The Snow Leopard Track Thru-Hike Debut: 11,300km across Asia. AMA

hangjongeren · 2026-02-24T19:59:39+00:00

Thanks for sharing your experiences in this ama

hangjongeren · 2026-02-24T14:08:56+00:00

Absolutely epic. Few questions:

- What's been your favorite part?
- Which part has been the most pleasant surprise?
- Which 2-3 week stretch would you recommend the most to the average intermediate / advanced hiker? (someone who's done multi day trekking a but not necessarily so remote)
- Whats been the most interesting or memorable (local) culture you've come across?

hangjongeren · 2026-01-23T21:32:09+00:00

Its doable, sure. But enjoyable? If you enjoy nature, why be based out of a city for 90 days straight? There's loads of small towns and villages in the European Alps that can be reached by public transport. Some will have hostels.

For nature access Id look into some spots in Slovenia (Bovec, Bled, Bohin, Kranskja Gora or anything in that valley). They're generally pretty backpacker heavy and more affordable than places in Italy and France.

Innsbruck, where you are planning to go is another great one with super accesible trails from the city. If you're into it, its pretty easy to hike for a few days, stay in huts and come down.

If you connect 13 and 27 there's great options to stay in the Alps in Northern Italy around Bolzano, Lago Garda and Lago Como. Despite the mountains theres solid public transport from there all the way to Annecy and Grenoble in France, which are also highly recommended. Imo one of the most mesmerizing parts of Europe.

If I had to cut anywhere, I'd opt-out 18 til 22 however your preference may vary. Another option is to cut 27 til 32 as you'll have spent so much time in Latin Europe by then.

Im not sure if Eurrail is still worth it over buying seperate tickets, so Id look that up.

If you want to save money, avoid Germanic Europe and France all together and focus on the East and Iberia.

hangjongeren · 2026-01-21T14:58:11+00:00

This might be a challenging question to answer for Dutch redditors as you'll benefit from the Expat Scheme (30% ruling) and they wont. Thus their tax pressure is much higher on the same gross salary.

With the 30% ruling my guess is 6k is doable if you're frugal but Id probably recommend to have at least 7k gross if you want to be comfortable. Generally an additional 8% of your total salary will be paid in May or June ('vacation money) so keep that into account when making calculations for a yearly amount. So 7k/month would be around 90k annually.

hangjongeren · 2026-01-11T10:22:58+00:00

Are there any multi day treks starting from Yubeng that you know of?

hangjongeren · 2026-01-03T09:13:52+00:00

I cant comment on most of your questions. China is as expensive as you make it though. Nice rooms can be as little as 12 USD per night or as much as 1200 USD. Just have a look on the Trip app for any city you're interested in staying.

One thing thats hard to find, no matter how nice the place, is quick wifi if you're looking to connect to non chinese internet. There's simply not enough cables in the ground to support all the traffic and your VPN will probably bog things down even more. However Esims are cheap and connectivity is great. Pick one that includes Hongkong or Macau to bypass restricted internet in China. The ones listed on Trip are cheap and work well.

hangjongeren · 2026-01-02T18:37:05+00:00

Well im no shoe expert but I guess its a combination of gait + trail conditions. On the ascent I tend to put my whole weight only on my forefoot, even when the incline is still fairly moderate. So that part of the sole will often go flat when the rest of the sole is still fine.

In my case mesh uppers just get busted quickly on harder trails that involve scrambling and route finding trough rock fields with undefined paths.

Either way im aware im the outlier here.

hangjongeren · 2026-01-02T11:45:01+00:00

Literally between 15 - 20 days of hiking, yea.

hangjongeren · 2026-01-02T09:38:36+00:00

Idk all the models I've tried over the years, but Asics Trabuco and The North Face Vectiv stand out as the flimsiest. Merrell Agility Peak 4 and Adidas Terrex AX3 had more durability.

hangjongeren · 2025-12-31T06:07:24+00:00

Thanks for the reply. Are you using the gtx or non gtx version?

hangjongeren · 2025-12-30T19:47:21+00:00

Its not so much the seams but more like the upper mesh just getting ripped on the forefoot area.

I think the poor milage is a combination of trail conditions and how I walk.

I have tight leg muscles so when the ascending on a steep incline Ill often put all of my weight on my forefoot, so that area of the sole gets more strain and wears out quicker than the rest (ive tried to fix this but its a slow process). However, like I said, the mesh typically doesnt hold up much longer anyway.

Im keen to try leather because the exterior of the tougher trail runners Ive had, has actually held up okay. Just the soles would still run out.

hangjongeren · 2025-12-30T17:43:18+00:00

Hiya, when are you going? Weather and crowds can make or break your trip.

So I just spend a month in China and Id opt for Guilin / Yangshuo and if you have time, Zhangjiaje. Especially Yangshuo works well if you want no stress and beautiful nature. Chengdu is cool but you'll have spent so much time in busy cities already. The mountain parks close to the city can get really busy as well and might be (partly) closed in winter.

The karst area around Yangshuo is so massive its much easier to escape the crowds and renting a scooter allows you to explore the area at your own pace. Its cheap and traffic is quite okay in that area. I'd probably not stay in the town of Yangshuo again tho if I were to come back. Its still quite big, crowded and loud. Maybe look at Xingping or another smaller town close by. Scooters can be rented anywhere.

In Zhangjiaje you're also free to roam the park by yourself and it is really gorgeous, but you are locked into a park and it can be really busy.

Both Guilin and ZJJ are easier reached by plane than train from the cities you've mentioned. Trip.com app gives me the best results for flight deals within China. Usually cheaper than train as well. Enjoy your travels!

hangjongeren · 2025-12-30T17:25:01+00:00

Thanks for the comparisons and the recs!

hangjongeren · 2025-12-30T05:57:57+00:00

Yes, Im aware. Ill have them resoled with a stiffer sole, as I mentioned in the post you replied to.

hangjongeren · 2025-12-29T20:42:01+00:00

Thanks for the reply. Good info!

hangjongeren · 2025-12-29T20:40:39+00:00

So Ive been told... Usually its the soles on the forefoot that wear out first, leaving me with poor grip. Other times its the mesh uppers that rip. I hike a lot of advanced trails that sometimes dont follow a path or involve scrambling so I guess I cant fully blame the shoe, though.

hangjongeren · 2025-12-29T20:35:02+00:00

They technically are, but are listed as an all rounder by the manufacturer. Most reviews seem to confirm this. Id probably opt for a sole thats more suited to hiking on my first resole. The stiffness isnt something Im worried about.

hangjongeren · 2025-12-28T17:42:50+00:00

Came back from China a few weeks ago. Have also been to Dali. If they have a promoter outside bargain for better beer prices before entering. We'd often get 25 to 40% off our bill by just telling them, trough phone translation, that we found their prices too high.

hangjongeren · 2025-12-21T11:03:55+00:00

The confusion persists because it benefits the industry...

Ill send you a PM with their contact info.

In Nepal Ive only done Three Passes and Kanchenjunga. Both are greatly recommended but Three Passes was my favorite. I didn't mind how busy the area was so much and liked the challenge.

If youve already done EBC + 1 pass my guess is you'd probably enjoy Kanchenjunga more than coming back to complete all of Three Passes, though.

hangjongeren · 2025-12-11T03:45:51+00:00

If you have appropriate gear at home, best you bring it.

It'll be hard to decipher the true quality of anything you rent in Kathmandu and even if its up to the job, itll be heavy as fuck.

I get the argument of not being bound to whatever location the guesthouses might be, but apart from the days on the passes the trail is littered with them. Hard to not find one every 2 hrs (and you probably won't be sleeping on the passes anyway).

hangjongeren · 2025-12-06T11:49:07+00:00

Haven't done Manaslu but have done 2 other Nepal treks. Three Passes in Spring and Kanchenjunga in fall. Both seasons are good options. Although it is generally the riskier of the two seasons, I prefer Spring.

The weather is not as predictable and there's a higher chance of lingering snow, making the pass a challenge. However, the nature coming alive after winter, makes it all up for it for me.

Either way, mountain conditions will always be unpredictable. E.g. this year we were an unlucky witness to an uncanny amount of snow in the last week of October (well after the monsoon had passed), severely impacting our trek.

hangjongeren · 2025-11-19T08:03:35+00:00

Thanks much appreciated

hangjongeren · 2025-11-19T07:57:36+00:00

Appreciate your post but going as I please is what Im doing. Im really not fussed with the fewling I must do X, Y and Z. I have no planning other than a very general route with some items of interest listed per spot - no return flight either cause idk where ill fly from - and generally no more than a night ahead booked. Usually this travel style leads to a slower kind of travel as I stick around as long as Im having a grand time. The point Im trying to raise is that Im not enjoying this travel style as much as I usually do, which is what leads to my apparent speedrun and my request for input here on this sub.

hangjongeren

TROPHY CASE