Category: Day Hikes (Page 11 of 13)

I’ve wanted to hike the Zion Narrows for a while, finally had my chance 🙂  DH and I ended up renting 5.10 Canyoneer boots for the hike, and glad we did, though we would have been fine in trail runners. The Zion shuttle dropped us off at the last stop down the valley, the Temple of Sinawava. There is a 1-mile paved path that ends at the point where you have to start hiking up the river itself.

Considering it had been over 110 degrees the day before, stepping into the water in a shaded canyon felt wonderful, and the temperature was perfect the entire day for us. Walking up the Narrows is like walking several miles over wet bowling balls, constantly crossing rocks and weaving from side to side of the canyon, sometimes walking on dry land depending on the water level, but mostly being in the water itself. It’s amazing being in this narrow canyon looking up at 800-foot walls to see a small crack of sunshine coming through from the top. Photos just can’t do it justice, it’s a must-see-in-person kind of thing.

We got as far as the Orderville Canyon fork and decided to go up that instead of continuing on the main Narrows canyon. Glad we did, it was smaller, much less crowded, and the perfect lunch spot on some big rocks near a log jam/waterfall.

One more hike I can now check off my bucket list….   one word of advice: GO!!!

We had a most incredible 2.5 days at Zion National Park… not enough time to see it all, but enough to make me very happy that I’ll be heading back for more exploring in October. When we flew into Vegas it was a balmy 113 degrees, which is quite a shock coming from somewhere were 75 is considered a nice hot day 🙂  We didn’t have much time that afternoon, so we took the short Weeping Rock trail to ease into the heat and take in some of the jaw-dropping views throughout the park. The Zion shuttle system is wonderful, so glad that it’s in place to keep the park unclogged from thousands of passenger vehicles and big RVs.

Weeping Rock is a little oasis up a short paved trail, and a perfect spot to get wet and refreshed in the heat, plus some pretty amazing views down into the Zion valley. The water constantly drips out of the rock face above, so plants have an easier time here with a continuous water supply.

Having been sick for almost 3 weeks, I was going to implode if I didn’t get out and hike, just something simple but beautiful to ease back into the swing of things.  Greenwater Lakes is the perfect spot for that!  Not too far up Hwy 410, several miles down a paved forest service road, is a little slice of heaven. The trail was fairly muddy, but to be expected after the rain we’ve had this past week. The river was flowing beautifully, and we did get rained on but, hey, that’s Western Washington State for you…

The bridges along this trail are beautiful. And we hit the blooming of the Calypso orchids at just the right time, they were showing off. Still hard to think that there are native terrestrial orchids that grow wild here in this climate – I look forward to seeing them every year.

After our wonderful night at Hoh River Valley and hiking back out 5.3 miles early that morning, we spent the night at the Kalaloch car campground. Quite a bit of difference in solitude with all the RVs and generators, but such a gorgeous place on the beach! We wandered Beach 3 at low tide, poked around in the rocks to see the tide pools, watched bald eagles flying, walked in the sand and enjoyed the sun and the incredible scenery.

Back to Kalaloch beach for the afternoon, where I walked some more on the beach. I couldn’t believe it wasn’t more crowded with the incredible warm, sunny weather. The trees along this section of the Washington Olympic coastline amaze me in how they can survive the brutal winter storms that come through here every year. These are some tough, tough creatures.

Spent that evening at our campsite watching a gorgeous sunset from the bluff, having a cold beer, and enjoying being mellow. Wonderful place, I’ve driven by before but never stayed. I’ll definitely be doing more time here in the future 🙂

Time to get “The Beast” backpack (Gregory Deva) out and start training for summer hiking. Fortunately, I get to condition on Mt. Peak in Enumclaw twice week while the kiddo is in class, which makes for a great conditioning hike. It’s 1000 feet to the top, and you can either take the steep trail up (1 mile/1000 feet), or the not-so-steep side up (1.5+ miles/1000 feet). Or, better yet, park one one side, go up to the top and down the other side, then turn around and back to the top and back down to the car. That gets you about 4.5+ miles with 2000 feet of elevation gain and 2000 feet of loss. The only problem is that you get some pretty strange looks when hauling a fully loaded backpack, while most people do this carrying a single water bottle, if that. Oh, well…

As John Muir, a brilliant man, said… “The mountains are calling, and I must go… “

After visiting the Hoh Rainforest, I stopped at Ruby Beach on the Olympic Peninsula on the way home and spent a while wandering around enjoying the incredible weather and looking at the tide pools. What a beautiful place, especially when the sun is shining and the tide is out …

I decided, coming home from Hood River this weekend, that after driving past Multnomah Falls dozens and dozens of times over the years, I’d better get up to the top at some point. I was early enough to avoid most of the weekend crowd on a beautiful day.

The trail is paved the whole way, except for the last 1/10th of a mile. It’s a series of switchbacks that take 1-1/4 mile to get up to 620 feet elevation to the top of the falls, and it reaffirmed my hatred of walking on pavement. But I did it anyway, and glad I did.

The lookout platform at the top is wonderful, literally built out over the drop-off of the top of Multnomah Falls, with the tiny little parking lot 620 feet below. There are some nice views of the Columbia River and the Gorge along the way too. I only saw a couple of people up top, but on my way down the hordes of tourists had arrived and were huffing and puffing their way to the top, so it was perfect timing for me to make my escape 🙂

The hike to Triple Falls in the Columbia River Gorge is a must if you like waterfall hunting. Begin at Horsetail Falls, right at the trailhead and a tourist stopping spot. From there it’s a short hike up to Oneonta Falls, where the trail takes you behind the falls – not often you get to see a waterfall from the reverse side. From here most tourists head back to their cars, but if you keep going, you’ll get to Triple Falls and a lot more solitude. Tori and I had a picnic lunch on a huge log out over the stream, just above Triple Falls, and then had fun scrambling up the riverbed on big boulders. This is a very rocky trail, watch your ankles 🙂

UPDATE: I’ve heard that beginning in 2022 permits will be required for some of these areas. Probably a good thing, since the last time I tried to hike there it was so crowded I literally felt like cowering in a corner.