Day 30 - Guadalupe Mountains

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 its creaking decaying metal gate it had a distopian feel to it. Pic.

El Capitan is the big peak in the photo and the highlight of Guadalupe. This range was once an under the sea reef with El Capitan being its head. The trail went mid way up to and closeby El Cap but the best action was looking east to the salt basin beyond. I got to the high hill overlooking the basin, with cliff dropoff a below and paused to ponder the great salt basin and her ancient sea bed roots.

Then I drove back to camp and settled in for the night, excitedly awaiting the next day.

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Day 41 - Escalante Coyote Gulch

This one or two night Coyote Gulch hike was an easy test of my newly learned navigation skills. Anxious to get started I awoke at 545 just as the sun was rising. I followed an obvious landmark, a tall thin spire called Chimney Rock, northwest to Hurricane Wash (a drainage running into Coyote Gulch). After a couple of hours of walking up over and around slick rock, I entered the famous Coyote Gulch. The walls around me raised up, darkened and th water flow increased--like nature hinting at the scenic beauty ahead. The normally crowded Coyote Gulch was fairly empty on this early Thursday morning, giving the canyon a very peaceful and quiet feeling-- fragile almost. Down steam, I ran into the famous Jacob Hamilton Arch and then thirty minutes further-- the Coyote Natural Birdge. Both were beautiful due to their see through the wall character, but both would be overshadowed in my memory by the Stevens Arch tomorrow. Pics. By 1pm, I had hiked for six hours...

Day 62 - Colorado National Monument

Established as a national monument early in 1911, Colorado NM is known for its high canyon "rim road" and sandstone spires of Monument Canyon. The canyons of west Colorado are pretty--as they have more green trees and shrubs than the more famous Utah canyons. This gives them a more alive feeling, although the sandstone spires were formed many thousands of years ago by erosion. Rim Rock road curves up the the top of the canyon cliff, goes through several round tunnels and is lined with scenic viewpoints. The best views were in he Monument Canyon section, and included in sequence, the Coke Ovens, The Kissing Couple (behind my head), and the most famous of all: Independence Monument, the tall spire in pic 3 and viewed from the side in pic 4. The original promoter and caretaker of the park, John Otto, was the first person to climb Independence Monument and now it's a climbing right of passage. Every July 4 climbers ascend and mount an American flag at the summit. Fun! ...

Day 57 - Rocky Mountain National Park

Ever since I decided to go west for my big trip, I had dreamed of high mountain lakes with snowy peaks arching in every direction, with chilly air making every moment crisp, and with clear skies bringing all into perfect focus-- pure bliss. Today was the first of many great mountain lake days to come. Hiking here was far easier here than in the San Juans because the snow was packed down on the trail, but I brought my mini crampons for the downhill. I made it safely past a narrow ridge with narly black peaks across the gorge (pic 1), then up to Mills Lake (pic 2) then Jewel Lake then the Loch (pic 3) then down before the afternoon rain started falling. I hiked around some lower, more accessible lakes but the sky was now overcast and pictures no good. I drove up the open portion of the Ridge road amid a very light dusting of snow before heading back to camp for dinner and bedtime. I did manage to capture some fine Elk grazing in a meadows on the return trip and a g...

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