Adrenaline Activities
Places travelled, hikes, bike rides and adventure sports
By Harshvardhan in life thoughts
April 20, 2022
🧳 Map of Cities Touched
⛰️ Hikes
These are only the hikes in US. My hikes in India and Europe aren’t included.
| Name | Location | Roundtrip Length | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alum Cave | Tennessee, US | 4.4 miles | Amazing views; easy hike; if you choose not to hike up to Mt. LeConte, you can return from the caves. |
| Mt. LeConte via Alum Cave | Tennessee, US | 11.0 miles | Great views; gets successively harder beond Alum Cave. There is a lodge at the top for overnight stay. |
| Virginia Creeper Trail | Virginia, US | 34.3 miles | 10/10 recommended bike trail; you’ll get dirty, so prepare accordingly. |
| Mouse Creek Falls / Midnight Hole | North Carolina, US | 4 miles | Easy trail; lots of space for party. Small cliffs to dive as well. |
| Ozone Falls | Tennessee, US | 1 mile | One of its kind waterfall where you can go behind the waterfall. Length is short but its rocky and straight downhill so takes time. |
| Cade’s Cove | Tennessee, US | 10.5 miles | Famous for wildlife; I didn’t see any 🫠 |
| Charlie’s Bunion | Tennessee, US | 8.0 miles | Delivered what’s promised; loved it |
| Shuckstack Fire Tower | North Carolina, US | 6.6 miles | Uphill is tougher but the views from tower are worth it. |
| Lacamas Creek Park | Vancouver, Washington State | 3.5 miles | Easy hike with beautiful sceneries |
| Dry Creek Falls | Hood River County, Oregon | 4.4 miles | Mountainous terrain, fire-parched trees, beautiful waterfall |
| Clingman’s Dome | North Carolina, US | 1.3 miles | Easy walk, beautiful views. Paved roads. Highest point in Smokey Mountains. |
| Grotto Falls, Trillium Gap Trail | North Carolina, US | 2.6 miles | Good hike, very crowded though |
| Norris Dam Park (River Bluff Trail) | Tennessee, US | 3.0 miles | Alright — not great |
| Rocky Top | Tennessee, US |
|
Flagship for UTK people, steep rocky. It is hard with okay views. |
| Brushy Mountains, Trillium Gap Trail (via Grotto Falls) | Tennessee, US | 11.2 miles | On Mondays you can see porters with Llamas, crowded till Grotto Falls. |
| Cape Disappointment Trail | Long Beach, Washington | 1.9 miles | Easy but beautiful trail passing through Lewis-Clark Observatory and Lighthouse |
| Arches National Park | Moab, Utah | 30 miles | Astonishing views of the arches. Make stops and get an e-bike. |
🪣 Bucket List
- Big south fork
- Bald falls
- Max Patch
- Stone Mountain
- Rock city Chattanooga
- Sound of music
- Falls creek falls
- Grayson Highlands
- Cades Cove — biking
🚴 Bike Rides
Since I got my VanMoof, I’ve been going on bike trips every so often.
| Name | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Baker Creek Preserve | Knoxville, TN | First mountain bike experience. |
| Burnt Bridge Creek Greenway | Vancouver, WA | Easy and simple ride. |
| Salmon Creek Trail | Vancouver, WA | Great scenery, spotted a deer. |
| Lewis-Clark Discovery Greenway | Vancouver, WA | Passes through some cool architecture. |
| Waterfront Loop | Portland, OR | 11/10.1 |
| Third Creek Greenway | Knoxville, TN | Easy, close to UT |
| Neyland Greenway, Cheerokee Farmway | Knoxville, TN | Absolutely beautiful; never crowded. |
🪂Adventure Sports
| Sports | Location | Review |
|---|---|---|
| Skydiving | The Netherlands | best adrenaline rush ever |
| Rafting (still-water, white-water) | Jawahar Ghat, Jharkhand Manali, HP |
too hyped; waves make things hard but also more fun |
| Kayaking | Jawahar Ghat, Jharkhand Ijams, Knoxville, TN Lake Merwin, WA |
relaxing if water is calm; else tiring but fun |
| Para-sailing | Jawahar Ghat, Jharkhand | fun; kind of like roller coaster |
| Para-gliding | Manali, HP | runway to start and landing are best parts |
| Skiing | Latvia | easy to learn; difficult to master |
| Surfing | Gokarna, Karnataka | nothing like it; waves hit you hard |
| Scuba-diving | Fort Dickerson Quarry, Knoxville | not great unless you have clear water |
| Mountain Biking | Baker Creek Trail, Knoxville, TN | amazing trails (easy, medium and hard); artificial ramps for skating and biking are great too |
| Bungee Jumping | Pacific Northwest Bridge, Amboy, WA | jump is scary; everything else is fun! the high only lasts for a few seconds though |
| Paddle-boarding | Ijams, Knoxville, TN | use paddle board for diving; paddle-boarding is boring by itself :) |
🪣 Bucket List
-
Cliff Jumping
-
Scuba with Bull sharks, Beqa Lagoon and Yasawa Islands - Fiji
-
Tonga, whale swimming
-
Marsha Shagra, Egypt - untuned diving in Red Sea