“Hello, we’d like to get a permit for a four-night backpacking trip starting tonight, please. We know it’s noon on a Friday in the July after COVID, so we understand that all the permits were probably gone by 8:03. We know we’re idiots, but we’re experienced, well-prepared, super-flexible idiots and we have a backup plan!” … More How not to start a five-day hike in the Tetons
We arrived early but not quite early enough in Utah’s most iconic park. Pulling up at 8:05, we still wound up waiting about 20 minutes to get in through the entry gate. We stopped oh-so-briefly at the visitor’s center before heading all the way to the Devil’s Garden trailhead at the end of the scenic drive. We thought that by doing that first, skipping the more obvious stops at Balanced Rock and Delicate Arch, we might beat the crowds. Haha. We drove around the huge parking lot 6 times before we got lucky and found someone pulling out. … More Laura’s Journal: Arches National Park
After the madness of Zion, Capitol Reef felt nearly deserted. We didn’t have to fight anyone for parking and sometimes spent entire minutes on the trails without seeing anyone else. I saw someone call this park Utah’s red-headed step child, but I don’t know why it should be. It’s smaller, yes, but it’s gorgeous (literally! see: Capital Gorge) and offers quite a lot of wonderful hikes. Maybe it’s a question of marketing? Before this trip, I knew Utah had five big, wonderful national parks, but I’d’ve been hard-pressed to name more than Zion and Arches. … More Laura’s Journal: Capitol Reef National Park
Rumors of Zion’s popularity (crowdedness) reached us well before we reached the park. We even watched an informational video about it (“remember: there are hikes other than Angel’s Landing and the Narrows! you should give them a try!”) We rolled into the park at 7:59, just before the entrance gate opened, and snagged one of the very few remaining parking spots in their vast parking lot. It was easy to see, as we drove the winding park road and went through the infinitely long tunnel carved out of solid rock, why this park is so popular. It is stunningly beautiful. … More Laura’s Journal: Zion National Park
Okay! Rested, recharged, and off for more adventures. We failed to win the lottery for the Wave again this morning, so we implemented backup plan The-Wire-and-Teepees. These hikes both require a day-use pass, which Dustin was organized enough get well in advance. (Don’t to forget to do this, kids! You can buy them online, but data connections at the trail head are iffy at best.) … More Laura’s Journal: Vermillion Cliffs National Monument
It turns out going to bed at 9pm does not come naturally to me, even when I was up a 6am and have hiked 17 miles in the last two days. I’m sure I was just starting to drift off For Real when the alarm went off at 4am, but I got up anyway. We had a disgusting breakfast of freeze-dried biscuits and gravy (my least favorite of the pouch meals, but you don’t start this hike on an empty stomach, and even if I wanted to pay for another $30 breakfast, early service doesn’t start until 5am. That’s what I get for thinking 6:30 as “late” service is funny). … More Laura’s Journal: Hiking out of the Grand Canyon
Standing on the edge of the Colorado River 4,700 feet below the rim of the Grand Canyon is not the awesome experience you’d expect it to be – at least, not for the reasons you’d think. All sense of scale is lost. The depth is unfathomable because it is literally extraordinary. … More Laura’s Journal: Bottom of the Grand Canyon
The great thing about playing it loose with your travel plans is that you have all the flexibility in the world to adjust your schedule to spend more or less time at places that interest you more or less than you expected. The downside is when you find out that doing the really cool things in those places required you to make a reservation. Six months ago. … More Laura’s Journal: Grand Canyon – Going Down
Yes, there are organ pipe cacti and they are very cool, and there are lots of saguaro and you know how I feel about those, but this park also has amazing geology, with volcanic mountains jutting up all over and about with crazy enthusiasm and color. You are all lucky I promised not to overload the blog with pictures of rocks, because that is my very strong impulse right now. I’ll try to keep them mostly contained to Instagram. The drive to get down here was quite long, so that are a bit into our exploring time, but we still got to spend more time here than in any of the other parks so far, and we made good use of it. … More Laura’s Journal: Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
A few petroglyphs to admire: A few cactuses to admire: Laura among the cactuses: Transcription: Saturday, April 24, 2021 SAGUARO NATIONAL PARK I already waxed rhapsodic about saguaro, so let’s talk about getting lost in the desert at night! (Spoiler alert: “lost” is an overstatement.) We meant to spend the whole day in Saguaro NP. … More Laura’s Journal: Hiking in the Dark at Saguaro National Park
Thither & Yon 