where in the US should I go backpacking?

you can indeed rent cars under 25 for a fee.. I've done this with enterprise in more than one state (CA, NY, NJ.. ).

+1 on Seattle. I paid $500 for tickets from NJ to Seattle for a hiking trip this summer and was really excited about the places around (North Cascades, Glacier Peak, Goat Rocks, Mt Rainier, Olympic..) but in the end, I got the chance to thru hike the Colorado Trail for a month and that's what I'm going to try instead.

A free ride from a cousin is pretty hard to beat though…

I'm surprised no on mentioned Yosemite. There is even public transportation. I know you have already decided on the Seattle area (fine area BTW), but I was just surprised no one mentioned Yosemite.

The latest issue of Backpacker magazine has a good article on low-traffic areas in National Parks.

Check the trail reports on NWHikers.net and http://www.wta.org/ for Washington and Pacific NW hikes.

Ditto on Glacier National Park for a great destination and you can take a train there too.

" I was just surprised no one mentioned Yosemite. "

Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.
–Yogi Berra–

Maybe because OP lives in So. Cal. — people looked outside of California (and desert areas)?

But yeah, bad assumption, because I too live in So. Cal. but have never been to Yosemite. God willing — I will be hiking there in July. Crowds? I remember reading somewhere that 90% of campers never hike more than a mile away from their campsites. If that's true (hopefully it is) then getting away from the crowds shouldn't be too hard…

I will again attempt to paraphrase Dr. Paul Ehrlich. He found it interesting that so many people live in the Los Angeles Basin where the population density is so high, and the air quality is so poor. They live there for 50 weeks of a year so that they can be close enough to spend their 2-week summer vacation in a Yosemite Valley campground, where the population density is even higher and the air quality is even worse.

–B.G.–

Like Yogi says, there is good reason the Parks are "crowded".. I am going back to Yosemite again this summer. Sure I saw peolple everyday, but I often camped alone out of anyone's sight and always a long shout away from others. No problem.

"I will be hiking there in July"

Me too. I'm looking forward to it. It's a tourist type backpacking trip by most everyone here's standards, but good for me and my wife.

Glacier Point -> Illilouette
Illilouette -> LYV (or just beyond)
Half Dome and back
Down the Mist Trail to the valley.

I'm going to try and fit in Clouds Rest if able. :8^)

Bob:

You're Mr. Sunshine today! :)

Larry:

Two of us plan to hike Yosemite sometime in the second half of July. We've made no reservations. We assume that we can always hike 5-10 or so miles away from campsites and set up our tents — so no reservation will be needed? Is that a valid assumption?

Yosemite is a clusterf$%^, and a supreme culture shock you dont get anywhere else. The complete wilderness solitude that drains into a metropolis.

It is a shame, and complete chaos, but at the same time I like that pizza, and the beer I get before I can even hit the truck.

When you first walk into a store though and see packaged sundries neatly color coded and arranged and just hanging out on shelves waiting to be wanted, it is a strange world indeed. It definitely takes the brain a few minutes to process.

"You're Mr. Sunshine today! :)"

I never go to Yosemite Valley during tourist season. Yosemite Valley constitutes much less than 10% of the whole park, and that leaves over 90% of the park as wilderness. Then 90% of the visitors to the park visit only Yosemite Valley. That leaves 90% of the park with less than 10% of the visitors. I'll be up in the high country, thank you.

My idea of seeing Yosemite Valley is to be perched up along the rim of the valley looking straight down about 3000 feet into the Yosemite Lodge swimming pool.

I prefer to camp where the bears and deer are, not where Yosemite park rangers are making a drug bust on an adjacent campsite.

There are places to go there where, if you are badly injured, they won't even find the body.

–B.G.–

You must have a wilderness permit for Yosemite. You can get one at one of the permit stations the day you arrive. Everything is based on the trail you want to start on. I had no problem getting Glacier Point to Illilouette for three people. Half of the quota for a day is for reservations, the other half for first come first served the day of.

Here is a link to planning a trip

Here is a PDF with a map of the trails with lots of usefull info

And here is a link to avaiability

Thanks, Larry!

There's a little more to it. Approximately half of the daily quota for a particular day is reservable in advance, but that varies by the trail. That leaves approximately half of the daily quota for a first-come basis. However, the first-come part opens up at 10 a.m. the day before the entry date. Also, you need to go to the correct permit station, not some one halfway across the park.

So, if you were silly, you would show up on a holiday weekend, and you would want to backpack on one of the most popular trails. Due to what is reserved, plus what got taken at 10 a.m. the day before, there might be nothing left in the quota for you. This really angers some visitors.

If you are smart, you try to reserve something in advance, which costs $5 per person plus $5. Or, if you just show up and want to get a permit, try to do it mid-week and especially away from holidays. Try to get a permit for one of the obscure trails to seldom-visited parts of the park. If you get a permit without benefit of a reservation, they are free, but you just can't count on them within the quota. If you are standing in line when the permit station opens of a morning, you stand to score more. But they won't issue tomorrow's permit until 10 a.m. today. If you want to get a permit for one or two backpackers, it is a lot easier than trying for eight or ten.

When you first start to get a permit, it is smart to have a primary trail and a secondary trail in mind, just to make sure that you will get in a quota.

Be prepared to show your bear canister when you pick up your permit. They didn't use to check, but now they do.

The whole quota system is based on the trailhead entry points, plus a little about your destination for the first night. Once you get ten miles away from the roads, hardly anybody cares.

–B.G.–

Here is a quote from a Yosemite guide book outlining a suggested hike of 88 miles.

"Stay virtually undetected deep within four strikingly contrasting high-country canyons while visiting numerous rockbound lakes and exploring several waterfalls, cascades and meadows. After one day until the final day, it's possible to go several view-filled hours or even a whole day without being spotted."

I am planing to cover most of this route in August. Where I enter, a permit is needed, but not available ahead of time because their is no quota at that trailhead.

Hint: It is north of route 120 (Tioga Road)

If your goal is not to see anybody for the entire length of your hike, go to the Wind River Range, WY

If you're going to Rainier NP to do the Wonderland Trail- I'm jealous. I lived in Tacoma five years but never got to do it. Other than that, I'd just say that I always preferred the Sunrise Trailhead over Paradise Trailhead -higher, more scenic, and less people. Mowich Lake is nice, too.

But I wanted to support the Flying Squirrel when he mentioned Durango. There is a regional airport there, and one great option for public transport is the Durango & Silverton narrow gauge railroad. It stops in several places in the Weminuche Wilderness to let off and pick up hikers. It can even serve as your shuttle on a shuttle hike.

Thank you, Bob and Frank!

1) Don't go to the valley.
2) Hike off Tioga Road or Glacier Point Road.
3) I have not had problems getting permits without reservations, but I'm flexible.
4) I don't think Hetch Hetchy has any quotas at all.
5) I have hiked 30+ miles multiple times without seeing a single person. 90% of the people don't leave the valley. Of the 10% that go to the "backcountry" 90% are doing half dome. Of the 1% that's now left, 90% of them will stay within a mile or so of the trailhead.
6) Don't be afraid to add some cross country treks in. You will really be isolated.
7) Go in on Friday morning or even thursday. Even fewer people.

"4) I don't think Hetch Hetchy has any quotas at all."

Incorrect. All Hetch Hetchy trails have quotas, and some of them are maxed out for some days.

–B.G.–

Hetch Hetchy does have quotas…found out the hardway