If you haven’t been to Many Glacier before I don’t know if I can take any statement with a hierarchy too seriously haven’t been to Alaska yet so I don’t want to say I have a definitive NP Mount Rushmore. 1. Glacier 2. Olympic(primarily the coast) 3. Yosemite 4. Yellowstone/Tetons but Jasper is the best park I have ever been to
1. Hiking up Rainer until we only saw snow and ice around is in street shoes and windbreakers at 9. 2. Hiking the Narrows at Zion. 3. Driving our 4x4 rental Jeep in Tetons with Dad at 11. 4. Teton Lodge where Gorbechav and Jim Baker met. 5. Mom yelling at the Asian tourist who got to close to a bull elk in Rocky Mountain in college. 6. Everglades with now wife who is not a nature person, she loved it. Bryce, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Muir Woods all were great memories too. Columbia Gorge should be a NP.
Doing a huge favor for a good friend this weekend and helping with the driving as he moves his family from the DFW area to San Jose, California. Thinking of making a stop mid-point for stretch and sanity in Arizona: anyone ever been to Petrified Forest/Painted Desert? It's right on our route so seems perfect for a 1-2 hour stop. Another option would be going 3 hours out of the way to Grand Canyon (south rim), but doing that just so his kids can look around for a few minutes seems like a waste and better saved for an actual vacation. Plus we'll be going through on Saturday so I imagine the crowds would be massive.
As long as the Kings/Sequoia backcountry continues to fly under the radar I will approve of any list. Getting a permit is already a challenge.
My wife and kids stopped at Petrified Forest on a trip where I had to fly back after we hit Phoenix to get back for work instead of driving East with them. My girls were 10 and 12 at the time and loved it. The NPS did a presentation on why the place exists and what happened to it geologically. With that said, the Grand Canyon is not three hours out of your way. If you are coming on I-40, you can stay at Williams, AZ and it’s a straight 50 mile shot to the South Rim. Williams has a cool Route 66 restored downtown and a lot of hotels.
I've done Petrified Forest. It's unique, but not a top tier park by any means. Right off the interstate you have some nice canyon vistas. Then the park road runs north to south. About 1/2 way, or somewhere in the middle, is the Blue Mesa Trail. I thought it was the best part of the park. It's a short trail with different colored rocks and soil. The better petrified trees are in the south of the park, there were two short loop trails from what I remember. You can definitely do the whole park quickly, but you might need more than 1 or 2 hours. It might take an hour to drive one end to the other. Just looking at the map I might get off the interstate at Holbrook and go to the south end first. That way you see the petrified trees first, and if you need to get back on the road you can just drive through the rest of the park. That said, everyone should see the Grand Canyon. I might opt for that just to give the kids the opportunity.
thanks. I was thinking maybe 90 minutes each way to drop the U-haul somewhere and pile combine into one vehicle, then wait time at the entrance plus driving to the rim.
The Subway from the bottom is up there with my favorite hikes I've done between the two times I've been to Zion. I have no idea how the reservation system is working at Zion this year, but The Subway is one that even historically had restrictions on how many people are permitted to access the trail in a given day.
I just got back from 10 days in Croatia and Montenegro. I went to a handful of their national parks and Plitvice in Croatia and Durmitor in Montenegro turned out to be two of most beautiful parks I have been to anywhere. Here are a few photos from Durmitor.
BayouMafia Slide Rock State Park (928) 282-3034 https://goo.gl/maps/Smz4UkFS3sWxXjHY6 https://azstateparks.com/slide-rock/
I loved it when I was a young youth. We lived in Prescott and drive up there a lot. Jerome is pretty cool too.
There is nothing between Williams and Tusayan. Williams is on I-40 and Tusayan is right outside the South Rim. There are hotels in Tusayan, but my guess is they are booked. It’s literally right outside the South Rim gate. The drive from Williams was not bad the last time we were there. The South Rim has a lot of parking if you get there early. Google is telling me 1:15 to go 60 miles from Williams to the South Rim, but I remember it shorter than that time.
amazing we almost went to Durmitor a few years ago but instead decided on Slovenia/Croatia rather than Montenegro/Croatia side note but the daughter of the woman who ran the airbnb we stayed at outside of Plitvice might be the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in person. No pic but it's a nice memory anyway
I had a trip planned last year for Slovenia, Northern Croatia and the Dolomites that got cancelled. When Croatia opened up to Americans before the rest of Europe I jumped on $600 plane tickets and went with Southern Croatia and Montenegro. Next summer I'm considering the Swiss, Austrian and Italian Alps depending on where I can get a flight deal, and adding in Bled and Istria. I would put Durmitor up there as one of the most beautiful places I have been. I would absolutely go again and spend more time in Montenegro. I only had three days there this time and could have easily done seven.
I’ve done the Coastal/North Croatia/Slovenia trip. That was beautiful. Postojna Caves, Dalmatian Coast, etc.
Passed on back country hiking due to difficulty in obtaining permits (lame). But got two nights at Gros Ventre campground outside grand Tetons. Need to find some day hikes now
Cascade Canyon is one of the best hikes I've done anywhere, I would highly recommend. Take the shuttle boat across Jenny Lake to save like two miles each way. Take the first boat of the day if you can, I think 7 a.m. I think its $5 compared to $20 and you get up into the canyon first and have it to yourself. The first part of the trail up to an overlook over Jenny Lake can get really busy. Once you get into the canyon the crowds thin and the views are amazing. Death Canyon is also a good one. It's harder than Cascade Canyon and the views are not as good, but still a really good hike. Leigh Lake and Taggart Lake are two good ones that are pretty easy, in the 3-4 mile range. They are both nice lakes with great mountain views behind them. More off the beaten path, but a nice hike that not many people do is Cascade Creek to Terraced Falls. It's off of the Ashton Flag Ranch road which is a dirt road that runs east/west between Yellowstone and Grand Teton NP. The hike actually goes into the very southern portion of Yellowstone. It follows a creek with a lot nice cascades until you get over the top of a pretty big very powerful waterfall.
I think we are gonna do paintbrush divide or lake solitude, both of which are in cascade canyon. as much as I’d like to take the boat, I see it starts at 7 am. I bet we’d be starting at like 5
I've heard and read great things about paintbrush divide. I haven't done it, but I thought it was more than a day hike. If you are interested in day hikes that long, look at getting into Alaska Basin from the Idaho side. The photos look amazing, I just wasn't able to make it work on my trip.
tspa so one more time regarding hiking the narrows in Zion, I definitely DO NOT need to rent those silly water proof shoes with the neoprene socks and bring a walking stick?
I've only done it the summer when it was 90+ degrees outside, and then there has been no need for those waterproof shoes. Both times I've done it I hiked in chacos, if you have something similar you will be fine. For full disclosure I pretty much exclusively hike in chacos, so that is what I'm used to. If it were cooler outside I could see the waterproof shoes being warranted. A trekking pole or stick would be helpful in the fast water sections. The water will be cold, but you aren't going to get hypothermia or anything.
Personally I go with trekking poles pretty much all the time. I have not done the narrows. I do water in trail runners and wool(ish) socks. As long as they fit properly you should be fine from a rub standpoint.
T-minus one month until our Grand Canyon rafting trip. I cant remember the last time I was this excited for a trip.
From what Ive read June July and August are the big water time with Sept Oct being lower but not as low as early spring.
Weather forecast looked awful so we had to put off Tetons until some other day. Went to Great Sand Dunes instead Spoiler
Also, I just read the trail write-up for left fork subway, bottom-up, tspa . That’s gonna be a no from me (for now…) If it were just me and friends, I’d give that shit a whirl. Since it’s me leading my wife and her twin sister… we’ll stick to the touristy shit, sadly.
Mid September My best man, on my wedding day, hit me with, "so you know with like 92% accuracy what your sister-in-law looks like naked then?"
The subway is one I haven't done, but I would love to try to get a permit the next time I'm there. I have a cousin who did it a few years ago and it was one of his favorite things on his road trip through the southwest.
I was the one who was suggesting the Subway earlier. I'm a pretty experienced hiker, but I didn't think it was all that difficult to navigate. There is one turn on the way back that people often miss, but that's really the only navigational issue. Otherwise it is a pretty tough hike because you're essentially hiking up and down a stream/river. You can either continuously cross over the water the entire time to stay dry or just say fuck it and hike in a shallow amount of water most of the way up/down. Higher water levels would obviously make hiking through the water more difficult. There is definitely some bouldering along the way, whether you hike up or around the water. Still, I highly suggest it. My fiancée hiked it along with me, and while it was difficult it's still one of her favorite hikes of all time too. If the ladies aren't very experienced hikers... then yeah, can't deny that you're probably gonna have a bad time along the way but it'll be one of those things everyone remembers fondly after it's all over.
Praying that these fires miss Sequoia. Need some luck here as they are just two miles away. Hope this national wonder is spared... https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/sequoia-national-park-closed-wildfire-threat/index.html For those who haven't visited, if we get lucky this year... you better speed up the plans to go. We lost over 10% of all Sequoias to fire last year and they may not be around much longer sadly.
Just got back from a 5 day trip to Arizona. Stayed in Munds Park, a little bit south of Flagstaff. We spent a couple of days in Sedona, a day at Lake Powell, and a day at the Grand Canyon. It was my first time going to Lake Powell - rented kayaks to paddle to the Lower Antelope Canyon and then hiked up the canyon as far as we could from there. I highly recommend that trip if you're ever in the area. The second to last day was the Grand Canyon day. Did South Kaibab to Phantom Ranch and back up Bright Angel all in the same day. Amazing hike, but probably the most exhausted I've been due to the canyon temps being over 110 degrees. Three days later and I'm legit still recovering. Awesome trip, but a little bit too much driving for my liking. We just wanted to maximize the amount of unique stuff we could see in the region and my fiancé had never been to the Grand Canyon.
Got to the South Rim around 9 AM this morning and only waited in traffic for about 10 minutes to get in. On the way out around 2 PM the traffic was backed wayyy the fuck up Grand Canyon is so spectacular. Heard so many different languages there today which was nice
Currently booking a trip to Acadia this May. Planning to do all the major hikes, check out the lighthouses, and probably do a whale watching tour. Is there anything else that I’m missing that is a “must-do” in the area?
We did a lobster boat tour up in Maine that was awesome, I think it left out of Portland, but I'm sure they have similar around
I can tell you one thing I won't ever do again at Acadia is sunrise on top of Cadillac Mountain. It's a mad house up there and not really an enjoyable experience with how crazy crowded it is.