What are some of the longest "single mountain" hikes in the world? That is, hikes which more or less go up one mountain. Specifically, let's say we're looking at the following criteria:
- One continuous climb with no long flat or downhill sections.
- On established trails (though they don't have to be official or maintained trails)
- Trailhead is near or easily accesible from a town/city.
- No technical climbing (at most some class 2 scrambling)
- Entirely on trails (as opposed to paved roads)
plus the following optional criteria:
- Can be hiked without a guide or expensive permits
- Is an "established" hike, i.e. route has a name and people regularly hike the whole length of it.
- Enjoyable: scenery, views from the summit, historical sites, wildlife, etc.
Two candidates I can think of are (1) Mt Fuji from the bottom ("1st station"), with ~3000m of elevation gain, and (2) the "Cactus to Clouds" hike in Palm Springs, CA, with 10400ft/3200m of elevation gain.
Similar to this question but this is about the longest hikes as opposed to the tallest mountains