Long-distance Hiking without Camping: The Hut-to-Hut Experience1 min read

A recent article in Afar magazine extols the virtues of leaving the tent behind to hike hut-to-hut through some of the most spectacular countries all around the world. I’ve just returned from one such adventure—a six-day sojourn through the High Sierra camps of Yosemite—and I heartily concur. Here’s the winning formula: you pack lightly (maximum 20 pounds versus the 40 pounds most backpackers shoulder), wend your way through forests and alpine meadows, past waterfalls, crystal clear lakes and stunning mountain peaks to spend the evening in communal lodgings where you dine with gusto on large servings of delicious local fare. Afterward, you crawl gratefully into a rustic bed rather than trying to sleep atop the lumps beneath your tent and sleeping bag. I logged 65 miles and came back refreshed, invigorated and ready to research my next hut-to-hut expedition.

Afar magazine’s author Kelly Lack highlights six such trips, suggesting the Mont Blanc trail across three countries in the Alps, an approach to the Himalayas through the Kumaoni foothills of India, an excursion into Morocco’s High Atlas Mountains, a trek across New Zealand’s Queen Charlotte track, a route through Oregon’s Rogue River Wilderness and passage through Peru on the Andean Salkantay trail. Some of these trips include guides, and prices range from $700 (Yosemite, six days unguided) to $3,175 (Mont Blanc, 12 days, guided) per person.