Road Trip Daily

Surviving a not-as-bad-as-forecasted rainy night, our Southwest Adventures backpacking group at breakfast and set out to walk down river in search of a climbable path up the 1000 foot canyon wall. We followed the instructions from a Canyoneering guidebook down The Gulch creek to the Escalante River and then up a ways to the climbable Gulley (fallen in canyon wall with boulders you can climb). Our guide Andrew had to read the directions three times but we did find it... And climb it up. Halfway up the gulley we came to a steeper section and as Andrew was helping Ursala up by extending a hand the rocks underneath her foot gave way just as Indiana Jones Andrew pulled Ursala to safety!  Here was the Indiana Jones section. Ursala was a beginning hiker on the trip with her very experienced boyfriend Vic. You could tell Vic loved seeing Ursala fight through her fears and overcome difficult physical and mental challenges out in the wild. I was impressed by Ursala's perseverance as well.  I

The forecast for the day was all day rain-- a highly unusual and not great condition for this desert environment. We hiked up to the top of the Mesa (top of canyon wall) while practicing our slick rock waking technique. We put on our rain gear, read our maps and hiked up to the Mesa top where Andrew and Alan instructed us on magic of compass reading and route finding. Two basic skills were needed-- 1 how to find a bearing or direction on a map by matching your intended bearing with true north on the map (align side of compass between two points on map then turn compass until true north lines on compass are aligned with true north lines on map) and then 2 how use that bearing in the field using magnetic north (by putting the red compass needle in its red box or red in shed) in order see where in the field terrain you are heading. The other key was once you had that heading to read the terrain to avoid dropoff cliffs or walk on easier terrain like slick rock not sand. The bearing gave yo

Our group of eight intrepid but novice backpackers and two incredibly experienced guides gathered for breakfast at 8am to meet, greet and bulk up for 5 days in the Escalante River area. We laid out all our gear to ensure we had the needed hiking, camping and survival supplies and drove to our trailhead for departure.  We hiked along a trail following the course of the Escalante River for a mile or so before getting to our first of many river crossings. Wet feet were not something we could avoid so we simply hiked across and sometimes down the river. When the river ran close to the canyon walls we knew we would have to find a shallow entry to the river, then cross the river to the bench on the other side.  Guides Andrew Skurka and Alan Dixon offered instruction along the way on map reading and route finding and information on local vegetation and geology and how the knowledge of both helped make your off trail travel more efficient. For example in geology their were two main rock layers

Month 1 - Desert 33 days 10 National Parks visited  6 National Monuments visited 5 State Parks visited 6000 miles driven 300 miles hiked 3000 flights of stairs climbed A real blast of a road trip, I hiked the highlights of major national parks from Utah to Southern California to Arizona to Texas and New Mexico.  I sampled lots of less-known parks and monuments along the route, and was blessed with perfect weather and clear skies the entire 33 days.  I converted the van into a livable space and tried to take advantage of every waking moment-- sun up to sun down.   Hiking through such beautiful spaces was a joy and I felt simply wonderful every step of the way. Tired and sore from the 6000 road miles and a brisk adventuring pace, I look forward to a slower and deeper month 2 in Southern Utah.  

Escalante was the last unmapped region of the lower 48 because of its remoteness and difficult terrain-- making it an ideal training ground for a backpacking guided 5-day training course. J ust northeast of Grand Canyon, Escalante is as known as Grand Staircase for its colorful geological layers.  I arrived to Escalante by 9am, did some email and blog updating, and set off for a small hike up Lower Calf Creek falls to test out my new shoes.  The drive to Calf Creek was stunningly gorgeous and gave me a chance to survey the area I would be backpacking in.  The hike to the falls was sandy, easy and packed with people. There are very few official trails in Escalante so this one is popular. And deservingly so. The falls were set in a shady corner and the mist made the falls chilly and refreshing.  On the trail back I gazed at the three warrior petroglyphs across the canyon and was immediately transferred in my mind to the times of the Indians of a thousand years ago-- defending their farms

Petrified Forest National Park is small and  on my route to Escalante Utah, so I stopped in for a quick tour. I like doing off the tourist trail stuff so my first adventure was a five mile round trip hike down into the Painted Desert badlands to the Angel's Garden, an out of the way petrified wood grouping. I hiked along the mile path out to a dry wash (path in desert floor where water flows after rains-- but otherwise dry). I then mistakenly hiked east along the wash, misreading the written directions in my travel guide. Realizing my mistake after fifteen minutes, I backtracked to the point I entered the wash and crossed north to hike the half mile to Angels Garden.  It felt good to arrive correctly to the petrified wood area.  My ability to navigate and find where I am is poor right now but my guided backpacking trip in Escalante should remedy that.   Petrified wood is formed when ancient trees broke from their roots in floods. Sinking to the bottom of the river bed they were cov

Camping in a Walmart parking lot stinks-- the bright lights blaze in constantly despite black out window coverings and cars pull in all night. Parking in the very back could've helped. Camping there did put me close to the big city of Albequerque where I got my first oil change after 5k miles in 30 days and allowed me to resupply food at Costco, securing a months food supply for my May in remote southern Utah.  Business done by noon, I drove two hours to El Morro. A whiteish towering cliff with a permanent deep watering hole, El Morro was a popular stopping point for settlers, soldiers and explorers heading West. 2,000 people inscribed their names and some petroglyphs on the rock face, the earliest inscription carved in 1609, making El Morro a unique historical landmark. Pics.  Still having three hours of the best time of  day left, I drove 15 miles to the dirt road entrance of El Malpais National Monument's lava tubes. The dirt road was passable when dry but impassable when we

Pristine white sand dunes with brooding moutains surrounding in all directions, White Sands is a photographers dream. Arriving to the park at 430pm I watched the visitor center video and drove out to the dunes for very short hikes I search of the perfect vantage point for sunset.  A eight mile road goes into the heart of the dunes and halfway in turns from pavement to white sand surface. There is one longish hike at the end of the road, in the most white perfect sand section of the park, so I ended up there by 6pm. I packed my day bag with water and food, brought my camera and tripod, and hiking sticks and set out. I hiked until 7pm following stakes in the sand and then turned around so not to get lost in the dark. I got back to my car just as the sunset was starting to glow. Five other people were there, snapping away at the pure perfection of the White Sands sunset. One of the Chinese guys had taken pics of me hiking out and hiking in and must have taken 500 shots in ten minutes.  Ha

Everyone who enters Carlsbad Caverns inners as a child-- exploring an unknown world that over joys and surprises the soul. I had a choice of descending to the 800 foot down Big Room by elevator or by a mile long walk down the natural entrance. I chose the natural entrance and let me say-- what an awesome experience.  You enter through a cave that thousands of bats fly out off at sunset each day. As you descend you hear the loud sounds of birds burping just inside the dark cavern. See video:  http://youtu.be/Vpt4GQTCN-Y Hidden lights reveal the vastness of this cave making it possible to navigate an otherwise hundred percent dark space.  The ceiling reaches hundreds of feet above you but it feels like thousands in this dark mysterious place. I kept stopping along the way to absorb the beauty of the cavern and capture it on camera but photos in caves are tough. Here were my best shots of the descent (look for handrails going down in first shot): I reached the Big Room, the vast twenty-fo

Leaving Big Bend at 515am have me a chance to see a big starry sky and put me into Guadalupe around 10am, early enough to secure a campsite. The sky was big and bright and I think I saw the Milky Way up there-- but I'm no sky expert. See if you can make the mountain out on the pic below (view in dark room).   Ten bunny rabbits crossed the road as I drove away in the dark to Guadalupe. Arriving to Guadalupe safely and with shin pain minimal but still there, I secured a campsite and then hiked a moderate 4 mile trail called Devil's Hall instead of the big hike up 3000 ft 8.5 mile hike to Guadalupe Peak, the tallest peak in Texas. Here's how I felt in the Devil's Hall. After returning back to camp it was still early so I decided to do another easy hike around the base of Guadalupe peak.   I got instructions from the ranger to drive to the Old Guadalupe Canyon road and hike in through the old park road. The road was very old and covered with plants over the decades and with

I gave myself two very different options this morning: Option 1- if my shin pain was gone and I felt good I would ascend the Chisos mountains tallest 7900 ft Emory Peak and then while up high hike to the south rim of the range-- a total journey of 16 miles with 3000 vertical feet gain/loss-- a tough day hike, but Grand Canyon rim-river-rim and Superstition's Battleship hikes had been tougher. Option 2 was a complete rest day-- no hiking, just reading and relaxing in the pleasant Chisos Basin.  I took Option 2. I needed option 2.  I walked up to a park bench overlooking the "window" and read The Wise Man's Fear-- a lord of the rings-style fantasy novel for five hours. I brought snacks with me and enjoyed this peaceful shaded spot alone-- amazed with how few people came by. It was great. See the bench and the view behind me.  At 2pm, I decided I would drive back along the scenic road to Santa Elena and hike the 1 mile hike there in daylight. After six miles of driving t