More Hiking

I rated my top 10 favorite hikes, but I left a few out that could have been in there too, and I thought would mention them, mostly through pictures. 

The Appalachian trail at Roan Mountain is one of my favorite spots, especially since I don't have to hike very far to get the complete experience. Of course, the trail being the AT, I could hike as long as I want. Parking at Carver Gap is very difficult though, especially on weekends. June is a popular month there because the rhododendron are in full bloom. 

Roan Mountain in the Fall

The early autumn view from Roan Mountain

After a summer thunderstorm

 

Crossing the road very early in the morning.

Roan Mountain in the summertime.

I left my home in Charlotte at 5am to try to be there for the sunrise, but I was too late. 

Early Morning.

Reflections.

How many times have I been to Crowders Mountain? How many times did I compare trails to it? And yet, it did not make my top 10. 

On top of Crowders Mt. in the summer.

Crowders Mountain is a rock climber's favorite. 

In addition to many trails, there is a truck route to the top, where a cell tower resides. 

These stairs. I think there are 133 of them. Every time I went hiking there, someone was repeatedly going up and down the stairs. OR - they were going all the way down the mountain to the parking lot, and going back up the whole thing. 

Crowders in the wintertime is less crowded, but still popular. 

I also spent a day in Joshua Tree National Park once. It was only April, but it was already so damn hot. The wildflowers were pretty though:

And last, but certainly not least, the few hikes I got in with this little dude were awesome:

Brycen, at age 2. 

Hike Number 1 - My favorite

I am writing 10 posts about my 10 favorite hikes, here is more information.

Trail: Skyline Trail

Ranking: number 1

Where: Mt. Rainier National Park in Washington State

When: August 2007

Cost: I don’t remember having to pay. In fact, I feel like the park was “off season” that day. We didn’t see very many people. I don’t remember there being anyone in the office.

Who: My friends Jim and Nina, from hikes #10 and #7 and my friend Dave from hike #2.

The year was 2007. I had driven across country and stopped in Glacier National Park (you can read about the drive and Glacier here). After that, I headed west again. My friends Jim and Nina had moved to Tacoma, where Jim was stationed in the Army. My friend Dave had moved in with them, and it was great seeing everyone in one spot. Dave had taken me around Seattle, and on another day we all drove out to the ocean – which was not as nearby as one might think!

On my last day there, things were not looking really good for a hike at Rainier. My friends were sleeping in. It was (surprise!) raining then misty then raining then misty, all wrapped up in a cloud of fog. My throat was getting that raw feeling I get right before I get sick.

Jim asked me, what do you want to do today? I pouted, I wanted to go to Rainier. He said hmmmmm, want Quizno’s for lunch? As if any talk of Rainier was out of the question.

But after we all had lunch Jim said, “Karen wants to see Rainier, and I think we should all go.” Yay!! We piled into a car with our gear and off we went – in the pouring rain.

The cold, cold, cold pouring rain.

Have you ever had a day though, where everything just comes together? It stopped raining when we arrived at the trail head for Skyline trail, but we were completely fogged in. My friends hike faster than me uphill, and I couldn’t get warmed up enough to get going. We were hiking through snow fields. And dammit, the batteries in my camera were dying.

This was part of a bench near the trail.

 So you are probably wondering why is this my number one hike?

1 I was with good friends and we were all in good moods, having good conversation – the kind that caused deep belly laughs.

2    What happened on the way down – I think mother nature was looking out for us. Suddenly, and very quickly, the fog dissipated! It turned to little wisps of fog all around us, then dissapread completely. We could see down into the valley for miles. With that, and with the fields of wild flowers with drizzly water on them, Dave and I were in photography heaven. Of course I had to take my batteries out, shake them and cross my fingers I would get more life out of them, but it worked!! I have never been in a more beautiful spot in my life. Best hike ever.

    3. On the way home we stopped at a cabin shaped coffee house/restaurant. I hesitate to call it a full restaurant, because they mostly sold drinks, but there was food too. I ordered a hot carmel cider. I’m not sure what loveliness they put in there, but I was instantly cured of my sore throat.

    4. And to seal the deal:

   

The view from the car on the way home.

Hike 2 - Mount Marcy

I am writing 10 posts about my 10 favorite hikes, here is more information.

Trail: Mount Marcy

Ranking: number 2

Where: Adirondack Mountains, NY

When: July 2004

Cost: None

Who: My friend Dave and I

July 2004. I was 26 years old and had finally bought a cell phone. I was still waiting tables on the side. I had been a teacher for 2 years – or 4 if you count 2 years of daycare teaching, subbing and tutoring. So far my “grown up” vacations had consisted of 2 cruises and 2 drives across country. Up until this point the longest hike I had been on was probably exploring the trails in Ithaca, NY. “Ithaca is Gorges.” 

Yes I owned that tee at one time. I think I need it in a hoodie. 

Around this time I had discovered thru hiking, and I had fallen in love with reading trail journals. I had not quite discovered blogs though. I also liked the idea of going to the highest point of each state, although after reading about it I decided Denali and Rainier and probably 7 others were out. But I continued to research it, and thought – I could do New York’s highest peak! 

So with little experience and no real exercise regime at the time – I headed up north. My plan was to not only hike the hike, but take pictures of EVERYTHING to give others an idea of the experience.

This hike would become my first overnight backpacking hike, and strangely my last. I always intended to do more overnight hikes, but could never find anyone to go with me. Or their skill level was way more than mine. 

Back to my Mt. Marcy hike – my friend Dave was excited about tackling this mountain too, so we decided to give it a go together. We took off from his house in Binghamton, NY. My hometown. The first night we camped right outside our cars at the trailhead. In the morning, Dave and I hiked 2 miles on flat land with our sleeping bags, sleeping pads, tent, little stove thingy and meals in pouches – just add hot water. We set up camp at a little woodsy pond, and we took off – 7 miles uphill to the summit. Compared to regular hiking standards, we had a very late start.

Up, up, up we went. We hiked in what seemed to be an old creek bed. We passed volunteers doing trail maintenance. We stopped to take pictures – most of which I cannot find. I never did make a scrapbook about the WHOLE experience, even though I took pictures of everything from pinecones to the outdoor toilet.

Ooops, I forgot to warn you - more photos of other photos! 

I have an under the stairs closet and pushed all the way up to the low end is a HUGE tub, I am thinking I have a ton of long lost pictures in there! But since there are 203 things between the door and that tub, for now I can only give you more horrific pictures.

 Evenutally we started to pass people coming down the trail, they probably got up at 4am so they could see the sunrise from the summit. I was getting cranky and when these strangers cheered us on l only rolled my eyes. I think I lost 14 pounds just during the hike – my shorts started to fall down every 9 seconds. Later I was disappointed to find out from Dave that I supposedly complained the entire hike. I don't remember being it that bad!

We left the forest and our hike became a rocky one. We kept thinking – there is the summit! But then when we got there we could see no, the summit was still a while off. I think this happened 3 times. I love rock scrambling but I was getting tired, and my knees were starting to turn to Jello.

Dave and I at the tippy top of New York

 Finally we arrived at the real summit! I was hoping there would be a lemonade stand on top but no, just a handsome, rugged ranger with calves the size of watermelons. He probably ran to the top of this mountain 5 times a week. He took our picture and warned us a storm was coming.

I didn’t think being on the highest point in the state was a good idea during a thunderstorm, so I booked it down the mountain. By the time we reached tree level, we were soaked. I had to wonder what did the ranger dude do in the storm? Did he have a secret cabin up there on the mountain? 

Going down on slippery rocks was a hot mess, and I really wished I had invested in hiking poles. It was that hike that I discovered going down can be worse than going up.

DRENCHED!

We arrived back at camp in time to watch the sun go down over hazy skies. It was chilly there at night. We had forgot to bring cards but it didn’t matter, I was out by 9pm (and up at 5:15am much to my friend’s annoyance).

We hiked out very early. I was so sore I could barely bend at the knees. At the trailhead we said goodbye, I was going to meet my dad at a cottage on the St. Lawrence River and he was headed back home to Binghamton so he could wouldn't miss work.

Looking back it's surprising I made this hike number 2. But I am proud of my 18 mile hike. I learned a lot about what to take, what to NOT take and how to attach it to a backpack. I don't remember complaining that much, but was told I looked miserable the whole time (and complained non-stop). I thought I had actually controlled my whining! And trust me, Dave went on many more hikes with me after 2004. I saw him last summer, for the first time since 2011 - when we hiked at Joshua Tree. And he asked where our next big adventure would be. So I couldn't have been that bad!

I used to dream of backpacking the John Muir Trail in CA. Now I wish I could hike in to the cabins at LeConte Ledge in the Smokies (although I hear they are full for 2016 anyway). Couldn't I ride a horse in? A camel? There must be someway they get all that food to the kitchen up there!

Where would you backpack to, if given the chance?

Hike Number 3 - Delicate Arch

I am writing 10 posts about my 10 favorite hikes, here is more information.

Trail: Delicate Arch

Ranking: number 3

Where: Arches National Park

When: July 2005

Cost: At the time we used a $50 National Park Pass

Who: I was with a very good friend of mine, who at that time was also my roommate

During the summer of 2005, before I started grad school, I was very fortunate to spend a week hiking and or visiting 5 National Parks in Utah. 

I was thinking of combining the entire week of hikes into one entry, but then decided to pick my favorite. 

Sometime in late 2004 or early 2005, my roommate and I watched Aaron Ralston’s account of slicing off his hand while stuck in a canyon slot in Utah. He was being interviewed by Tom Brokaw, so it was probably a Dateline special. The story is a great one, I am amazed he survived. But my roommate and I were also mesmorized by the scenery.

I text my friend Jeremy and asked “What city should one fly into if one wanted to hike/see five Utah National Parks?” He said Vegas, and we were sold. I got over my fear of flying momentarily and we flew to Vegas in the hot, dry July heat. I think it was 122 degrees when we landed, but that could be an exaggeration. The pilot joked about scrambling an egg on the sidewalk. No matter, the air conditioned casinos kept us busy.

The next day we bought a cooler, filled it with goodies and spent the entire day drving our rental car to Moab, Utah. The route covered a patch of Interstate 70 where there were "No Services For Next 100 Miles." We arrived in Moab just as the sun was setting. Gorgeous.

The next day we hiked Arches, and the day after that we hiked Canyonlands. Then we drove through Capitol Reef, stopping to hike and picnic, and then that afternoon we spent in Bryce Canyons. (highly disappointing to spend only one afternoon there). The next day we drove to Zion, did a hike and then returned to Vegas to play some slots. Finally the last day we flew back out. What a week!!

So you see how I had to add something from that memorable week to my countdown. I just realized, we never did make it back to Bryce Canyon - my favorite park by FAR. I loved the mixture of tall pines and the red hoodoos. But we didn't technically hike in the park, we just drove to every scenic outlook and looked around. Super lame. 

I also enjoyed our time in Arches though (and really all the parks are awesome). The first day, in 105 degree heat, we hiked up to Delicate Arch. The hike it not strenuous, but damn was it hot. People who passed us said I looked like a tomato, even though I had SPF 30 on. 

We parked at Wolfe Ranch and were on our way:

Can we put CONTROL YOUR CHILDREN on every sign, everywhere?

The trail was marked with a ton of cairns. Hiking this rock was blistering hot. 

Shade! The trail went through a hole in the rock!

And boom there was delicate arch on the other side! A lady took our pictures and insisted I put on more sunscreen. I obliged. 

I do NOT look like a tomato!

I was shocked to find out people can actually hike right up to Delicate Arch. There are no signs saying to stay off. But we limited our time there. It was hot as hell, but it was nice to have the place to ourselves and not deal with other tourists!

We returned to Moab, only 5 minutes away, to get gatorade and ice cream. we went for a swim in the motel pool and took naps. I felt much better. We returned to the park in the evening, when it was much cooler. 

A couple pictures from other parts of Arches:

Skyline Arch

Bonus: You can't go to Moab and Arches NP and skip out on Canyonlands. The problem was, that park is so big, where would we hike? We ended up hiking up a plateau, full of hideouts, and doing the easy, popular loop to Mesa Arch.

YES - I am afraid of flying but NOT afraid of heights. 

When we did the short hike to Mesa Arch another young woman latched onto us, gave us her life story, told us why she was limping then inviting us sky diving. It was so odd, when we returned to our car all we could do was laugh. And then, after hiking in heat all day - we got silly and just could not stop laughing as we saw the woman in her car behind us. 

We returned back from Arches and Canyonlands and did some touristy stuff and had dinner in hole in the wall places each night. Of course I don't remember many of the details, but I really liked Moab - I had it on my places to live before I chose Alaska!