Metalheads who Hike

OSD, I've been to (some minimally, of course) 44 US states, but not Hawaii, and that's fascinating and I never would have guessed about the different climate zones.  60 hikes sounds amazing!  I'm not a beach guy at all, but Hawaii's definitely creeping up on my list of places to try to get to at some point.  And seriously, nice work in getting out and exploring during your time.  I talk to WAY too many people who have been to amazing places and never got off the beaten path.  Sounds like you're making the most of it.

I'm not sure what Michigan has to offer exactly, but I'd imagine that it at least has lakes and woods, if not much for mountains?

In southern Michigan the "hiking" is mainly day-use natural areas, there isn't much down here.  Up north, yes, lakes and woods and rives and streams and Great Lakes in plenty.  You can see the divide between southern farmland and northern woods nicely on Google maps satellite view.  The National Forests are nice.  Sleeping Bear Dunes has some awesome sand dune vistas.  In the Upper Peninsula, especially the western  part there are some good hills.  Some are called "mountains" but not not by Appalachian or Rocky Mountain standards.  The North Country Trail runs through Michigan too.

For outdoor recreation Michigan doesn't have the best of anything but we have something of almost everything.  We're very well rounded in that sense, and most of it is a less than a day trip from the major population centers.

My wife doesn't like hiking since she gets poison ivy just by looking at it so it's nice to have an excuse to get my out-of-shape self outside again.

I feel like I have conquered Hawaii (except Oahu) last year. I want to go back just for Oahu.
Now I am hiking 8-12 miles a day in the central coast area of California. A different kind of beauty for sure.

Awesome! If you make your way to the Santa Cruz area, let me know and I might be able to give you a few recommendations. I grew up there and enjoyed hiking there often.

Lately I have been hiking from Malibu to Big Sur. Mostly along the coast but some interior mountain ranges.

I grew up north of Santa Cruz in Pacifica. I covered much of that area with the Boy Scouts. The only place I have hiked in the Santa Cruz area is in Carmel Valley and north of Soquel.

Right on. You probably hiked in Nisene Marks then; that's the biggest park north of Soquel. That's a good spot. But beware the park rangers there; they're jerks!

Big Basin has some really good hiking and a very underrated but neat spot is Butano State Park. Enjoy!

Butano State Park
Been there in my Boy Scout days

Nice to see some activity on here. In January we moved from NH to the Kansas City area, which doesn't mean I'll never hike again. . . but means that I'll never be in "NH hiking shape" and have a nearly limitless outdoor playground available whenever I happen to have a solitary free day. I'm happy about what life has for me but truly VERY sad about this! So good for y'all, I'm back to being a flatlander.

Wow!! Great thread. So sorry I'm just now catching up with ut.

As I've aged out of sports and powerlifting I've really gotten into hiking, but live in a crappy area for it.

I started taking hiking trips either with my family or my cousin.

Some places:

Cloudcroft, NM
San Tan Mountains, AZ
Camelback Mountain, AZ
Palo Duro Canyon, TX
Lost Maples State Park, TX
Enchanted Rock, TX
Dinosaur Valley SP, TX
Fort Davis Mountains, TX
El Yunque Rainforest, PR
White Sands, NM

I'm nearing "first" retirement and looking forward to expanding greatly.

We're planning a larger "cousin hike" in September in The Great Smoky Mts

Grand Canyon and Sedona, AZ this Christmas

I live in a crappy place for it now, too. Of those mentioned, I have happened to have been on Camelback, my parents live in Phoenix and we hiked that once when we were out visiting. Short but intense, and very cool! I've been to Grand Canyon and Sedona as well, and you'll love them I'm sure, though I didn't really get to do any hiking at either one. And I have been to the Smoky's, but before I was a hiker. Would love to go back and try some!

Since Sept I've been hiking in the SF Bay Area

Mt Tamalpais was probably the most strenuous. Such great views on a clear day.

In the past 6 months I have followed the coastline from the Chase Center (Warriors basketball) along the embarcadero to the Golden Gate bridge, down the Presidio and Lands End to the pacific coast to Mavericks near Half Moon Bay. Maybe 40 miles of shoreline total. I took 1000's of pictures.

I hike with my dad sometimes though we haven't done it in a while. He's on this forum with Hiker in his name actually, though he's only posted twice (he's JcHiker76 if anyone's curious).

I knew that metalheads hitchhiked...

Hiking is one of my favorite hobbies, I’m actually currently on a weeklong hiking/backpacking trip for spring break at Big Bend NP

I've never been to the Big Bend area bordering on Mexico.
I see that area has a base elevation of around 4300 feet with many peaks around 7300.

seth wrote:Hiking is one of my favorite hobbies, I’m actually currently on a weeklong hiking/backpacking trip for spring break at Big Bend NP

Ahh!! What? I've lived in Texas over half my life and have never gone. 

Where are you in Texas?

scottmitchell74 wrote:

seth wrote:Hiking is one of my favorite hobbies, I’m actually currently on a weeklong hiking/backpacking trip for spring break at Big Bend NP

Ahh!! What? I've lived in Texas over half my life and have never gone. 

Where are you in Texas?

I’m currently (and temporarily, while in university) living in east-central TX, about 7.5 hours away from Big Bend. 100% worth it though, I’ve been to a lot of parks throughout TX and Big Bend is easily my favorite. Huge diversity of natural habitats and wildlife, incredible scenery, and the park is enormous with more than enough to do for an entire week

You’ve just gotta watch out for the panthers, bears, illegal immigrants, and rattlesnakes though. Had a close encounter with the latter during my time there last week along a trail, but he rattled a warning before I could get too close, then took a defensive pose while I took photos