Epic Hikes of the World ( PDFDrive )

- E P I C H I K E S O F T H E W O R L D -
MORE LIKE THIS
FOREST FROLICS
GREENSTONE AND CAPLES, NEW ZEALAND
Lesser-known than many of New Zealand’s Great Walks, you’ll often have the trail
all to yourself on this four-day circular tramp through South Island’s backcountry.
It’s a moderately challenging ramble taking in two World Heritage valleys, subalpine
passes, glacier-fed rivers, waterfalls and sunlit, lichen-swathed beech forests
that look freshly minted for Middle Earth. Have your camera handy for photogenic
moments like the view of Lake McKellar against a backdrop of oft-snowcapped
peaks from the route’s high point – the 3100ft (945m) McKellar Saddle. Nights are
spent camping in the wild or staying at basic huts, where you might share a bunk
with a local deerstalker or trout fisherman. The area is steeped in Maori heritage,
as the sacred pounamu, or greenstone, glitters in these rivers.
Start/End // Divide (West) or Greenstone Shelter (East)
Distance // 38 miles (61km)
More info // DOC huts should be booked in advance. Camping is permitted on the bush edge, 164ft
(50m) back from the track. www.doc.govt.nz
KARHUNKIERROS TRAIL, FINLAND
Finland’s Bear’s Ring trail is the ultimate way to tiptoe away from civilisation and
back to nature. The moderately challenging three-to four-day jaunt delves deep
into the berry-filled taiga (boreal) forest of spruce, pine, birch and larch in the
Oulanka National Park, just south of the Arctic Circle. In this corner of Lapland,
sidling along the Russian border, the silence is only interrupted by the rush of the
Oulankajoki, the Kiutaköngäs Rapids and the Jyrävä Falls. As you walk the park’s
gorges, primordial forest and lakeshores, look out for glimpses of wolves, reindeer
and brown bears. Come in autumn for a glorious kaleidoscope of colours.
Start // Salla
End // Kuusamo
Distance // 50 miles (82km)
More info // www.nationalparks.fi/karhunkierros
TARKINE WILDERNESS AREA, AUSTRALIA
Although the name is absent from most maps, and its borders are not well defined,