The Firehole Canyon Drive is a somewhat overlooked one-way scenic drive just south of Madison en route to more famous parts of Yellowstone, including Midway Geyser Basin and Old Faithful. So it’s on the way for anyone staying in West…
Day Hiking the Famous McAfee Knob
They say that McAfee Knob is the most-photographed point of the Appalachian Trail. Even thru-hikers stop to get their picture taken on the little point of rock that hangs over the edge of the cliff face – it’s almost a…
Explore Willow Springs Canyon
Willow Springs Canyon is a mostly-unknown scramble of a hike near the western border of Arches National Park. You’ll need 4×4 to get to the trailhead, but with high clearance, you can get close enough to the trailhead to walk…
Exploring Resurrection Canyon
In the way of explorable canyons, Resurrection Canyon near Big Water in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area is a stand-out. It’s not a slot – it’s rarely less than 20ft. wide – but it boasts a wild assortment of rock…
Big Balanced Rock in Arches
I don’t believe I’d ever hiked around the Balanced Rock in Arches National Park until my most recent visit to the park. I figured that you could see it from quite a few places – and these things usually look…
Spectacular Sierra Views from Piute Pass
Piute Pass was one of my favorite trails in the High Sierra. (A few of the other contenders were Saddlebag Lake (20 Lakes Basin), Kearsarge Pass, and San Joaquin Mountain.) The sheer beauty along the path up to the saddle…
118 Miles on the Pacific Coast, Mount Hood, and Mount Rainier!
Last time, I wrote about my adventures in the High Sierras of California. Here’s the rest of the trip – including volcanoes in the Cascade Range! From Yosemite, we drove north through Sacramento and Redding and up to McCloud Falls. …
Hiking to Elephant Arch
I sometimes imagine that it must be hard for explorers to come up with original names for the features they discover. How many Beacon Rocks, Twin Peaks, Old Baldies, Haystack Mountains, Sugarloaf Peaks, and Flat Top Mountains are there in…
Official off-trail Views from the Blue Forest Route
After the Wilderness Route, the Blue Forest Route was my favorite hike in Petrified Forest National Park during my visit last fall. The good news? It’s much shorter and much, much easier to follow than the Wilderness Route. So as…
Courthouse Wash to Forget-Me-Not Canyon
The hike from Courthouse Wash to Forget-Me-Not Canyon isn’t exactly a route I’d recommend. It’s filled with rock scrambles, delicate Leave No Trace areas (yes, you can do it; I’ll tell you how), zero official trails, sketchy slickrock, and a…