California
ModerateMojave Road — Afton Canyon to Piute Spring via Soda Lake and Government Holes (East Segment)
Army camel corps, ghost forts, and playa that bites.
Trail Type: Backcountry
Bolivia
ExpertLagunas Route — Tupiza to Uyuni via the Bolivian Southwest Altiplano Circuit
Flamingos, volcanoes, and salt the size of Connecticut.
Lesotho
ExpertLesotho Highlands Road — Thaba-Tseka to Katse Dam via the Maluti Mountain Plateau
Lesotho's brutal plateau road to a mega-dam.
Colorado
ModerateColorado BDR North Segment — Walden to Steamboat Springs via Zirkel Wilderness Edge and Hahns Peak
North Park wide-open on the BDR's quiet end.
Argentina
DifficultPaso Vergara to Puerto Ramírez — Carretera Austral Backcountry via Río Palena
Patagonia before the tourists find it.
Australia
ExtremeCanning Stock Route — Wiluna to Halls Creek via the Great Sandy Desert Full Traverse
1,850 km of desert. No margin. No shortcuts.
California
ModerateMojave Road — Needles to Barstow via Piute Spring, Government Holes, and Afton Canyon
Army camels, lava fields, 140 miles of honest desert.
North Carolina
DifficultTrans-America Trail — Robbinsville to Tellico Plains via Cherohala Skyway Backdoor and Unicoi Mountains
Rocky Appalachian spine — no easy miles here.
Agadez Region
ExtremePiste du Tenere North — Agadez to Bilma via the Erg du Ténéré and Fachi Oasis
Navigate by camel bones. No pressure.
Namibia
ExpertNaukluft Mountains 4×4 Trail — Tsauchab River Gorge to Büllsport via the Naukluft Plateau High Spine
Quartzite ledges and dead silence in the Namib.