This story about (accidentally) day-hiking the Grand Canyon really makes me want to go hiking again. I've never done an overnight trip but would like to.

Wondering what y'alls favorite hikes have been to date. I still haven't done anything better than Half Dome – the day hike version. The part of the Grand Canyon story I linked to about hiking back in the dark is very reminiscent of my experience with Sutter. Having the last few hours in the dark really makes everything suck.

Still – where have you been / where do you wanna go?

First off, accidentally hiking the Grand Canyon in a day sounds awful. Anna and I did that exact trip in 2006, and I attribute a lot of Anna's interest in backpacking to that hike.

Top 5: Mt Whitney; Kalalau (HI), Glacier Natl Park (MT), Greater Caucasus (Azerbaijan), and Collegiate Peaks (CO).

A good hike to me combines scenery with either a sense of accomplishment (eg Whitney) or a chance to really feel like you are in the wilderness (eg Glacier). Hikes with minor mishaps also lend themselves to good stories afterwards (eg Kalalau).

On my to-do list are AK and Grand Canyon North Rim.

My hiking experience is almost exclusively in the Western US (with a few outliers), so I'm interested to hear if there are some East Coast recs.

Lots of the other classic national park hikes also seemed kind of dangerous to me (and didn't even have signs warning people, which the Grand Canyon at least does). People die on Half Dome regularly, those cables are crazy steep and slippery. And the Kalalau trail is so treacherously eroded that boats and helicopters hover around the scary parts to give tourists a chance to ooh and aaah at the crazy hikers. I wonder, is there some connection? Does a hike need a little splash of peril in order to be truly awesome? If you legitimately feel like you might die at some points during the hike, it does amp up your sense of accomplishment at the end. @nspicer and I disagree on how much peril is appropriate, I like it less than he does.

All that said, my favorite hike ever was Mt. Whitney. It's gorgeous, and you feel SUPER awesome for finishing if you can do it in a day because it's so hard, and it's the highest peak in the lower 48 which is just cool cool cool.
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I think the peril question is interesting. I definitely rate Half Dome as my favorite mostly because of the huge payoff at the end. But also because getting to the top is hard and feels like a huge accomplishment.

(There's an interesting parallel to scuba diving here where some divers only like dives with a goal ... preferably a tough one like, reach the wreck at 200 ft down.)

Whitney definitely seems amazing. Putting that way up on the list. Crystal and I did the first part of Kalalau and turned back when it became a river due to downpour. Would still like to do the whole thing.

Another one high on the list is Tongariro Crossing (a 3 day) on the North Island of New Zealand. Check out this madness:

icdc.com

This great hiking mishap story by Oliver Sachs is a good reminder to always hike with a buddy. And to avoid bulls.

nybooks.com

That NZ hike sounds great. I should add that to the list.

Regarding peril, I do think a certain level of discomfort is a key part of a good hike/backpacking trip, otherwise, it's just an like an extended walk in a park. But there's obviously a balance where you don't want to overdo it.

I left Half Dome off my list of Top 5 because it is one that gets really close to my threshold of uncomfortableness. As Anna points out it has treachery like Kalalau Trail but what has always made me the most nervous is that you are exposed to the mishaps of other hikers on the cable. Kalalau Trail has some slippery parts but there aren't many hikers and as long as you aren't racing to get to camp before sundown, you can take your time.

Hiking in NZ is a whole thing. There's amazing hikes everywhere but a small subset have been designated the Great Walks. And they are in some of the most ridiculous scenery on Earth.

newzealand.com

I really want to go back and do some of these one day.