Hi Taylor,

Well, good on you guys for all sticking with this annual tradition for so long, and you for organizing this one.

While the Presidential Range traverse is a similar distance as what you did in the Grand Canyon (and I’ve done both multiple times), I think the Pressies are a harder hike, with significantly more elevation gain and loss and, more importantly, quite rocky and rugged trail almost the entire way. People run parts or all of the Grand Canyon’s corridor trails (South and North Kaibab and Bright Angel, which I’ve done), but running across the Presidentials is all but impossible most of the distance because the trails are so constantly and severely rocky. I say that only to illustrate why you should plan on your hiking pace being slower than you experienced in the canyon.

If you guys can do that canyon dayhike, you can do the Presidentials traverse. But if you found the canyon hike hard, plan to train harder for the Pressies. And I definitely recommend an early start. One factor in that decision may be how you’ll shuttle between the north and south ends of the hike, as well as how late you are okay with finishing (bring headlamps and warm layers). There’s info about shuttles and other resources in the trip-planning tips at the bottom of my story about dayhiking the Presidential Death March, which requires a paid subscription The Big Outside to read in full, and that gives you full access to all of my blog’s stories.

September to around mid-October is the best time of year for this hike. The peak of foliage varies year to year and often arrives in early October in the Whites. There are many lodging options in towns in this area of the Whites (North Conway, Jackson, Gorham, others) and good places to eat.

I hope this helps and that you guys decide to go for it and are prepared for a really tough hike, because it’s a great day.

Good luck and thanks for the questions.

I’ve been elected as party planner for a 20th trip I take annually with my buddies from college. We average about 10 guys. We are all early 40’s and in pretty good shape. About 6 years ago we did the Grand Canyon in and out in a day, around 19 or so miles (South Kaibab, Phantom Ranch, Bright Angel).

Speaking specifically to the Presidential Death March:

Do you think the hike is doable in a day for the group?

Would like to do it in late September to take advantage of the foliage. I realize the weather can be a wild card but do you think that’s a bad idea?

Where did you stay day before?

Is it a must to get going so early? It won’t bother me but I can see some of the guys whining about it.

Any transportation recommendations?

Any other resources or folks you would recommend I talk to?

Thanks!

Hi Sommerville,

Thanks for suggesting the 30-mile Art Loeb Trail in Pisgah National Forest in western North Carolina. I’ve only hiked part but not all of it, so I appreciate your report. Thanks also for the compliment about this story, I hope you get to some of the hikes on it.

How about the Art Loeb?! It spans incredible views in Shining Rock Wilderness and then plunges into the depths of the forest. Around 30 miles (we added a scramble up Cedar Rock which tipped the mileage a bit and made for a view towards the end of the day as well).

Thanks for this list!

Hi Aurora,

Thank you. I’ve hiked Borah a couple of times, it is very steep and the crux section, Chickenout Ridge, does involve some scrambling, though it’s not technical in the sense that you need special gear or skills; it’s more about dealing with the exposure and scrambling carefully. But even with its difficult level, I don’t think we can compare it with many of the hikes on this list.

Thanks for the question. I highly recommend that anyone comfortable with exposure hike Idaho’s highest peak, Mount Borah.

Great suggestion, Jerry, I assume you mean the Dawson Pass-Pitamakin Pass loop and I do include that dayhike in my story “The 8 Best Long Hikes in Glacier National Park.”

All great points, David, thanks for sharing. And those were all great hikes you knocked off! I’ll also emphasize that some of that feeling wrecked the morning after could have been exacerbated by dehydration. An electrolyte-replacement drink is another good post-hike rehab habit to form.

Good luck on your next big adventures.

I can attest to the necessity of eating after a long hike. I made the mistake of missing dinner after day-hiking the Grand Canyon South Kaibab to Bright Angel. The following morning I could barely walk and experienced great discomfort. Stupidly, I repeated the same mistake after completing Half Dome only a few weeks later. A few years later I vowed not to make that mistake again when I day-hiked the Teton Paintbrush/Cascade Canyon loop. The first thing I did after the hike was find a good barbeque restaurant, and I pigged-out on ribs, chicken, beans, corn, fries, etc. I felt great the next morning, drove to Estes Park, CO, and completed Longs Peak the day after. Another valuable food tip, is don’t wait until you are hungry to eat during a long hike. It will take a few hours to digest that food, and your body will be waiting for that energy. I call it hitting an energy wall. Eat continually while on the trail to maintain a sufficient energy level.

Thanks for that suggestion on hiking to Cape Solitude, Joshua. I haven’t done that but I have hiked to the overlook of the Colorado-Little Colorado confluence at the end of the Beamer Trail in the canyon, on an 18-mile dayhike from our campsite at Tanner Beach (read about it in this story). That’s a gorgeous spot with a nice campsite and the Beamer Trail is a beautiful hike all the way out and back.

Yes, thanks for the suggestion, Joe. The Black Mountain Crest Trail in North Carolina is actually in this story. Like many stories at my blog, this one is partly free for anyone to read (about half of the hikes in it) but requires a paid subscription to The Big Outside to read in full. A subscription gives you full access to all of my blog’s stories, including the trip planner section in stories about specific trips, where I share details of the itinerary and other logistics and tips on planning a trip, plus you get access to member gear discounts.

Thanks for pointing that out. Keep in touch.

Yes, it has the same effect on me, too, Melinda.

The Enchantments basin is a great suggestion, Brian. I have hiked through there while climbing Prusik Peak. Thanks.

Suggest adding the Enchantments trail in Leavenworth, Washington; 24 mi, 5,000 ft; certainly on par with several of the others listed.

Thanks for the good suggestion, Sanjay. I’ve had that hike in my sights for a while and hope to get to it.

Hi Eric,

Good to hear from you and thanks for that question. Huge days like the to Pemi Loop and Presidential Range Death March definitely require building up strength not only in the large muscles of the legs but in your core and back. I’ve found that when your core is getting tired, the effects ripple through your entire body, affecting your posture, stride, and efficiency moving on the trail, and eventually accelerate fatigue and soreness in your legs. The connective tissue in joints like knees and ankles takes even longer to strengthen for the abuse of long dayhikes, particularly in the White Mountains, where trails, as you know, are notoriously steep and rocky.

Recovering from a day like that—besides requiring at least a couple of rest days—is greatly helped by replenishing your body with what it’s craving, which is fluids, electrolytes, fat, protein, and salt. I like to have a big bottle of Gatorade or similar electrolyte drink and salty/fatty snacks waiting in the car when I’m done, to immediately start the process of giving my body nourishment. Follow that with a good meal of real food. The worst mistake I’ve seen people make after a huge day is deciding they’re too tired to eat, which almost guarantees that you’ll wake up feeling worse than when you went to sleep. I personally always give my body a good session of stretching and/or yoga post-hike and the next morning, to speed recovery and just feel better.

Check out my story to “Training for a Big Hike or Mountain Climb,” I think you’ll find it helpful.

Thanks again. I hope we connect for one of those big days in the Whites soon.

Hi Mike. Nice list you’ve put together. As we enter another summer hiking season up here in the White Mountains I’m starting to think about tackling two of the hikes on your list. The Pemi loop and the Presidential death march. I was hoping you could share some tips on how you prep in the days leading up to these monster day hike, and maybe a few tips on recovering after 32 miles, 10,000 feet of elevation change and 16 hours on the trail. Maybe even a short article to help other readers to get ready for any other the ultra dayhikes on the list. Thanks Mike!
Eric

You’re welcome, Liz.

Thanks so much – this is perfect!

Hey Liz,

That’s a great question and suggestion, thanks. The obvious long dayhike in the Sawtooths is the Alice Lake-Toxaway Lake loop from Pettit Lake, about 17-18 miles and some 2,200 feet on good trails, crossing a pass at about 9,200 feet. Beautiful hike. I’ve run-hiked that loop in a day and included the side hike-scramble up the third-class east ridge of Snowyside Peak, one of the highest in the Sawtooths at 10,651 feet, which has a relatively small summit area with a commanding panorama of the range and east to the White Clouds. It’s only really busy on nice weekends in August.

A longer variation of that loop is the roughly 28-mile hike from Redfish Lake (taking the boat shuttle from Redfish Lake Lodge) to Pettit Lake via Cramer, Edna, Toxaway, and Alice lakes and three 9,000-foot passes.

Enjoy.

Hi Lance,

Thanks for the nice words and those excellent suggestions, I love all of them. I’ve backpacked Colorado’s Four Pass Loop and have long considered dayhiking it, which is undoubtedly feasible for a strong party. Beautiful hike, too, especially when the wildflowers bloom. I’ve only gotten a taste of the Linville Gorge (see this story), but I know how rugged that place is. I’m not actually familiar with the Pawnee-Buchanan loop, though I’ve hiked in Colorado’s Indian Peaks Wilderness, so now you’ve added a hike to my to-do list!

Keep in touch.

There is a loop in the Linville Gorge that is a common backpacking loop: ITAYG (Is That All You Got). Requires some planning due to 2 river crossings, but really amazing.

I also would like to try to knock off the 4-Pass loop in Apsen area and the Pawnee-Buchanan loop in Indian Peaks Wilderness (south of Rocky Mountain NP) in a day eventually—both done before as one-nighters.

Thanks again.
Lance

We were out there on May 1. There were a few snow patches towards the final scramble up to the summit but nothing serious. It looked like significantly more snow if you went over the saddle to the north, but didn’t continue through to see.

Thanks for the comment, Meagan. Did you encounter much snow going up Clouds Rest? And what date did you do it? That’s a great hike. I know the Sierra got less snow this year, just curious how early you were able to get up there.

I agree, Jason, and that’s exactly why I included it on this list. Thanks for affirming that.

Thanks, James, great suggestion, it’s been on my radar for a while. I hope to get to it. Keep in touch.

Dawson Pittamakan is another epic day hike.

Another good one is combining Iceberg Lake & Ptarmigan Tunnel – not as long as the prior two but beautiful nonetheless. GNP never disappoints!

Thanks, Jennifer. I appreciate any specific suggestions, and I get to them as I’m able. Keep in touch.

Thanks, Heidi, and congrats on hiking Half Dome. The Grand Canyon is the granddaddy of ultra-hikes, but be ready for it, it’s a very tough one.

Hi Nikita, sorry to leave you disillusioned. I’m only one person and I admittedly do most of my hiking in the West. But there are three hikes in the East on this list, and I’ll add more as I’m able to get to them. Suggestions welcome!

Thanks, Sara, and yea, the Great Range Traverse in the High Peaks of the Adirondacks is certainly a good fit for this list. I’ve only done some peaks there, not the entire traverse, although one of my good buddies and regular ultra-hiking partners has done it and urged me to do it for years. He’s living in New Hampshire, so maybe I’ll finally get to it with him one of these days.

Keep in touch.

Thanks, Paul, and you’re correct, I only write about hikes and trips I’ve done personally. And you’re correct that many articles like this at other sites and magazines are written by people who didn’t do the hikes.

By anyway, congrats on having knocked off some excellent, long dayhikes. I’ve hiked Telescope Peak, but from the usual trailhead, not the bottom of Death Valley (which would be tough!). Nice piece of work there! I actually consider it one of “The 25 Best National Park Dayhikes.”

I’ve been aware of both San Jacinto and the Devil’s Path for some years, but haven’t gotten to either, yet. Maybe I’ll eventually get to them. So much to do, so little time!

Actually it looks like my login expired; I don’t recall receiving an email asking me to renew. How long does a subscription last?

Oh, perfect, and thank you for being a subscriber.

OK thanx; I actually am a member/subscriber; I just wasn’t logged in.

Thanks, Jeffrey, and I’m so glad you asked that question! Yes, you saw eight hikes in this article because to see the entire article (all 14 hikes), you must be a member/subscriber to The Big Outside (and logged in), which costs as little as 5 bucks. See my Join page for details. Thanks for asking.

Hi Agness, best times of year are the second half of April into early May, and late September to around mid-October.

I’m sure a lot of hikers would ask themselves that question, Mickey, and obviously, there are at least some hikes on this list that many hikers could not do in a day. There are undoubtedly some hikers who couldn’t hike any of these in one day. There’s enormous variation in the abilities of hikers, right?

But more to the point, I did not randomly choose the hikes on this list—which range in distance from 11 to 47 miles, with eight of them under 25 miles, a goal within reach of many fit hikers and trail runners. I selected them, first and foremost, because they are established, one-day hikes that many hikers attempt and accomplish every year. Dayhike or backpack the Grand Canyon’s corridor trails (South and North Kaibab and Bright Angel) in April or October and you may be shocked at how many hikers and runners are crossing rim to rim (21 to 23.5 miles) in one day, and some are going in both directions. (See my story “Fit to be Tired: Hiking the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim.”) These hikes are also all exceptionally scenic and enjoyable challenges.

If this isn’t your cup of trail mix, that’s understandable. I wrote this story because I know many readers are interested in attempting hikes like this. Thanks for the comment, it’s a good perspective.

I also love long day hikes. I’ve done four on your list, R2R2R, Pemi, Zion and Yosemite, except we did Yosemite the other way, starting in the Valley and ending at Tenaya Lake. Our plan was to do Half Dome, but we just kept going.

I have some favorite extreme day hikes that aren’t on your list. My all time favorite is Telescope Peak from Shorty’s Well (bottom of Death Valley). Over 11k one-way gain, half of it off trail. Best day I ever had hiking.

I also enjoyed Cactus to the Clouds on Mt. San Jacinto. Similar to Telescope but much more civilized. We did the full round trip, which made it more of an adventure.

Devil’s Path in the Catskills. 26 miles. Didn’t love this one, but it’s a tough day hike for sure. First half is great — scrambling up and down very steep, small mountains. Second half is kind of a slog. We did it in a November downpour, which made it especially dark, cold and wet.