Location: northwest Virginia
Dates: July 18 and August 7-8, 2009
North from Stony Man
Shenandoah National Park is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of northern Virginia. The park is long, narrow, and follows the ridge. Skyline Drive and the Appalachian Trail run at or near the top of the ridge for the length of the park. I visited the park twice in 2009 once on a short day trip on July 18, and the second time I stayed at the Loft Mountain Campground for a night.
Stony Man from an overlook to the north
Stony Man
Stony Man (elevation 4,011 ft) is the second highest mountain in the park and rises just to the south of Little Stony Man. It is one of the nicest mountains in the park, and I think the views from it are the best. The trail to the summit is about 0.9 mi (300 ft of gain) one way, and from the north it is about 1.1 mi (800 ft of gain) one way. The summit is just as you would expect: rock outcroppings with views to the south, west, and north.
The view from Little Stony Man
Little Stony Man
Little Stony Man is an outcropping just to the north of of Stony Man. It is not a separate summit, rather it is just on the sides of Stony Man at an elevation of about 3,550 feet. The shortest hike is from the trailhead just to the north along Skyline Drive, and it is only 0.5 mi one way with about 300 feet of elevation gain. The views from here to the west and north are good, but not as good as on Stony Man.
Hawksbill in the background
Hawksbill
Hawksbill (elevation 4,050 feet) is the highest point in Shenandoah National Park. The views from Hawksbill are generally to the northwest, and I do not think they are as good as from Stony Man, but they are good nevertheless. There are three potential routes to the summit: hikes from the southwest, south, and east. I hiked from the south on a trail that is about one mile long and gains 400 feet of elevation.
View from an overlook
Bearfence Mountain
The hike to Bearfence Mountain is a one mile loop with sections that are class 2 scrambles, which makes it a more fun and interesting hike than most in the park. Bearfence is located south of Big Meadows in the center of the park, and from the rocks there are 360-degree views.
Dark Hollow Falls
Dark Hollow Falls
In the Big Meadows area, Dark Hollow Falls is a 0.7 mi hike one way with about 600 feet of elevation change (down first). Dark Hollow Falls has a 70 foot drop and it is often combined with Rose River Falls (67 ft) as a loop hike.
View from an overlook
Lewis Falls
Also in the Big Meadows area, Lewis Falls is a two mile round trip hike with over 600 feet of elevation change (down first). The falls is 81 feet high, but you can only view the falls from their side near the top of the falls.
Big Meadows
Big Meadows
Big Meadows is a popular recreation area in the park centered around large grasslands on the top of the Blue Ridge. There is a campground, visitor center, lodge, and other facilities. There are several trails in the area, including to the two waterfalls above and throughout the meadows.
View from an overlook
Skyline Drive
There are many overlooks along the 105-mile length of Skyline Drive. The views from most of the overlooks are great, and it is difficult to choose one as the best. All of the parks facilities, including lodges, visitor centers, and campgrounds are along the drive. This is where most people also see black bears. I think I saw five bears one day, and all were along the road. The southern end of Skyline Drives continues south as the Blue Ridge Parkway for 469 miles.
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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