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 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...

Day 51 - Canyonlands Needles Pt 3

A deep connection to the nature surrounding you comes from the solitude of solo travel, but sometimes it is nice to have a companion! I ran into David, a retired telecom exec from Canada a few days ago on the Syncline Loop trail at Canyonlands Island in the Sky. Then I ran into him again halfway through my Chesler Park hike two days ago, then again later in the hike, finishing the last two miles together. David hiked his favorite trail, the Peekaboo trail yesterday, and said I could join him, but my heart was set on confluence trail, so we hiked separately. We did share a campsite though and exchanged travel stories. David was 55 and had retired at 50 from a high-level international job with Nortel and was now traveling full-time. We instantly bonded over our solo travel style. He outclassed me by leagues. He had trekked one month in Nepal, then another month in India, then some months in Asia. He had hiked and skied and adventured all over the western U.S. and Canada....

Day 40 Escalante Hole-in-the-Rock Road

I woke up late following a lovely slumber in a REAL bed-- such a luxury. I stayed in bed reading my maps and guidebooks, trying to put a plan together for the next months travels. I decided I would spend two more weeks in Utah and add on two weeks in western Colorado instead of spending all four weeks in Utah-- I was starting to tire of the desert and Colorado seemed like a good mix of backcountry beauty and civilization proper. The last must do in Escalante was Coyote Gulch, so I read and reread the route description in my guidebook and went to the visitor center to get my permit. I was going to do a loop down Hurricane Wash to Coyote Gulch to the Escalante River and then up Crack-in-the-Wall overland back to my car. Permit in hand, I lingered by the Outfitters wifi emailing and blogging and then drove out Hole-in-the-rock road forty miles to my trailhead. The road was dirt but well graded in most parts. A high-clearance vehicle was recommended for the last five miles but my Dodg...

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