Are we ready for another Titanic?

Andrew Skurka often hikes 30 miles a day. His monumental long-distance hikes have earned him cover-story tributes by Backpacker and National Geographic Adventure. Who better to ask for some tips on how to enjoy our national parks? We recently caught up with him in-between hikes to ask a few questions. Your job title is "long-distance adventurer." How does that pay? Well, I have sponsors, I do a lot of public speaking, and I do private guiding. I also keep my expenses pretty low and avoid owning a lot of possessions. It helps that I'm only 28 and don't have a mortgage to pay. In 2007, you invented and then completed the Great Western Loop, a 6,875-mile trek that linked parts of the Pacific Crest, Pacific Northwest, Continental Divide, Grand Enchantment, and Arizona trails. Tell us about that, please. It was an excellent opportunity to learn about these places. You learn a lot about the places and yourself when you walk. I passed through 12 national parks and more than 75 wilderness areas, the Rockies and the Cascades, the Pacific Northwest and the desert Southwest. It was 208 days of hiking about 33 miles day. I could have extended that for maybe another month before winter. What are the days like when you're hiking 30-plus miles? I wake up at 5:45, get hiking by 6, take a midday 30-minute break to stretch and cat nap (no eating during this break, though—I do that while hiking), find a campsite around 9 p.m., and then stretch, have dinner, and look at tomorrow's maps before going to bed. While I usually only take one designated break, I end up getting some other breaks during the day, too—to go to the bathroom, take a photo, study my maps, get water, etc. Every five days or so I go into a town in order to resupply. While my schedule needs to be flexible, I try to maintain consistency, which I find is really important for long-term success and progress. That's pretty intense. How can newcomers get into camping and backpacking? I don't advise people to start out trying to do what I do. Start small. Just get out there—sink or swim. Or you can do a guided trip. If a company takes people out in a context they're comfortable with, with good instructors and people of similar background (for example, who are all pretty new to backpacking), they'll be able to ease into the trip and really enjoy it. Anything to say to people who don't camp? The most important thing is to get out there and appreciate the beauty. If people are skeptical about hiking or camping, I just try to be encouraging. I recommend that they try camping. If it's not for them, that's OK. Not everyone will love the outdoors, but most will if they are properly exposed to it. I grew up in suburb outside Providence, R.I., and day hikes in the White Mountains were the extent of my experience. But then in college I worked as a camp counselor in western North Carolina, and I started learning more about camping and hiking. It's a learning process. Most people don't grow up in Boulder, where a lot kids have climbed a fourteener, one of Colorado's highest peaks. What's your favorite or most valued piece of gear? That's like asking who your favorite child is. There's nothing in my pack that doesn't perform a significant function every day. But my camera is important, because photos help me relive the experience. Or any piece of homemade gear, especially my stove. I made it from a Fancy Feast cat food can. It weighs three tenths of an ounce and cost 39 cents plus tax. It burns alcohol. It cranks out hot meals night after night. What do you eat on your hikes? Food is very personal. Some people can survive on Pop-Tarts and others need gourmet meals. What works for me: When I'm hiking 15 hours a day, I can just boil water and eat something instant. I look at food as calories. It's my energy. I'm not a stickler for fancy food. You can check out my most recent menu on my site. For long hikes, I think the most important points are that food has to be conducive to mass, pre-hike purchasing and assembly, that each meal has to fit in one Ziploc bag, and that diversity of flavors and textures is needed to avoid excessive boredom. But hunger is the best seasoning, and a long-distance hiker is always hungry. I do bring candy. Candy bars are cheap, easy to find, and delicious when eaten on a limited basis. They are heavy in fat, which helps to mitigate the crash-and-burn effect of their simple sugars; and some contain a fair amount of protein, particularly those that contain peanuts or peanut butter. My favorites are Fast Break, Kit Kat (but only the Big Kat bar), Nutrageous, Baby Ruth, Payday, and Snickers. I began instructing last year for Backpacking Light magazine's Wilderness Trekking School, which started up last year and currently does not offer full-time seasonal work that other schools like the National Outdoor Leadership School or Outward Bound can. In 2010 and beyond, I expect to do more private guiding. What's your next big adventure? I haven't settled on my next big trip yet, but I'm in the process of assessing a few possibilities, all in Alaska. One of my purposes in doing the Alaska Mountain Wilderness Classic this past summer was to scout things out; I didn't feel as if I knew the state well enough to do something really big this year. In 2010, I plan to do a trip that's of comparable length and time to my big Lower 48 hikes while having an adventure component similar to my Four-Range trip. Any gear recommendations? When I'm trekking in the wilderness, I always bring a camera. I stash it in an aLoksak (loksak.com, $6) an ultra-durable waterproof bag. It will keep the camera dry in rain or if it becomes submerged in a river or lake. Get more inspiration at Andrew's website. MORE FROM BUDGET TRAVEL October 2009: Where to beat the crowds in the national parks. Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan offer tips about the National Parks Hiking Trips: 11 Hand-Picked Packages, From $45

Yep, that's right. The Cent-sational Promotion's attention-grabbing rate of 25 cents per room per night honors a newly minted quarter featuring the USVI. The book-by deadline is within 25 days, November 2, although it's possible the promotion will sell out before then. You can stay up to three nights at participating hotels—for a grand total of 75 cents—and will also get a $25 per person dining credit, a $25 per person activities credit, and a commemorative quarter Scotiabank coin set. But there's no escaping taxes; resort taxes average seven percent, and a standard eight percent government tax applies to all bookings. Travel dates are October 9 through December 15*, and reservations must be booked for air-inclusive packages through BookIt.com, 888/782-9722. U.S. citizens don't need a passport to visit the USVI (St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas), which makes it easier to take advantage of this short-notice deal. Here are the hotel options: Bolongo Bay Beach Resort, Carambola Beach Resort & Spa, Hibiscus Beach Resort, Hotel Caravelle, Marriott Frenchman's Reef & Morning Star Beach Resort, Secret Harbour Beach Resort, The Palms at Pelican Cove, Windward Passage, and Wyndham Sugar Bay Resort & Spa. *10/16 UPDATE: Originally this promotion was valid for travel through November 15, but it has been extended through December 15. RELATED Real Deals: Caribbean From $138

In August 2005, one young Londoner became upset at having bought an unforgiveably mediocre breakfast at a gastropub. He spoke to his friends about the disappointing meal. They said it was difficult to get a proper English breakfast at a fair price. So he teamed up with his friends and created a website, the London Review of Breakfasts. So far, 70 reviewers have anonymously reviewed breakfasts. To keep things honest, they write under pen names, such as Chris P. Bacon and Ed Benedict, and they pay their own way. The site has become popular, naturally. Its authors recently scored a book deal. Today we ask the site's editor "Malcom Eggs" about his tips on finding a good breakfast in London.… What's your advice to Americans who want to eat a tasty, authentic, and affordable breakfast in London? You should go to a greasy spoon café—somewhere with plastic chairs and tea in mugs and lots of builders in luminous jackets. They won't do the best food, gastronomically speaking, but that's the truest British breakfast you'll find, and so much of eating is about having the right thing in the right place. Is there a mistake that American visitors typically make when it comes to breakfast? The Americans and the British are, of course, divided by a common language. One of my regular American readers is always e-mailing with questions about British breakfast items that get mentioned: "baps" (or large, soft, flattish bread rolls) were a recent confusion. Also, British cafés are far less tolerant of customising the menu than American diners. You might get away with asking for your bacon crispy, or changing mushrooms for tomatoes, but unless you're completely convinced of your waiter's professionalism, don't ask for both. Please recommend a few breakfast places in central London, convenient to the main sightseeing spots. • You haven't really been to London unless you've gone to a proper, no-nonsense greasy spoon café and Diana's Diner in Covent Garden is such a perfect example of such a place that one of our reviewers, Cher E Jamm, said, "It made me want to fall to my knees and weep hot tears of joy." She's not usually at all emotional. The food isn't gourmet by any means but it's all about the experience. These places are where the true London happens. (39 Endell St.) • We haven't yet reviewed it, but the new Saatchi Gallery on King's Rd (in the Duke of York's HQ Building) has an attached restaurant that does a pretty amazing plate of food. It's a splendid place to set yourself up before wandering around the gallery, scratching your head about lots of very challenging modern art. It's an amazing building, and when it's sunny, it's fun to sit outside and watch the chic types wander past in expensive silk scarves. (Sloane Square, Saatchi-Gallery.co.uk.) • Simpsons-in-the-Strand is a good way to combine history with your breakfast, being about 180 years old and a former haunt of Charles Dickens, Sherlock Holmes, and of course yours truly. This is where I came to agree on a book deal earlier this year and we completely forgot about the book and spent the whole time discussing the breakfast. We thought it was huge, but I think it was pretty normal or even a little small by American standards. Reviewing it in 2006, our man Blake Pudding said the kedgeree was "gooey and beautifully spiced like a kind of Anglo-Indian risotto." (100 Strand, simpsonsinthestrand.co.uk) The London Review of Breakfasts' design is a homage to the London Review of Books and discusses hot beans and grilled tomatoes with the love that literary reviewers speak of W.H. Auden and Kingsley Amis. So it's suitable that the site's editors will publish a book themselves, writing about breakfast as a whole, not just eating out in London. It's due out in 2011. Maybe the London Review of Books will review it. MORE ON LONDON New ceramics gallery at The V&A; What's better than Buckingham Palace? Where to eat and sleep in London? (50+ comments) MORE BLOGS ON FOOD Eater (now a national blog network) Fifty Bucks A Week Endless Simmer

Winner of the "best travel and food blog" award from Lonely Planet this year (as well as best travel blog award in the 2008 Weblog Awards) is Kerrin Rousset's My Kugelhopf. Rousset is an ex-pat who travels the world with an an especially sharp eye for sweet treats and cultural trends. She's based in Zürich, so we couldn't think of anyone better to ask for a tip on a great spot to visit in her city: "I can spend hours at Truffe, a tiny, beautiful chocolate shop in Zürich's Old Town. The owner, Elisabetta, organizes the chocolate by country of origin, and in the back there's a table where you can sit and drink a cup of the city's best hot chocolate or an espresso." You'll find her tip—along with many others from fresh faces in the travel community—in the October 2009 issue of Budget Travel.