Erongo Region
DifficultSkeleton Coast — Ugab River Terraces to Brandberg Mountain via Damaraland Volcanic Plateau
Volcanic desert, rock art, and Africa's granite dome.
Surface: Gravel
North Carolina
ModerateTrans-America Trail — Waterville to Asheville via the Pisgah National Forest Backdoor and Black Mountains
Pisgah clay, creek crossings, and Black Mountain skies.
Baja California Sur
ModerateTranspeninsularBaja Sur — Guerrero Negro to La Paz via Loreto and the Sierra de la Giganta Canyon Roads
A thousand miles of cactus, dust, and Cortez light.
USA
ModerateTrans-America Trail — Clifton Forge to Wytheville via the Virginia Highlands Connector
Virginia forest two-track where the pavement quits for days.
Kyrgyzstan
DifficultTian Shan Celestial Mountains — Naryn to Torugart Pass via Chatyr-Kul Lake
Roof of Kyrgyzstan — wind, ibex, and no easy way out.
Australia
ModerateOodnadatta Track — Oodnadatta to Marla via the Old Ghan Railway Corridor and Finke River Country
Old Ghan ghosts and artesian springs in Australia's dead heart.
Kunene Region
ExtremeSkeleton Coast Wilderness — Kunene River Mouth to Serra Cafema via the Far Northern Namib Shore
End of the Earth. Angola on one side, the Atlantic on the other.
Argentina
ModerateMeseta del Lago Buenos Aires — Perito Moreno to Los Antiguos via the Patagonian Wind Plateau (Ruta Provincial 43)
Wind, basalt, hand prints, and glacial turquoise.
Australia
DifficultGibb River Road — Derby to Kununurra via the Kimberley Gorge Country (Dry Season Classic, Galvans Gorge to Manning Gorge, Eastern Traverse)
Kimberley gorges earned one corrugation at a time.
China
ModerateSichuan–Tibet Highway — Kangding to Litang via Zheduo La and Xinduqiao Valley (G318 High Plateau Segment)
Tibetan plateau at 4,300 metres. Paved. Still dangerous.