You updated your password.

Enjoy this course and thousands of other programs with a Great Courses Plus membership

The Great Courses Plus is the premier service for people who love to learn. It gives you hundreds of great college-level courses from The Great Courses and series made for lifelong learners like you.

Learn More
Start Free Trial

Enjoy Anywhere!

Reset Password

Enter the email address you used to create your account. We will email you instructions on how to reset your password.

Forgot Your Email Address? Contact Us

Reset Your Password

SHOW
SHOW

America’s Great Trails

Take a hike! Travel off the beaten path as you join acclaimed outdoorsman and documentary filmmaker Mick Davie along six of America's most beloved and beautiful trails.
Ask anything about The Great Courses
 
 
America’s Great Trails

Trailer

Pacific Crest Trail

01: Pacific Crest Trail

Explore the Pacific Crest Trail—an extraordinary route that stretches 2,650 miles from the deserts of Southern California on the Mexico border all the way to the Canadian border in Washington state. Mick provides a plethora of practical tips about common risks and dangers, what essentials to pack, when to hike, and where to start. You’ll also hear the history of the trail and discover scenic points and destinations that can’t be missed.

30 min
Hayduke Trail

02: Hayduke Trail

Journey with Mick along the hazardous 800-mile backcountry route of the Hayduke Trail. The red rock canyons and high desert of the Colorado Plateau in southern Utah and northern Arizona produce some of the most arid, inhospitable—yet strangely beautiful—scenery on Earth. While Mick provides tips for everything you need to make this a safe, fun, and manageable trip, he also clues you in about cinematic spots along the route, where scenes from the movies Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Thelma & Louise were filmed.

25 min
Pacific Northwest Trail

03: Pacific Northwest Trail

Travel one of the most scenic and rugged long-distance trails in the world—the 1,200-mile Pacific Northwest Trail. It runs from Montana’s Glacier National Park on the Canadian border, west through Idaho and Washington state, ending along the shore of the Pacific Ocean at Cape Alava—the westernmost point in the United States. Hikers will climb more than 205,000 feet, which is more than seven Mount Everests. And as Mick points out, no other trail on Earth can take you from wolves and bears to seals and whales.

25 min
Continental Divide Trail

04: Continental Divide Trail

At 3,100 miles, the Continental Divide Trail is the second-longest National Scenic Trail in the United States, and arguably the most rugged, remote, and hazardous of them all. Running from the Apache country of the Chihuahuan Desert in New Mexico and ending in Glacier National Park on Canada’s border, it’s a journey that takes five to six months and only about 60% of thru-hikers make it all the way. Mick shares the wild stories and history of this arduous yet uniquely scenic trail and gives you practical tips to stay safe and comfortable as you hike.

26 min
Great Allegheny Passage

05: Great Allegheny Passage

Join Mick for a change of pace as you explore the Great Allegheny Passage—a mostly flat hiking trail from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Cumberland, Maryland, commonly known as “The GAP.” At just 150 miles, it’s a journey along rivers and streams, through tunnels and over bridges, moving from an urban industrial landscape to a small town rural one. Travel along as Mick shares stories of the founding of America and the rise of the coal- and steel-driven industrial age to the passing of that era to the region’s rebirth and regeneration as an outdoor destination for hikers and other enthusiasts.

28 min
Appalachian Trail

06: Appalachian Trail

Mick takes you on the Kentucky Derby of triple crown hikes, the most famous and popular long-distance hiking trail in North America—and quite possibly the entire world—the Appalachian Trail (AT). Passing through 14 states, following the ridges and contours of the Appalachian Mountains, this epic trail stretches roughly 2,190 miles, from Springer Mountain, Georgia, to Mount Katahdin, Maine. As you travel along with Mick, marveling at the gorgeous scenery and landscapes, you’ll hear the story of how the AT came into being and was built in under seven years using volunteer labor and you’ll get to hike the 13-mile stretch of intense ups and downs known as “The Roller Coaster.”

29 min

Overview Course No. 80630

View Full Details

About

Michael Davie
Michael Davie

My passion is telling the under-reported story, chronicling the lives of people on the frontlines of change.

INSTITUTION

Red Rock Films

Michael Davie is a journalist, documentary filmmaker, and avid outdoorsman who has been chasing dramatic, real-life stories for more than 20 years, from the glaciers of Denali to the front lines of the Balkans and the Middle East. His work has earned widespread recognition, including an Australian Film Institute Award for his feature documentary The Choir and Emmy Awards for the National Geographic films War Child and Gorilla Murders. For the film Liberia: American Dream?, he and his team received the prestigious Edward R. Murrow and duPont-Columbia Awards. He also cocreated and codirected the landmark series Belief, hosted by Oprah Winfrey.

By This Presenter

America’s Great Trails
854

This program is restricted from being viewed in your country. This is due to restrictions from the creator of the program.

Please choose another of our wide variety of programs to enjoy!

We use cookies to improve our services, make personal offers, and enhance your experience. See our Cookie Policy