the most beautiful thing you've ever seen on the trail?

[forestgnome]

What was the most beautiful sight or wonderful moment you've experienced while hiking?

I've watched a bear nurse her three little cubs, and I've seen and heard an avalanche in Tuckerman Ravine. I've watched a fireball glide all the way across the night sky in the Pemi while coyotes were howling...

 

[rhihn]

What was the most beautiful sight or wonderful moment you've experienced while hiking?

I've watched a bear nurse her three little cubs, and I've seen and heard an avalanche in Tuckerman Ravine. I've watched a fireball glide all the way across the night sky in the Pemi while coyotes were howling...

Not hiking, but canoeing...camping on an island at the mouth of the French River, Ontario, in the Georgian Bay... no lights or people for miles...a "quiet" that you could cut with a knife, save for a gentle breeze...a brilliant electrical storm seen in the distance but not heard, presenting nature's light show in the round (360 degrees)...the storm dissipates...the heavens open up to a starry night, seemingly as bright as the storm past...the howling of wolves in the distance...quiet company...transcendental...

 

[BorealChickadee]

The ocean- crashing her waves along the shore, the sound so intense, so clear, the cobbles rolling under the water up against the beach and down, up against the beach and down, tumble, tumble, tumble, a bird heard back in the woods, the moon glinting on the waves, the smell of the clean water overwhelming the senses...and peace within.

 

[TDawg]

Tough to boil down many great hiking experiences to one but I think watching the sunrise from the Mt. Moriah summit takes it. I got up real early from the Imp shelter and pushed myself hard, hauling ass with a full pack to reach the summit by 6:30-something for the sunrise.

Totally worth it, seeing the sun peak out on the horizon over Maine and the Carter and Presidential Range in a pinkish-orange glow, just awesome.

Pictures HERE!!....enjoy

 

[NewHampshire]

Easy! The most beautiful thing Ive ever seen is the View from the top after a long hike .
Brian

 

[ExploreTheEast]

After 10 long miles thru dry desert canyons with full packs in 110-degree heat, coming across this...

Pictures will never do it justice.

 

[Double Bow]

The most beautiful thing I've ever seen? My own two feet on a trail.


Most magical trail moment was when I was doing the Bonds for the first time. They were my 44th-46th. We had spent a rainy night at Guyot shelter. The next morning we went out to a socked in West Bond, climbed over a windy socked in Bond, and then staggered out to a socked in Bondcliff which was starting to give some glimpses of views. I had been feeling down, wondering why I was hurrying to finish the 48 and wondering what the point was of climbing peaks on days like that.

We hung out for a bit and the skies cleared giving us the full view from Bondcliff and then Bond (and Guyot) as we headed back. It was on Bondcliff though where I remembered why I do what I do. For me, it was such a beautiful moment, I almost cried.

 

[Skyclimber]

A newborn fawn, underneath her mother, in the water at the AuSable Club. One of the most beautiful, deep auburned colored, foot long spikehorn's, in velvet, I've ever seen, eating leaves off the tree, drinking water, in the John's Brook Valley.
Seeing a couple sets of twin fawns, along the AuSable Club Road, on two separate occasions on the same trip.
Some of the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets in the valleys, across the mountaintops, along cold winter mornings and nights.
The biggest white full moon I've ever seen, while re-summitting Dix on a Winter Evening. Seemingly so close, you could reach out and touch it.
Moonlight walks in the Winter Woods, not needing flashlights to see.
Seeing a rock slide come off Indian Head.
Hearing a rock slide off Grace Peak, while on the summit.
Hearing an avalanche roar off Sawteeth from Lost Lookout.
Being in the middle of woods, watching the trees come crashing down, all around us, in gale force winds.
Watching a dog, attack and kill a deer at Marcy Dam.
Being circled around by four pine martens at Times Square.
Watching the clouds dance, beneath the Mountaintops on Macomb.
Listening to the sounds of coy-dogs or wolves hollering in conversation, as we started on the trail to the Wolf Jaws.

So many wonderful sights and moments.

 

[Artex]

The rapidly changing, surreal cloud formations when climbing Katahdin last August. I took some pictures, but to echo ExploretheEast, they simply didn't do it justice. Definitely one of the most intensely awesome displays Mother Nature has ever thrown at me. Pics on my trip report here

 

[Mark Schaefer]

Two wildlife encounters in the Catskills that seemed particularly beautiful. Earlier this year in Cathedral Glen on Belleayre I unintentionally stumbled within 12 feet of a small mother bear with two very small, teddy bear size cubs. They never once turned to look at me, although they could not have been unaware of my presence. At one point the cubs climbed a small tree, and so I thought I must have spooked them. But they immediately scampered back down and were just playing. I allowed them to graze on, then I followed a bit from a greater distance until we parted ways.

The previous year a female American Kestrel (sparrow hawk) landed about 10 feet from me while I was resting at a viewpoint on Burnt Knob. She briefly looked at me for about five seconds as if she had just stopped by to say hello and then she calmly flew off.

 

[kmac]

shooting star

Sitting on the porch with a friend at Greenleaf hut and seeing the most amazing shooting star light up the sky.

 

[Dugan]

Don't know if this is my most beautiful, but it's up there in the top 10:

I visited Yosemite National Park several years ago. As part of that visit I spent one of my last nights in the park at Vogelsang high camp. I went for a quick trail run before dinner. <gasp> at 10,000 feet - that was the first time in years that running was difficult!

Since I don't have a map in front of me I couldn't tell you which direction I took, except that Vogelsang high camp was at my back and Vogelsang peak was on my right, with another peak (Fletcher? where I saw a Golden Eagle in the morning) on my left.

I didn't have my camera, and I'm mostly glad. A picture would never capture this:

As I ran, I could see the sun was setting over Half Dome in the valley to my right. The sky domed above and all around me shaded from a salmon-pink sunset on my right to a navy blue set with twinkling stars and an almost full moon on my left. I stopped near a pond, in awe, at the huge display. Half Dome in the valley was silhouetted by the setting sun, while Fletcher was silhouetted by the waxing moon. I stood patiently, head tilted back, seeing the gradations of color from sunset to night advance westward. The stars came alive, twinkling, as the night sky preceded them westward. As light faded, I ran back to Vogelsang camp arriving just in time for dinner.

 

[Dugan]

Oh yeah, and of course Dugan four-legs (sorry boy!)!

 

[sleeping bear]

There are many more "most beautiful" than "sickest"...

Top 4

Loons, seeing or hearing, tops the list

The northern lights

Seeing animals

Not seeing people

... but then again, I think it's all beautiful!

 

[mookie]

i guess seeing bald eagles in alaska and around here (while fishing) at quabbing res.
that was pretty cool

 

[audrey]

A fawn approaching us without fear on Caribou Valley Road, and a couple of fox kits peering from the underbrush, on the same trip;
the Milky Way on a perfect night at Galehead;
the sound of loons at night;
a thunderstorm overtaking a gorgeous sunset on Mooselookmeguntic Lake;
Mama grouse and her babies scurrying across the trail right under our feet.
And a few times, finding the road/trail/brook again after a heinous bushwhack!

 

[Skyclimber]

The most awesome experience I have ever been told, was, "when a friend of mine this past year, along the trail of St. Regis Mt., had the opportunity to actually approach a laying down fawn, in which the fawn actually let him, pet it several times, before it ran off into the woods!"

 

[Lawn Sale]

This yesterday from Mt Adams. It was truly a great day, and the people I hiked with helped make it so, more than just the views. There are a lot of other things I have seen, but none are in recent memory.

 

[jn316]

Too many to count...on every hike. God has blessed us with sight and creation to appreciate.

oh, one sight i always love to see: the car (and keys!) at the end of the hike. After all, getting back to the car is the ultimate objective of any hike.

Merry Christmas!

 

[giggy]

not in any order

1)sunsets and sunrises on mt rainier.

2)cold early spring mornings in the whites that start out overcast and then by about 11am, the sun comes out and heats everything up as the clouds blow away

3)hiking in sedona, AZ

4)got to put the grand canyon here

5)hiking the west coast of Ireland in the summer.

6) 1/4 mile hike this fall with my son in the baby bjorn thing - his face looking at everything (he was about 5 months old).