Steve's National Park Blog

Great Basin National Park

2011-09-13T22:17:00.000-05:00

Great Basin National Park in Nevada is a park in the middle of nowhere that not many people have actually heard of it. Of course, I make it my business to know about such parks, so when I was planning a huge National Park trip to neighboring Utah, I included Great Basin. Utah and parts of neighboring states has the greatest concentration of National Parks in the country. By traveling in a loop, you can visit Great Basin in Nevada, Zion and Bryce Canyon in Utah, Grand Canyon (North Rim) in Arizona, Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands in Utah, and Mesa Verde in Colorado. I took this trip in the fall of 1998 over a two-week period. Two weeks was enough to see quite a bit in each park, but three weeks would have been much better. I flew into Salt Lake City and started the loop in a counterclockwise direction, hitting Great Basin first and the other parks in the order indicated above. I will talk about Great Basin National Park in this post, followed by the other parks in subsequent posts.

As with many national parks, the part accessible by road is only a small portion of the park. As you would expect, that part of the park has many things to see. Wheeler Peak, at 13,063 feet (3,982 m), is the second highest point in Nevada, and the road goes up to the 10,160 foot level. At that point, the Wheeler Peak Summit Trail begins ascending 2,900 feet (890 m) to the top on an 8.6 mile (14 km) round trip hike. The hike is a fairly steady climb. As is often the case on a mountain hike, there is a point where you think you are near the top, but it turns out to be just a brief leveling off. As you approach the “top,” the rest of the mountain appears, looming over you. My own name for that point on Wheeler Peak is You-gotta-be-kidding-me Ridge. Well, actually I did not use the word “kidding” at the time. Though it does take work to get to the top, the hike is relatively easy, not counting the normal gasping for breath. The payoff is the view of other mountains, lakes, valleys, and clouds. Because of the relative lack of surrounding scenery, the view is not as grand as at Yosemite or Glacier, but a plain old mountaintop view is still better than almost any other view. Being a bit younger at the time, I didn’t mind dragging my heavy tripod with me, and I took my favorite photo of myself at the top of Wheeler Peak.

The bad thing about being at the top of a mountain is that you need to walk back down. The inexperienced might think that the climb up is harder than the climb down, but I usually find it to be the opposite. While the climb up is difficult, the difficulty consists merely of tired legs and gasping for breath. The difficulty going down is the constant abuse of your knees and the danger of falling. The Wheeler Peak trail is very rocky. The rocks are somewhat smooth and about 6 inches to a foot in length. This makes for very treacherous footing and brutal abuse of the knees. My knees survived fine, but now with older knees I would use trekking poles on the downhill journey.

As great as the Wheeler Peak hike was, the highlight of the park for me was the Bristlecone Pine Trail. I am a tree lover and borderline tree-hugger. To stand next to a 3,000 year old tree was a highlight of my life and a privilege for which I will be forever grateful. There are even older trees in the Inyo National Forest in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California (Methuselah is almost 5,000 years old), but this was good enough for me. I was disappointed to learn on a recent trip to the Chicago Botanic Garden that bristlecone pines in the United States are no longer the oldest known trees in the world. There is a Norway spruce in Sweden that is 9,550 years old.

Near the Wheeler Peak and Bristlecone Pine Trails is the Alpine Lakes Loop. This is a nice hike past Stella and Teresa Lakes.

Finally, Great Basin National Park has a cave. Indeed, the original name of the park was Lehman Caves National Monument. I remember that I enjoyed the cave trip, as I always do, but truthfully I do not remember anything about the cave. If you have seen Mammoth Cave or Carlsbad Cavern, there is little need to see Lehman Cave. Of course, if you are there anyway, why not?

Though Great Basin National Park does not have the spectacular scenery of the nearby Utah parks, it is definitely worth a visit, especially for the bristlecone pines. Moreover, Wheeler Peak is probably one of the easiest 13,000 footers. The facilities near the park are rather limited, befitting a park that is in the middle of nowhere. The nearby town of Baker has one motel with seven units and a restaurant or two. It is (or at least was in 1998) refreshingly devoid of the circus-like atmosphere present in many National Park gateway towns.

My visit: September 1998

New National Park Books

2011-04-17T22:40:00.004-05:00

I recently purchased two new National Park books. The first one is Fodor's The Complete Guide to the National Parks of the West, which is the second edition of my favorite general National Park guidebook. This new edition has some differences from the first edition, with the disadvantages outweighing the advantages. The photos and maps in the new edition are all in color, which is nice but really rather unnecessary. I got a big kick out of the straight-out-of-the-60s "In Full Color" on the cover. I do like the new feature on how geysers and other thermal features work. Unfortunately, the book is noticeably thicker and heavier than the first edition, which is a big disadvantage if you want to take it along with you. The pages are also stiffer, which makes it harder to flip through. In summary, the new edition is nicer if you are sitting in your La-Z-Boy dreaming about the parks, but not as useful as a book to take along with you.

The other new book is National Geographic's The 10 Best of Everything: National Parks. It is not a guidebook, but rather a book to bring with you to the aforementioned La-Z-Boy. I have not had a chance to read it yet, but flipping through it shows that it is pretty much what you would expect from the title. It looks like it will be a good read. The book is arranged into nine categories: Natural Wonders; By Land; By Sea, Lake, and River; Seasonal Enjoyment; Wildlife; Learning Experiences; Discovering History; Sleeping and Eating; and Other Wonders. Each of these sections has anywhere from 4 to 16 subsections, each with the 10 best. Examples under Natural Wonders include Landmarks, Waterfalls, Caves, and Glaciers. Examples under By Land include Day Hikes, Walk-up Summits, Canyon Hikes, and Day Hikes with a Twist. The authors also supply lists of their own favorite National Parks. Looking at the book as I write this makes me want to abandon the book I am currently reading (China Watcher: Confessions of a Peking Tom by Richard Baum) and start on this one right away!

Reading Odyssa

2011-02-17T22:52:00.008-06:00

The Appalachian National Scenic Trail (AT) has been the subject of many books recounting peoples' experiences on the trail. About a year ago, I talked about the excellent books, Southbound and Walking Home, by the Barefoot Sisters (jackrabbit and Isis). I have read several others since then, some good, some just okay. I have not had the urge to write about one of them until now.

Becoming Odyssa: Epic Adventures on the Appalachian Trail by Jennifer Pharr Davis (Odyssa) is the best AT book I have read since the Barefoot Sisters and is one of the best books of any kind I have read lately. Content-wise, I'll still go with the sisters. Their books are much longer and more detailed. However, in two other important ways Odyssa has the sisters beat. First, her writing is excellent, the best writing I have seen in an AT book and excellent writing by any standard. Her words are a pleasure to read. Second, and more importantly, her writing put me in her head better than any other AT book author. Her various comments and observations allowed me to relate to her. I never felt that I was simply observing someone's hike. Many reviews made a big deal about her being a woman. However, I found the book to be about a person hiking the AT, interesting to anyone who enjoys such books.

Every once in a while I run across a phrase or idea in a book that makes me sit there for a few minutes saying "Wow." There was one such passage in Becoming Odyssa (italics mine): "I spent one full afternoon on the rocks of Clarendon Gorge talking with the locals who had retreated to the cool rapids of Mill River to escape the summer heat. They shared their food and their stories with me. And as I sat and listened to them talk about interests ranging from car parts to pottery and football to farming, it struck me that every person I had ever met and would ever meet knew something I didn’t and could do something I couldn’t. It was a simple truth, but I finally realized that the more people I invested in, the smarter and better equipped I would be."

I highly recommend this book. Don't wait for it to come out in paperback. Get it now.

Glacier National Park - The Second Visit

2010-12-17T15:29:00.012-06:00

Glacier National Park in Montana is my favorite National Park. Its beauty is almost indescribable, and the hiking is superb. As I was leaving the park during my first visit in 2007, I was already making plans to return. I made good on those plans this past September. For pictures beyond what is included in this post, see my Flickr page and my Blurb book.

This time I flew into Calgary, which is about 200 miles from the park. This presented a bit of a dilemma during the planning stage, as Calgary is only about 80 miles from Banff National Park, which I had never visited. I resisted the urge of mission creep and made my plans for Glacier. After picking up my rental car and stopping at Safeway to get some groceries for the week's breakfast and lunch, I drove to Glacier. The weather was rather gray and rainy, and unfortunately this would be true for most of the trip. My destination for the night was the Rising Sun Motor Inn, a few miles into the park on the St. Mary side. This was fortunate because they told me at the gate that it was snowing at Logan Pass, and the road was closed there.

On my first visit, at the exact same time of year, the weather was sunny and warm, and I could hike whenever and wherever I pleased. The rainy weather and a snowline of about 7,000 feet would make planning a hike much more difficult this time. I spent quite a bit of time Sunday night deciding what to do tomorrow. As it turned out, this would become a nightly ritual. I had two main goals on this trip: the Dawson-Pitamakan Loop in the Two Medicine area and the Highline Trail to the Grinnell Glacier overlook. Dawson-Pitamakan tops out at 8,000 feet, and there are knife-edges to traverse, so it looked like I would not be doing that one, at least until later in the week. The Highline Trail begins at Logan Pass and tops out at about 7,000 feet, so waiting a day or so might be good. I decided that I would do the Grinnell Glacier Trail at Many Glacier. I had hiked this trail the last time, and it was one of the best hikes I had ever taken. This 11-mile out-and-back trail tops out at about 6,500 feet.

Early Monday morning I headed to Many Glacier. The weather was generally gray and rainy, but there was a bit of blue sky, and the sunrise on the mountains as I headed into the valley was beautiful. That would be the last time I saw the sun that day. Although I prefer hiking in good weather, the gray clouds and snow gave everything a totally different feel than the last time, and it was beautiful in its own way. I never did see the top of the Garden Wall or the Gem, but the scenery along the trail was magnificent as usual with the snow on the mountains making them look more imposing. I looked for the huge wildflower patch I had seen last time, but it was too cold this year, and they were gone. The last quarter of the trail had some snow along the trail, and there was snow on the trail at the final approach. Upper Grinnell Lake was iced up, so I did not dip my feet in this time. On the return trip I saw a mountain goat close-up. I ate my lunch at the lower elevations near Lake Josephine.

After the hike, I took the Going-to-the-Sun Road across the park to Apgar. By then it was raining, but the wetness brought out the color in the rocks and trees. The snow on the mountains at Logan Pass was beautiful. The visibility across Lake McDonald was poor, but it was still pretty. I decided to return to the east side via US-2, which hugs the park boundary, so I could check out the view from there. There was nothing exciting, but at least it is a faster road the Going-to-the-Sun. I got a big kick out of driving on US-2 in the mountains, since US-2 is the same road that goes across the Upper Peninsula (UP) of Michigan. Once I returned to the St. Mary area, I headed for my favorite non-hiking spot: Two Sisters Café. I had my usual buffalo burger with a big onion on it. They did not have the home-made tortilla chips any more, but the Cajun-spiced fries were a very worthy successor.

I could see the tops of the mountains on Tuesday morning, so I decided that it would be a good day to take the Highline Trail to the Grinnell Glacier overlook, a 15.2-mile out-and-back hike. I did not know about that little side trail on my first visit, but as soon as I found out about it, I put it on my list for next time. I had seen Grinnell Glacier from glacier-level, and I absolutely had to see it from up on the Garden Wall. The Highline Trail sits high up the Garden Wall and in places is a thin shelf on the cliff. In other words, a great trail for views. As I walked along the trail, Heavens Peak and the Livingston Range came into view. As the sun rose, it touched the tips of the mountains with its light. It was one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. The trail was mostly clear, but once in a while I had to walk on some snow. This was a test of nerves in some spots, as a fall would have been very long indeed. In addition to the scenery, I saw bighorn sheep and mountain goats.

Eventually, Granite Park Chalet came into view. It reminded me of Switzerland, where they commonly have buildings in the mountains. Soon, I was at the trailhead for the Grinnell Glacier spur. It took me quite a while to hike the 0.6 miles to the overlook, both because of the altitude and because of the snow on the trail. The goal was absolutely worth the work. I could look down at Grinnell Glacier, the Salamander, and Upper Grinnell Lake. I could see the spot where I had been standing the day before. Someone who had hiked from the Chalet took my picture there, and then I ate my lunch. It really was too cold and windy to eat lunch there, but how often would I have a chance to eat in such a spot?

The return trip was interesting both for a bad reason and a good reason. The bad part is that my left knee started hurting on the way down from the overlook. My knee has never bothered me before, but the combination of my age and suddenly demanding that my body traipse up and down mountains was too much. I longed for the days when I was 30 and I could do anything I wanted to my body and its only protest would be sore muscles the next morning. Oh well, I’ll just have to open up my wallet and get some trekking poles. I continued the hike at a slower pace.

The exciting thing came later down the trail. There was a curve up ahead and some hikers coming towards me mentioned grizzly bears that were on the trail but had moved off. I put my senses on high alert and continued. I rounded the curve and saw…nothing. Of course I had to relay the news to the next hiker coming towards me, and as we were talking he spotted three grizzlies below the trail. I snapped a picture and moved on. As I explained to my fellow hiker, my policy around dangerous animals is take a quick shot and get the heck out of there. At least this one came out better than my blurry rattlesnake at Kings Canyon National Park. The rest of the hike was uneventful, and it started raining as I was approaching the parking lot. I got in my car and it started really raining. I did a little weather victory dance as best I could while strapped into the driver's seat and then headed to Two Sisters.

Tuesday evening was the time to plan for Wednesday’s hiking. This was the biggest planning challenge I have ever had. The weather showed no sign of getting better. I was at a mountain park, but I had to take a low trail because of the snow and a level trail because of my knee. I had several hiking guidebooks to help me, and I did indeed find such trails. This was the classic blessing in disguise. I ended up taking great trails that I would have ignored under better conditions.

Wednesday morning started gray again, but at least I could see the tops of the mountains. This would turn out to be the best weather day, with some actual blue sky scattered throughout the day. My first hike was to Grinnell Lake, a 6.8-mile out-and-back hike. I had seen Grinnell Lake several times from high above, but this time I would see it from lake level. I would also be able to see Grinnell Falls from below.

The trail begins in the parking lot of the Many Glacier Hotel and passes Swiftcurrent Lake and Lake Josephine before ending at Grinnell Lake. The trail was quite muddy, but also quite level. The weather may have made for bad hiking, but it made for great photographs. It doesn’t get much better than blue sky with wisps of clouds among the mountains. It was a beautiful hike. The exciting thing on the trail besides the spectacular scenery was the bridge crossing a small creek not too far from Grinnell Lake. It was made of wood planks and was suspended with rather thin steel cables. Every step sent the bridge violently bouncing. I’m scared of pretty much nothing, but crossing that bridge was something I was not looking forward to repeating on the return trip. After spending some time and having a snack at the lake, I returned to the trailhead. I had lunch at a picnic table at a nearby picnic area.

My next hike of the day was Beaver Pond, a 3.4-mile loop very near the St. Mary entrance. It was a nice enough hike through the woods and along St. Mary Lake, but not really Glacier-quality. After dinner at Two Sisters I hiked to St. Mary Falls, a 1.6-mile out-and-back hike. St. Mary Falls is my favorite in the park. On the way down, I saw a deer right on the trail, and ran into her again on the way back.

Thursday was a rainy day, and my hike would be the 7.2-mile Two Medicine Lake Loop. I headed towards Two Medicine hoping that the rain would stop. The rain and fog on the thin and winding SR-49 was quite enough excitement for the day. As I pulled into the parking lot at Two Medicine Lake, the rain had pretty much stopped. I started my hike in a clockwise direction. The trail was quite pleasant, with several clearings and ponds beside it for the first mile or so. At that point, it became a nice walk in the woods with an occasional glimpse of the lake. I could not see too many mountains with the low clouds, but once in a while I could see craggy peaks poking through the mist, much like an ancient Chinese painting. I had to cross another one of those shaky bridges, but this was a loop so I would not have to do it again.

It was on this trail that I found out what unpleasant hiking really is. At the far end of the loop, the views of the lake open up. There are blueberry or some such shrubs along the trail. Although it wasn’t raining at the time, the shrubs were wet, and before long my pants and boots were soaked. Soon, the only sound I heard was squish, squish, squish. Then it started raining. And it was cold. I switched to my Seattle Sombrero and put on my gloves. At the side trail to the boat dock, I sat down and wrung out my socks. On many hikes, once you reach the big scenic destination all that is left is the trudge back to the car. After the highlight of the beautiful lake view, there was a long cold and wet trudge. Complaining is fun, but seriously in all my years of hiking this was the first time I had to hike in such conditions. I consider myself lucky. My mother would say that it builds character.

I survived the hike and ate my lunch in my car. After lunch, I headed to Browning to check out the Museum of the Plains Indian. This was not the most impressive museum, but there was a display of formal and ceremonial clothing that was impressive indeed. Even more impressive was my dinner at Two Sisters.

Friday was my last day, and I decided to stop at Waterton Lakes National Park on my way back to Calgary. There was a bit of sun in the morning, and this time I was able to see Chief Mountain, which was shrouded in fog on my previous visit. Although it was early September, the light, the trees, and the air all had a pleasant autumn feeling. It was a nice drive to the border crossing. Once at Waterton, I drove the Akimina Parkway to Cameron Lake and hiked the 2.2-mile out-and-back Cameron Lake Trail. The weather was not so nice any more. I ate my lunch at the end of the trail. Then I drove the Red Rock Parkway with the intention of seeing Blakiston Falls. It started raining, and this time I had had enough. I turned around and headed to Calgary.

Though there is a bit of complaining in this post, I certainly enjoyed my visit. In fact, this visit cemented Glacier in place as my favorite National Park. There is often great beauty in bad weather. Also, I was able to see Glacier under totally different conditions than in my previous trip. Snow makes mountains more imposing. Wetness brings out color. Gray skies completely change the feel of a place. Given the choice, I would have asked for warm sunny weather, but I have now been privileged to see different faces of Glacier National Park. Its awesome beauty shines through in any condition.

My visits: September 2007, September 2010

My New Favorite National Park

2010-09-12T23:44:00.007-05:00

For years, I've been hesitating when asked to name my favorite National Park. I usually name three: Yellowstone, Olympic, and Glacier. No longer. After my recent second trip to Glacier, I can now say that my favorite is Glacier National Park. It is without a doubt the greatest hiking park, but what really tips the scale is its sheer beauty. Spectacularly beautiful, breathtakingly beautiful, heartbreakingly beautiful; I'm not sure we really have a strong enough adjective. The weather pretty much sucked the whole time I was there; it didn't matter. The rain just brought out the colors and the snow tipped the mountains in white. My knee started bothering me, so I had to limit myself to fairly level trails (a real challenge in Glacier); it didn't matter. I took some beautiful trails that I would not otherwise have taken. There is simply no other US National Park like Glacier, and it is my new favorite. My next post will have detailed information about my recent trip. There are photos posted on Flickr.

Saguaro National Park

2010-08-11T14:34:00.003-05:00

Saguaro National Park in Arizona is divided into two districts separated by the city of Tucson. To the west is the Tucson Mountain District, which has a desert environment. To the east is the Rincon Mountain District, which has both desert and mountain environments complete with pine trees at the higher elevations.

Saguaro is one of my favorite national parks. It does not have the grand scenery of my other favorites, such as Glacier, but it certainly has its charms. There are several reasons why I like it so much. First, the saguaro cacti are just so darn cool. I had seen these for my whole life on TV, both in cartoons and live action, and it was a thrill to see them in person. They are truly impressive plants. Second, Saguaro was my first National Park, though it was a National Monument at the time, and there is always a certain fondness for your first. On top of that, my first visit was also the first time I had been in the desert. The desert is so different from the trees and water of my home state of Michigan, and it is utterly fascinating. Third, it never seems crowded. Finally, I have been there more times than any other National Park. (I have been to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore more.) I know the Tucson Mountain District quite well. This familiarity engenders a connection that I do not have with any other National Park. It seems like my own special place.

My visits to Saguaro National Park always include the Tucson Mountain District, so I will begin there. I usually take Speedway Boulevard from Tucson. Speedway eventually turns into Gates Pass Road, which twists and turns over the Tucson Mountains. That is why I like driving it. It ends at Kinney Road, which goes into the park. Starting roughly at Gates Pass, you are driving through Tucson Mountain Park, a Pima County park. Not too far before the Red Hills Visitor Center in Saguaro National Park is the entrance to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, an excellent combination of zoo, natural history museum, and botanical garden. It is definitely worth taking some time from your hiking itinerary to visit.

More or less across from the zoo entrance is the trailhead for the King Canyon Trail. I usually have to drive back and forth a few times before finding it. This is the start for my favorite hike in the park, to Wasson Peak. My usual route is to take the King Canyon Trail to the Hugh Norris Trail to the Wasson Peak spur and then back the way I came for a seven-mile round trip. Last time I tried something different. After rejoining the Hugh Norris Trail I continued to the Sendero Esperanza Trail and took that trail back to the King Canyon Trail for an eight-mile round trip. I do not recommend one route over the other – it depends on whether you want a loop or an out-and-back hike. No matter which way you choose, it is one of the easier mountain hikes I have taken, similar to Ryan Mountain at Joshua Tree National Park. The views from the trail and the top are great, and as an extra bonus you can see the Kitt Peak Observatory from the top.

Wasson Peak is my favorite hike at Saguaro National Park both because it is simply a good hike and also for personal reasons. The first time I visited Saguaro was in 1990, when I was in Tucson for a conference. Of course, I had to go see the saguaros. I saw them and was happy, but then I heard about the hike to the top of Wasson Peak. Wasson Peak is only 4687 ft (1428 m) high, so it was an extremely attractive destination. I found the trailhead and started walking up King Canyon. Even though I was an inexperienced hiker at the time, I soon realized that I was ill-prepared to do the hike. I had no hiking boots, no hat, and no water. Any hiker will tell you that the most difficult thing to do psychologically is to turn back before reaching your destination. What really helped me was imagining the headlines in the newspaper the next day: “Conventioneer found dead in Saguaro National Monument.” It would be especially bad since I was a scientist, a presumably smart person. I turned back. As you might expect, it bugged the heck out of me that I did not do the hike, but I managed to push it to the back of my mind and avoid therapy. In 1994 I was not able to do the hike because of time limitations, but in 1997 I finally made it to the top of Wasson Peak, wearing hiking boots, a hat, and carrying water (and probably a granola bar).

Moving our story back to Kinney Road, the first site that you can find without driving back and forth is the Red Hills Visitor Center, a nice new yet tasteful visitor center. I seem to recall that they opened it soon after receiving their promotion to a National Park in 1994. As usual, there is a short nature trail behind the building. Continuing west on Kinney Road gets you to the Desert Discovery Trail, a short nature trail. Next is the driving highlight of the Tucson Mountain District, the six-mile Bajada Loop Drive. The road is unpaved, but usually in pretty good condition. This is where you can get your saguaro cactus fix. Along the road is the short (0.4 mile) but good Valley View Overlook Trail. You walk across a wash and then up a hill to a nice view of the Avra Valley. Also along the scenic loop is the Signal Hill picnic area. A short trail from there leads up the hill to some Indian petroglyphs and a fine view of hills and saguaros. It is a view that you will often see in photographs.

The Rincon Mountain District is not as fun to drive to as the Tucson Mountain District, but once you are there it is just as fun. The Rincon Mountain Visitor Center is near the entrance. From there you can take the eight-mile Cactus Forest Drive. This drive is nicer than the Bajada Loop in that it is paved. Again, you can satisfy your saguaro cactus craving here. Off of the road is a short nature trail, the Desert Ecology Trail. Later, the side road to the Javelina Picnic Area leads to the Freeman Homestead Trail, a nice one-mile loop past a huge saguaro, through a wash, and past the site of an old house.

At the end of the side road is the trailhead for the Tanque Verde Ridge Trail. This is the big trail at Saguaro National Park, and it leads to an extensive network of trails in the Rincon Mountains. It climbs for 6.9 miles to the 7049-foot (2148 m) Tanque Verde Peak and then beyond to other trails to the even higher Mica Mountain and Rincon Peak. At these altitudes, you are no longer in the desert but rather pine forest. I’m sorry to say that I have not hiked in this area, but hiking to Tanque Verde Peak is on my list for the next time if I can tear myself away from all the other things to do in Tucson.

My visits: May 1990, October 1994, May 1997, June 2000, April 2002, December 2006

Shaping the System

2010-07-25T14:56:00.003-05:00

When I was writing my last post on Point Reyes National Seashore, I was thinking it may have been the first National Seashore, which would have been interesting to point out. To find the answer to this question, I consulted my copy of The National Parks: Shaping the System. It turns out that it was the second, two years after Cape Cod. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, which I mentioned in the post, was indeed the first National Lakeshore.

I love this little book. As you might expect from the title, it is devoted to telling us when each park was added to the system, both in narrative and tabular form. It is interesting reading for a National Park buff like me, and it is an excellent reference book. One especially interesting entry, on the back cover, is the history of the NPS arrowhead logo over the years. If you would like a copy of the book for yourself, you can order it from the US Government Bookstore for $12.50 or you can access a PDF version at the National Park Service web site.

Point Reyes National Seashore

2010-07-24T17:16:00.006-05:00

Point Reyes National Seashore in California is an hour or so north of the Golden Gate Bridge. We recently took a vacation to San Francisco, and naturally I scheduled some time for my second visit to Point Reyes. The park is on the opposite side of the San Andreas Fault from the rest of the state. This would not be surprising to anyone who has looked at a map of the park. Millions of years ago it was by Los Angeles, and millions of years from now it will be in Alaska. Luckily for me, right now it is in Marin County.

Point Reyes National Seashore reminds me quite a bit of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan. They are both on huge bodies of water (the Pacific Ocean and Lake Superior), they both have cliffs that tower high above the water, they both have lighthouses, and they both have secluded beaches nestled between cliffs. The main difference is the plant life. Point Reyes is largely grassland and Pictured Rocks is largely forest. Also, there are large hills around Point Reyes, something you won’t find too much of in Michigan.

On my first visit in 1993, I only had a half day in the park. First I checked out the Bear Valley Visitor Center and walked the short Earthquake Trail. There is a fence along the trail that was split into two sections 16' apart by the 1906 earthquake. The Point Reyes Lighthouse is a well-known landmark, so I made that my prime destination of the day. The location of the lighthouse is unusual in that you have to descend about 300 steps to get to it, presumably so it can be right at the edge of the cliff. The parking lot is some distance from the lighthouse, and you have to walk along the road to get there. Along the road are several trees that I assume to be cypress. As is usual for this part of the state, it was foggy that day. I got a nice photo of the trees and fog, which later won a local photography award. I named the photo “The End of the World,” because that is what it really looked like. Interestingly, the fog cleared as I was at the lighthouse, and the trees just did not look the same on the way back. After checking out the North Beach, I drove to the Mount Vision lookout for a nice overview of the park and Pierce Ranch to check out the elk.

My recent visit was longer, with one full day (minus the drive from San Francisco) scheduled and the possibility of a second day. The second day was originally earmarked for visiting the John Muir National Historic Site in Martinez, but it turns out that it is closed on that day. So, the day became a contest between a second day at Point Reyes or a visit to Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. As you will see, the second day at Point Reyes won.

On the first day, we stopped at the Bear Valley Visitor Center and then stretched our legs on the Earthquake Trail. Then we drove up to Pierce Ranch to hike the Tomales Point Trail. The trail goes to the end of the point, which separates Tomales Bay from the Pacific Ocean. My wife did not want to hike the whole distance, so we decided to hike to the highest point for a 5-mile round trip. We think we did it, but it was hard to tell with the heavy fog. After finishing the hike and poking around the ranch, we went to nearby McClure's Beach. The trail through a canyon was beautiful, especially with flowers covering the canyon walls. At the end, the trail suddenly opened up to the ocean.

Next we visited the lighthouse. I was eagerly anticipating seeing the cypress trees again. They were still there. For kicks, I tried to duplicate my earlier photo from memory. I did a fairly good job with the composition, but the fog and light was just not the same. This one will not win any awards. On the way back up from the lighthouse I tried to walk up all 308 steps without stopping, but there was a section of ramp that was difficult and I had to stop to catch my breath. Maybe next time.

On the second day, we took the Bear Valley Trail from the visitor center to Arch Rock on the ocean. It was an 8-mile round-trip that was the easiest hike in the world. The trail was flat and wide and had no significant elevation changes until the very end. It was a nice walk through fields and forests and along little streams. The view at the end from atop Arch Rock was excellent, even with a touch of fog. I highly recommend this hike. For additional photographs, see my Flickr page.

My visits: June 1993, July 2010

Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

2010-07-07T14:42:00.021-05:00

Sequoia National Park and Kings Canyon National Park in California lie next to each other in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Though separate in name, they are administered as one park. They are about 150 miles from Yosemite National Park, the subject of my previous blog post, so I visited all three parks in the same trip. This was my best hiking trip by distance, with 72 total miles. Out of the three parks, Kings Canyon was my favorite. Yosemite has grander scenery, but the hikes in Kings Canyon were superb and the scenery is quite good. I spent two days in Kings Canyon with a day in Sequoia squeezed between them. My book, National Parks of the Sierra Nevada, available on Blurb, contains pictures from this trip. I have duplicated this book as a set of photographs on my Flickr page.

I arrived at Kings Canyon National Park early on Thursday morning, and the first thing I did was check out the General Grant Tree. This tree is the second largest tree on the planet. It’s big. After staring at the tree for a while, I continued on Highway 180 through Giant Sequoia National Monument and back into the park. The road ends at the appropriately named Roads End Permit Station. Before reaching the end, I stopped at some viewpoints and at Roaring River Falls. Several trails begin at the permit station. (Permits are not required for day hikes.) I took the trail that follows the South Fork of the Kings River past Mist Falls and Paradise Valley for a 13-mile round trip.

The trail had rugged and beautiful canyon and mountain views along a raging river. It was a great hike. Mist Falls was pretty, but the biggest excitement on the trail was just ahead. On the trail just past the waterfall, I saw my first rattlesnake in the wild. I excitedly grabbed my camera, but I did not really want to wait for him to pose for me. I snapped one blurry shot and then moved on quickly. As if this weren’t amazing enough, I saw something even more amazing further up the trail. I am a very good hiker, but I do my share of huffing and puffing in the mountains. I saw a group of high school girls on the trail who were not huffing and puffing, but rather running up the trail. Not only were they running, but they were singing while they were running. Did I mention that we were at 5,000 feet and going uphill? It is a cruel fact of life that there is always someone better than you. I felt better when I came across two huffing and puffing college boys with whom I was able to share my amazement.

I continued up the trail for a while until it reached Paradise Valley. The trail continues for many more miles, connecting with the John Muir/Pacific Crest Trail, but this was my destination. At this point the river was flat and smooth and there was plenty of flat space between it and the canyon walls. After enjoying the shade for a while, I started the return hike. My next stop was the Cedar Grove Lodge to check in and get dinner at the snack bar. After dinner, I walked 1.5 miles along the river and Zumwalt Meadow. The flat green meadow was a nice change from the rough gray canyon.

Friday was my day for Sequoia National Park. Of course, the first thing I did was visit the General Sherman Tree, the largest tree on Earth. It was quite impressive, and a real treat for a tree-hugger such as me. I combined this site with the Congress Trail and Crescent Meadow for a seven-mile hike. Along the Congress Trail are groups of trees with names such as the Senate Group and the House Group. I did not see a Windbag Group. Crescent Meadow has been hailed by John Muir as a “gem of the Sierras.” It is a nice, mile-long meadow among the giant trees. Many of the sequoias are old and gnarled, but across the meadow I spotted one nearly perfect tree. Near the meadow is a rather unusual sight: Tharp’s Log, which is a house made within a single fallen sequoia.

When I was done with this hike, I headed back up the road towards Grant Grove where I would be staying for the night. On the way, I stopped for a 3.5-mile round trip hike to the top of Little Baldy, one of the peaks along the road. There was an excellent mountain view from the top. Though I enjoyed my day at Sequoia, the park did not really thrill me. I might have a different view if I were a backpacker. After all, Sequoia NP is the home of Mount Whitney. Interestingly, you can't see Mount Whitney from the park without substantial hiking but you can see it from Lone Pine, near Manzanar National Historic Site, on the opposite side of the Sierras. Still, a visit is definitely worthwhile to see the General Sherman Tree, and it is a very short drive from Kings Canyon.

My last day was Saturday, and though I did not realize it at the time, I had saved the best for last. The Redwood Mountain Loop was a great walk in the woods, with the bonus of giant sequoia trees and a descent into a canyon with accompanying views. The trail starts high with the canyon and mountain views and then descends into the woods. There are several interesting hollow trees, including a fallen one through which the trail goes lengthwise. My favorite part of the hike was the lush forest where the trail crosses Redwood Creek. One thing that I love is a nice walk in the woods, and this trail does not disappoint. Though this was my favorite hike of the trip, there were two others that were very close: the Mist Falls/Paradise Valley hike in Kings Canyon National Park and the Lyell Canyon hike in Yosemite National Park. After completing the hike, I stopped at the Redwood Mountain Overlook and then returned to the Grant Grove Lodge to prepare for my return trip to San Francisco. I had only six parks left to complete visiting every National Park in the lower 48 states.

My visit: August 2006

Yosemite National Park

2010-07-06T17:29:00.023-05:00

By mid-2006, I had only nine parks left in my pursuit to visit every National Park in the lower 48 states. There were still two big-name parks left: Glacier and Yosemite, the latter being perhaps the biggest name of them all. It was time to go to Yosemite.

Yosemite National Park in California is in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, a mountain range much more impressive than one might think. People in the East such as me tend to think of the Rockies when they think of great mountains, but Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48, is in the Sierra Nevada. Many of Ansel Adams’ famous photographs were taken there. John Muir named his Sierra Club for them after spending much time “sauntering” among them. I first saw the Sierras rising over the Owens Valley on a visit to Manzanar National Historic Site in 2000, and I was quite surprised and impressed. Besides Yosemite, Kings Canyon National Park and Sequoia National Park are in the Sierra Nevada, and they will be the subject of my next blog entry. I have a book, National Parks of the Sierra Nevada, available on Blurb, which contains pictures from this trip. I have duplicated this book as a set of photographs on my Flickr page. Speaking of books, The Moon Handbook for Yosemite by Ann Marie Brown is an excellent guide book. She is also the author of my favorite hiking guide, Day-Hiking California's National Parks.

Yosemite National Park is impressive, but the thrill was toned down a bit for me because of the excessive hype the park receives. Even Yosemite cannot live up to its own hype. However, it was indeed a thrill to stand in front of Half Dome and El Capitan. They are, of course, immediately recognizable. The park is beautiful, and the rounded granite mountains and cliffs are unlike any I have seen before. I tend not to use the term breath-taking, but there is no other term to use when standing at Glacier Point looking down at the whole valley. Despite the hype, Yosemite is an impressive sight and a great National Park.

San Francisco, about 200 miles from the park, is the obvious place to fly into when visiting Yosemite. I arrived late in the day on a Saturday, so I drove to Oakdale, about halfway there, to shop for groceries and spend the night. On the first night of a hiking trip I stop to get food that requires no refrigeration so I can carry it in my daypack for lunch. Slim Jims, bagels, and granola bars are among my favorites, though for my next trip I may try pouches of tuna. I also get breakfast items that may or may not require refrigeration depending on the motel I am staying at.

On Sunday morning I continued to the Hetch Hetchy entrance of the park. I chose that entrance so I could get miscellaneous sightseeing out of the way before starting my serious hiking in the Tuolumne Meadows area. Hetch Hetchy Valley has been a lake since about 1923 when the O'Shaughnessy Dam was completed to supply water to San Francisco. They may take away my Sierra Club membership for saying so, but I liked the scenery and I think the loss of the valley was not such a great loss. An alpine lake, real or impoundment, is a beautiful site. There are plenty of before and after photos on the internet for you to decide for yourself. From the parking area, there is a trail that goes over the dam and then around the north side of the lake. I took this trail past Wampana Falls and back. I especially liked the view of Kolana Rock.

After hiking at Hetch Hetchy, I drove to the Tioga Road. My destination was Mono Lake on the other side of the mountains. I had wanted to see this ever since I purchased Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here many years ago. If you do not understand this reference you are too young, but please continue reading anyway. Of course, the journey was just as important as the destination, since the Tioga Road crosses Yosemite National Park. The first exciting thing I saw was Half Dome from Olmstead Point. It was recognizable as Half Dome, but it looked very different than the usual view from Yosemite Valley. This was my first “Wow, I’m in Yosemite” moment. My next stop was Tenaya Lake, where I stopped to eat lunch. Tuolumne Meadows was next, and eventually I left the park and headed to Mono Lake. I stopped for gas in Lee Vining and got totally ripped off. Gas was about $3/gallon at the time, but it was $4 there. Travelers, beware!

Mono Lake was just as cool as I expected. I’ve never seen anything else quite like all the tufa formations sticking out of the lake. After poking around there for a while, I returned to the Tioga Road and headed back through the park to Yosemite Valley, where I was staying at Yosemite Lodge. I would have preferred to stay closer to Tuolumne Meadows where most of my hiking would be, but accommodations are tough to get at Yosemite. I was lucky to get even that since I dawdled and made my reservations only ten months ahead of time. I stayed in one of the smaller buildings of the Lodge. The $170 room was decent, and it had a refrigerator. Yosemite Falls was easily visible from the grounds. Of course, I spent some time wandering around the valley to see Half Dome, El Capitan, and the other well-known features. My first view of El Capitan upon heading into the valley earlier in the day was somewhat amusing (at least to me). I was driving along the road taking in the beauty of my surroundings when suddenly there was a huge wall of rock more or less in front of me. “What the heck?” I then realized that it was El Capitan, and I was too close to see the top. It was much bigger than I had expected.

Monday was my first day of real hiking, so I got up early to head to the Clouds Rest trailhead near Tenaya Lake. The drive from Yosemite Valley is rather long and takes over an hour. Clouds Rest is a peak further up Tenaya Canyon than Half Dome, which is more or less at the junction of the canyon and Yosemite Valley. Clouds Rest has what many hikers consider to be the best summit view in the park. I haven’t been to all of them, but I sure cannot disagree. Not too far into the hike, there was a beautiful mirror-like pond. It took me a while to pull myself away from it. As I hiked higher, I passed through both woods and open areas from which the view kept getting better. The final ascent is over step-like granite with drop-offs on both sides – totally cool. The view from the top is as advertised, and it is indeed spectacular.

After seeing the view from Clouds Rest, I made my final decision not to hike Half Dome. The view would be much the same, and I consider Half Dome to be a dangerous hike because of the combination of crowds and cables. After hiking back to the trailhead, I returned to Yosemite Valley to view El Capitan and Bridal Veil Falls, eat dinner, and relax. I ate dinner each night at the lodge food court. The food was good and value was excellent for a National Park, where they know they have a captive audience.

On Tuesday Morning I returned to the Tuolumne Meadows area to hike Lyell Canyon. The trail followed the Lyell Fork of the Tuolumne River. It was quite chilly that morning, and at the beginning of the trail steam was rising from a small creek and dew on the grass made it appear silver. I hiked approximately ten miles, round trip. I knew I would not be able to hike to the end of the canyon and back (24 miles) in my allotted time, so I would have to choose a turn-around point. It is difficult planning a hike like this, because the temptation is to keep going until I reach the end. Turning around is difficult, even if it is in the plan. I reluctantly turned back when I thought I had gone five miles. For the portion I hiked, I would call it more of a valley than a canyon, as it was relatively wide and flat.

This hike turned out to be my favorite in the park. I was in a beautiful valley with a beautiful clear river running through it. Being from Michigan, I am genetically programmed to love trees and water over rock. After completing my hike, I popped over to Tuolumne Meadows and walked to the top of Pothole Dome to get an overview of the meadow. Then I returned to Yosemite Valley for dinner and to spend more time among the famous sites. The highlight of the evening was stopping at Tunnel View. This is a superb spot to view the valley all the way down to Half Dome, and is one of the obligatory stops for photographers. Returning to the valley floor, I got a nice sunset view of Half Dome.

Wednesday was my final day in Yosemite. Since I would be leaving through the south entrance, I saved the Glacier Point area for today. My first stop was at the end of the road at Glacier Point. The view was spectacular, one of the best I have ever seen. I could see Yosemite Valley, Half Dome and Clouds Rest beyond it, Vernal and Nevada Falls, Yosemite Falls, El Capitan, and mountain scenery for miles around. My only regret on this trip is that I didn’t take the shuttle up to Glacier Point and then hike back down to Yosemite Valley. It would have been a spectacular hike. Oh well, I guess that’s what next time is for.

After taking in the scenery at Glacier Point, I started back. Washburn Point is about ¾ mile down the road, and the views are also very good, but not quite as all-encompassing. The view of Half Dome from there is rather unusual in that it looked very skinny. Next I hiked a 2-mile round trip to Taft Point and the Fissures. The Fissures, as you might guess from the name, are big cracks in the cliff near Taft Point. The view of El Capitan was very interesting. It has a much different shape from up there than it does from the valley floor. I also made the 2-mile round trip to the top of Sentinel Dome for a slightly different view. Finally, I took a short walk to McGurk Meadow for a change of pace.

It was now time to leave Yosemite. I passed through the south entrance and stopped later in Oakhurst for dinner and an overnight stay. I had dinner at El Cid, a Mexican restaurant that had the biggest flan I have ever seen. I almost couldn’t eat it after my huge and tasty dinner. The next morning it was time to head to Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks, the subject of my next posting.

My visit: August 2006

New National Park Book

2010-06-18T16:38:00.002-05:00

I recently finished reading a new book on the National Parks, Complete National Parks of the United States by Mel White, published by National Geographic. I have quite a library of National Park books, but this one was a fine addition. When they say complete they mean complete. Not only does it cover the National Parks, but the National Monuments, National Seashores, National Historic Sites, and so on (25 different classifications).

The book covers the history, purpose, features, and things to do and see at each park. The entries are well-written and detailed enough so you know what the park is like and whether you would want to go. Longer more detailed entries would not be a good idea, as the book is already 528 pages and printed on heavy paper. There are maps for all the National Parks, but unfortunately not for the other units. There are color photos throughout.

There are many books covering the National Parks in every possible level of detail, but finding a book about the other units in the system is not so easy. This book has it all and is well-written and well-designed. If you want one book on the National Parks, this would be the one. The list price is $40 (hardcover), but I got mine at Amazon for $26.40.

Channel Islands National Park

2010-04-20T10:49:00.006-05:00

Channel Islands National Park in California is yet another island park. I wish they had chosen another name. When I hear “Channel Islands” I think of Guernsey and Jersey, not Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa, San Miguel, and Santa Barbara. Oh well, they never consult me about these things.

We had one day to visit the park, and on a one-day trip it is possible to visit only one island. We chose Anacapa because the closest and smallest seemed to be a good choice for our first trip. It turned out to be an excellent choice. The boat leaves from Ventura, and once I got the song Ventura Highway out of my head, it was a great day for a boat ride. The big excitement of the trip was when we saw hundreds of dolphins and birds in a feeding frenzy at a spot where the dolphins had found some fish.

Anacapa Island is actually three islands, East, Middle, and West. The boat goes to East Anacapa Island, and there is a long flight of steps up from the dock. On this end of the island there is a lighthouse. The island is rather small, only a mile or so long and not very wide. The views are spectacular, as the island’s surface is several hundred feet above the surrounding ocean. There are huge swaths of beautiful wildflowers and many birds, seals, and sea lions. There is plenty of time to enjoy the scenery because the boat drops you off for about four hours, and hiking around the island takes a fraction of that time. At the west tip is Inspiration Point, from which there is an excellent view of Middle and West Anacapa Islands.

The different islands have different characteristics, and I would definitely like to return and try some of the others.

My visit: March 2005

The Return of the Sisteri

2010-04-17T17:44:00.010-05:00

In my previous post I was talking about how good The Barefoot Sisters: Southbound is. I have now finished reading their second book, The Barefoot Sisters: Walking Home. It chronicles their return trip from Georgia to Maine on the Appalachian National Scenic Trail after having completed the southbound journey in the first book. This is known as yo-yoing in AT parlance. It is a good read, but I did not enjoy it quite as much as the first book. Southbound seemed well balanced between the trail itself and the social aspects of hiking, such as meeting people and going to town to eat and sleep. Walking Home is skewed towards the social aspect. This is not necessarily bad, but I prefer the balance of the first book. I recommend Walking Home, but you will definitely want to read Southbound first. If only there were a third book...

The Barefoot Sisters

2010-04-12T23:16:00.009-05:00

The Appalachian Trail, officially the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, is a 2,175-mile hiking trail stretching from Maine to Georgia. It is the fantasy of many hikers to through-hike the entire trail. It usually remains a fantasy for two reasons. First, two thousand miles is not a distance to be trifled with. Second, most people have jobs and/or family responsibilities that do not allow them to take six or more months off to complete the hike. Luckily for us, many people who are able to do it write books about it. It is much easier, quicker, and cheaper to hike the trail from your La-Z-Boy. It also makes your wife much happier.

An outstanding example of such a book is The Barefoot Sisters: Southbound, by Lucy and Susan Letcher, a.k.a the Barefoot Sisters, a.k.a. Isis and jackrabbit. In this book, they hike from Mount Katahdin in Maine to Springer Mountain in Georgia in about eight months. They encounter weather ranging from bright sun to raging blizzards and emotions from joy to despondency. They meet interesting characters on and along the trail. They have good days and bad. Above all, they tell their story in a very well-written and interesting manner. The book switches between Isis' and jackrabbit's point of view in a continuous narrative. The best compliment I can give it is that it is the type of book that will make you long to hike the trail yourself.

To make matters even better, the last words of the book are "To be continued..." Yes folks, as they approached Georgia they decided to hike back to Maine when they finished, or yo-yo. The second book, The Barefoot Sisters: Walking Home is on its way to me even as I write this. I can't wait.

Dry Tortugas National Park

2010-04-11T22:57:00.007-05:00

Dry Tortugas National Park in Florida is another island park. It is in the Florida Keys, well past Key West, and consists of several islands and quite a bit of ocean. Fort Jefferson, a mid-19th century fort, takes up most of Garden Key. Appropriately, the former name of the park is Fort Jefferson National Monument. A visit to the fort makes a fine day trip from Key West. There are two ways to get there from Key West: boat or seaplane. The boat has the advantage of being cheaper, but the seaplane ride was well worth the extra money. It was much faster, and the view was great - we saw sharks and rays in the water and the approach to Fort Jefferson was magnificent. Also, it was cool being in a seaplane.

Fort Jefferson is unlike any other fort I've been to. Most forts in the Great Lakes area are either rebuilt, restored, or maintained. Fort Jefferson is something of a ruin. Some of the mortar is missing, large sections of brick are falling off the walls, and stalactites hang from the ceilings of the corridors. One of the best features of the fort is the multitude of arches, a favorite subject for photographs. Garden Key is not much bigger than the fort, so it seems as if the fort were rising right out of the ocean. There is an ocean view through all the openings, and the water is a sparkling blue.

There is quite a bit of wildlife at Dry Tortugas. The crystal-clear water contains both coral and fish. Snorkeling is popular there, but not really necessary - you can see a fair bit right from the moat wall. There are also tons of birds. Magnificent Frigatebirds circled the fort and gulls and other birds squawked on nearby Bush Key.

My visit: April 1999

Isle Royale National Park

2010-04-09T10:26:00.012-05:00

Only people who really want to go to Isle Royale National Park in Michigan go there. As an island in Lake Superior, it is one of the more isolated National Parks. It is often said that more people visit Yellowstone in a day than visit Isle Royale in a year. It takes quite a bit of time and money to get there, even if you are already in the area. For the boat ride and one night in the lodge, we spent $500. Moreover, if you do not want to hike, there is not much point in going. There is no single “must-see” sight in the park, but rather it is a place of quiet wilderness. Other than the lodge and a few facilities at Rock Harbor, the island consists of trees, rocks, water, moose, wolves, and backpacking trails. The Greenstone Trail, traversing the length of the island, is well-known among backpackers, and Isle Royale is something of a backpacker’s paradise. Backpackers, of course, do not have to worry about the cost of the lodge. Money and time aside, it is a thrill to take a boat across Lake Superior, the greatest of the Great Lakes. It is an even bigger thrill to be on a wilderness island in the lake.

The usual way to get to Isle Royale is by boat, though you can also take a seaplane. From Michigan, you can start in either Houghton or Copper Harbor. The trip from Copper Harbor to Rock Harbor on a commercial boat takes three and a half hours. The trip from Houghton on a park service boat is noticeably longer, though the drive is shorter. I like Copper Harbor and I really did not want to spend six hours in the boat each way, so the decision to leave from Copper Harbor was quite easy for me. Additionally, on the way there you pass by the Jampot, where monks sell muffins that must weigh five pounds each. On the subject of food, another attraction of Copper Harbor is the Harbor Haus Restaurant. You can also get to Isle Royale from Grand Portage, Minnesota. The trip is only about two and a half hours, but it goes to Windigo on the western tip of the island. If you want to get to Rock Harbor, you have to sail the length of the island, and the trip takes seven hours.

After arriving in Rock Harbor, orienting ourselves, and eating lunch, we started hiking the Tobin Harbor Trail to the Mount Franklin Trail, a ten-mile round trip. For a while, the hike was not so great. The trees on Isle Royale are not very good looking, and frankly, the trail was ugly. However, we came upon a pretty little beaver pond, which improved things considerably. All grumbling was dispelled upon reaching the top of Mount Franklin. It is perhaps the best view this side of Glacier National Park, and it opens up suddenly. We could see the island below us, Lake Superior beyond that, and then on the Ontario coast was the Sleeping Giant. The Sleeping Giant was a particular thrill for me, since I had seen the other side of it when I was up in Thunder Bay several years before. To top things off, we saw a moose standing offshore in Tobin Harbor on the way back.

The Rock Harbor Lodge is right on the edge of the water, and we could hear the water through our window as we went to sleep. The reflection of the moon on the water was beautiful. It is not the nicest lodge we have stayed in, but it probably has the best location. The next morning we hiked to Scovill Point, a five-mile round trip. It is the end of the spit that separates Rock Harbor and Tobin Harbor. This was a nice walk in the woods with good views of Lake Superior. Fresh dew covered many of the plants. The point itself is pretty much solid rock with very little soil. If you have ever been to the coast of Maine, you will feel right at home on Isle Royale. After a final lunch at the lodge, we took the boat back to Copper Harbor. As we approached the town, the anticipation mounted; the Harbor Haus staff traditionally does a can-can for the returning boat. Sure enough, they all ran out and danced for us - a fun way to return to civilization.

One last thing - Royale is pronounced as Royal, not Roy-AL.

My visit: August 2008

National Parks Magazine

2010-03-31T09:30:00.002-05:00

The latest issue of National Parks was especially interesting. There was a great article on a seasonal ranger, Doug Follett, who has been at Glacier National Park for 50 years. There was also an article on the new "America the Beautiful" quarter program. Although the quarters will not have only National Parks on them, they are by far the dominant subject. Another article talked about darkness and stargazing in the National Parks. I was amused by the city person who thought the Milky Way was a cloud, though I can understand her confusion. I was amazed the first time I saw it. Another article is about George Wright, a park biologist whom most of us first got to know through Ken Burns' recent documentary. Of course, there is much more in the magazine, but these are some of the highlights. You can get the magazine by joining the National Parks Conservation Association.

Crater Lake National Park

2010-03-30T22:53:00.011-05:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Crater Lake National Park in Oregon contains astounding scenery - the kind that nearly knocks you over. I had been to the Pacific Northwest several times, but never got around to seeing Crater Lake. It was always a bit out of my way, and it was a one-trick pony. Of course, I had heard about how blue and beautiful the lake is, but I tend to be a skeptic. In 2004, I finally visited the park since we were traveling from Portland, Oregon to California on a trip that would also include Lassen Volcanic National Park and a repeat visit to Redwood National Park. I couldn't skip a National Park when I was that close to it. As it turned out, I was very glad I did not skip it this time.

Crater Lake is a mountain lake that rests in the collapsed volcanic cone of Mount Mazama in the Cascade Mountain Range. There is a road that runs around the lake, and entrance roads connect to it from the north, west, and south. We entered the park from the north and drove for a while. After driving for several not-so-scenic miles, we arrived at the Rim Road and started in a clockwise direction. We first saw the lake from the Grouse Hill pull-off. We were astounded. Guidebooks use words like heart-stopping and breath-taking, but nothing can prepare you for your first sight of Crater Lake. It really is as blue as people say. The pictures do not do it justice; this is one thing you really need to see for yourself.

We continued around the lake, looking at it from various angles. On the east side of the lake, a trail to the top of Mount Scott gives a nice view from high above the lake. There is also a road in the southeast that goes to the Pinnacles Overlook, but we did not take it. After our Mount Scott hike, we continued around the lake until we reached our starting point, then backtracked to leave from the south. It is possible to take a commercial boat out to Wizard Island, but I believe it is a sacrilege to put anything with a motor on such a beautiful clear lake. I would not have gone even if I had the time.

Though we only spent a day at Crater Lake, it is a day I will remember.

My visit: August 2004

Glacier National Park

2010-03-25T13:54:00.022-05:00

This blog entry is a bit different than the others in that I have prepared a companion set of photographs on Flickr. The photos illustrate this narrative.

Glacier National Park in Montana is one of my favorite National Parks. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the more I think about it, the more I like it, and one day I may simply call it my favorite. Several years ago, my uncle said with complete certainty that Glacier is the most beautiful National Park. I was a bit skeptical since I had seen many very beautiful parks, but I kept it in the back of my mind. Not long after I got to the park, I sent him a postcard agreeing completely with what he had said. One factor in my affinity for Glacier is that I went by myself. Glacier has the reputation for having grizzly bears, and my wife wanted no part of it. All in all, I prefer having my wife there to share the experience, but going solo allowed me to become one with the park. For several days it was just me and the park. This builds a strong connection that is hard to describe.

Glacier is not the easiest park to get to. Calgary is a logical place to fly into, but flying into Canada is ridiculously expensive. After considering various alternatives including Amtrak, I chose flying into Spokane as the best compromise between cost and convenience. Spokane is 300 miles from Glacier, a reasonable driving distance. There was the added bonus of being able to drive through Idaho, one of the few states I had not been in. (Idaho was my 44th state.) As a further bonus, I got to fly into and out of Seattle on the same trip. This is my favorite flight in the United States. Depending on the weather, you can see Mt. Rainier and several other volcanoes stretching all the way to Mt. Shasta in California. You want to be on the left side of the plane flying in and the right side flying out.

I got into Glacier National Park in early afternoon, and after taking the obligatory entrance sign shot I hiked the Apgar Lookout Trail, a 5.6 mile round trip. This trail leads up a hill with what I assume to be a fire lookout on top. From the lookout, I got my first view at the mountains and Lake McDonald. It was a great view that made me even more excited to be there than I already was. Signs of a fire from 2003 are clearly evident from the trail. That night I stayed at the Village Inn in Apgar. It is right on the shore of Lake McDonald, and I was already looking forward to taking sunrise pictures the next morning.

The next morning did indeed provide a beautiful sunrise, and it was hard to put the camera away to get going on today’s event: driving the Going-to-the-Sun Road to the other side of the park and stopping at points of interest on the way. It is often said that Going-to-the-Sun Road is the most beautiful drive in America. I haven’t been on every scenic drive in the country, but I would not argue with that designation. A few miles after Lake McDonald dropped out of sight I came to the trailhead for the Avalanche Lake Trail. It is a 4.6 mile round trip through the woods to the lake. The lake has very steep mountains behind it, and there are several streams of water cascading down. It was a pretty enough scene, but really didn’t do much for me. The hike through the forest was quite pleasant, though.

The next stop was Logan Pass. The main visitor center is there, as well as two trailheads. I saw some bighorn sheep near the road as I approached the pass. After checking out the visitor center and buying some books, I took the Hidden Lake Overlook Trail, which is a 3 mile round trip on a boardwalk. You can hike past the observation platform down to Hidden Lake, but I did not have time for that. As I was walking, it was hard to keep my eyes off of the moon setting over Clements Mountain. Another distraction was the mountain goat right next to the boardwalk. The view of Hidden Lake and the surrounding area was well worth the easy walk. The other trail that starts from Logan Pass is the Highline Trail, which goes along the Garden Wall cliff. I considered taking that trail during the trip, but did not. It seems that no matter how long the trip, there is always something that you don’t get around to. It is number one on my list for a return visit.

Further up the road, I stopped at the Jackson Glacier Overlook. My final stop for the day was at Sun Point on St. Mary Lake, where I walked 1.6 miles to see Baring Falls and Sunrift Gorge, which is very thin. That night, and for the rest of my visit, I stayed at St. Mary Lodge & Resort in the town of St. Mary. Most of my hiking would be on this side of the park. Many people eat at the Park Cafe, which is known for its pies, but I ate at Two Sisters Cafe, which is nine miles up the road in Babb. They have an excellent buffalo burger with home-made tortilla chips. Since I was by myself, I didn't hesitate to take the nice thick onion slice on the burger. I liked Two Sisters so much that I ate there every evening and even bought a T-shirt.

Well before I visited Glacier, I had heard of the Ptarmigan Tunnel. It always seemed so cool to me: a tunnel bored through the Ptarmigan Wall for hikers. The tunnel connects the Many Glacier area with the Belly River area. Don’t think that it makes the walk easy, though. There is plenty of elevation gain to get to the tunnel. Because of the Ptarmigan Tunnel and the other trails in the area, Many Glacier was my main destination in the park, and I would spend two days hiking there. Naturally, my first hike was to Ptarmigan Tunnel. Splitting off the trail at the 2.8 mile point is the trail to Iceberg Lake. I combined these two destinations into a 14.8 mile round trip, my personal record for most miles on a single hike. I don’t remember much about the trail because I was so intent on getting to the tunnel, but I remember the last part well. It was one of those trails where you can see your destination across a valley but know that you are really not that close to it. It was a big thrill to finally reach the tunnel. It is only 183 feet long, so it took only seconds to pop out the other side. There was a fantastic view of Elizabeth Lake and the Belly River Valley. It was one of the best places to eat lunch that I have ever seen, so that is what I did. The profile picture on this blog is me standing in front of Ptarmigan Tunnel.

After poking around a bit, I headed back and took the turn towards Iceberg Lake. This is the trail that I thought was most likely to have bears because there were many low shrubs along the trail. The bear sign at the beginning of the trail was also a hint. As I expected, though, I did not see any. I am not qualified to give bear advice, but I can say that I did not see any while I was at Glacier. The trail to Iceberg Lake is nice with many good views. The lake itself is pretty, but there were no icebergs at this time of year.

The next day I took the 11 mile round trip hike to Grinnell Glacier, which is also in the Many Glacier area. Little did I know that this would be one of the best hikes I have ever taken. The scenery is beautiful. Much of the trail is high up the mountainside, which gives fantastic views. Above all, the destination is a glacier. The early part of the hike is near Lake Josephine, and the scenery is beautiful as you would expect for a mountain valley.

The first glimpse of anything with “Grinnell” in the name is Grinnell Falls, which cascades over the cliff above Grinnell Lake. Above the falls, you can see where the glacier is, but it is not yet visible, though The Salamander is. Many years ago, Grinnell Glacier filled the cirque, but now The Salamander and the Gem are separate from the main glacier. As I continued on the trail, Grinnell Lake came next, and by the time I could see the lake, I was high above it. At one point in this area, I passed through a huge field of wildflowers on the mountainside. The noise of bees scurrying around was quite loud. After this, I ran into a family of four mountain goats on the trail. Every time I approached, they moved up the trail about 20 feet. Unfortunately, they did not seem to want to leave the trail. After several rounds of this, we finally reached an impasse. A loud shout of “Hey goat, hey goat, outta my way goat!” accompanied by hand clapping did the trick, and I was free to proceed unimpeded.

I continued approaching the glacier, and I finally arrived at Upper Grinnell Lake and Grinnell Glacier. Upper Grinnell Lake is the melt from the glacier and had little icebergs floating around in it. Of course, I had to stick my foot in to see how tough I was. I did pretty well. I did not approach Grinnell Glacier because it is too dangerous. I sat down next to the lake and had my lunch while admiring the beautiful scenery and the clear blue sky. The cliff opposite where I was sitting is the Garden Wall. As I mentioned earlier, there is a trail on the other side. From that trail, there is a spur trail that ends overlooking the glacier. That is the main reason I want to take the Highline Trail on my next trip. After completing the Grinnell Glacier hike, I drove down to the Two Medicine area to see Two Medicine Lake and Running Eagle Falls. After dinner, I took a 3.6 mile hike to see St. Mary and Virginia Falls, which are off of Going-to-the-Sun Road.

The next day I considered hiking the Dawson/Pitamakan loop in the Two Medicine area, but I had a blister on my heel so I decided to do something less painful – visit Waterton Lakes National Park, the other half of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. It is right across the border in Alberta. There is a rather unusually shaped mountain, Chief Mountain, on the way to Waterton, but I could not see it because of fog. When I got to the park, I drove to the end of the Akimana Parkway and hiked 2.2 miles round trip alongside Cameron Lake. The lake is quite pretty. The highlight of the day was the boat ride down the length of Upper Waterton Lake to Goat Haunt on the M.V. International. Boat rides are intrinsically fun, but a ride down a lake in the mountains is even better. Goat Haunt is in Glacier National Park, so I crossed the border in the boat. The border was interesting in that there was a straight line chopped down through the forest. There was no way to miss it. At Goat Haunt, we got to walk around for a while and then got back on the boat for the return trip. You can actually hike many miles to Going-to-the-Sun Road if you want to. If you want to hike past the ranger station, which doubles as a border crossing, you have to check in. After the boat ride, I drove to the end of the Red Rock Parkway and back. It was not memorable.

Before leaving the park, I stopped for gas at the Waterton Townsite. Suddenly a very strong wind came up. It was clear that some weather was coming in. As I left the park, I saw something quite unusual. There was a three layer effect: ground, air, and a perfectly straight cloud layer. The return trip to St. Mary was cloudy and rainy, so I still didn’t get to see Chief Mountain.

On my final day, I drove back over Going-to-the-Sun Road to head back to Spokane. The scenery was beautiful, and I found that I actually had tears in my eyes as I was taking my final look at Glacier. Certainly I have been to National Parks before and wished that I didn’t have to leave, but tears were a bit excessive. Nevertheless, that is what happened. Before leaving the park, I made one last stop at Lake McDonald, and was treated to a beautiful cloudy gray-toned view.

In Spokane, I took some time to walk around the grounds of Expo '74 and then went to PF Chang’s to have one of my favorite meals, Kung Pao Chicken. This dish tastes nothing like Kung Pao Chicken, but it is the world’s second best chicken dish after Frankenmuth Chicken. The next morning I started my flight back home with great views of the Cascade volcanoes, and I got back home after enjoying a brilliant orange sunset from the plane. Soon after I got home, I started thinking about going back.

Be sure to check out the companion set of photographs on Flickr.

My visit: September 2007

North Cascades National Park

2010-03-22T12:30:00.012-05:00

North Cascades National Park in Washington is a difficult park to get to. If you look at a map of Washington, the North Cascades Highway (SR-20) seems to go right through the park. A closer inspection reveals that the park is actually divided into north and south units with Ross Lake National Recreation Area between them. The road goes through Ross Lake NRA. You can see mountains in the National Park from the road, but you are not actually in it. There are some trails from the road that lead into the park, but I was there before the hiking season started. Also, I only had one day at the end of a conference in Seattle.

Luckily, there is one way to drive into the park from SR-20. Just west of the park in the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, the Cascade River Road begins. It is a dirt road that more or less parallels the western border of the park until turning into it. That is where I entered North Cascades National Park. Because of the earliness in the season, I was worried that the road would not be open as far as the park, but it was closed about two miles from the end - well inside the National Park. The most exciting thing about this drive, however, was that I had my first complete bear sighting. By complete, I mean a full front view rather than a butt fleeing into the bushes.

Once I got the official business of setting foot in the National Park out of the way, we went back to the main road and drove through Ross Lake NRA and back. The scenery along the road is beautiful, with sharp snow-capped mountains and mountain lakes (actually impoundments). Unfortunately, I don't have much more to say about this park, since it was basically a drive-by visit.

What I would like to have done is enter the park from the south. Adjacent to North Cascades National Park on the south is Lake Chelan National Recreation Area. In the summer, you can take a boat up the long length of Lake Chelan and get a lodge room in the isolated settlement of Stehekin. From there you can take a shuttle bus up the road through Lake Chelan NRA and then hike into North Cascades National Park. I actually had this scheduled as part of a vacation in 2000, but I had to cancel because of forest fires in many of the areas I was going to visit. I still hope to do it some day.

My visit: June 2006

Preparing for a National Park Visit

2009-12-29T22:16:00.027-06:00

Before I go to a National Park I spend quite a bit of time preparing. I want to know what there is to see and do at the park and how much time I should allot to each park. As a general rule, one can never spend too much time in a National Park, but on vacation there are many things to see and I have to ration out the time. Even when I can spend several days at one park, there are always too many trails to hike, and I have to decide which ones to take. I have many reference sources, and here I will share the best ones with you. Some of the photos below are not the current edition, and I make no claims that all these books are still available.

NPS Web site

This is the obvious first source, and it's free. I used to have to mail away for brochures, but the web has eliminated that need. Now I can just go to www.nps.gov and find out all the general information I need. I consider this source to be an orientation to the park with the details to be filled in with other publications. The map is especially valuable. The best thing about this site is that one can find all the nearby NPS units by looking at the state maps.

Guide to the National Parks of the United States (National Geographic)

This is the best book for giving an overview of what to see at the park. It is written mainly from the viewpoint of someone driving through the park. Even an avid day hiker like me wants to stop and see the scenic highlights of the park. This book's strength is in telling you what you should see. It is fairly weak in talking about facilities and hiking.

The Complete Guide to the National Parks of the West (Fodor’s)

This book covers almost every aspect of a park visit with reasonable detail. It tells you what to see, where to hike, where to eat, and almost anything else you can think of. This plus the National Geographic book is a killer combination.

National Parks of the American West (Frommer’s)

This is quite similar to the Fodor's book in the information it contains, but where the Fodor's book pretty much gets down to business, this book has a longer, more narrative style. One nice feature is that there is a ranger's opinion on what to see for each park.

Day-Hiking California’s National Parks by Ann Marie Brown

I totally love this book. It is the best hiking book I own, but of course it is only good for California. Her hike descriptions are very good and she gives her opinion on which hikes to take. Each chapter has a list of all hikes, a list of the don't-miss day hikes, and the best hikes if you only have one day. I like a hiking book author who is not afraid to give her opinion on the hikes. As an added bonus, I have always found her opinions to be sound.

Hiking the National Parks (Falcon)

This is a series of books that includes many of the National Parks. The hike descriptions are quite detailed including data, but depending on the author can be a bit dry. Some authors rate the hikes, and some don't. These books tend to be complete, containing every trail in the park. They are mainly aimed at backpackers, though I find them useful for day hiking.

Best Easy Day Hikes (Falcon)

These books are often based on the larger book above, but as the title implies, they contain just the day hikes. The hikes are often ranked. I find these books to be quite useful, especially when you just need a short hike to fill up the rest of the day.

National Parks Guides (Frommer’s)

These books have much the same flavor as the big Frommer's book above, but they go into excruciating detail about one park. The hiking sections are particularly good because they describe only the most interesting hikes. I often find my hikes here and then look at the Falcon guide for more detail.

Moon Handbooks

What can I say? Moon books are the finest guide books available. In the last few years they have come out with guides for some individual National Parks, and they are excellent. They tell you everything in great detail, and they are so well written that you can just sit down and read them like a novel. If you buy one guidebook for your park, make it Moon.

AAA Tourbooks

These books are pretty much worthless for giving park information, but if you want to stay in a motel you need this book. I usually stay in a motel outside of the park, and I stay only in motels that are approved by AAA. Sometimes I want or have to stay in the park lodge, and these are often not in the AAA book. I have generally found them to be fine, though. Otherwise it's only AAA approved for me.

Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains National Parks

2009-12-29T17:55:00.028-06:00

Carlsbad Caverns National Park is in southeastern New Mexico, and just over the border in Texas is Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Since the parks are only about 50 miles apart, it makes sense to visit them both on the same trip, and I have done so twice. The Park Service agrees, as the two parks share one visitor’s guide. Let me sidetrack a bit here to say what I mean by visitor’s guide. When you go to a National Park, there are two publications of interest that you will receive when you pay your entrance fee. One is the park map, which is a very well-designed fold-out brochure with a map and information about the human and natural history of the park. The other is a visitor’s guide, or park newspaper, that has additional information. It has articles concerning the park, detailed information about the park’s facilities, more maps, and at least rudimentary hiking information. Even if you have prepared beforehand, it is of great benefit to read or at least skim these publications as soon as you can. Of course, you can get even more detailed information about hiking and other activities at the visitor center.

First Visit

My first visit to these parks was in 1994 as part of a huge two-week loop through Arizona and New Mexico, which included ten National Parks and Monuments. Guadalupe Mountains National Park was the first of the two. Something I still remember clearly was approaching the park from the west via US 180/62 and seeing El Capitan far in the distance. The land to the west is perfectly flat, so it made for an impressive sight. We stopped at the diner in Salt Flat for lunch before continuing to the park. One trouble with a big trip like this is that often there is not as much time in each site as I would like, and this was definitely true of Guadalupe Mountains National Park. We checked out the mountains from the road, walked the short Pinery Trail, visited the Frijole Ranch, and I hiked the 2.3 mile Smith Spring Trail. As the name implies, the destination is a spring. The hike is quite enjoyable, and it moves from desert to forest near the spring and then back to desert. This visit left me wanting to hike the Bowl and McKittrick Canyon.

The next stop was Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Everyone knows that at dusk thousands of bats come out of the cave, and I wanted to see them. At the time, there was an AAA-approved motel in Whites City, just outside the park. As we checked in, I asked when the bats would be coming out. The clerk said “Leave right now!” It takes twenty minutes or so to get to the cave entrance, where they have an amphitheater to view the bats. We got there with about ten minutes to spare. The bat flight was quite impressive. Although you could take photos back then, it is no longer allowed. The next morning we toured the cave.

The best part about Carlsbad Caverns is that you can go on a self-guided tour of the cave. In most caves, such as Mammoth Cave, you have to rush along to keep up with the group. Here you can take a much more relaxed stroll, and really enjoy the view. There are also some ranger-guided tours to rooms that are considered delicate. On this visit, we took the guided King’s Palace Tour and the self-guided Big Room Tour. The Big Room Tour can be approached in two ways. You can take the elevator down from the visitor center, or you can take the Natural Entrance route which joins up with the Big Room route at its beginning. On this trip, we took the elevator for the King’s Palace Tour and then went off on our own for the Big Room. By now I have been to several caves, including Mammoth, Wind, Jewel, and Lehman, and I would have to say that Carlsbad Caverns is the best. The Big Room is indeed big, and there are several beautiful and/or amazing formations everywhere you look. Furthermore, the importance of being able to set your own pace cannot be overestimated. After touring the cave, we drove the Walnut Canyon Desert Drive, which is a 9.5 mile auto nature drive.

Second Visit

My second trip to Guadalupe and Carlsbad Caverns was a bonus on my trip to Big Bend National Park earlier this year. It is impossible for me to go to a National Park without also visiting any other one nearby. (I also visited Fort Davis National Historic Site and Chamizal National Memorial on that trip.) Most importantly, though, I wanted to hike the Bowl and McKittrick Canyon. Thus, on this trip I allotted much more time for Guadalupe. On a rainy Sunday morning I arrived at the road to McKittrick Canyon, but the gate wasn’t open yet. This would be a perfect chance to stretch my legs on the relatively short (2.3 miles) Smith Spring Trail that I had hiked on my previous trip to the park. The hike was unlike any other desert hike I had taken because of the gray fog that was all around me. It was really weird seeing desert plants in this weather condition. After this hike, I drove to McKittrick Canyon for the 10.2 mile round trip to the Notch. The fog had lifted a bit, so I was able to see the scenery. The rain had intensified the colors of everything it touched, so the plants and other scenery were very beautiful. About halfway to the Notch, I stopped to check out the abandoned Pratt Lodge. The view of South McKittrick Canyon from the Notch was superb, and it was a great place for lunch. By this time, Guadalupe Mountains had cemented its place on my list of great National Parks.

The next day I hiked up to the Bowl in an 8.5 mile loop. I chose the counter-clockwise direction via the Frijole Trail, Bear Canyon Trail, Bowl Trail, and Tejas Trail. I chose this direction so I would hike the steepest part (Bear Canyon) uphill. I do not like to hike down steep trails. The hike was good, but the bowl itself was a bit disappointing. I was envisioning a rather large bowl filled with pine trees, but it was not so big and the trees were rather sparse. The view from Hunter's Peak, however, was quite good. From there I could easily see Guadalupe Peak, the highest point in Texas. (You can hike to the top if you want.) Even cooler, I could look down at the top of El Capitan, the landmark that you can see for miles.

My next day’s activity was to tour Carlsbad Caverns. I started at the natural entrance, the first person there for the day. There are many switchbacks as you descend into the ground. Finally, it levels off a bit as you actually enter the cave. The route is then downhill all the way until joining with the Big Room route. This time, I had a camera that could take pictures in the cave, so it was quite fun photographing the formations. When I got to the end of the trail, I decided to take it again with my camera in its bag. I highly recommend this strategy. Without your camera, you look at everything instead of hunting for something that would make a pretty picture. After lunch, I had the whole afternoon available, so I decided to go back to Guadalupe and enter it from the north this time. The entrance, accessed by back roads, is at Dog Canyon. As you enter the park, there is a little Texas sign. I don’t think it was big enough to even say “Welcome to Texas.” The terrain on this end of the park is much smoother than at the southern end. The Bush Mountain Trail starts here and the aforementioned Tejas Trail ends here. I took the Bush Mountain Trail to Manzanita Ridge and back, about 4 miles. After returning to my motel in Carlsbad (Whites City no longer having an AAA-approved motel), I prepared for the next day’s drive to Big Bend National Park. For more pictures of Carlsbad Caverns and Guadalupe Mountains, with captions, see my Flickr page.

My visits: October 1994 and May 2009

Everyone Wants to be a Ranger

2009-11-28T10:05:00.004-06:00

The latest issue of Backpacker is the Reader's Choice issue. It was nice to see that 44% of the readers said that being a ranger is their dream outdoor job. Several of the staff agreed. Some were even specific about which park they wanted to work for: NP of American Samoa, Yosemite NP, and Denali NP. Of course, this is also my dream job. I hadn't really thought about a specific place before, but I guess I would have to say Glacier NP, with Olympic NP and Pictured Rocks NL being my second and third choices.

Big Bend National Park

2009-11-04T22:16:00.025-06:00

Big Bend National Park in Texas is in the middle of nowhere. If you want to go to Big Bend, you have to go to Big Bend. It is not like “Oh I have to go to Denver; I think I’ll go to Rocky Mountain National Park while I’m there.” The closest real city to Big Bend is El Paso, a six-hour drive. Long drive or not, I only had two parks left to complete every National Park in the lower 48 states, so I was going. Plus, I have rarely been disappointed by a National Park. Big Bend sure did not disappoint. It was well worth the trip, especially because I combined it with repeat visits to Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas and Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico. I will talk about them in my next posting.

Big Bend National Park got its name from the big bend that the Rio Grande River takes there. As you will recall from your elementary school geography lessons, the Rio Grande separates the United States and Mexico. The river passes through three canyons at the edge of the park, with two of them being accessible by paved road. Santa Elena Canyon is spectacular, cutting through the face of a large cliff. The cleft is visible for miles. There is a trail that goes about a mile into the canyon until is stopped by the sheer cliffs. The hike is good. I did not hike into Boquillas Canyon, mainly because it was getting late when I was there. The trail goes along the river for a while, and the opening is not as obvious as Santa Elena. The most spectacular thing about that section of the park is the huge cliffs of the Sierra del Carmen in Mexico.

One of the things people used to love doing at the park is buying craft items from Mexicans living across the river in Boquillas del Carmen. The main items are painted walking sticks and wire scorpions. Crossing the border is now illegal there and any Mexicans found over here will be escorted to a town 100 miles away to cross back. Of course, this does not stop them from crossing over to sell things. In the Boquillas Canyon Overlook parking lot, there are several rocks with handcrafted items on them and a money jar next to them. It is a constant back-and-forth between the merchants trying to sell something before the rangers see it and the rangers confiscating what they see.

As nice as the canyons are, the highlight of the park is the Chisos Mountains. The mountains rise pretty much from the middle of the desert. They are roughly circular in layout with the Chisos Basin in the middle. The park lodge is in the basin, and there are some fine hiking trails starting there. A curvy paved road takes you up to the basin. One of the first things you see when you get up there is the Window. The Window is a notch in the mountains from which the basin drains. Of course, I had heard about the Window from my reading, but I was not prepared for the huge size of it. The Window View Trail is a short paved trail that is a great place for sunset pictures. There is also a hiking trail that leads to the Window itself, but I did not take it.

The morning after I arrived in the park, I took the long hike to the South Rim. This is a 12.6-mile round trip that I expected to be very good. It was. The coolest thing about it is that the trailhead is right by the lodge. Usually I have to drive to the trailhead, put on my boots and daypack, hike, and then drive back all grungy. At Big Bend, I put everything on in my room, hiked the trail, and then had an immediate shower at the end. If this is not luxury, then I don’t what is. You can take the loop either clockwise, starting with the Pinnacles Trail, or counter-clockwise, starting with the Laguna Meadows Trail. I chose the latter. For the first part of the trail, I had good views of the Window, and then I plunged into the forest. I could see mountains above me, but the trail is relatively level. The trail is far enough from the edge that I did not see much of the terrain below until I got closer to the South Rim. I would not exactly call Laguna Meadows a meadow, but there is some grass among the trees. The hike is quite pleasant. At about the 6-mile point I got to a sign that said “South Rim.” “What South Rim?” I said to myself. There was a short trail that headed uphill, so I took it. Wow! The desert spread out before me from high atop a cliff. It was one of the most spectacular vistas I have ever seen. It would have been better if the weather weren’t a bit on the rainy side, but still it was great. On a clear day, you should be able to see the Santa Elena Canyon and well into Mexico. After taking in the view and having a snack, I headed back on the Pinnacles Trail. It was a bit rougher than the Laguna Meadows Trail. I stopped to eat lunch on the steps up to Emory Peak. It was starting to rain by then, so I skipped the peak. After a while I got back to the trailhead and took that luxurious shower I was talking about earlier.

Later that day, I drove over to the Boquillas Canyon, and the next day I drove to Santa Elena Canyon via the Ross Maxwell Scenic Drive. There was a great view of the other side of the Window from the road. I made several stops on the way to and back from the Canyon. My first stop was the Upper Burro Mesa Pour-Off, a 3.6-mile hike that goes to the top of a dry waterfall. Just before the end, I had to climb down a fairly slick 12-foot drop and hope that I could get back up. Since you are reading this, you know that my boots had enough traction for the job. Next I took a 0.8-mile hike into Tuff Canyon. Tuff is a light volcanic breccia. After my hike in Santa Elena Canyon, I took the 1-mile Burro Mesa Pour-Off Trail. This trail ends at the bottom of the dry waterfall that I was at earlier in the day. Other sites along then road that I saw were the Sam Nail Ranch, the Homer Wilson Ranch, the Mule Ears Viewpoint, and the Sotol Vista Overlook.

The next day, I left the park to return to El Paso. I entered the park from the north, so I exited from the west to get a different view. Far-away Santa Elena Canyon dominated my view as I left the park, with the Window in my rear-view mirror. It was a beautiful end to a fantastic visit. I went to Big Bend chiefly because I needed to visit it to be one park closer to fulfilling my quest, but I left it wanting to come back. For more pictures, with captions, see my Flickr page.

My visit: May 2009

The Last Episode

2009-10-02T21:06:00.010-05:00

Tonight, The National Parks: America's Best Idea came to an end. It went out in blaze of glory as wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone National Park in 1995. This was the culmination of work by George Wright and his protege Adolph Murrie, Park Service biologists who realized that wildlife in its wild state was an integral part of the parks and that all animals, both cute and ferocious, belonged there.

Biscayne NP was the featured park in this episode, along with the Alaska parks. Between President Carter wielding the Antiquities Act and Congress declaring National Parks, 1978-80 saw a huge increase in National Park acreage. It was a thrill to see the map of Alaska go from containing just Mount McKinley National Park to containing eight National Parks and other huge areas of protected land.

The person who figured prominently in this episode is Stewart Udall, Secretary of the Interior to Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. His name is well known to conservationists and parks buffs. Under his watch, many parks were added to the system and George Hartzog was appointed as Park Service Director. The people highlight of the episode was when the various talking heads from the series told their own National Park stories.

Burning out on Burns

2009-10-02T07:30:00.005-05:00

Last night's episode of The National Parks: America's Best Idea was the least enjoyable so far. It was probably mostly because I was tired, but after 8 or 9 hours of the show, I think I am starting to get tired of watching it. Perhaps they should have spaced the episodes out a bit, say two or three episodes a week over a few weeks. Part of it was also Ken Burns' fault. In this episode he went off on a fairly long tangent, the only one in the series. My attention wavered and never really came back for the rest of the episode. This also illustrates Ken Burns' primary flaw: his style is very slow and interest in his shows requires deep interest in the material itself. I don't think anyone could watch a Ken Burns documentary about a subject in which they weren't especially interested.

Of course, there were several things in the episode which were interesting. The CCC, Roosevelt's best idea, was covered. We are still enjoying the results of their labor. One thing I was not aware of is that Franklin Roosevelt and his Secretary of the Interior, Harold Ickes, were very interested in National Parks and the best friends of the parks in Washington since Theodore Roosevelt. It was they who brought battlefields and memorials into the Park Service as well as adding several more parks.

The featured park was Everglades NP, which was the first National Park to be created for the purpose of preserving wildlife rather than scenery or history. This new attitude was largely due to George Wright, a Park Service biologist who studied wildlife in the parks and stressed its importance. He helped institute modern wildlife management techniques, specifically letting wildlife be wild rather than entertainment. Grand Teton NP was finally expanded to include Jackson Hole after Rockefeller issued an ultimatum. He had held the land for 15 years and was getting tired of waiting. He told the president to either accept the land donation or he would sell it. The ultimatum had the desired effect.

Tonight is the final episode, which will feature the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, the only decent thing to come out of Jimmy Carter's administration.

The Parks Become Popular

2009-10-01T12:35:00.003-05:00

Last night's episode of The National Parks: America's Best Idea largely focused on the increasing popularity of the National Parks. This was due to two factors: the rise of the automobile and Stephen Mather's realization that he must make the parks car-friendly to attract more people which would then encourage Congress to authorize more parks. Mather was a practical man. His PR man Robert Sterling Yard was an idealist and thought Mather was ruining the parks. He founded the National Parks Association (now the National Parks Conservation Association) and co-founded the Wilderness Society.

One of the highlight for me was following the Gehrtz family as they visited as many National Parks as they could. It reminded me of The War, where we followed certain soldiers through their experiences. The other highlight was the beginning of the National Park rangers, trained professionals who replaced inept political appointees. If I were a bit younger and didn't care much about salary, being a ranger would be my dream job.

The main parks in this episode were Grand Canyon and Great Smoky Mountains. The park service finally got rid of all private claims in the former and the latter was authorized and realized. Also in this episode, John Rockefeller Jr. began secretly buying up land in Jackson Hole for addition to Grand Teton NP. Tonight's episode should be interesting when the cattlemen find out. Also in tonight's episode will be the CCC, in my opinion Roosevelt's greatest idea.

The National Park Service is Formed

2009-09-29T21:28:00.010-05:00

In tonight's episode of The National Parks: America's Best Idea, Grand Canyon and Acadia are the featured parks. Many people had wanted the Grand Canyon to be a National Park for a long time, and it was finally designated as such in 1919, the same year as Acadia.

Acadia brings me to my gripe about this series. In the greater scheme of things it is only an annoyance, but nevertheless I don't like it. Burns repeatedly fails to give us fine historical detail such as the fact that Acadia's original name was Sieur de Monts National Monument. The show implies that it was Acadia National Monument. Likewise, he fails to mention that it was made a National Park under the name of Lafayette National Park, which was later changed to Acadia NP, though he is clear that there was some name other than Acadia at the time. I am also still irritated that he completely ignored the second National Park, Mackinac NP. To his credit, he did point out that Zion NP's original name was Mukuntuweap National Monument.

Putting my gripes aside, this was my favorite episode so far, as it focused on the birth of the National Park Service, my favorite government agency, and its first director, Stephen Mather. His assistant, Horace Albright, who succeeded him as director, also features prominently. I might point out here that Albright's book, The Birth of the National Park Service, is a great read. I had forgotten what an impediment Gifford Pinchot, the head of the Forest Service, was. Burns makes sure to point this out in tonight's and last night's episodes. It is always fun to have a bad guy around, especially when we know things turned out fine in the end.

We are halfway done with the series now, and I am convinced that it is the television event of the century, just as I had assumed it would be. Ken Burns rules!

The Excitement Builds

2009-09-28T22:45:00.009-05:00

Tonight's episode of The National Parks: America's Best Idea centered on our greatest conservation president, Theodore Roosevelt. The highlight was when Congress passed the Antiquities Act and Roosevelt seized upon it to declare several National Monuments. This act was largely the work of Iowa Congressman John Lacey, of whom I was previously not aware. He was quite important in the early protection of the National Parks, and I have now added him to my list of National Park heroes. The sad part of the episode was John Muir's loss in the fight to prevent Hetch-Hetchy Valley from being flooded as a reservoir. I personally do not think this is such a tragedy, but Muir felt otherwise.

Tomorrow's episode should be even more exciting, as we get to the founding of the National Park Service and presumably quite a bit on Stephen Mather and Horace Albright.

Ken Burns Does Not Disappoint

2009-09-28T12:24:00.004-05:00

Last night, PBS showed the first episode of The National Parks: America's Best Idea. It was just as good as I had hoped for. It is not the show to watch if you just want to see pretty pictures of national parks. It is for someone who wants to know the history of the parks. I have a whole bookshelf of national park books, and I am very interested in the history. John Muir was prominently featured in this episode, as he will be in tonight's episode along with Theodore Roosevelt, our greatest conservation president. Yellowstone and Yosemite were the featured parks, and the episode ends with the total number of parks standing at four: Yellowstone, Yosemite, Sequoia, and General Grant (now part of Kings Canyon NP). I was disappointed that Burns did not mention Hot Springs Reservation (now Hot Springs NP), which pre-dated Yosemite by 30 years, or Mackinac National Park (now Mackinac Island State Park), which was the second national park after Yellowstone, as part of the early history. I suppose that they did not quite fit the narrative. In any project, you have to decide what to leave in and what to leave out. If you missed the first episode, you can catch it on the PBS web site.

Rocky Mountain National Park

2009-08-21T12:55:00.028-05:00

As promised, I will now begin posts concerning individual parks. I chose Rocky Mountain as my first park because someone at work is going there, and it seems an opportune time to give my opinion on the park.

Rocky Mountain National Park is in Colorado, fairly near Denver. Its main attraction, as you might guess, is the Rocky Mountains. The mountains are quite good there, and the Trail Ridge Road is at a high elevation, giving a spectacular view. Truthfully, though, I preferred the San Juan Skyway between Durango and Ouray in southwest Colorado. Two other items of special interest in the park are the large number of elk and the origin of the Colorado River. I went in September, so the weather was good and all trails and roads were open. It was a little weird when I was there because I drove to the park from Glenwood Springs on September 11, 2001. It was eerie driving on I-70 with all of the electronic signs saying that all airports are closed. I did what any good National Park enthusiast would do: I spent my time hiking and sightseeing, ignoring CNN until after dinner.

I entered from the west side of the park; most people enter from the east, the Denver side. The Kawuneeche Valley is on the west side of the park. This is the valley that the baby Colorado River runs through. I got the biggest kick out of standing by a small creek that would eventually be the river that carved the Grand Canyon. Also, the abandoned Never Summer Ranch is in the valley. Up the road a bit is the trail head for the Colorado River Trail. I took that hike to the abandoned Lulu City the next morning. It was a pleasant hike, and I still got a kick out of the river.

To get to the other side of the park, you take Trail Ridge Road with its spectacular views. The east side of the park has many of the interesting sites, including Longs Peak. There are several small lakes there, including Bear Lake (left). Also there are treeless areas called "parks" where the elk like to hang out. On that side of the park, Estes Park is a good place to stay if you do not want to camp. I recommend the Alpine Trail Ridge Inn as a no-nonsense place to stay.

On my third day, I was ready to take my big hike - Chasm Lake (8.4 miles round trip). I was tempted to hike to the top of Longs Peak, but I did not for two reasons: I did not want to get up before daybreak to start hiking in the dark, and I thought Chasm Lake would just be a better hike. It was indeed a good hike, and I recommend it. Chasm Lake is on the shoulder of Longs Peak, so the beginning of the trail is actually the same. The trail to the lake splits off after a while. The hike starts in the forest and gradually moves above treeline to tundra (above right). Good views abound. The only bad thing is that it is a constant uphill climb until the last half mile or so. At the end of the trail, you have to climb some large rocks to view the lake. Longs Peak looms above the lake (left).

On this hike, I had a bit of an ego blow, but it turned out not to be serious. I am a strong hiker, and I was passing everyone like I usually do. When I was just about at the top, I saw another hiker catching up to me. "What? This can't be," I thought to myself. I was outraged at my obviously failing hiking ability. Then I noticed it was a ranger who was hiking up there to work. I later saw him digging. My ego was intact. It is no insult to be surpassed by someone who is used to the hike and the altitude.

So, in summary, Rocky Mountain is a fine park with great driving views, great hikes, especially Chasm Lake, and plenty of scenery. As an added bonus, there is a nice Indian Art shop, Eagle Plume's in Allenspark on the road near Longs Peak.

My visit: September 2001

My Park List

2009-08-06T22:22:00.011-05:00

A few posts ago, I was mentioning that I have now been to every National Park in the 48 contiguous states. Here is a list of those parks, in chronological order of my first visit. I have indicated if I made more than one visit to a park. I have also indicated by color the parks I visited in the same trip.

Saguaro (6)	AZ	1990
Mammoth Cave (4)	KY	1991
Yellowstone	WY	1991
Grand Teton	WY	1991
Shenandoah	VA	1992
Redwood (2)	CA	1993
Guadalupe Mountains (2)	TX	1994
Carlsbad Caverns (2)	NM	1994
Petrified Forest	AZ	1994
Grand Canyon (2)	AZ	1994
Olympic	WA	1996
Mount Rainier	WA	1996
Joshua Tree (2)	CA	1997
Great Basin	NV	1998
Zion	UT	1998
Bryce Canyon	UT	1998
Capitol Reef	UT	1998
Arches	UT	1998
Canyonlands	UT	1998
Mesa Verde	CO	1998
Everglades (2)	FL	1999
Dry Tortugas	FL	1999
Biscayne	FL	1999
Death Valley	CA	2000
Great Sand Dunes	CO	2001
Black Canyon of the Gunnison	CO	2001
Rocky Mountain	CO	2001
Cuyahoga Valley	OH	2004
Great Smoky Mountains	TN/NC	2004
Crater Lake	OR	2004
Lassen Volcanic	CA	2004
Channel Islands	CA	2005
Theodore Roosevelt	ND	2005
Badlands	SD	2005
Wind Cave	SD	2005
North Cascades	WA	2006
Acadia	ME	2006
Yosemite	CA	2006
Kings Canyon	CA	2006
Sequoia	CA	2006
Hot Springs	AR	2006
Congaree	SC	2007
Glacier (2)	MT	2007
Isle Royale	MI	2008
Big Bend	TX	2009
Voyageurs	MN	2009

My Favorite Organizations

2009-08-05T15:52:00.008-05:00

There are many nature and conservation organizations wanting our money. Many of them do very little real work and are actually in the business of whining about global warming or else being against everything and anything. There are, however, at least two organizations that do great work and earn every donation they get.

The first of these is the Student Conservation Association (SCA). In their own words, "SCA provides college and high school-aged members with hands-on conservation service opportunities in virtually every field imaginable, from tracking grizzlies through the Tetons to restoring desert ecosystems and teaching environmental education at Washington, D.C.’s Urban Tree House. We are truly building the next generation of conservation leaders." What this means in a practical sense is that SCA members do real work at National Parks and similar areas. The parks truly would not function as well without them. They supplement the staff, save our tax dollars, and learn something useful at the same time. One of my favorite pastimes at National Parks is chatting with rangers. Many of them say that they were in the SCA. Enough said. Get out your checkbook.

The second organization is the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA). They do political rather than physical labor, but that is no less important. Their mission is "to protect and enhance America's National Parks for present and future generations." More specifically:
"We advocate for the national parks and the National Park Service; we educate decision makers and the public about the importance of preserving the parks; we help to convince members of Congress to uphold the laws that protect the parks and to support new legislation to address threats to the parks; we fight attempts to weaken these laws in the courts; and we assess the health of the parks and park management to better inform our advocacy work." I have been donating to them for years. As an extra bonus, they have a great magazine, National Parks.

Quest Fulfilled

2009-08-02T17:08:00.019-05:00

I recently visited Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota. Voyageurs was my 46th US National Park. This is significant because there are 46 National Parks in the 48 contiguous states. I have now been to every National Park in the 48 contiguous states! This has been a quest of mine for several years. It has taken me eighteen years from my first visit to Mammoth Cave National Park in June 1991 to my visit to Voyageurs National Park in July 2009. In the future, I will see a handful of the remaining twelve National Parks and repeat several of my favorites. I will never be finished visiting National Parks and other units in the system, but now I can relax and know I have completed a worthwhile quest.

You may wonder why I will not be seeing the other twelve parks. The reason is simple: it is impractical. I doubt I will ever be in American Samoa or the American Virgin Islands. The two parks in Hawaii are quite doable, as are Denali and Glacier Bay in Alaska. Some of the Alaska parks are doable with a bit of work, but others require being flown in by a bush pilot and then having him come back for you. I am a day hiker, not a backpacker.

I will be writing individual posts about many of the National Parks. If you can't wait, there is a succinct version of what I think about each park on my home page.

More NPS Web Fun

2009-07-20T16:00:00.005-05:00

The main NPS web page is a barrel of fun, but they have several subsidiary and parallel pages that are almost as much fun.

The first one that comes to mind is the Harpers Ferry Center. Their web page states, "Since 1970, Harpers Ferry Center has created a variety of interpretive tools to assist NPS field interpreters. These tools include audiovisual programs, historic furnishings, museum exhibits, publications, and wayside exhibits. HFC also provides a variety of services including graphics research, interpretive planning, media contracting, artifact conservation, revision and reprinting of publications, and replacement of wayside exhibits." Yes folks, these are the people who make the beautiful folders that we get in each park in addition to other graphics and media. Very talented graphic artists, if you ask me. If I had more skill at graphic arts, that would be my dream job.

The Park Service has a rather extensive history web site. You could spend hours browsing around there. One of my favorite history pages is the NPS birthday page. It lists birthdays of National Park units in chronological order.

Another of my favorites is the park planning site. This site contains PDFs of the various park planning documents. The most interesting are the General Management Plans, which are park master plans, but there is something for everyone. It seems that whenever they want to do work in the park, there is a document. Close a trail? Document. Realign a road? Document. Improve radio communications? Document. Yes, the NPS is indeed a division of the US government. I poke a little fun at them, but even the most mundane document is interesting if it concerns your favorite park.

Saving the best for last, my favorite is The Morning Report. This really tells you what is going on at the parks and the Park Service. There is an Incidents section, which contains things such as tourists falling into the Grand Canyon, a Fire Management section, which contains lists and summaries of fires in the parks, an Operational Notes section, which contains bills and other Congressional activity, and a Parks and People section, which includes job listings and awards. It is fascinating reading for the National Park buff.

Fun with Web Addresses

2009-07-16T16:33:00.009-05:00

The web site for the National Park Service is, as you might expect, http://www.nps.gov. Each park has its own web page that can be accessed from there. Someone who visits the NPS web site as much has I do soon notices a pattern to the addresses for the individual parks. They are of the form http://www.nps.gov/xxxx. For a park with a one-word name, xxxx is the first four letters of the name. For a park with more than one word in the name, xxxx is the first two letters of the first word and the first two letters of the second word.

The address for Glacier National Park, for example, would thus be http://www.nps.gov/glac. Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore would be http://www.nps.gov/piro. With almost 400 units in the system, I would imagine that there are a few duplicates. I do not know the rule for that. I would assume that the National Park would have first priority, followed by National Monument, and so on in some hierarchy. But then what does xxxx become for the losing park? I also do not know the rule if the abbreviation is a naughty word.

It looks like I'll have something to do the next time I want to waste a little time. I suppose the answer is somewhere at the NPS web site, but that would be no fun.

Astounding Scenery

2009-07-14T12:03:00.000-05:00

In my last entry, I talked about my favorite National Parks. I considered each park as a whole in choosing the parks. There are many other park that don't make that list but do have some astounding scenery. By astounding, I mean astounding, not pretty or nice or anything else. I am talking about blow-me-away scenery. This posting is devoted to those parks. I do not offer any photos because they would simply not do justice to the scenery.

Number one on my list of astounding scenery is Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. Bryce Canyon is not really a canyon. It is the side of a plateau, a one-sided canyon if you will. It is not just a plain old side, though. The rock is in varying shades from white to yellow to brown, and fantastic shapes have been carved into that rock. Standing on the rim, you see these colors and shapes and a view that stretches forever. Astounding.

A close number two is Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. Crater Lake is a mountain lake that rests in the collapsed volcanic cone of Mount Mazama in the Cascade Mountain Range. For years I had heard that is was so blue, so pretty, blah, blah, blah. I usually don't believe anything that is hyped so much. I was so wrong. We entered the park from the north and took the road towards the rim road that circles the lake. At the Grouse Hill pull-off, I got my first view of the lake. I was amazed. It really is as blue as people say. The pictures do not do it justice. You need to go there and see it for yourself.

Next on the list is Yosemite National Park in California. Yosemite is the most over-hyped park on the face of the Earth. Because of this hype, I was not enjoying the park as much as I expected. No matter how beautiful, living up to this much hype is nearly impossible - nearly. On my last day there I was heading for the South entrance to continue on to Kings Canyon National Park. Naturally, I took this chance to drive to Glacier Point. Wow! I tend not to use the term breath-taking, but there is no other term to use when standing at Glacier Point looking down at the whole valley.

In fourth place is Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. Unless you live under a rock, you know what the Grand Canyon looks like. Everyone has seen it countless times on TV and movies. However, this does not prepare you for seeing it in person. Your eyes see in three dimensions, and more importantly have a 180 degree angle of vision, much more than a movie camera. The canyon is huge, and it completely fills your vision. Astounding!

No list is complete without an honorable mention. Having been to so many National Parks, I don't expect to be amazed any more. Thankfully, I can still be. On my recent trip to Big Bend National Park in Texas, I hiked to the South Rim of the Chisos Mountains. The Chisos Mountains rise pretty much from the middle of a desert, so you might expect the view from something called "The South Rim" to be pretty good. Pretty good indeed. Spectacular is more like it. I give this view an honorable mention because it is a notch less grand than the other views, and mainly because the effect was as much from surprise as it was from splendor. I hiked about seven miles without seeing much in the way of views, and then I came to a sign that said "South Rim." I didn't see any south rim, but there was a trail heading up a slight incline, presumably to the edge of the cliff. When I got to the top, a spectacular "top-of-the-world" view opened up. Definitely worth the trip.

My Favorites

2009-07-12T22:35:00.001-05:00

When I tell people how many National Parks I have visited, they usually ask, "Which one is your favorite?" This is a fair question, but it is not simple to answer for two reasons. First, there are three parks that are essentially tied for first. Second, there are two other parks that may actually be my favorite, but not for the usual reasons.

If forced to name my single favorite park, it would be Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming (with a bit of overlap into Montana and Idaho). Yellowstone was my first big famous national park (my third overall), and it has a larger variety of things to see than any other park. Yellowstone has geysers, mudpots, hot springs, lakes, mountains, canyons, rivers, waterfalls, trees, animals, and birds all in one place. Moreover, the thermal features, especially the geysers, are something one does not see in everyday life. They are awesome.

My second contender for favorite park, Olympic National Park in Washington, also has a great variety, and it is beautiful. It has three distinct environments: Rain forest, ocean beach, and mountain. Beach and mountain environments are not unique, but rarely are they seen in such close proximity. The temperate rain forest is something not seen in many other places. It is like an Eastern forest on steroids. Everything is greener and the green is everywhere. Olympic is where I first saw tides with my own eyes. I am not from near the ocean, so tides were always a rather theoretical thing for me. Seeing the same beach at low and high tide made me a believer.

Glacier National Park in Montana is known for beautiful mountain scenery. This would include the mountains themselves as well as lakes, rivers, forests, glaciers, and waterfalls. Going-to-the-Sun Road is often called the most beautiful drive in America. I do not argue with these descriptions, and Glacier is my third contender for favorite National Park. It does not have the variety of Yellowstone or Olympic, but for sheer beauty and majesty, it has no equal. I am also somewhat partial to this park because I did extensive day hiking there. The Grinnell Glacier trail is probably the finest hike I have ever taken. As time goes by, Glacier rises in my mind, and some day I may very well count that as my very favorite.

So, we have a virtual tie between Yellowstone , Olympic, and Glacier as my favorite National Park, but what about the other two that I mentioned? Saguaro National Park in Arizona is my favorite in a different sense. I have been there six times, more than any other National Park, and I know the Tucson Mountain District almost like the back of my hand. I love the saguaros, and I know this park so well that it seems like my own little park. I have a connection to it that I do not have with any other National Park. In this sense, it is my favorite.

I have this same sense of connection to Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore in Michigan, with the bonus that the park is quite beautiful. I have been there even more than Saguaro and know it even better, but it is not a National Park proper. If the question asks which is my favorite unit in the National Park System, then I can answer "Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore." PRNL has trees, rivers, lakes, secluded beaches, and waterfalls. Above all, however, it has Lake Superior, the greatest of the Great Lakes. The cliffs tower above the lake and the views are magnificent. The Chapel/Grand Portal Loop, which partially follows the top of the cliffs, is my favorite hike. The view of the cliffs from the commercial tour boat is also quite striking. Really, the only reason PRNL is not my favorite National Park is because it does not qualify in that category. If we ever have Pictured Rocks National Park, it will be my favorite.

.. and Lame-o Was His Name-o

2009-07-08T15:30:00.000-05:00

The vast majority of US National Parks are amazing spectacles of nature. Some of them, though, are amazing spectacles of lameness.

Number one on the lame list is Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Ohio, a relatively new addition. I don't know what Congress was thinking when they promoted this park all the way from a National Recreation Area to a National Park. Did someone owe someone a favor? There is nothing really wrong with the park if you compare it to a metropark, which is a large regional park in a metro area, usually run by the county. There is something very wrong if you compare it to a National Park. It should be stripped of its title and revert back to a National Recreation Area or it should be given away and made into a metropark for the Cleveland/Akron area.

Number two in lameness is Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas. I would have made this number one, but it has been a National Park for many years. In fact, it was a National Reservation before there was even a Yellowstone National Park or a National Park Service. The park is small and it has virtually no scenery. It is in the middle of a city. It has some fine historic buildings, and it should be converted into a National Historical Park.

Last on my lame list is Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. I hate to include this park, because it is a fine idea. The trouble is that there is virtually no petrified wood to see. Much of it was dynamited and carted off a hundred years ago. The Blue Mesa is pretty, but darn it, I wanted to see massive quantities of petrified wood. Having I-40 running through the park does not help, either. Perhaps this park should be demoted to a National Monument, but I do not feel strongly about that.

I can think of a few other parks that should have been kept at the National Monument level, but they are fine parks, not lame at all, and I don't begrudge them their higher status.

National Parks

2009-07-07T22:21:00.001-05:00

I am somewhat of an expert on US National Parks. I have been visiting them for about twenty years, and my count now stands at 45 (out of 58). When I say that I have visited 45 National Parks, I mean that I have actually spent time there. I am not a windshield tourist. There are always exceptions, of course. I have to admit that I spent very little time at Biscayne. The boat was out of service that day, and I spent just an hour or two at the visitor center and the waterfront. On the other hand, I spent a week at Yosemite, Kings Canyon, and Sequoia, hiking a total of 72 miles.

I plan on using this blog to comment on the parks themselves and related subjects. Stay tuned.