Day 20 - Grand Canyon

Day 20 - Grand Canyon - South Rim

April is a great time to visit the Grand Canyon. I was originally going to come in Mid May but since my travels took me back to Las Vegas, I decided GC was worth the early trip. For my first full day at GC, I decided to arrive at daybreak to the park and walk the 12 mile flat south rim trail from the visitor center to Hermits rest, stopping by each viewpoint on my way.

I arrived at the park at 630 with my down pants and coat and fleece neck and hat on. It was cold! By about 8am I was shedding layers as the weather warmed and my body heated up. I was lucky in my timing. I saw a dozen people (mostly photograph buffs hunting the perfect sunrise pic) on the early walk near the visitor center. Once I got out five miles I had the park and the viewpoints to myself. I turned some Lord Huron (mom will remember them from a concert) as shaw had thankifully given me some extra tunes recommendations. Life seemed too good to be true.

Not until I arrived to the last two miles, a paved bike road to hermits rest, did the crowds start appearing. I took in all the viewpoints on the west part of the park and believe Pima Point is the most beautiful. After arriving to Hermits rest, I rested, after my 12 mile hike from 630am to 12noon. Then I took the shuttle back to my car, had a quick pasta lunch and traveled by car to the east park of the park, stopping at all the vistas. I got to the very east end of the park, a beautiful 1930s era stone watchtower, as the sun was beginning to set. I drove back to my campground just outside of Grand Canyon park and collapsed in bed.

Below are the best shots from the day! Elk!

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Day 43 - Capitol Reef

Capitol Reef, a national park centered around a 90 mile ancient seabed reef was next on my list. A sensationally scenic three hour drive from Bryce, back through Escalante, and then through a national forest led me to the park. A stop by the visitor center to get the lay of the land and insider info on local free BLM campsites complete, I set out on Chimney Rock trail up the the top of the first reef to get a view. Yes sir!! The weather was ideal for hiking and the views completely blissful, but I was frankly tired today. I set out along the scenic road down the west side of the reef and remember wanting to take a nap-- but still having a sense of urgency to complete the desert portion of my trip-- I pushed on and set out to hike down the Capitol Gorge and Grand Wash canyons. The Capitol Gorge had a "Pioneer Wall" with inscriptions from the early 1900s and the Grand Wash had a nice narrow section with towering canyon cliffs all around. I took a photo of the surrounding reef...

Day 35 - Escalante River

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 ro...

Day 54 - Great Sand Dunes

I awoke to clear skies, a dry mattress and pillows, a second hot shower and a waffle-filled motel breakfast. I decided to head east to Great Sand Dunes National Park in order to climb 700 foot sand dunes surrounded by snow-covered alpine mountains--a rare site. Just about every road in Colorado goes over a pretty high mountain pass eventually, and this three and a half hour journey didn't disappoint. And Great Sand Dunes didn't disappoint either. After securing a dune-side campsite and waiting out a rainstorm, I set out to climb the dunes for a sunset view. Great Sand Dunes is also famous for its Medano Creek wave-like flow and ankle-deep water, making it popular with young kids. I hiked through it and started climbing the dunes, first to a high dune on the east side and over to the next highest dune and then the next highest et until I got to the highest one-/ properly called High Dune. I sat down, setup my phone to capture a time-lapse of the beautiful sunset my eyes were ...

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