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What's your idea of the "Perfect Hike"?

West Fork Trail in Oak Creek Canyon is the perfect hike. Keep going past the regular 3 miles and it will change your life.

Forget LA 76 wrote:Keep going past the regular 3 miles and it will change your life.

You are so right, the scenery you encounter is breathtaking and unexpected.

Any hike that at the overlook you can see only wilderness; any canyon that seems to never end, a friend you can spend hours of silence with, the same friend that says"look at that!" like a 50 yr old child, any night of sleeping out that you can wake and watch the huge starfield just rotate around. Life is a pretty good deal- thats the perfect hike.

Awesome question! Billy really summed it up so well. I can't imagine answering that question any better.

I used to do canoe/backpacking trips in Ontario Canada, where you portage your canoe from lake to lake (sometimes for miles). I would see signs of Indians and the Voyagers (French Traders) writen on the rocks, just above the water lines and KNOW that I get to paddle and walk among those who were first and to also know, that not many will ever see first hand what I was able to see or experience. I think the perfect hike is remote and the "path least taken", but I also think, any hike is "perfect" even crowded trails (which I try to avoid), just because I'm out there experiencing life rather than watching it on t.v. Mary

I thought I had said this, but don' t see it.


The perfect hike is the NEXT hike.

So that makes the Weatherford this Saturday the next perfect hike.

And after that . . . .

The perfect hike combines location, companions and scenery. Oh and don't forget music!

It's mostly the companions that make my hikes complete. If I'm by myself, I have the music. But if I'm I'm with a hiking buddy they become my music.

My perfect hike would include:

Solitude.
The smell of rain soaked desert (or fresh pine).
A cool breeze.
Spotting interesting flora and fauna.
Flowing water nearby.

my perfect hike would be any where, any distance, any climate, any weather, any company, any time, just as long as it gets me out of the city for hours, and helps me stop missing new england.

In response to joe bartels' reply:
The Perfect hike?

I'm a novice. I am one of those that sat and talked about doing it as a hobby.

I would buy every issue of backpacker magazine, occassionally purchase gear from "Popular" and try to relate. I would also cling to the nostalgic memories of my Boy Scout camping trips. Then, I would proceed to convince my other city dwelling friends of how great it would be to get out. Most of the time falling on deaf ears.

I guess I didn't have the courage or motivation to get out and go on my own (just like my counterparts). Finally, one of my friends called me. "Hey, I got a friend who is teaching a hiking class and there going to Brown's Peak...the are also going to camp at the saddle overnight...you want to piggy-back on this trip"? There, I was finally committed and put to the test. "Sure"! I responded... and hung up . I had 3 days to mentally and physically prepare for a "Browns Peak".

Where was Browns Peak? What is it like? I hope I enjoy it! Who are we going with? Have they hiked before? What was the weather going to be like? This is where I discovered HAZ. I read everything HAZ had on Browns Peak. I even posted into the Forum, thanks for your responses.

WOULD THIS HIKE MAKE IT FOR ME! or will I realize that hiking really isn't for me. I hoped not. :

The road up there was bumpy, it was rainy, it was cloudy, everyone else was at the least an intermediate hiker. I had the heaviest pack (72 lbs), 5 of us got lost at the one and only trail xing's, at night it was cold, the smoke of the campfire followed me everywhere I sat to get warm, everybody seemed to be less sore than I was and finally it was in the 40's. In conclusion:

"THIS WAS THE PERFECT HIKE"

I wouldn't change a thing. I am encouraged to continue quest of defining myself and the awesome power of nature.

Everywhere I go will have its own merit i.e., the weather, topography, history, friendships/bonds made and most of all self assessment.

The perfect hike is not what we define as perfect, it is the one that defines us.

"I will always be a novice hiker"

What a great write up on the "perfect hike," thank you for sharing that.

Perfect hike would be in October, up in the Mountians, and about 50 degrees.

I belong to a group who cannot believe in the "perfect hike". I think that is THE reason we all keep hiking. Maybe we all know in the back of our minds that of all the places we have been, no place will be the same experience twice and this notion drives us to hike again, again, and again. You get the point... Now, ask me my favorite color! haha

Circumstanes! That's what makes anything perfect.

J&S

that's really cool

a couple pages back I posted my "Perfect" hike is the one I anticipate
and still holds... I think

though some of the "best" hikes have come from unexpected "Weather Occurrences"
killer waterfalls occur on Camelback too, I witnessed twice when I used to live over there and hike daily
I had a great experience on Squaw Peak (no it wasn't Piestewa then) upto the last large step water was coming down like a river.

Though like spectacular Autumn foliage hikes those hikes just don't last long enough and leaves you crying for more. Heck I don't know, maybe that is the "Perfect Hike" ???

I'll just have to keep searching and come to a decision in about fifty years

great responses everybody, I've enjoyed reading them all

JimmineyGrl wrote:The Perfect Hike = Green, water, one or two friends, quiet and cool with warm sun.

I am going (i think) to Hells Gate on the 22nd. Stay overnite. Sounds like the perfect description of your hike, Jimminey girl. So wont you discuss details or see my profile, I would like company and that goes for all of you!! now what I cant figure out is why its called Hells Gate.
I dont feel comfortable hiking alone into a rugged area such as this, even though it is close to the 260[/quote]

This was truly an interesting string. I love this site.

For me it's all about the views. I love nothing better than climbing on top of a mountain and looking around. Aside from that I just love being outdoors in the fresh air.

Of course, every hike I don't see a **** rattler is a perfect hike

Someplace sunny and slickrock, without a scrap of vegetation save for that thin line of cottonwoods and sages down along the wash bottom, and the moss and ferns around that little seep at the back of the alcove where 800 years ago a family scratched out a living. Seeing something new and unexpected when you round that next proverbial corner; be it arch, ruins, or simply a sudden narrowing of the canyon walls. Below a rim somewhere. That's perfect for me.

djui5 wrote:Of course, every hike I don't see a **** rattler is a perfect hike

Thanks funny, I'm more worried about the ones I don't see. Flora, fauna and snow/water add to the experience. Some hikes are seasonal.

Waterfalls