Desolation Peak, Washington

 

Height: 6,102 feet/1,860 meters Best For: Latter-day Beats In 1956, Beat icon Jack Kerouac spent two months alone as a fire lookout at the top of Desolation Peak, contemplating the void of impermanence and the joy of being alive while he scanned the surrounding mountains and forests of the Cascades for plumes of smoke. From his 1960 essay "Alone on a Mountaintop": "Sixty three sunsets I saw revolve on that perpendicular hill—mad raging sunsets pouring in sea foams of cloud through unimaginable crags like the crags you grayly drew in pencil as a child, with every rose-tint of hope beyond, making you feel just like them, brilliant and bleak beyond words." Beyond that legacy, the mountaintop certainly provides one of the best views in the Cascades: The snowcapped peaks of North Cascades National Park rise high on the horizon, with the twin fangs of Hozomeen Mountain jutting up right in front of the lookout and the waters of Lake Ross sitting far below. With 93 percent of the park designated as protected wilderness, this is one of the most remote spots in the lower 48 states. The Hike: It takes more than a hike to reach this outpost—you'll have to paddle or hire a water taxi (reservations needed) to take you across Lake Ross to reach the trailhead. Once on the trail, it's a 4.8-mile huff to the top through forests and big, open meadows, gaining 4,400 feet of elevation along the way. At the Top: Kerouac's little pagoda still stands at the summit of Desolation Peak. At times it's locked up, but often an employee is here scanning the horizon. Lucky applicants can still find a job up here doing the same work as Kerouac once did, albeit with a bit more company thanks to it having become a Beat pilgrimage site. source : http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/trips/best-trails/worlds-best-summit-hikes/#/desolation-peak-scenic_91180_600x450.jpg

Mount Katahdin, Maine

 

Height: 5,270 feet/1,606 meters Best For: Transcendentalists, poets, rolling stones The highest point in the state of Maine is also the northern terminus of the Appalachian Trail, so hikers won't have this mountain all to themselves. That's no reason to stay away, however. Lording over the center of the state's deep inland forests, Katahdin may be the most inspiring peak in all of eastern North America. Part of that aura comes from the great transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau, who famously scaled it in 1846 in order to come face-to-face with the raw soul of nature. He found that on top, writing later: "This was that Earth of which we have heard, made out of Chaos and Old Night." But it's also a present-day thrill to see grizzled AT thru-hikers coming to the end of their 2,200-mile quest here (as well as a few hardy souls just starting the trek from the north). And the view from the top has changed little since Thoreau's time. The Hike: The most popular route to the summit follows the Hunt Trail—a 10.4-mile round-trip with a stiff 4,188 feet of elevation gain—on the first leg of the Appalachian Trail. The last two miles of the hike require scrambling on boulders above tree line, so be wary of afternoon thunderstorms. At the Top: Thoreau wasn't the only literary soul to be inspired by these eastern wilds. Legend holds that there's a rock on the heights of Katahdin engraved with these lines from the 1912 Robert Service poem "Rhymes of a Rolling Stone": Here's a hail to each flaming dawn Here's a cheer to the night that's gone May I go a-roamin' on Until the day I die. source: http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/trips/best-trails/worlds-best-summit-hikes/#/mount-katahdin-maine_91181_600x450.jpg

Hekla, Iceland

 

Height: 4,882 feet/1,488 meters Best For: Volcanologists, devils Hekla is Iceland's second most active volcano. With eruptions recorded far back into prehistory, it last blew its top in February 2000—but that doesn't mean hikers can't scale the famed stratovolcano. You may want to do it soon, however, since Hekla rarely lays dormant for long, and reports of magma buildups have some scientists claiming that an eruption is due. When this peak does erupt it gives very little time to escape: There was a mere half hour warning before the 2000 event. But it's worth it for the opportunity to stand atop the long ridge that makes up one of Earth's most temperamental spots, the view stretching out across a landscape built from much of the tephra that spewed from the steaming hot spots surrounding you. The Hike: The trail to the top crosses snowfields, and it's a fairly easy three- to four-hour hike (though it may be wise to carry glacier gear or even skis). It's so easy, in fact, that some choose to snowmobile up it in winter. Hekla lies just 44 miles from Reykjavík, and outfitters like Icelandic Mountain Guides pick up hikers at their hotels for a day trip to the top (and keep tabs on seismic activity so you're not there when the peak blows up). At the Top: There's a certain allure to hiking on the Gate to Hell, which is exactly what medieval churchmen claimed Hekla to be after its first recorded eruption in 1104. That's understandable, since the volcano spews an inferno of tephra bombs, ash, and lava when it bursts. source: http://adventure.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/trips/best-trails/worlds-best-summit-hikes/#/heckla-volcano-iceland_91188_600x450.jpg