This is the final installment of a series of three reports about the Monarch Divide, a chain of mountains in Kings Canyon National Park.
Today we shall continue over a mountain pass, and delve into northern reaches of the Monarch Divide. We shall explore a wild canyon, and follow a spotty trail for miles, using a creek as a handrail to remain on track. The ultimate goal is an off-trail overlook, where we shall enjoy a splendid view of a deeper and more rugged canyon! Note that the wild conclusion of this trip is for expert hikers only. An altimeter is good to have, to safely explore this seldom-trod corner of the park.
To start with, we reshoulder our packs at Kennedy Pass. (For details on how to reach this pass, please refer to the previous issue of the California Explorer.) The trail down the north side is poorly maintained. Erosion gullies have
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The raucous call of Nucifraga columbiana is usually the loudest sound in Kennedy Canyon. Such birds can be counted as friends, too, if you do not mind their rowdy behavior.
A great campsite can be found at the 9450 ft. level. The site is sheltered by lodgepole pines, close to a cascade, and is situated just upstream of another scenic meadow. If a storm is brewing, this camp is ideal.
As you move north, the canyon floor becomes more wooded, and the path becomes intermittent. There are ducks, a few, but the established trail pretty much vanishes by the time you reach the outlet coming down from West Kennedy Lake (a dry run of cobbles in late season). But what do you care? For a travelling companion you have Kennedy Creek, which chuckles along merrily even in autumn of drought years. Just follow the creek as you like, veering away from the water to avoid willow thickets, and picking up remnants of trail every now and again. Trees often limit the long-range views, but it is impossible to get truly lost around
If you like, you can add to your hike by taking the Geraci trail east on its one mile journey back to where it branched off from the Woodrat trail. You have two other choices as well. If you have a well-socialized dog you may want to head straight down the hill into the off-leash area. For hikers, the best option is to take the Dick Bishop trail immediately to the right.
Keep looking for wildlife here. This is pristine territory and there is little human access to the Gorge from this point on, except via the creek and the rail-trail. The road across from us is a dead end that goes to some private cabins along the stream.
If you want to go to palo duro canyon for discovering different things either by car , by horse,by foot or by mountain bike , you should take something to drink and something to eat. Because after a long day
We also went through Jenkins, Wilson, Pine River, Backus, and Powers before we got to the small town of Hackensack were we stopped for a little break and fill up on gas. We keep going up 371 until we got to the intersection of 371 and 200, right next to the Northern Lights Casino, were we took a right going on 200. Going on 200, we went by Turtle Lake and kept on going past Leech Lake until we got to 84 going north. We took a left on 84 going north towards lake Winnibigoshish. We passed through Federal Dam were there was a lot of boaters docked and even more docking up to get in and out of Leech Lake. Still going north, we came to Bena at the intersection of 84 and 2. Going right at the intersection for about one to one and a half miles till we took a left on Winnie Dam Rd NE. On that road, there are many old redwood pines and also a lot of old white pines, there are also a bunch of logging caused by a bad wind storm that came though that knocked
The last time I was here, a juvenile bald eagle was flying above the trail as I arrived. Once I went to the creek, an adult bald eagle flew just beyond me straight north along the creek bank. Just south of us were three deer grazing in the stream.
We have left Fort Kearny and are followed on the south side of the Platte River and have now reached the California Crossing. We are going to cross the South Platte River so we can later follow the North Platte River. It is to shallow so we have to follow sandbars across the river, because of it being a wide river there is no
Some of the favorites for visitors include the Rim Trail and the Loop Trail. These trails encompass eight miles in length. During the trail, you can see views of Lake Powell, the Tower Butte, Antelope Canyon, the Glen Canyon Dam and Navajo Mountain. Make sure to bring your camera because you will want to remember these vistas for a lifetime. 10.
While following the regular California trail, the emigrants decided to take a "shorter" route suggested by a trail guide, Lansford Hastings. By all means, he assured them there was an easier passage through the Wasatch Mountains. With this in mind,
We started heading into the canyon, staying on the west side. The east side was covered with snow about knee high, with trees scattered within it. The west side was mostly open fields toward the bottom of the canyon, and clumps of trees starting about halfway up.
The first time I every experience the Wildcat Hills was during a difficult time in my life. My parents were going through a custody battle over my siblings and me. They were also both in the process of being remarried. So, when my step father brought us to the Wildcats to explore for the first time I realized how amazing our earth can be. Here in the county known for the Scotts Bluff National Monument, sits over 1,000 acres of land. It wasn’t just the sight at the top of the escarpment that took my breath away. It was the fact that whether you were at the bottom of the hills or the top, when the wind blew that’s all you can hear. It isn’t overwhelming, it is
Trail was complete, even as almost annual improvements were made in the form of bridges, cutoffs, ferries, and roads, which made the trip faster and safer. From various starting points in Iowa, Missouri, or Nebraska Territory, the routes converged along the lower Platte River Valley near Fort Kearny, Nebraska Territory and led to rich farmlands west of the Rocky Mountains.
The landscape is stark, but the beauty startling. The expanses seem to welcome, even beg you to explore. It’s a call you are unlikely to be able to resist (assuming it’s not scorchingly hot and you are not hungover from a big night in moments-away Las Vegas), nor is it one you should. In front of you is one of America’s grand spectacles, Red Rock Canyon.
I found myself five miles outside of Zion National Park in Utah early last summer. Pure energy coursed through my veins at 5:30am to hit the trail as I shook my dad awake. I fantasized of sitting on the top of the landing and looking down at the valley distant and peaceful below. The knife’s edge ridge stands nearly 1,500 feet above the valley, only accessible via miles of trail and dozens of switchbacks. Sandstone rock crawls up both sides and suddenly creates a narrow top, to which only the bravest travellers to this Mormon “place of peace” may tread.
I roll from the paved parking lot at Granite Bay off a high-and-dry boat ramp and out into the lake landscape – or make that sandscape. The tan shifting surface is vegetation-free and trailless, and I happily pick a route based on what interests me rather than on the quickest way to get to my destination, whatever that may be. I have half a day to burn and I figure I can get from Granite Bay to or past Beeks Bight, a tight cove with a few points and peninsulas between here and there.
“This dark line was the trail—the main trail. It led south 500 miles to the Chilcoot Pass, and salt water. It led north 75 miles to Dawson, and still farther on to the north a thousand miles to Nulato, and finally to St. Michael, on Bering Sea, a thousand miles and half a thousand more.”