So, I stumbled upon this topic today – something about the ’15 deadliest hikes in the world’. It really got me thinking. Naturally, the first thing I did was look some of them up. Curiosity, you know?
Spent a bit of time just scrolling through images and reading quick descriptions. Places like Huayna Picchu, that Angel’s Landing thing, some crazy mountain passes in the Himalayas. Honestly, just looking at the pictures made my stomach do a little flip. Sheer cliffs, tiny little paths, sometimes just chains bolted into rock faces. Wild stuff.
What went through my head
My first reaction was probably what you’d expect: ‘Who in their right mind does this?’ Seriously. I get wanting adventure, pushing your limits, all that. But some of these trails looked less like hikes and more like… well, actively trying to shorten your lifespan.
It made me think about risk. Where do you draw the line? I used to think I was pretty adventurous back in the day. Did some decent climbs, camped out in rough weather. But looking at these, I realized my definition of ‘risky’ is way, way different from whoever is tackling these monsters.
My own little ‘scare’
It brought back this memory, actually. Not a deadly hike, not even close. Just a long day hike I did with a buddy maybe ten years ago. We were up in some mountains, nothing too technical. But we misjudged the weather, got caught in a sudden storm way up high. Pouring rain, wind howling, temperature dropped like a stone. We weren’t lost, exactly, but finding the trail markers in the fog and rain got tricky for a bit.
- We got soaked to the bone.
- Started shivering pretty bad.
- Definitely felt a bit of panic set in for a moment.
We made it down fine, just cold and miserable and learned a good lesson about checking forecasts and packing better gear. But the key thing was, on that trail, a mistake or bad luck meant being uncomfortable, maybe getting hypothermia if we were really stupid. On one of those ‘deadliest’ trails? A slip, a moment of bad weather… the consequences are just final. Totally different ballgame.
So, yeah. Looking at that list? Impressive in a way, I guess. Takes serious skill and nerve. But me? Nah. I think my days of even mildly risky hikes are probably behind me. I’ll stick to trails where the main danger is tripping over a tree root. That’s enough excitement for me now.
