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Trip Planning & Reports
Route beta, permits, timing, and full trip reports.
Ask before you go and report after you get back. Both halves make this board worth reading.
Good trip reports include dates, conditions, mileage, what you carried, and the one decision you'd make differently.
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6 threads in Trip Planning & Reports
- Anonymous· 8/10/2026
South Dakota hiking — Black Hills and Badlands are a better trip than people expect
Hiked around South Dakota and it surprised me. The Black Hills give you real forest, granite and creeks, and the Badlands are a completely different planet an hour away — eroded spires, almost no shade, and hiking that is mostly off established trail. Notes: - Badlands heat is serious and there is no water. Carry all of it. - The clay gets slick and sticky when wet and clings to boots in heavy clumps. - Wildlife is excellent: bison, bighorn, pronghorn. Give the bison a very wide berth. - Black Hills trails are gentler and better for a mixed-ability group. Great combination trip if you want two very different landscapes in one week.
#trip-report#south-dakota#badlands#hiking#wildlife0replies - Anonymous· 8/10/2026
Sedona hiking: red rock, heat management, and which trails were actually worth it
Hiked Sedona and the red rock scenery lives up to the photos. The thing nobody warns you about is how hard the heat and the exposed slickrock hit you — there is very little shade and the rock radiates heat back at you all afternoon. How I handled it: - Start at first light. Everything after about 10 a.m. in warm months is a grind. - Two liters minimum on anything over a few miles, more if you are out midday. - Grippy soles. Slickrock is fine dry and treacherous with any sand on it. - Electrolytes, not just water. Trails ranged from casual to genuinely exposed. Post your favorite Sedona routes — I want a list for the next trip.
#trip-report#arizona#desert#hiking#hydration0replies - Anonymous· 8/8/2026
Climbing Longs Peak — what I would tell a first-timer about the Keyhole route
Climbed Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. It is a long, serious day and I think a lot of people underestimate it because it is a walk-up on paper. What matters: - Start absurdly early. Alpine start, headlamp for hours, and be heading down before the weather builds. - The route past the Keyhole is exposed scrambling. If heights bother you, you will know quickly. - Altitude is the real filter. Acclimatize first if you came from sea level. - Turn around when the clouds build. The mountain will be there next year. Rocky Mountain backpacking around it is excellent too — I paired it with a couple of nights in the backcountry, which made the summit day far more pleasant. Anyone done the Loft or Clark's Arrow variation? Curious how it compares.
#trip-report#colorado#mountaineering#rocky-mountains0replies - Anonymous· 8/7/2026
Hiking Huangshan in China — fog, granite spires and the most ethereal scenery I have walked through
Hiked the Huangshan mountains in China and it is unlike any range I have been in. Granite spires, twisted pines growing straight out of the rock, and fog that rolls in and out so the whole landscape appears and disappears while you stand there. Genuinely ethereal. Practical realities: - It is stone stairs, not trail. Thousands of them. Your quads and knees take the beating, not your ankles. - Go early or stay on the mountain overnight to beat the crowds and catch the fog before it burns off. - Weather changes fast and the rock gets slick. Trekking poles help more than you would guess. - Pack light. You are climbing stairs all day. If you like dramatic scenery over wilderness solitude, it is worth the trip. Happy to answer logistics questions.
#trip-report#china#hiking#mountains0replies - Anonymous· 8/3/2026
Tanzania trip report: Maasai-guided safari, traditional safari, Ngorongoro Crater and Tarangire elephants
Full Tanzania write-up while it is still fresh. We did a mix — time with Maasai guides on foot, a traditional vehicle safari, a day down in Ngorongoro Crater, and Tarangire for the elephants. Quick impressions of each: - Maasai walking time was the highlight. You see the small stuff: tracks, plants, bird alarm calls, how people actually live in that landscape. - Traditional vehicle safari is the volume play — you cover ground and see far more animals per hour. - Ngorongoro Crater is unreal. Contained ecosystem, dense wildlife, go early before the vehicle traffic builds. - Tarangire elephants were the emotional part of the trip. Huge herds, baobabs, and they are completely unbothered by you. Practical notes: dust gets into everything, a wide-brim hat beats a ball cap, binoculars matter more than a long lens for most people, and the mornings are colder than you expect. Happy to answer questions on outfitters, timing or what I would cut.
#trip-report#africa#safari#wildlife0replies - Anonymous· 7/30/2026
Kodiak Island trip report: Old Harbor fishing, hiking, camping and boating
Spent a stretch on Kodiak Island out of Old Harbor and it might be the most complete outdoor week I have ever had — boat days, salmon and halibut, hiking the ridges above the village, and camping with the wind coming straight off the water. A few things I learned the hard way: - Weather runs the schedule, not you. We built every day around a morning weather window and had a backup plan on shore. - Rain gear is not optional and cheap rain gear is worse than none. Bibs plus a hard shell, not a soft shell. - Boat days are colder than the thermometer says. Wind plus spray plus standing still equals a full extra insulation layer. - Bring more dry bags than you think. Everything on a skiff gets wet eventually. If you are planning Kodiak, ask me anything — I am happy to talk logistics, timing and what I would pack differently.
#trip-report#alaska#fishing#boating#camping0replies