Making no promises, but I might be turning into a backpacker...

Photo by Adarsh Thakuri

As a note, the proper reaction to a statement like that coming from me is "WHAAT!?!?! You, backpacking??? On Purpose!?!?!?!"

Seriously. That's what is going through my head right now.

Despite the fact that I am absolutely NOT a backpacker, I am planning on a 7-day trek through the mountains of Peru as a birthday present to myself the year I turn 40. I'm also planning a return visit to Paris that year, but that is completely irrelevant to this post.

So in preparation for the trek to Machu Picchu, I'm looking into what the best boots will be, what camera it makes sense to take, what backpack would work best... and then I found an article on backpacker.com that is called "The Perfect Circle: Hiking the Annapurna Circuit" and I'm reading it thinking "That would be a great follow-up to both Machu Picchu and my tour of Iceland..."

And then, it lists all these other famous backpacking treks you can go on, and how they can almost compete with the Annapurna Circuit, and lo and behold, I have a list of hiking trips and multisport vacations I want to go on! Also, now that I know that such a thing exists, I think my plan for Iceland fits the "multisport" vacation definition.

1. Machu Picchu
2. Annapurna Circuit

• New Zealand - I'm not sure that this qualifies as a trek, but at the very least, I've added it to the list of places I want to go, and I envision my trip here being a little more like the tour I have planned of Iceland, where you do a little bit of everything, including backpacking.
• Grand Canyon (low on the priority list - I was just there this summer)
• Sweden’s Sarek National Park
• Tour Du Mont Blanc
• Spain’s Valencia region - also possibly more of a regional tour than a strictly backpacking trek
• Italy’s Alta Via 1
• England’s Pennine Way

National Geographic Trips and Adventures lists for 2014

I'm a little bit late with this update, but I'm very excited... I finally took some time to check out National Geographic's best trips and adventures for 2014.

Best Trips 2014

The list this year is as impressive as ever, including locations around the world: Rwanda, Australia, United States, Canada - who knew there was a Nahanni National Park??? - Italy, Argentina, India, Iraq, Russia, France, Liechtenstein, and so on. If ever you have some time to spend on a vacation, and you want to do something just a little bit different, this is the place to start planning, as far as I'm concerned.

Ultimate Adventure Bucket List 2014

The adventure list is broken into two categories, Classic Trips and New Frontiers, and as ever, is just a little bit more... "adventure-y" than I am.

National Geographic asked 20 of the world's top adventurers to share their dazzling new frontiers, and their all-time classic trips. The result is a list that includes mountain climbing, surfing, kayaking, hiking, paddle boarding and mountain biking. Which sounds not so bad, until you add the details:

Mountain Bike the Ho Chi Minh Trail, Vietnam. 

..."roughly 800 miles"... "it traces the ridgelines of the Annamite Mountains, passes through tiny villages, and skirts verdant terraced agricultural lands"...

Seriously. WAAAY out of my comfort zone.

There is one National Geographic Adventure that I am planning on doing: The Machu Picchu Inn to Inn Hike. 10 days, staying in what looks like absolutely the best accommodations available... I have found the trip I'm taking as the highlight of my "Mid-Life Crisis/Year-long Celebration" the year I turn 40.

It's a very strange feeling to be really excited about something on one hand and completely dreading it on the other!

My plan is to distract myself with training for the next three years... kickboxing, here I come!!!