JupiterHikes has some NEW ideas for me. And I’ve tented in the wild hundreds of nights.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

John Muir Trail is one of our top 10 hikes in the world.

Click PLAY or watch a 1-minute preview on YouTube.

John Muir Trail

If there’s a hiker’s paradise on earth, it’s the JMT in the Sierra Nevadas.

213 miles without a road. Fantastic weather. 11 high passes. Unbelievable nonstop vistas. And Mt Whitney.

AT A GLANCE

• Yosemite, Ansel Adams and John Muir wilderness, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks
• start in stunning Yosemite, Muir’s “Range of Light”
• 223mi (360km) to Whitney Portal adding sidetrips to Half Dome, Vermillion Resort and Mt. Whitney 14,505ft (4,421m)
• 15-21 days recommended
• carry your own food and tent
• JMT about 10% the length of the Pacific Crest Trail

Read more on our John Muir Trail information page.

Trip report by BestHike editor Rick McCharles

When the construction of Kárahnjúkar Hydro Dam was finished 2009, Stuðlagil (Studlagil) Canyon became fully visible.

The water level in the river Jökla, that runs through the canyon, dropped and amazing basalt columns have since become one of the most popular tourist attractions in eastern Iceland.

get a glimpse on YouTube.

The landowners were still building tourist infrastructure in 2024.

I stayed at the simple campground on the northern side of the river.

A German couple — world travellers — in a camper van, offered me lamb dinner with locally picked mushrooms. And wine! It was my best meal in Iceland.

Once the tourists were gone in the evening, I climbed down a long set of stairs to have the northern viewing platform all to myself.

Next morning, I cycled over to the southern side of the river. It’s the better experience. Go to both sides, if you can.

Stuðlagil (Studlagil) is a canyon in the Eastern Region of Iceland.

It is known for its unusual amount of large columnar basalt rock formations and the turquoise coloured river that runs through it.

The canyon also has an interesting story as it became an unexpected tourist sensation in 2016 after Einar Páll Svavarsson published an article in August of that year on hiticeland.com with spectacular photos.

A year later Einar also wrote an article about Stuðlagil in WOW air magazine in June 2017 and after that the canyon became a popular tourist destination.

It’s an easy detour off the Highway 1 Ring Road. About a 19km/11.8mi sidetrip along road 923. Mostly paved in 2024.

related – All you need to know before visiting Stuðlagil Canyon

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official website – studlagil.is

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Most mornings at dawn I walk the most scenic beach on Vancouver Island IMHO.

Here is a SLIDESHOW of some of my favourite PHOTOS over the past 4-5 weeks — late summer 2024.

One of our top 10 day hikes in the world.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

All hikers plan, one day, to travel to southern Patagonia.

Towers of Paine photos entice.

And anyone who hikes Paine, should also hike Fitz Roy, Argentina.

Hikers have a choice to base themselves out of Puerto Natales, Chile or El Calafate, Argentina. Though you may find yourself stopping in both, El Calafate is the better choice.

El Calafate is a small town in Patagonia, Argentina. …

… an important tourist destination as the hub to visit different parts of the Los Glaciares National Park, including the Perito Moreno Glacier (one of the most visited in the world) and the Cerro Chaltén and Cerro Torre.

… In the last census 6,143 permanent residents were counted

You could argue that El Chaltén, Argentina’s “national trekking capital“, about 220km from El Calafate, is an even better base town.

On the other hand, there are large grocery stores like Diarco in El Calafate. The shops in Chaltén in 2019 were still very limited. We couldn’t get instant mashed potatoes in Chaltén, for example. Pick up your provisions in Calafate.

And Calafate is about half way between Paine and Fitz Roy.

More interesting photos tagged El Calafate, Argentina.

More information on Wikitravel – El Calafate.

Our favourite hike hikes out of El Calafate:

• Paine Circuit (Torres del Paine), Chile

• Huemul Route, Fitz Roy, Argentina

• Around Monte Fitz Roy (Los Glaciares), Argentina

These are the most famous, but there are many more “best hikes” in the Patagonian Andes. Ground transportation is the biggest challenge in this part of the world.

Best months are December to March.

If you post online photos and videos of your hikes, you’ll related to this video.

Frustration.

Kyle is terrific. But — like all of us — things go wrong. Video projects stall.

Life goes on.

Kyle points out that the unused footage in his hard drives is still valuable. We should enjoy the process, not the resulting footage.

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube. Like and subscribe.

Van Neistad (and his brother Casey) both believe perfectionism is BAD for most of us on YouTube.

Create. Post online, good or bad. And LEARN from the experience.

Over time your content should … improve.

One of our top 10 day hikes in the world.

Why?

A stunning and unique walk in Norway’s most popular National Park – Jotunheimen.

• Jotunheimen National Park has most of the highest mountains in Norway
• Besseggen … or Besseggi … in Jotunheimen, is a thrilling ridge walk with alpine lakes on either side:  Gjende and Bessvatnet.
• recommended from the end of June to mid-September
• 13.3km (8.25mi) plus one-way ferry
• 6-9 hours
• 950m elevation gain
• highest point, Veslfjellet (1743m)
• dogs on leash allowed
• trail runners enjoy it

World → Europe →  Norway → Besseggen Ridge

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

For details click over to our Besseggen Ridge information page.