Namibia
ExpertHartmann Valley to Marienfluss — Van Zyl’s Pass and the Kaokoland Wilderness Traverse
Africa's most terrifying handcut pass. Full stop.
Trail Type: Backcountry
Northern Cape
DifficultRichtersveld Akkedisberge Desert Pass — Port Nolloth to Eksteenfontein via the Knersvlakte Divide
Lizard Mountains and the edge of nowhere.
Colorado
DifficultEngineer Pass Road — Lake City to Ouray via the San Juan Alpine Backbone
13,218 feet of raw San Juan exposure.
North Carolina
ModerateTrans-America Trail — Murphy to Waterville via the Blue Ridge Parkway High Spine
Appalachian clay, rivers, and ridge country.
Argentina
DifficultPaso Pehuenche Cross — Talca to Paso Pehuenche via Laguna del Maule and the Andean Volcanic Divide
Chile's forgotten Andean pass — high, cold, and empty.
Arusha Region
DifficultNgorongoro Highlands to Olduvai Gorge — Crater Rim to Cradle of Mankind via Serengeti Shortcut
From the crater rim to the cradle of mankind.
Aysén Region
DifficultLagunas Altas Route — Paso Vergara to Lago General Carrera via the Aysén Highland Spine
Patagonia's plateau before the crowds found it.
Canada
DifficultContwoyto Winter Road — Tibbit Lake to Contwoyto Lake via the Arctic Ice Road
Six hundred kilometres of frozen lakes. Nothing else.
Canada
ModerateForestry Road to Dempster Corner — Yukon Interior Boreal Plateau via Engineer Creek
Yukon boreal sidetrack where the Dempster corridor goes wild.
Algeria
ExpertPiste du Hoggar Sud — In Guezzam to Tin Zaouatine via the Algerian Saharan Fringe
Southern Hoggar border piste — desert at its most unforgiving.