Mountaintop adventures
June 30, 2020, Pinnacles National Park
The day began long before sunrise, with a 2-hour drive to Pinnacles National Park. This outing would mark my second national park visit in California in only a few weeks. I aimed to arrive at Pinnacles around sunrise, so I could enjoy a multi-hour hike before the temperatures in central California inevitably climbed into the high 90s.
Continue reading “High peaks trail (Pinnacles National Park)”
June 20, 2020, King’s Creek Falls trailhead
I found myself with time to kill in Lassen National Park, having hiked to the summit of the park’s main volcano well before noon. being mid-June, many of the park’s signature attractions were still closed, due to snow, including the signature Bumpass Hell area with its steam vents and bubbling mud pits. That said, Kings Creek Falls caught my eye as a fun cool-down hike.
Continue reading “Kings Creek Falls (Lassen NP)”
June 20, 2020, Lassen Peak Trailhead
I began the day an hour southeast of Lassen National Park, in the town of Red Bluff. The road to the park undulated through the rolling foothills of the northernmost expanse of California’s Central Valley. Through the haze, I could see the Cascades rising to the north and east ahead of me. First, Shasta came into view, still covered in snow along its uppermost flanks. Then Brokeoff and Lassen Peaks rose over the landscape, dead-ahead, both silhouettes against the morning sun.
Continue reading “Lassen Peak: an entry-level Cascade volcano”
June 13, 2020, Big Basin SP
When I arrived in California to start a new career in Spring 2020, I immediately asked my co-workers for hiking tips. The Berry Creek Falls loop came up numerous times as a top recommendation for hiking in the area. The trail sits in Big Basin Redwoods State Park, California’s oldest such park.
Continue reading “Berry Creek Falls (Big Basin)”
May 6, 2020, Grand Junction
I spent a day at Colorado National Monument while moving across the country in May, 2020. There are three basic ways to get from New York to San Francisco, with I-80 being the fastest. But I chose I-70 because crossing through the heart of the Rockies and Southern Utah seemed like a way cooler experience.
No surprise: the continental divide and Utah’s red rock vistas did not disappoint! But Western Colorado was the real sleeper hit of this road trip. Glenwood Canyon was perhaps the coolest part of the entire drive coast-to-coast. Grand Junction was a surprisingly cute town with some great eats. And Colorado National Monument was just plain stunning.
Continue reading “Rim Rock Drive and the Coke Ovens (Colorado Nat’l Monument)”
May 6, 2020, Colorado National Monument
The Devil’s Kitchen trail takes you on a short out-and-back to some super cool rock formations. It lies at the Eastern extreme on Colorado National Monument, near the park entrance. The same car park services the Serpent’s Trail and No Thoroughfare Canyon hikes. I highly recommend the former if it’s not too hot. Devil’s Kitchen proves short and easy and it packs a scenic punch—not to be missed!
Continue reading “Devil’s Kitchen (Colorado Nat’l Monument)”
May 6, 2020, Colorado National Monument
I arrived bright and early at the Eastern entrance to Colorado National Monument around 7 am. The “monument” features a collection of canyons that form the western wall of the valley containing Grand Junction.
Across town, the Sun had just begun to peek over the rim of the Eastern mesas. Its golden rays lit up the canyons I was about to hike in a stunning fashion. I can list many reasons to start a hike as early as possible—heat, safety, and better parking being the most important. But a gorgeous sunrise is perhaps the most compelling reason of all.
Continue reading “Serpent’s Trail (Colorado Nat’l Monument)”
August 12, 2018, Ashford Washington
In the summer of 2018, I ventured to the Pacific Northwest to take part in a guided climb of Mt Rainier. The day before the program began, another participant and I decided to stretch our legs, post-travel, with a quick day hike. The folks at the motel we were staying at had an unsurprisingly excellent knowledge of the region and its hikes. They warned us to avoid Rainier National Park, down the road. They predicted an hour-plus line on this sunny Saturday afternoon in August—just to get through the gates! Instead, they wrote down a list of turns to take via dirt logging roads to a nearby hike outside the park. The hike was known as High Rock. For anyone without the inside scoop, Google Maps can get you there just fine.
October 6, 2017, Mt Van Hoevenberg Trailhead
They say life is more about the journey than the destination, and that’s obviously true of the quest for 46 high peaks. But as I push on to climbing more of the Adirondacks’ tallest mountains, I really am struck at all the weird places it’s brought me and all the interesting things I’ve seen. My trip up Cascade and Porter certainly provides an example of that.
The “normal” trailhead for Cascade is right off route 73 just after the stunning drive towards Lake Placid along Upper and Lower Cascade Lakes. And from that trailhead, it’s roughly 1.6 miles directly up the slopes of Cascade to its bare rock summit. This unusually easy access to a high peak with a gorgeous view makes Cascade one of the most popular hikes in the region.
To summarize: short trail from the roadside. Gorgeous views. Crowded summit.
But my experience with Cascade and Porter would involve none of those things.