Looking for a backpacking destination idea...

Big Bend?

Are you strictly wanting to camp in a tent, or would you be open to staying at a cabin and hiking/exploring the area?

Staying in Texas or open to other places?

if I may throw a homer suggestion, the Chilkoot Trail.

If you don't mind a bit of travel (5.5 hrs from DFW or Houston to Seattle, 2 hrs to Juneau and a puddle jumper or Ferry to Skagway) doing the Chilkoot Trail.

I've done it a couple times and it's awesome. Its part of two park systems (US NP Svc and Parks Canada) and goes from a ghost town in coastal rainforest in Ak to barren alpine and lakes in Canada. You can do a 3 day hike up to Lake Bennet, take a tourist train or bus back to Skagway. Halfway back, get off (whistlestop for hikers) and hike up to Lawton Glacier, come and catch the train again to Skagway. It may not be something you want to do this year, but it's definitely a unique experience. You need permits from the park svscs to do it.

Dyea was a boom town, but not much is left. You can raft or kayak the river, and in mid summer there are lots of brown bears feasting on salmon.



Summit on the Canadian border is barren, with a series of alpine lakes leading down to Lake Bennett



Trail profile




The "cities" listed on the trial profile are former camps on the trail of 98, and nothing left but a few ruins, if you poke around enough. It's wilderness.

Glacier or Olympic National Parks



THIS..............

If your considering the AT, definitely give the Great Smoky Mountain NP and surrounding areas a thought. No 4,000ers like out west but some good sized peaks out this way at around 7,000ft.

Here's a picture of Mt. Leconte, one of the many more well known mountains. Also see: Charlies Bunion, The Chimney Tops, Cherohala Skyway, Mt. Mitchell,Mt. Craig, Clingmans Dome etc.


Plenty of Wildlife. Black bear, Bob cat, Elk, Deer, What's believed to be a small population of anywhere from 6-20 mountain lions(cougars) through out the range (Nothing like out west). Great for bushwacking or trail hiking. If you're looking to the East Coast/South East. It's hard to find a more beautiful NP out this way.

I Just recently finished up the Black Forest in Germany, and plan on going to the French Alps in the area of Vercors (Beautiful Mountains) in South East France when my buddy flys out this summer. Anyways, Safe travels where ever you go .

Yosemite
If you haven’t gone to Yosemite I can point you to a great spot along the John Muir trail that could be an awesome 2-5 day trip without many people. Park at the bottom of the mountain, resort bus drives you to trailhead, hike to location, and then catch bus back to car on way home.
It will be chilly at night and you have to carry an obnoxious bear canister and get permits. Best part is you can camp near a lake and never see another person and do day hikes. I can post pics if needed from my trip and show you what my stay was like.

Yellowstone
If attempting to avoid crowds there are some great areas in Teton National Forest where you can be far from humans, camp off trail, and only see a few people on horses along the way. It’s not a national park so that’s a plus as long as you still plan to see the main attractions on your trip.

Colorado
Estes Park & Rocky Mountain National Park
When I lived in Colorado my little brother flew up for a week to hike with me. We drove to Indian Peaks Wilderness to do a 3 day trip. A quarter mile before parking at the trailhead a mountain lion darted in out in front of the car. ‘Nuff said. Amazing place near a great resort town (Estes) and a short drive from the Denver Airport. The national park is incredible. Elk galore. Which reminds me…

Appalachian Trail Section

Skip Georgia and North Carolina

Tennessee
Great Smoky Mountain National Park
Despite the fact that it is the most visited national park in the country you can still be in very remote places. One out of 3 Americans lives within a day’s drive of GSMNP. However, there is over 900 miles of trail within the park. I went at the end of March and froze at night. If you are going at the end of May it will be warmer and you’ll have a much better chance of seeing one of the over 1,500 bears in the park. The wildlife is amazing there (for now--- the feral hogs are beginning to immigrate). There are over 400 types of mushrooms and numerous salamanders as well (see my AT pics in the stickied thread). Great hiking, strenuous, and plenty of hiking off the beaten bath.

Laurel Falls (pictures in AT thread)
Awesome water fall that is accessed by a flat, smooth footpath that isn’t too far from the small town of Hampton. LINK

Virginia
Check out Catawba. It’s very close to Roanoke so it’s easy to fly into and rent a car if you don’t want to roadtrip. Catawba also has the famous Homeplace Restaurant where you’re sure to run into plenty of thru-hikers. I dreamt of it days before and days after while on the trail. What makes Catawba cool is that a day’s hike to the south of the road is the Dragon’s Tooth, cool rock formations with an overlook, and an hour or so north of the road is McAfee Knob (google it now). McAfee Knob is the most photographed spot on the AT and on the cover of many books. Make sure you don’t go at peak times/hours so that you can take a cool picture with your kid. Sunset or Sunup is optimal. I stayed from afternoon until dark and then camped at a nearby campsite on top of the knob. You’ve got a restaurant, cool rock formations, and a great landmark, all within a few miles of a road right outside of Roanoke. Not many tourists and very easy for travel.

Shenandoah National Park
One of America’s weakest national parks yet some of my favorite experiences. It’s small and crowded and hard to get away from tourists but the deer are close enough to pet and the bears stroll along the road (Blue Ridge Parkway). I had an adult doe and a fawn let me pet them on separate occasions. That's probably how I got Lyme disease. If you’ve ever had the opportunity to drive the blue ridge parkway and chose not to then you don’t deserve a license. It’s beautiful. There are plenty of campsites: shelters, tent spots, or places for cars and campers/RV’s. Beware of bears that are addicted to human food.

Skip West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts
All have something to offer but nothing as wildly spectacular as the places previously listed and the places soon to be listed. WV has hills similar to Virginia’s “roller coaster” (14.1 miles of quick bumps and 3,900 feet of climbing) and it has the historic town of Harper’s Ferry. Massachusetts has some of the most lush and beautiful forest on the entire trail and an infinite number of small streams/brooks. Connecticut has rough, rocky climbs and small, plush towns populated by America’s elite and vacation homes of Manhattan’s finest. All great places but nothing at the top of the list (except for Pennsylvania---frick that state). If you decide you want to go to one of these states, I can specify on particular locations and the highlights when needed.

4 State Challenge
Want to stay near the big cities and/or commit to a crazy trip? The 4 state challenge is when a hiker goes 42.9 miles on the AT in 24 hours, in the process traveling across the borders of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. I prefer to start at midnight and finish by the next midnight. Don’t forget batteries for that headlight. Also, night is the best time to see critters; especially the spotted salamanders.

You could give yourselves 3 or 4 days to do it and would have completed all of the AT in West Virginia and Maryland. The WV portion includes some ridiculous rolling hills and Maryland has some of the best shelters of the whole trail.