2013 is over, but I thought it was a pretty good year. I’ve yet to muster much enthusiasm for my personal retread of the year, but I do want to highlight the remarkable year had by the community who reads this.
The rules are simple. Nominate a trip report by posting the link in the comments, below. It must be a multiday, wilderness adventure undertaken and written up in 2013. Nominations will be open through this coming Monday evening. I’ll pick five finalists, a poll will go up for 48 hours, public voting will rank these five, and they’ll get public recognition and general mad respect. The voted order will also be the order in which they’ll have their choice of the schwag I’ll put up and ship out as prizes. Any comments which deviate excessively from simple author name and link listing will be trimmed or deleted.
The twist? You can’t nominate your own report, or a trip you were on.
Have at it folks. You have five days to find something awesome the rest of us did not yet see.
Bedrock & Paradox 
I’ll start.
Brendan Swihart. Lower Escalante Canyons and Flash Flood Packrafting.
http://outlivingblog.wordpress.com/2013/09/02/lower-escalante-canyons-and-flash-flood-packrafting/
Brendan’s post will be hard to beat, and is the one that first came to my mind. A close second:
Doom’s Wild Ass Tour
http://therepublicofdoom.blogspot.com/2013_06_01_archive.html
Will you count video reports? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTuGJgka1qc
Yes!
Feel like I should add, that is Shug’s recent -40f hammock trip.
I’ll submit Jason Hummel’s Osceola Traverse:
http://www.cascadecrusades.org/SkiMountaineering/rainier/osceolatraverse/osceolatraverse2013/OT2013.htm
Ok I think this might be my favorite. I love shug and his video is impressive but this ski trip is beyond imagine.
I nominate Dan Durston’s – ‘Pukaskwa: Around the Outside via Foot & Raft’.
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=78225&skip_to_post=670747#670747
The ultimate way to experience one of the most rugged and beautiful pieces of real estate in central North America. Pukaskwa is a special place along the shores of Lake Superior and Dan did it in grand style.
Don Wilsons Wind River for me http://talusfield.net/wind-river-high-route and I enjoyed yours a lot Dave.
That trip just might go neck and neck with Dan’s trip. Both awesome, Dan’s just has a little more creativity put into it. Thanks for the reminder.
http://itsthefunthatmatters.blogspot.com/2013/03/mantrip-2013.html 4 Day trip on Minnesota’s north shore, may not compete with some of the others but not bad for us flatlanders
PS not my trip report, but I was on the trip
Read the rules, please.
seems hard to beat this one: http://thingstolucat.com/fairweather-traverse/
i also submit luc mehl’s orizaba to pacific traverse
yeah damn i forgot that he did that this year as well. apparently i waddled up orizaba a few days before he did.
Jill Homer’s series on the PTL. Indexed here: http://halfpastdone.com/2013/09/20/la-petite-trotte-a-leon-report/
Kristin Gates’ 1000 mile trip across the Arctic. http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/arctic-brooks-range-gates.html
My favorite trip report of 2013 doesn’t qualify for the contest since it wasn’t multiday but I’m posting the link anyway because it embodies the absolute best of making the most of your environment even when your environment is as seemingly benign as Minneapolis, MN.
http://deathrideradventure.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-scenery-is-going-to-get-lot-better.html
Good call on that one. Any midwestern (or ex-midwesterner) can relate.
I will however cast my nomination for Joe’s “Constantly Moving: Four days along Norway’s National Bicycle Route 4”.
http://thunderinthenight.blogspot.com/2013/08/constantly-moving-four-days-along.html