What would make someone leave everything behind and walk hundreds or thousands of miles on rough terrain? Hiking is not just a physical journey but, perhaps more important, an internal one. Millions of travelers each year partake in this outdoor ritual on some level, whether for a day, a weekend, or many months, to immerse themselves in a special culture that has birthed unique traditions such as trail names, trail magic—receiving or giving small acts of kindness—and forging unforgettable bonds with kindred spirits along the way.
Now's your chance to sample life on six of the most spectacular wilderness trails in North America from the comfort of your own home. Guiding you through the visually arresting course America's Great Trails is expert Mick Davie—journalist, Emmy® award-winning documentary filmmaker, and avid outdoorsman. Mick will take you on an adventure through the rugged heart of the continent, revealing its most closely held secrets in six stunning episodes.
The Wild West
Mick begins with one of the most iconic, visually diverse trails on the planet: the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). Declared a National Scenic Route in 1968, this extraordinary route stretches 2,650 miles from the border of Mexico to the border of Canada. Completing this trail can be a life-changing event. On the PCT, you will brave every extreme of landscape and climate imaginable, from desert to glacier and everything in between. At the heart of this trail is the El Capitan, a 3,000-foot granite rock face taller than any human structure ever built.
Called the A-to-Z trail because it starts in Arches and ends in Zion, the remote and challenging route of cliffs and canyons of the Hayduke Trail is the elite hiker's dream. Its 812-mile route links six National Parks, including the Grand Canyon. Hiking the Hayduke is not as easy as saying your ABCs. Some of the fascinating details that Mick highlights in this course
It was founded 25 years ago by two hikers, Mike Cornella and Joe Mitchell, to thread together multiple parks.
It has been described by National Geographic Adventure magazine as the greatest hike in the United States.
It begins at Arches, a museum of geological wonders featuring more than 2,000 natural sandstone arches, rocks, and strange formations carved naturally over millions of years.
Several famous movies have been filmed along the trail, such as Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Thelma and Louise.
If you're inspired to tackle the Hayduke Trail, you're in for a great adventure—but be prepared and build up your stamina by completing some of the other trails first.
Ocean Views and Unfinished Business
A difficult and relatively new trail, the Pacific Northwest Trail (PNW) has much less inland hiking. Instead, you hike along saltwater bays, islands, and even the ocean. With a fantastic range of wildlife habitats along the way, from wolves to whales, this trail has excitement galore for any nature enthusiast, especially one who prefers solitude—you can go for days seeing more bears than people.
When you undertake the 1,200-mile journey of the PNW, you will cross
Seven mountain ranges,
Seven national forests,
Three states, and
Three national parks.
The Continental Divide Trail (CDT)—arguably the most rugged, remote, and hazardous of them all—boasts 3,100 miles and an ominous origin story involving a cook bludgeoning a trail builder to death for criticizing his cooking. The CDT is known as the "wild child" of the trail family, since it is only 70% fully completed, with lots of road walking and off-trail travel involved. Designated as a National Scenic Trail in 1978, a map created by the Forest Service is available. Maps are also available of the ever-changing route forged over the years by trailblazing thru-hikers who made their way with compass and map and published their paths in guidebooks, articles, and online.
Journey to the Past
The Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) is a relatively short, mild trail from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Cumberland, Maryland. At just 150 miles long, the hike is not a test of endurance on wild and impossible terrain; rather, it is more a trip into America's past, with urban landscapes and wide, well-kept paths—easy for hikers and perfect for bikers.
From the very first step, the GAP oozes history, spanning the story of the country's founding and the dawning of the Industrial Age to the region's rebirth, providing a destination for more than a million adventure enthusiasts every year. It boasts historic towns and attractions such as Ohiopyle, an 18th-century settlement, and "The Ruins Project," a mosaic museum.
The Appalachian Trail (AT) is known to be the most social hiking trail in the United States, although there is enough solitude on the trail if that's what you're seeking. In terms of name recognition, the AT is as well-known as Mount Everest. The "twin" to the Pacific Crest Trail in the west, it is one of the most established and famous trails of them all. Traversing over 2,100 miles through 14 states, the AT attracts over 3 million hikers, yearly.
Mick will make its history come alive as he shares incredible stories of the human spirit connected to it, including the experiences of
Grandma Gatewood, the first woman, at age 67, to complete the trail;
Bill Irwin, the first blind person to thru-hike it with his guide dog; and
Thomas Jefferson, who famously stood on Jefferson's Rock in 1783.
More so than for any other National Scenic Trail, it is close to civilization at many accessible points, making it the perfect trail for you to escape the city's grind, while opening yourself to connecting with kindred spirits hiking the trail.
Do you feel the call of the wild?
Whether you're curious to learn more about America's breathtaking natural beauty or you're at a point where you need inspiration for adventure, America's Great Trails will be an abundant feast for all of your senses. Be inspired as Mick guides you to rediscover your connection to the natural world and the joy and wonder to be found in exploring it. His joyful enthusiasm and deep knowledge of these trails will make even the most reluctant hiker curious to visit these amazing places—even if it's just from the comfort of your own home.
If you're lucky enough to traverse these natural wonders, you will experience a unique phenomenon. After the arduous journey, a strange feeling washes over you, one that early pioneers who walked these same trails must have had: the realization that you have not conquered nature, nor tamed it. You've lived in it, communed with it, adapted to it, and slowly started to understand it. And in doing so, you have begun to understand yourself.
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