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Adventure Travel 2007:
U.S.: California to Maine
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California to Maine: Perfect Your Weekend National Geographic Adventure picks the 25 best new outfitted trips.
Text by Bonnie Tsui Photograph by Steve Casimiro
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WHAT'S NEW: Few outdoor institutions are more sacred—and fragile—than the weekend trip. Done right, you tackle not one but several new summits by the time you head home. Done wrong, you get no farther than the trailhead, where you're stuck cleaning soot out of your camp stove. REI Adventures' Weekend Getaways Program, new for next year, is the first nationwide attempt at removing uncertainty from an action-packed long weekend. "Most Americans' vacations last only three to six days, which means that people place a premium on their weekend," says Justin Wood, coordinator of the program. "Our destinations lend themselves to this kind of escape."
ON THE GROUND: The outings focus heavily on the classics: cycling the Blue Ridge Parkway, hiking from one historic inn to another in Vermont's Green Mountains, or backpacking through Yosemite's Cathedral Pass. Each of the close-to-home excursions includes lodging and most meals, and prices are competitive with the cost of doing it yourself. Depending on which trip you choose, you can also set your own level of comfort, whether that means learning how to construct a bombproof backcountry campsite or simply bedding down in a century-old bed-and-breakfast.
Vitals
Outfitter: REI Adventures (www.rei.com/adventures)
Length: Two to four days
Price: $285 to $990
Difficulty: Varies
Departs: Year-round
Our November 2006 issue features the best new adventure travel trips; an exclusive look inside Iran; a Greenland global warming report; backcountry spas; digital cameras; travel Web sites; weekend getaways; and more.
Subscribe now and save!
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