Often, the reason the lesser-known parts of national parks are lesser-known is because they aren’t worth seeing. Or at least, they’re not as nice as the better-known parts. But that simply isn’t true of the northwest section of Mt. Rainier…
Canyon Ridge Trail – “Peak” into Canada
There are two really good things I can say about the Canyon Ridge Trail: 1) it wasn’t too terribly difficult, and 2) it gave a very different view than the other hikes around Mt. Baker (into the Canadian Cascades). Add…
Artist Ridge Trail – So Short, So Awesome Shuksan!
Artist Point, at the end of the Mount Baker Highway in northwestern Washington, is a very popular place (at least when it’s thawed out – which is about two to four months of the year). Cars drive in and out…
Heliotrope Divide and Coleman Glacier – Fantastic Views!
If you want a jaw-dropping view you don’t get most other places, try the Heliotrope Divide Trail on the side of Mount Baker in Washington. Seriously. The trail itself may not be that exciting (save for the four stream crossings),…
Ptarmigan Ridge – So Many Exclamation Points!
“Ptarmigan Ridge or bust.” That’s what he told me one beautiful morning a few days before we planned to leave on a trip. I stared at him in disbelief. Usually a quiet, easy-going guy (particularly when it comes to which…
The Chapin / Chiquita / Ypsilon Loop: 3 Summits, 8 Miles!
Ever since I read about the Mount Chapin, Mount Chiquita, Ypsilon Mountain loop trail in Rocky Mountain National Park in 2006, I’ve wanted to hike it. I had it all planned, too: We’d go in September, before the snow fell,…
Hiking Up Green Mountain in Black Canyon of the Gunnison
Ok, so Green Mountain in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park may not be the most spectacular trail in the state – or even in the park – but it does have some good points. First, it’s one of…
10 Best (and worst) Day Hikes in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument
I think I can safely say that Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is one of my favorite parks ever. There’s such a diversity of scenery (i.e., of different kinds of rock formations, badlands, etc.) and most parts aren’t extremely well-visited, so…
Looking Back at Family Hike Reviewing History
This week, I was going through some old files on my computer and ran across a document with some of my siblings’ compositions we’d written for school in the early 2000s. This document contained several reviews of parks we’d recently…
Flat Tops Hiking Around the Causeway: So Lovely!
Ah, the Flat Tops Wilderness Area! Where else in the US can you hike for miles across unspoiled, grassy flatlands, see pristine mountain lakes, look over cliffs that make your stomach flip, see Basque shepherds and their sheep, and have…