crazy little thing called blog: national monument

Showing posts with label national monument. Show all posts

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Fascinating Nature: American South-West in a Winter Robe

I have traveled many times through the American South-West, but this last trip was my first winter trip to the region.

To my great surprise, winter appears to be a great time to visit the South-West, possibly better than any other season. The key reason behind that is that tourists seem not to like cold weather and, subsequently, there were hardly any of them in most places we visited (with a small but notable exception of Grand Canyon, which is popular year-round).

The lack of tourists translates to a better overall experience, as witnessing the beauty and splendor of the South-West in solitude is bound to enhance your appreciation of the forces that stand behind the creation of this world's most amazing natural wonder.

Solitude encourages contemplation, introspection, as well as it enhances senses and brings closer the examiner and the subject of examination. In my case, it also led to a realization that American South-West is a Playground of Nature, a place where Nature experimented with all possible rock shapes and forms, before deciding how the rest of Earth should look like.

My second big realization was that this Nature's Playground is My Playground too. I've been very fortunate to be able to travel multiple times through South-West, with time getting to know it as well as my own backyard. This growing intimate knowledge of the region allows me to probe it further and deeper with each subsequent visit, leading to even deeper fascination and admiration for the Nature and its ways.

During the next few weeks I'm going to blog about my favorite places in the South-West, and the way they look during winter.

Here's a list of places I'll rave about:

Valley of Fire State Park
Monument Valley Tribal Park
Gooseneck State Park
Valley of Gods
Canyonlands National Park, The Needless Area
Newspaper Rock State Park
Arches National Park
Canyonlands National Park, Island in the Sky Area
Dead Horse Point State Park
Goblin Valley State Park
Colorado National Monument
Hovenweep National Monument
Valley of the Ancients National Monument
Mesa Verde National Park
Aztec National Monument
Chaco Culture National Historic Park
Grand Canyon National Park, South Rim
Rainbow Bridge National Monument
Vermillion Cliffs National Monument
Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument
Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness
Bryce National Park
Kodachrome State Park
Pink Sand Dunes State Park
Zion National Park

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Pinnacles NM - East To West Loop Hike

On the second day of our stay in Pinnacles we went for a 10-mile loop hike connecting eastern and western parts of the park. The loop was made of: Old Pinnacles, High Peaks, Tunnel, Juniper Canyon, Balconies, Balconies Cliffs, and again Old Pinnacles Trails. The first part of it was pretty strenuous as we had to climb 1540 feet over 2.5 miles. The rest of the loop was downhill or flat. It took us around 5h to complete it, but we took a liberty to stop here and there and enjoy the views.

I would definitely recommend this hike to anybody. It is pretty long, but it leads through all major park's highlights: High Peaks and Balconies Area. Most visitors to the park access it from the Eastern side and this hike allows them to explore also the Western part, which, in my opinion, is more beautiful and serene. Sadly, during this trip, we did not manage to visit the Balconies Cave as it was flooded. Maybe that's good, at least we have a reason to go there again.

We got pretty lucky with the weather. Even though the forecast was calling for heavy rains, it only started pouring in the late afternoon, during the last half an hour of our hike. We did not mind it much as by then our feet were wet anyway... The last part of the hike led along West Fork of Chalone Creek, which we had to cross more than ten times. The creek was so swollen with water that there was no way we would manage to cross it without getting wet. At certain point we gave up trying to jump from stone to stone (especially that there were not enough of them) and we adopted a strategy of running through the creek (at it shallowest place, of course). This strategy left me knee-high wet. But it was fun.

High Peaks Trail:

At the end of the climb Anil was a bit tired:

Balconies:

High Peaks:

Balconies again:

Wildflowers on the way:

Balconies area:

More wildflowers:

Anil crossing Chalone Creek:

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Pinnacles NM - Bear Gulch Area

After the elephant seal guided walk we planned to go to Julia Pffeifer Burns SP, but there was a mud slide on Hwy 1 blocking access to it, so we decided to go to Pinnacles NM instead. We arrived there in the late afternoon, with enough daylight hours left to go for a short hike.

I wanted to hike to the Bulch Gear Reservoir and explore Bearch Gulch Caves on the way, but due to extreme rains that we had in California during the previous five weeks, both proved to be impossible. The Bear Gulch Cave was completely flooded, and the upper part of the trail leading to the Reservoir was not passable either as it became a waterfall... It was pretty scary actually and as soon as we saw it, we started running in the other direction, fearing for our lives.

Still, the hike was lots of fun. It was beautiful, lash green, and there were no other people. I guess most of the other tourists got scared by the weather forecast. Also the campground was almost completely empty, even though usually during this time of a year it would be completely full.

Blooming trees in Hollister, on the way to Pinnacles:

Picnic tables in Bear Gulch Area:

Moses Spring Trail:

Entrance to the Bear Gulch Cave:

Recent rains created many seasonal waterfalls:

Sun + rain = rainbow:

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Road Trip 2008: All Posts

It's a bit embarrassing that it took me two years to finally finish all posts from my 2008 road trip with Agnieszka. In my defense, I am super-busy... And I prefer to live life rather than write about it :)

Anyway, here is a list of all posts from my 2008 "Grand Circle" trip:

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Dipsea Trail - Mill Valley to Stinson Beach

Last Saturday we hiked the full length of the Dipsea Trail, all the way from Mill Valley to Stinson Beach, and back.

Total distance hiked: 14.8 miles (23.82 km)
Elevation change: 9,276 feet (2,827 m)

As I realized after the hike, that's almost exactly the same distance and elevation change that one has to hike when going to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and back. The more proud I am to report that we completed the hike in 6h 30 min!

Since I did not find a good description of this hike anywhere in the internet, I am going to try to be as detailed in my description as possible.

The trailhead for the Dipsea Trail is located in Old Mill Park in Mill Valley, CA (for directions click here).

There are several (free) parking spots in the Old Mill Park along Cascade Drive. Try to park as close to the park entrance as possible, as the trailhead is located just opposite the entrance at the intersection of three roads: Cascade Drive, Cascade Way, and Molino. There are no obvious trail markings and it almost looks like the trail leads to somebody's house: take a look at Google Map street view. Don't get discouraged by that and aim for the staircase located in the driveway on the photo above.

The trail starts with three flights of stairs (adding up to 671 steps). According to the local legend, people who hiked and/or run Dipsea never die, they just reach the 672nd step :)

Once you walked up the first set of stairs, you will need to take a few steps to the right. The second set of stairs will be there. To find the third set, you will need to take a few steps to the left.

After the third set of steps you will find yourself on Sequoia Road. Follow the road (to the west/right) for around 600 ft (200 m), until you get to Walsh Drive. Continue on Walsh Drive and then Bay View until you reach Panoramic Highway. This is where you finally get off the pavement and where the good trail markings start.

The trail will continue on the other side of the highway, slightly to the right of the direction from which you came from. After around 5 minutes the trail will reach Muir Woods Road and will run parallel to it for around 0.4 mile (0.6 km). (In November 2010, this part of the trail was closed due to a mudslide. It's not a big deal, as you can walk on the road and rejoin the proper trail after 0.4 mile. To find the continuation of the Dipsea Trail, look for a sign "Cam Del Canon" and a few mailboxes on the left side of the road. It is so obvious that you can not miss it.)

Starting at Panoramic Highway the trail steadily drops down ~700 feet (210 m), until it reaches the lower parking lot of Muir Woods. From there, over the course of 2.2 miles (3.5 km), you will need to climb ~1400 feet (430 m), until you get to the top of "Cardiac Hill". As the name suggests, "Cardiac Hill" can make your heart start pumping pretty hard, but the views from there are absolutely fantastic and will fully compensate for your climbing efforts. On a clear day you will be able to see San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, Oakland, top of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay and the Pacific Ocean.

If you feel tired and did not arrange for anybody to pick you up at the end of the trail in Stinson Beach, this would be a good place to turn around, as from here over the course of next 3 miles (4.8 km), the trail will drop all the way down to the ocean, and you will loose all the elevation that you gained so far. But if you feel strong, I would definitely recommend going all the way to Stinson Beach, as this part of the hike is the prettiest. From now on, the trail will lead you through a deep misty forest across several Marin hills. Moreover, during the final one mile of the trail there are spectacular views of Stinson Beach and the ocean.

After reaching Stinson Beach you have a choice of either going back the same way you came (this is what we did last Saturday), or you can make your hike even longer by first hiking the Matt Davis & Steep Ravine Trails (described here and here) before rejoining the Dipsea Trail.

All in all this is a fantastic, but challenging hike. It crosses several parks: Mt. Tamalpais SP, Muir Woods NM, the Golden Gate Recreational Area, and it brings you all the way to the ocean and a nice beach. It should not be attempted by novice hikers (unless you do it one-way only). Depending on your strength, it can take you anything from 5 to 8 (or more) hours to complete it. Though there are people who run it in 2h...

For us, the first half of the hike (getting to Stinson Beach) was super-easy and fast, but hiking back from there was not. I started feeling pain in one of my knees at around mile 11 and, therefore, the last 4 miles where a bit unpleasant - especially during the downhills. Absolute killer for me was at the end of the hike when we had to walk down the 671 steps... Every single one of them was hurting.

At around mile 14, Anil renamed the hike "Dip-shit", which expresses pretty well what we felt at that particular moment... Still, we are very proud of ourselves for having finished it and we are surprised that today, a day later, nothing hurts us. I hope that it means that both of us are in a reasonably good shape before our Andean adventure.

The hike begins with 671 steps:

The second half of the trail leads through the beautiful green forest of Muir Woods NM:

The views from the top of Cardiac Hill:

Just a mile away from Stinson Beach:

And finally we reached the beach!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Honeymoon Road Trip

I'm very happy and proud to report that I finally managed to finish all posts describing our honeymoon adventures!

Below they are listed in the chronological order:

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Bandelier NM

From Kasha-Katuwe NM we drove to Bandelier NM, where we camped. As soon as we set up our tent, the campground hosts came to us and warned us that the previous night a rattlesnake was spotted few meters away from our site. Therefore, they suggested that we should move to other site.

I was in favor of staying where we were, but my husband seemed to be freaked out by the possibility of encountering a rattlesnake and insisted on moving the tent. So I let him picked the new campsite. He went for the one with basically no trees and bushes, as according to him snakes like to live in the tree branches and they could jump down on us... Well, we were saved from the snakes falling down on our heads, but instead we and our tent got tossed around by the wind...

The next morning we went for a hike on a 1.2 mile Main Loop Trail, which leads through several archeological sites (the Big Kiva, Tyuonyi, Talus House, and Long House).

After completing the Main Loop Trail we continue for another 0.5 mile (1 mile round-trip) to the Alcove House (formerly known as Ceremonial Cave). The Alcove House is located 140 feet (43 meters) above the floor of Frijoles Canyon and can only by reached by climbing on a set of 4 wooden ladders and some stone stairs. 140 feet might not sound like a lot, but when you climb on a really steep ladder it is!

Anil and Tyuonyi in the background. Tyuonyi used to be two stories tall and have over 400 rooms, most of which were used for storing food:

One of the ladders climbing into a cavate (a small human-carved alcove):

Beautiful green Frijoles Canyon:

One of the ladders leading to the Alcove House:

Inside the Alcove House:

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks NM

You probably have never heard about Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. At least I didn't until I started researching places worth visiting in New Mexico. And I am so glad that during my random Internet readings I somehow managed to stumble across photos of this beautiful place!

Kasha-Katuwe NM is located more or less half way in between Albuquerque and Santa Fe and is well worth the small detour. We had an absolutely great time exploring the interesting rock formations (see photos below) that form this small park. The tent rocks, as they are called, were formed by the combined force of the volcanic explosion and erosion that is pretty much unique to this place. There are two hiking trails within the park, the canyon trail and the tent rocks and the cave loop, that let you get up and close to the rock formations. We took the canyon trail first, and returned through the tent rocks and cave loop, which took us around 2.5-3h, even though we were stopping often to take pictures and enjoy the views.

Entering the canyon trail: