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From Montana to Maine: The 36 Hard to Impossible Hikes in America Ranked

If you know me, you know how little regard I have for the validity of such lists or whatever ridiculous and undefined criteria are typically used to create them.

I share this one because it’s notable that Joe’s own motherlode is on it (no mention of haz, sadly). We’re famous!!

The stupidity of the rest of it should provide some good fodder if that’s your thing. (Rim to rim is class 4? Where’s Telescope? Etc.)

Yeah, this list is ridiculous.

Angels Landing? Not that difficult. People who don’t like being on the edge of steep dropoffs might not love it, but it’s not that bad.

Wheeler Peak NM? Again, not that difficult, easier than Humphreys, assuming the trail isn’t covered in snow/ice.

Throwing in hikes like that makes me doubt more than half this list.

Except for maybe C2C most everything else on the list is mainstream, I think Joe must have hacked into this story and inserted 4PML

That was a weird list.

My guess is that the author is really ChatGPT and "Brian E" doesn't exist. The whole thing is a cut and paste article. I've done Borah and can think of a dozen hikes in Idaho that were tougher.

Definitely clickbait...I felt a little dirty scrolling through...

@SpiderLegs
It would be interesting to see if you ask ChatGPT to write an article about the 36 most difficult hikes in America, how far off it would be from this. ChatGPT is definitely a possibility, considering the widely varying contexts within which these could be considered "difficult."

@ShatteredArm
Out of Chatgpt, #1 to 36. I had it write a story first, and this list matches those hikes.

The Presidential Traverse, New Hampshire
Kalalau Trail, Hawaii
The Maze, Utah
Cactus to Clouds, California
Longs Peak, Colorado
The Appalachian Trail, Eastern U.S.
Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim, Arizona
Wonderland Trail, Washington
Denali National Park, Alaska
The Knife Edge, Maine
Angels Landing, Utah
Mount Whitney, California
The Enchantments, Washington
Guadalupe Peak, Texas
The Wind River High Route, Wyoming
Half Dome, California
Zion Narrows, Utah
Mount Hood, Oregon
Pacific Crest Trail, Western U.S.
The Triple Crown (Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, Continental Divide Trail)
Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, Colorado
Pemi Loop, New Hampshire
The Hayduke Trail, Southwest U.S.
Mount Rainier, Washington
Highline Trail, Montana
The Franconia Ridge Loop, New Hampshire
The Colorado Trail, Colorado
Mount Shasta, California
The Great Smoky Mountains Challenge, Tennessee/North Carolina
Olympic National Park, Washington
The Lost Coast Trail, California
Mount St. Helens, Washington
Windward Wall, Alaska
The Florida Trail, Florida
Mount Washington, New Hampshire
The Uinta Highline Trail, Utah

The_Eagle wrote:Out of Chatgpt

which again is as silly as using "beautiful" as a keyword in a google review to judge beauty. Garbage-in-garbage-out.
And back to the original purpose of my post ... it's surprising to me that 4PML ended up on the list.

Just proves that AI has a long way to go. A lot of Bruce’s liat is lengthy thru hikes, which I don’t feel should belong in this category. What if chatgpt was asked to narrow it down to under 50 miles, or under 30 miles? What does the list become?

LindaAnn wrote:What does the list become?

A list of the most-posted-about hikes on the most-read-websites, with no regard to the quality, accuracy, or experience levels of the source.

@chumley
Yes, I know that, but I want to see the list so we can snark about it.

@LindaAnn
I know some pensioners with a little time on their keyboard fingers ... perhaps one of them will pull through for us? ;)

Here are my notes on that list. One thing both lists are missing is something like the Sawtooths, where you can get multi-thousand foot ups and downs one after another all day long, day after day.

The_Eagle wrote: ↑Jan 16 2024 8:47 am The Appalachian Trail, Eastern U.S. (partial in every state through which it passes) - reasonably difficult due to overall length, some long ascents, and some very rocky stretches
Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim, Arizona (partial)
The Knife Edge, Maine - This is part of the AT. It's more scary than difficult.
Angels Landing, Utah - Also more scary than difficult, and more crowded than scary.
Mount Hood, Oregon - long and not too hard, except in bad weather.
Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, Colorado - The 4-Pass Loop has some punishing ascents.
The Franconia Ridge Loop, New Hampshire (partial) - reasonably difficult, especially in bad weather.
The Colorado Trail, Colorado (partial) - plenty of tough ascents
Olympic National Park, Washington (partial) - I don't remember anything challenging here, except for lots of deadfall and some hummocky ground.
The Florida Trail, Florida (partial) - This trail is dead flat. The only challenges are bad weather and insects.

@LindaAnn
As requested:
Here's a list of 30 of the most difficult hikes in America, each with a distance of less than 30 miles:

The Presidential Traverse, New Hampshire - ~23 miles
Kalalau Trail, Hawaii - 22 miles (one way)
The Maze, Utah - Varies (off-trail, less than 30 miles)
Cactus to Clouds, California - ~16 miles
Longs Peak, Colorado - ~15 miles (Keyhole Route)
The Knife Edge, Maine - ~2 miles (part of the Appalachian Trail)
Angels Landing, Utah - ~5 miles
Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim, Arizona - ~23.5 miles
Wonderland Trail, Washington - ~93 miles
Guadalupe Peak, Texas - ~8.4 miles
The Enchantments, Washington - ~18 miles
Mount Whitney, California - ~22 miles (Mount Whitney Trail)
The Wind River High Route, Wyoming - Varies (off-trail, less than 30 miles)
Half Dome, California - ~14 miles (via Mist Trail)
Zion Narrows, Utah - Varies (up to 16 miles round trip)
The Hayduke Trail, Southwest U.S. - Varies (off-trail, less than 30 miles)
Mount Rainier, Washington - Varies (depends on route)
Highline Trail, Montana - ~7 miles (Logan Pass to Granite Park Chalet)
The Franconia Ridge Loop, New Hampshire - ~8.2 miles
The Colorado Trail, Colorado - ~28 miles (Segment 5)
Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness, Colorado - Varies (depends on route)
Pemi Loop, New Hampshire - ~31 miles (includes part of the Appalachian Trail)
Mount St. Helens, Washington - ~9 miles (Monitor Ridge)
The Florida Trail, Florida - Varies (off-trail, less than 30 miles)
The Great Smoky Mountains Challenge, Tennessee/North Carolina - Varies (depends on route)
Olympic National Park, Washington - Varies (depends on route)
The Lost Coast Trail, California - Varies (depends on route)
Windward Wall, Alaska - Varies (off-trail, less than 30 miles)
Mount Washington, New Hampshire - ~8.4 miles (Tuckerman Ravine Trail)
The Uinta Highline Trail, Utah - Varies (depends on route)

The_Eagle wrote:Here's a list of 30 of the most difficult hikes in America, each with a distance of less than 30 miles:

Wonderland Trail, Washington - ~93 miles
The Wind River High Route, Wyoming - Varies (off-trail, less than 30 miles)
The Hayduke Trail, Southwest U.S. - Varies (off-trail, less than 30 miles)
Pemi Loop, New Hampshire - ~31 miles (includes part of the Appalachian Trail)
The Florida Trail, Florida - Varies (off-trail, less than 30 miles)
The Great Smoky Mountains Challenge, Tennessee/North Carolina - Varies (depends on route)
Olympic National Park, Washington - Varies (depends on route)
The Lost Coast Trail, California - Varies (depends on route)
Windward Wall, Alaska - Varies (off-trail, less than 30 miles)
The Uinta Highline Trail, Utah - Varies (depends on route)

Well at least we know the technology isn't there quite yet.

@chumley
The technology works well, it's just that this isn't the type of problem LLMs are meant to solve. But that doesn't stop people like the author of the article from abusing it.

An article that was almost word for word identical to the original one in question popped up on my newsfeed yesterday. Same stilted writing style but "written" by another author. Only big difference is that the 4PML didn't make the list.