distance thru-hikes. Rated by many as one of many hardest thru-hikes on the planet. Definitely, there have been robust days and hard sections however I felt that finishing the Pacific Crest Path earlier than this hike ready my thoughts and physique for all of the trials and tribulations of the path. Sickness, harm, and fatigue virtually compelled me to give up the path however I continued and succeeded.
Navigation is barely more durable on the Continental Divide Path however anybody with fundamental navigation expertise might be superb. Good maps and GPS routes exist for the path. If the quantity of photographs I took are any indication, then that is probably the most scenic of the three trails. The path shouldn’t be but full and there are a lot of lengthy miles of street strolling, that is certain to alter sooner or later.
Risks
- Lack of water in New Mexico, ingesting from cattle ponds
- Rattlesnakes
- Harmful snow situations and thunderstorms in Colorado
- NOBO hikers should end in Montana earlier than the winter snows arrive in October,
- SOBO hikers should full Colorado earlier than the winter storms arrive
Highlights
- Dawn within the Desert
- All of Colorado
- Glacier Nationwide Park
Additional data
Appalachian Path
Intro
- The AT is 2160 miles lengthy
- Follows the Appalachian Mountains
- Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine.
My Expertise
Arguably the most well-liked of the three lengthy distance through hikes however surprisingly the path is the hardest. The Appalachian Path has probably the most elevation acquire of the three trails, normally on steep rocky terrain coated in slippery tree roots. At occasions the path makes use of ladders to ascend and descend the mountains.
The logistics and resupply for the Appalachian Path are straightforward and require little or no planning compared to the opposite trails. It’s the best of the path to navigate with easy-to-follow markers, often called ‘White Blazes’, on timber and rocks alongside the path. The principle destructive of the path is the numerous days, even weeks of quite uninteresting surroundings, it actually might be described as a stroll within the woods. It was additionally the path with probably the most quantity of trash left by hikers!
Risks
- Early starters face the potential of late season snow storms and hypothermia
- Listening to the hikers with 50 pound backpacks as they provide out gear recommendation!
- Rogue Hurricanes can deluge the path as they push inland
- Giant rattlesnakes, primarily round Pennsylvania.
- Getting caught within the social facet of climbing and working out of money and time.
Highlights
- All of Maine
- Simple resupply and planning
- Pleasant locals
Additional data
Would you want to finish the ‘Mountaineering Triple Crown’?
What path would you wish to hike?
BikeHikeSafari Gear Evaluate Course of
The creator, Brad McCartney from BikeHikeSafari is a small unbiased adventurer and out of doors gear tester who owns and runs BikeHikeSafari.com.
BikeHikeSafari shouldn’t be half of a giant weblog community and is proudly unbiased. All critiques on this web site are unbiased and sincere gear critiques of out of doors merchandise by the creator.
The creator, Brad McCartney is a really skilled triple crown thru-hiker, adventurer, and bike tourer having spent 1000s of nights sleeping in a tent and sleeping bag (Learn extra). He was a supervisor of an out of doors retail retailer and could be very skilled in what’s necessary when utilizing and testing gear for critiques like this.
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