Day 49 - Canyonlands Needles

Chesler Park, a city-park like green space surrounded by thin, towering red and white spires is the star feature of the remote Needles district in Canyonlands. My planned, 15 mile hike, would take me around the Chesler Park loop, up a slot canyon-esque Joint trail, then up a side canyon to the Druid Arch and then back six miles to the starting point, the van.

I awoke at 6am so I could be gone from my suspect campsite before any off road vehicles pulled up. I had not slept well the night before but drove on anyway to Needles. I arrived at Needles at 730am but all the campsites were already taken during this popular time of year here. I settled for a campground just outside the park which was $5 more but included a luxury item, a shower.

The skies were filled with threatening-looking clouds but the forecast was for only 30% chance of afternoon showers. The beginning of the hike was a bit mundane, hiking up slick rock to good views of the red and white needles. I found myself being a bit bored with the scenery until the trail entered The Joint, a slot section, and then the Chesler Park area. The Joint was dark, narrow and fun and concluded with a climb up to big views. The Chesler Park area was fascinating because it reminded me of a city park-- vast green space with high spires on every perimeter. Pics.

After the Chesler park area, I hiked a side trail 2.5 miles to the well-named Druid Arch. This was a fun section, up a canyon bottom then up to a middle ridge and continuing to a ladder and final steep scramble to the vantage point of the arch. I loved this unique arch but loved the view down canyon even more.

Then I heard thunder and noticed the dangerous looking clouds above. I needed to get the hell off this high cliff and out of this canyon, so I climbed down from my high perch and started back the six miles to the van. Just as I got down from the final ladder section the rain began falling. More like sleet actually. I put on my rain shell, packed my camera and phone in plastic bags deep in my daypack and hiked on. It was late in the afternoon, I had a ways to go, and the rain could last all afternoon by the look of the sky, so I hiked on. Luckily the rain only lasted twenty minutes. I made it back to the van completely dry. Then the bottom dropped out and rain poured down for hours. But I was safely at my campsite, in my van, relaxed and dry. I fell asleep early to the sound of rain drops.

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Day 168 - JMT Pinchot Pass

The mountains appeared like sand dunes in the soft early light. We drank our coffee, packed up our gear and set off up the hill toward Pinchot Pass. Not a mile up the trail, we encountered another sensational High Sierra lake, Lake Marjorie, and the peaceful reflections off the lake's surface. Mountains of white and red and grey and black surrounded us-- all surfaces seemingly from another planet, but welcoming us this morning on Earth. Jeff and Steve and a lady named Tara joined us at the picturesque summit of Pinchot Pass. We remained there for a complete hour, enjoying stories of hiking triumph and Jeff's difficult but rewarding experiences as a search and rescue captain. Reluctant to leave the 12,000 foot pass, but begged forward by the slowly descending trail, we hiked on. The wonderful landscape in the background, with layers of blues, and browns and whites, appeared like an Ansel Adams masterpiece, and the trail a magical doorway to its frame. The sce

Day 171 - JMT Guitar Lake

Wow, was it cold this morning. After waking up and eating breakfast, we packed up quickly and found this scenic sunspot to warm our bones. We had a short eight mile hike to Guitar Lake today, the last viable campsite before the five mile hike to the 14,505 foot-high Mount Whitney summit. We stopped at this lovely meadow and looked for bears. We only saw deer but were able to enjoy the incredible peace of the far mountain range. Steady hiker traffic, the most of the entire trip, including one group of twelve elder hikers, passed us as we rested, and jumped! Views of Mount Whitney finally came into view at Timberline Lake, a quaint lake where camping was unfortunately forbidden. We passed a group of twenty Taiwanese hikers. The summit of Mount Whitney looked heavily defended when viewed from below. We were going to wake up tomorrow at 230am and hike up to the summit for sunrise-on-the-top-of-the-world*. The thought of this dark task was a bit foreboding. We made it to Guitar Lake by

Day 150 - Big Sur Hearst Castle

Big Sur coastline continues in its beauty. Elephant seals practice sparring. They make a snore-like belly belch sound while sparring and then after ten seconds later lie back down to snooze on the sand. The Hearst Castle is an incredibly luxurious complex on top of a high hill overlooking the ocean and coastal mountains. The feel was Mediterranean, royal and magical. The outdoor pool had a Roman feel-- on a hill, in California. Strangely awesome. But the indoor pool was the tops-- like a Turkish kings dream moment come to life. I found a beautiful campground close to the castle and stopped for the night.

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