The triple crown of hiking
I’ve often romanticized the thought of completing a through hike of one of the major hiking trails in the US - the Appalachian, Continental Divide, or Pacific Crest trail - but I’ve never really gotten past the day-dreaming stage. For a select group, however, completing a through hike of a major hiking trail isn’t enough - they have to do all three! And that’s just what John and Dawn Cicanese have done, and the Sarasota Herald Tribune has a good write up on the couple’s hiking accomplishments.
Hiking all three major American hiking routes is known in hiking and backpacking circles as “The Triple Crown” and there are probably less than 200 people who have completed the journey. The Cicanese’s have some interesting insight into what it takes to complete a through hike and for them it means lots of junk food, ultralight backpacking equipment, and jogging shoes instead of hiking boots. They also share some of the differences between the three trails: The Appalachian Trail is the most social of the three hikes with plenty of fellow hikers encountered along the way; the Continental Divide trail has the most wildlife; and the Pacific Crest trail has the best views. Surprisingly the couple also says the Appalachian trail is the toughest trail with the most ups and downs.
The Cicanese’s are involved in their local Appalachian Trail Club in Sarasota - who knew Florida even had Appalachian Trail clubs? Hiking clubs can be a great way to meet other hikers and to share tips for the trail and I imagine if they have clubs in Florida they have them just about everywhere!
So set an audacious hiking or backpacking goal in 2009 and get connected with local hikers who can help you make it happen - you might just be surprised at what you can accomplish this year!
Related posts:
- Thru hiking the Pacific Crest Trail
- The Pacific Northwest Trail
- Hiking and backpacking in Ocala National Forest
- Hiking trail maps posted
- Flashpacking and flash-hiking?
Tags: appalachian trail, continental divide trail, pacific crest trail, through hike
August 26th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
Me and my friend are 15 at the moment, we are both boy scouts in the San Fransisco bay area. We have had experience on strenuous rated 50 milers, and most recently at 10 day 110 mile trek in New Mexico, climbing to a peak at 12,445 ft (mt. Baldy)
We have come up with a rather ambitious idea: complete the entire triple crown in one year. Now of course we don’t plan to do this now, but probably after college. We both already have no problem hiking 25+ miles per day with steep grades. Has this ever been done before, and if not is this at all possible. At the moment its just an idea we’ve thrown out there.
August 26th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
That’s certainly an ambitious goal! We’re talking nearly 8,000 miles of hiking including tough winter conditions on at least 2 of the 3 trails. I’m sure you’ve done the math but that’s roughly 22 miles per day every day for a year (and don’t forget travel time between trails)! Unless you’re fastpacking all 3 trails I just don’t see it happening - but who knows, you could be the first!
If you do end up making an attempt let’s talk - we’d love to cover your efforts on tripleblaze.com!
August 28th, 2009 at 9:52 pm
It for sure wont be for at least another 6 to 8 years, and of course it’s just an idea we’ve tossed around. I was thinking 20 days would be enough time for travel, and it would still leave us a 24 mile per day average. The seasons are the only thing I need to wrap my head around. I was thinking that we would start at the south end of the divide trail, then the north end of the PCT, the finish going south on the Appalachian trail. But it’s still only an idea, I definitely need to do more research.
Thank you for your response.