India
DifficultLeh to Khardung La and Nubra Valley — Northern Ladakh High Desert via Khardung Village
5,359 metres. Camels below. Glaciers above.
Surface: Gravel
Idaho
DifficultIdaho BDR Northern Segment — Coeur d’Alene to Lowell via the St. Joe River and Selway Corridor
St. Joe River to Selway — Idaho at its most honest.
Alaska
DifficultCrow Pass Trail Road — Girdwood to Eagle River via the Chugach Mountain High Route
Glaciers, a ghost mine, and a river that'll soak you.
Tennessee
ModerateTrans-America Trail — Tellico Plains to Hector via the Cherokee National Forest and Unicoi Mountains
River crossings, ridge views, and no cell signal.
China
DifficultSichuan–Tibet Highway — Chengdu to Lhasa via the G318 High Altitude Corridor
The highest overland highway on the planet.
Colorado
ModerateColorado BDR Central Segment — Gunnison to Salida via Cochetopa Hills and Marshall Pass
Old railbed, aspen groves, and 10,800-foot silence.
Texas
ModerateTrans-America Trail — Hico to Meridian via the Texas Hill Country Divide
Empty Texas ranch roads nobody else knows about.
Aysén Region
ExpertPaso Vergara to Lago General Carrera via Villa O’Higgins — Carretera Austral Remote Southern Terminus
Patagonia's hardest road. No arguing it.
Argentina
DifficultRuta 40 Central — Malargüe to Barrancas via the Patagonian Volcanic Steppe
Lava fields, guanacos, and Patagonian wind.
New Mexico
ModerateTrans-America Trail — Lordsburg to Silver City via the New Mexico Boot Heel Divide
Geronimo country. Cattle gates. Zero cell signal.