Adaptivator: TrainTrekking

I've been a hiker and backpacker for more than 30 years. That's a lot of trips. Every one of those trips began by getting into a car. Lately that is changing.

I've started looking for hikes accessible by train. I call it TrainTrekking. Here are some reasons to do it:

The experience. The train follows a different route than the highways, and you see a lot more than pavement and other cars as a result. You can't stop whenever you want to rest or explore a detour. Yet the entire trip is restful, because you don't have to think about the traffic. And the entire trip is a sort of a detour, because the views are much better
Self-sufficiency. While a car, on the surface, may seem the more self-sufficient path, in reality it becomes a crutch. You can always throw more equipment in the car just in case you might might need it on the trip. But traveling by train, you really have to rely only on what's in your pack, and on your skills and knowledge to adapt to conditions beyond that.
It's greener. Short of walking or biking to the trailhead, the train is the greenest way to get there in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.

There's no question preparing for these kinds of trips is more difficult. You are limited to train schedules and routes. That's a downside. But I've discovered an upside: The experience of stepping off the train with just a pack on your back, and quietly slipping into the woods just a few minutes later, is priceless.

This page will be a resource to plan TrainTrekking trips.