Ten Unknown Treks

Backpacker.com has put together an excellent list of ten undiscovered treks, scouring the globe to find the best long distance hiking trails that have yet to come up on the radar for most backpackers.

The list has a little something for everyone, and offers great suggestions on five continents, including several in Europe, Australia, South America, Asia and Africa. Some of the great trails making the list include the Pyrenees Traverse in France, which offers great backcountry hiking all day with comfortable and quaint inns to stay in each night. Heading to Nepal you'll find the Rolwaling to Khumbu circuit, a 20-day hike that offers a fraction of the hikers in the Khumbu Valley, while still staying the shadow of Everest itself, and travel to Ethiopia to trek the Simien Mountains, which offer an 8 day, 86-mile route that blends culture, wildlife and amazing scenery in one.

The article says that you should get to these treks before everyone else does. They're still off the beaten path (pun fully intended!) for the vast majority and as such, you'll likely have the trail to yourself, at least for now. That'll probably change now that Backpacker has tipped us all off, but regardless, these each look like amazing treks.

My friend Colm, who I did Kilimanjaro with a few years back, did the Simien trek i Ethiopia last year, and had nothing but great things to say about the experience. From the sounds of things, it lives up to Backpacker's description and then some. While Kili has become all the rage, and the Atlas Mountains in Morocco continue to draw hikers, the Simians remain a bit of a mystery, still untamed and wild. Go quickly!

Raiding The Lost Ark

Another interesting article from the Times Online today, this time sending their intrepid reporter Patrick Richardson off to Ethiopia in search of the Lost Ark of the Covenant, an artifact that has spawned dozens of myths, eluded treasure seekers for millennia, and sent Indiana Jones on his first adventure.

Ethiopia is quickly becoming an amazing destination for trekkers and climbers who are looking to get away from the crowds on more well known trails. The country has plenty of beautiful scenery to take in, and remains unspoiled and a bit of a hidden gem. My friend Colm visited the place back in the spring, and had nothing but great things to say about his experiences there.

The country is deeply religious and unlike much of Northern Africa, it is a Christian nation. The rumors have circulated for years that the Ark of the Covenant was hidden away in a small, unassuming, building, guarded by a priest, in a compound a few hundred miles north of Addis Ababa. It is these rumors that sent Richardson off to the remote region to see if he could catch a glimpse of the golden container of the remnants of the Ten Commandments.

According to legend, the Queen of Sheba returned to Ethiopia in 1000 BC with the Ark, and it has rested there ever since. This followed a bit of biblical backstabbing the likes of which can only be found on a soap opera of course, but none the less, she reported made off with the holiest of artifacts, stealing it from King Solomon himself.

Now the mystique of the final resting place of the Ark remains part of the allure of Ethiopia, which seems like an unlikely resting place. Of course, Richardson doesn't set eyes on it in his journey, but that's not really the point is it? The mere fact that it could be there is the draw, both in this mystery and many of the others that cause us to visit some far off land. The article even provides links to travel providers, should you want to go searching for yourself.