Location: northeast of Montrose, Colorado
Date: August 18, 2011
The Painted Wall
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in western Colorado encompasses the most dramatic section of the Gunnison River's descent from the Rocky Mountains to its confluence with the Colorado River. The Black Canyon is a very narrow and steep canyon that the Gunnison River rapidly descends through. The canyon itself is as few as 40 feet wide at river level, while the Painted Wall, the highest sheer cliff in Colorado, rises 2,250 feet above the river.
Black Canyon
The park is most easily accessed from the south side of the canyon, but a few facilities are open on the north side during the summer. The South Rim road travels along the canyon rim for a few miles, leading to several viewpoints. There are few trails mileage-wise on the south side with most leading short distances to overlooks.
The lower section of Black Canyon
The canyon formed as the very hard rock of the surrounding area was uplifted and cut by fast-moving water. The river is one of the steepest in North America, losing on average 96 feet per mile in the park (compared to the Colorado River's 7.5 ft/mi in the Grand Canyon) and up to 250 feet per mile in sections. In 48 miles the Gunnison River loses more elevation than the Mississippi river does across its entire length.
Black Canyon
The plants and animals of the area are typical of those of the Colorado Plateau's pinyon-juniper woodlands. Downstream of the park, the canyon is protected in the Bureau of Land Management's Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area. Upstream is Curecanti National Recreation Area, where three dams form two small reservoirs and one large reservoir. Rock climbing and river running are popular activities in the park.
Distance: ~1.6 mi (2.6 km) round trip
Highest elevation: 1,058 ft (322 m)
Elevation gain: 958 ft (292 m)
Date: November 24, 2010
The Precipice is perhaps the best and most challenging trail in Acadia National Park. The trail ascends nearly 1000 feet up the vertical eastern face of Champlain Mountain. I did this hike on a chilly and windy November day when there only a couple other people in the park and none on this trail.
The trail begins at the Precipice trailhead on the Park Loop Road south of Bar Harbor. The trail begins gaining some elevation for a short distance until you reach the bottom of the cliff. Next comes the best part of the hike when you reach ladder rungs inserted into the granite of the cliff. You also have to walk along several narrow exposed cliff edges, only a few of which have railings, in order to reach each following set of ladders.
The views from this trail are fantastic and are well worth it. During my visit the prevailing winds were coming from the w…
Location: northwest of Brownville, Maine
Distance: 7.4 miles round trip
Elevation gain: 500 feet
Date: July 30, 2010
The Gulf Hagas is a gorge with 130 foot-high walls in Maine. Over a course of three miles through the gorge the West Branch Pleasant River drops 370 feet. To get to the gorge you have to first stop at Katahdin Iron Works State Park to the south near Silver Lake to obtain a permit before continuing on the well maintained dirt road to the trailhead.
The trialhead is at an elevation just under 700 feet, and after only about 0.2 mi from the trailhead you must wade across the West Branch Pleasant River. In this section the river is wide and calm, and in late July it wasn't much more than one foot deep at the most. After crossing the river the trail passes Pugwash Pond and then through the Hermitage, which is an stand of old-growth trees. The Hermitage includes eastern white pines that are up to 150 feet tall.
It is 0.9 mi from the river crossing until you cross Gulf Hag…
Location: Guadalupe Mountains National Park, far western Texas
Summit elevation: 8,751 ft (2,667 m)
Distance: 8.4 miles (13.5 km) round trip
Elevation gain: 2,950 ft (899 m)
Class: 1
Date: November 4-5, 2011
Guadalupe Peak at 8,751 feet is the highest point in Texas and located in Guadalupe Mountains National Park in far west Texas just south of the New Mexico border and about 100 miles east of El Paso. Guadalupe Peak sits at the southern edge of the Guadalupe Mountains, which is an exposed ancient limestone reef, which has led to the formation of the 116 known caves just to the north in Carlsbad Caverns National Park.
The Guadalupe Peak trail begins at the trailhead by the Pine Springs campground and steadily gains elevation for all 4.2 miles to the summit. Water is available at the trailhead, and it is important that you take at least one gallon per person per day with you from this point as there is no water along the trial. The park is in the Chihuahuan Desert, so conditions…
Location: Baku to Qabala, Azerbaijan
Date: May 30, 2014
On my last full day in Azerbaijan, I went on a day trip to Qabala in the north-central part of the country on the southern edge of the Caucasus Mountains. Qabala is the oldest city in the country, and today the city's economy is dependent on tourism.
The trip by bus took about three hours from Baku and began in the desert along the Caspian Sea before gradually climbing into the grasslands and eventually forests and mountains. After passing through the city of Shamakhi, the road narrowed and descended a winding route into a deep valley, across a mostly dry river, and back up the other side. We stopped for lunch at a place along another mostly dry river just outside the east side of Qabala.
After lunch we went to Nohur Lake, a scenic lake at the base of the mountains that had been overrun with kids celebrating their last day of school. By the time we reached Qabala, it was already late afternoon, so we didn't have time to v…
Distance: 4.8 miles (7.8 km) round trip
Summit elevation: 5,785 ft (1,763 m)
Elevation gain: ~1,500 ft (457 m)
Date: March 16, 2011
Angel's Landing in Zion National Park in southwest Utah is one of the most spectacular hikes in North America. The short trail ascends to the rock formation in the middle of Zion Canyon and has sections were the trail is only a few feet wide while there are 1,500 foot vertical drops on both sides.
The trail is accessed from the Grotto and follows the Virgin River for the first half mile before rapidly ascending into Refrigerator Canyon, which can have air temperatures ten degrees cooler than the surrounding area. At the upper end of the canyon begins the ascent to Scout Lookout through a series of 21 consecutive switchbacks known as Walter's Wiggles.
Scout Lookout can be safely accessed year round, although there will likely be ice on Walter's Wiggles in winter. From here to the summit of Angel's Landing it is very dangerous when snow…
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