In 1899 Mount Rainier became the nation’s 5th National Park, a well deserved designation for one of the most iconic mountains of North America. Soon afterwards, work began on a project to construct a trail that circumnavigated the spectacular 14,440 foot summit. Years later, after subsequent refinements and re-routes, the 93 mile Wonderland Trail was created. Now over 100 years old, the historic trail courses through high alpine meadows and...
At the far southern end of the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park is a valley called Salt Creek. The Salt Creek region is full of ancient ruins and petroglyphs unlike other areas of this National Park.
When a small storm moved into the Sierras mid-week, bringing wintry conditions to the mountains, we took the opportunity to head back to Death Valley National Park knowing that it would be unseasonably cool.
We love Bryce Canyon National Park. We just returned from four days of trail running and backpacking there and we were blown away by the beauty. Utah has no shortage of incredible desert scenery, the state has five National Parks to showcase it all. But through the years we had always set our sights on the other members of Utah’s “Big 5” (Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion are the...
Clearing weather allowed for a descent of the Pine Creek slot, one of the Zion classics.
The fall off-season wouldn’t be complete without a trip to the desert. I recently joined a group of friends on a trip to Zion National Park, a favorite spot in southwest Utah for some slot canyon adventures. If there’s one rule regarding slot canyons, it’s that they should always be avoided when the weather isn’t good. Flash floods can kill, and some slot canyons can collect rainwater from upstream basins...
The Waterpocket Fold of Capitol Reef might be best described as a bend in the earth's crust where subsequent erosion has exposed the underlying rock strata. Whereas the layers of desert rock are normally seen in a canyon wall stacked vertically, the layers of the Fold are tilted on their side and are eroded away to varying degrees. (more…)
We decided to check out Capitol Reef National Park last weekend. Like many people, we had long known of this National Park in south central Utah but had never spent any actual time there. One of its major attractions is the Waterpocket Fold, a 100 mile long exposed monocline
Through some of the narrows on the descent from the East Rim to Weeping Rock. We ran the Zion Traverse last week-- a linkup of existing trails across Zion National Park that measures about 48 miles and reportedly gains around 10,000 vertical feet. Christy and I are big fans of established courses such as the Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim (or roundtrip) and the Four Pass Loop, so it was time to...
"Remember: Hiking to the river and back in one day is dangerous and never recommended due to limited shade, extreme heat and a near 5,000 foot elevation change!" - from The Guide- Maps and Information for Grand Canyon National Park, issued to visitors upon arrival. Well they got the elevation part right, at least for the South Rim section of the day. But when we started down the Bright Angel...
We met in Aspen in 2000 and have been happily stuck in the rockies ever since, getting out in the mountains every day we can, in every season and by all means possible. Read More
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