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Re: What is as amazing as the Sierra and worth the trip?
Posted: Tue May 17, 2016 7:33 pm
by Tom_H
The Wind River Range of Wyoming. Wandering Daisy on this site was for many years a NOLS instructor there and is the author of the authoritative guide to off-trail backpacking and mountaineering there. I highly recommend the book:
http://www.mcreynoldscpa.com/BeyondTrails
Uncompaghre Wilderness Area, Colorado
Pecos Wilderness in New Mexico is not alpine, but it has some beautiful wildflowers.
Alaska
Re: What is as amazing as the Sierra and worth the trip?
Posted: Wed May 18, 2016 11:59 pm
by wildhiker
The alpine mountains of New Zealand are definitely a worthwhile destination. Weather is not as good as the Sierra - more like the North Cascades, but there can be multi-day stretches of good weather and there is a strong rain shadow effect (east sides drier). The backcountry is dotted with little huts maintained by the Department of Conservation and mostly available 1st-come, 1st-served (with payment of a modest fee in advance for a pass), except on the very popular routes such as the Milford Sound track, which is their version of the John Muir Trail. Near the popular tracks, it's less wild than most of the Sierra, away from them, more wild, often with large areas that have no trails, just routes marked by cairns. Also: glaciers and big rivers. And New Zealand is such an easy country to travel in for us English speakers. Their DOC website is outstanding, with all the information you could need to plan your hikes. "Tramping" (their word for hiking) and camping are a very important part of the everyday culture. The country reminds me of California in the 1950s. About the same land mass, but only 4 million people, and most of them concentrated in the Auckland metropolitan area. Oh, and the roads are like 1950, too - narrow and slow.
-Phil