After the third walking day of the Leopard Trail, I told G that much as I am loving the experience, I am never going to do another hike like it again. He literally laughed out loud, stopped me, shared my update with our other 4 hikers who also literally laughed out loud. “It’s like childbirth”, one of them said. “You can’t imagine doing it again while in it, but as soon as it’s over, all pain is forgotten”.
They were right.
G and I are already sharing links to other inspirational hikes, and I am pretty sure that I will do at least one per year. But, I have rules and minimum requirements. In no particular order:
I will only slackpack.
If you’re not familiar with the term, slackpacking is the type of hike where you carry only what you need for the day (water, lunch, warm clothing, first aid kit) and everything else (clothing, bedding, food, books, etc) is transported to your camp/hostel/hotel before you arrive. Some hikes only offer this as an option (Leopard Trail) and some you can request (and pay) as an additional service (Otter Trail). Once you know this option exists, you’ll be amazed how many hikes offer it as an additional, private, add-on. You can even slackpack the Camino, which was not my original plan when I was planning it last year, but now is for sure my preferred option.
Purists will tell you that you are not living the full experience (especially on walks like the Camino, where the hardship is part of the process), but I am not lsitening to them. Carrying 10-20kg on my back has a cost: I can’t walk as far, I walk (even) slower, and I am having less fun. Since I am not hiking to prove anything to anyone, and I am approaching my mid-fifties, I think I can give myself a pass on this, and enjoy the opportunities that slackpacking opens up. Better to slackpack than to not hike at all.
(Of course, slackpacking is not available for all experiences. G hiked the Kruger Park, where he slept wild and had to carry all food, all clothes, all the water and sleeping arrangements etc) on his back, for six days (while making sure he wasn’t eaten by a lion or bitten by a snake). Extreme, exciting, even somewhat fun – and clearly never an option for me. I’m fine with that.
Private accommodation
By happy circumstance, I have never shared a campsite hut with strangers, and I will from now on go to great lengths to preserve this trend. On the Leopard Trail the huts house four people, but only G and I occupied it, and it was an ideal arrangement. Having two other people in the top bunks (even if we had known them) would have cramped our style.
Often, the accommodation on offer is hostels, where not only are you sharing with others, but you are sharing with many others. Last year this seemed like a fun option (wrt Camino) but this year it feels like an absolute nightmare. Not all hikes/walks offer private accommodation, but enough do, so I will just focus on those. (The Camino, btw, has plently of private accommodation options).
While on the subject of accommodation: hot showers and flush loos are a definite plus. Warmth at night is a must.
Access to good food
If I am going to be walking a lot, you bet your bottom dollar I will be eating well at the end of it. On the Kruger trail we returned from our daily walks to excellent food cooked by a camp chef. On the Leopard Trail we brought our own food, and prepared it in the well equipped kitchen. Either of those arrangements works.
Good weather
I understand weather is unpredictable, and that cannot be helped. But climate patterns are easy to predict (it is very hot in December in South Africa), and so I will at least plan to be out of extreme hot, and extreme cold weather at all times. Rain can’t be fully avoided, but it won’t melt me and I can live through some wetness. If I had to choose, I’d rather walk in cold because I can counter that with the right clothing. I will never walk in heat, and by heat I mean anything over 28 deg.
Decent terrain
Ascents are a pain, but a worthwhile one. The hardship of conquering them, plus the inevitable vistas are always worth it. And where there is an ascent, there is often an equally brutal (or painful) descent. Those cannot – and should not! – be avoided, but it is important to me to have a good mix of terrain where a lot of the walking is just that…walking on flat ground (contours), where I am more able to appreciate my surroundings and take in the ambience.
On that note, I think a max day is about 15-18kms if it has climbs, and 20-22km if it is relatively flat (Camino).
Challenging
All of those conditions might give the impressoin of a “Princess and the pea” syndrome, but that is not accurate. I would still want each hike/walk to be challenging, aspirational and something that scares me at least a little bit.
So there I have it. I am looking for hikes that
- Are slackpack
- Offer private accommodation
- Have access to good food (and abundant water)
- Can somewhat guarantee relatively mild weather conditions
- Have a good portion of gentle terrain
- Are challenging or aspirational.
There are hundreds and hundreds of beautiful walks around the world that meet all these conditions. Now to choose 15 or so, and …just do them!
(I’ve written two other pieces on the Leopard Trail: the logistics, and what it taught me).
Thanks for reading
