Ian Laird Personal Blog

In this post I will leave some scatterbrained thoughts about hiking. See a map of some of the hikes I have completed here.

At 25 years old I hike a lot and I really enjoy doing it as much as I can. However, even though I grew up in Montana, I did not really get into hiking until I went to school in Texas. I think living in such an ugly place made me realize what I had taken for granted my whole life.

While all hikes are good in their own ways, my favorite hikes are typically those where you have nice views the whole time and limited trees. Hiking through trees gets old pretty quick for me since they all kinda look the same. Unsurprisingly my favorite hiking is deserts and alpine environments. While there typically is not much in the way of water in these locations, the beautiful sights make up for it to me.

Here is a rough ranking of national parks that I have hiked in based on the twofold factors of views and crowds:

  • S tier: Canyonlands: The place that my love of hiking was born. Go do Druid Arch.
  • A Tier: North Cascades NP / Glacier / Olympic / Grand Teton / Yellowstone
  • B tier: Zion / Big Bend / Custer State Park / Badlands / Rocky Mountain / Arches / Rainier / Craters of the Moon / Devils Tower
  • C tier: Wind Cave / Carlsbad Caverns

Here is a list of some of my favorite locations that I have found offtrailing:

  • Bridger Mountain Range: A meadow on top of a hill with a very old dead tree in the middle that is perfect for climbing on.
  • Canyonlands: A cave where another hidden cave could be found through a long belly crawl.
  • Central Montana: A cave filled with perpetual ice formations.

Here is a list of some of the tips I wish I could tell myself when I was first getting started hiking:

  • Do not use hiking boots. Trail runners are way better.
  • Stop trying to minimize gear weight. Just get in better shape.
  • Test your water filter before you go on backpacking trips.
  • Make sure your rain jacket is actually waterproof.
  • Alpine starts are worth it.
  • Hike more.
  • Get used to exposure.

Gear I carry every hike:

  • Compass
  • Water (1 more liter than I think I need at minimum)
  • Homemade first aid kit
  • Layers (1 more than I think I need)
  • Snacks
  • Hiking poles
  • Headlamp