Musings
Last Adventurer
#preservethegood

As you’ve seen above, #preservethegood could mean anything – it could mean helping someone in a time of need; it could be picking up trash on a trail, or a wilderness area; it could be educating people on leave no trace principles; it could be making a difference in any way you want; and it could be just about anything you want as long as you are focused in keeping the magic and the unique positive things in this world and this life. In terms of tangible things, I encourage you, my readers and followers to use the hashtag when you post a photo of something amazing; or when you’re talking about something exceptional you – or someone else has done to improve the world. I look forward to seeing how all of you end up preserving the good in 2015, and you can rest assured that as always, I will keep preserving the good where I find it as well, because as Plato says, “Good actions give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.” 

#preservethegood
Hiking, State Parks
Last Adventurer
Canyon Trail to Waipoo Falls

As I mentioned previously, Waimea Canyon is a site that is most definitely one of the “must-view” locations on Kauai, and in the world; and as I also mentioned, the best way to experience it is to hike it. While there are many great hikes through the canyon, the best hike in my book is the Canyon Trail to Waipoo Falls. It is the best hike to me because at four miles roundtrip, it is accessible, it has stunning views of the canyon from inside the canyon, and it ends at the top Waipoo Falls. It also allows the hiker the chance to swim in a waterfall, which is a once in a lifetime experience.

Canyon Trail to Waipoo Falls

National Parks

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Rainbow Falls

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Rainbow Falls

I recently made it out to the Devils Postpile, and here’s what I have to report: it is indeed something you need to see. My former boss was right: this is an area that is remote and lesser known than its bigger cousin, Yosemite. I say “lesser known” because I am well aware that it is directly outside of Mammoth. This is not something that should dissuade you from visiting: even though it is directly outside of Mammoth, it is still tucked away in its own corner of the Eastern Sierra. Also, in this case, being tucked away next to Mammoth is a good thing: there are well signed parking areas for the park from which you will take a shuttle into the park during the summer months. While Devils Postpile is named for the amazing geologic feature of the park – the columnar basalt “piles” that formed over one hundred thousand years ago from cooling lava, and the basalt is amazing to see, I think the best day hike in the park is the hike to Rainbow Falls.

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Lost Palms Oasis

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Lost Palms Oasis

As I mentioned last week, Joshua Tree is mostly known for climbing, not hiking. But, as I also talked about when discussing Mastodon Peak, there are some great hikes in the park should climbing not be your cup of tea. Most of the hikes recommended by the National Park Service, like Mastodon Peak, are short and sweet – good for getting out into the desert, and seeing what is going on in the park, but also somewhat “bad” as they leave you, the hiker wanting more. Don’t get me wrong – there are plenty of longer hikes into the interior of the park – but most of these are multi-day backpacking trips. However, there is no reason to despair about finding a longer hike in the park: Joshua Tree is a big place, and there are plenty of options. The best, and most scenic of these options is the Lost Palms Oasis Hike.

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Tales of Terror from the Yosemite Backcountry

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Tales of Terror from the Yosemite Backcountry

Yosemite is known for being one of, if not the most beautiful National Park in all of the United States. In fact, beyond that, Yosemite is a place that is known world-wide as being a place of amazing natural beauty. Having worked there, visited there, and having spent more time there than a majority of people, there is nothing I can or will say to dispel that fact. But, like most large open expanses that are wild in the world, Yosemite has a dark side

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Cottonwood Springs to Mastodon Peak

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Cottonwood Springs to Mastodon Peak

Joshua Tree National Park is known for one thing, and one thing only: rock climbing. This is a good thing: there are many great routes in the park for climbing. As I have climbed there many times, and have recommended it to many people, there is no way I could complain about that association. However, there’s a lot more than just climbing going on at Joshua Tree. There’s excellent stargazing; excellent spring blooms; and excellent hikes, both day, and multi-day. One of the shortest and the most popular hikes in the park is the hike from Cottonwood Springs to Mastodon Peak. There are two ways to do this hike: first, as a loop trail from the Campground (“the Mastodon Peak Loop”) or as part of the longer hike to Lost Palms Oasis. The loop trail is 2.6 miles long roundtrip; and if you add the Mastodon Peak section of trail to the Lost Palms Oasis hike, you are left with a hike that is 8.2 miles roundtrip.

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Scorpion Ranch to Smugglers Cove

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Scorpion Ranch to Smugglers Cove

Southern California has a lot of places to hike. From the desert; to the beach; to the mountains; to the high country chaparral; to the seasonal rivers and waterfalls and beyond, there are a lot of places to hike. You don’t need to take my word for it – there’s a plethora of books and blogs out there about hiking, backpacking, and all of the areas that are available to explore. And there should be – there’s so much variety out there, it’s good to get advice not just from one source, but a number of sources. I always tell my friends, and you, my readers not just to take my word for things; but to do your own research and to always do your own exploration, because in my experience, when people do those things, they always make the adventure their own. 

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Devils Hole

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Devils Hole

Not only is there water in the desert at Ash Meadows, there’s also a bottomless pit as well. Even more importantly, this bottomless pit isn’t just any bottomless pit: it’s full of water – fossil water – that’s fed from an underground aquifer. If a bottomless pit that happens to be full of water isn’t quite interesting enough for you, I’ve got another fact about this geologic feature that might sweeten the deal for you: it contains a species of fish –pupfish - that has been isolated from the rest of the world for over 10,000 years, and only lives in this one specific spot. If that isn’t enough to make you want to visit the Devils Hole, I learned first-hand that the whole area has more security than some jails. That’s right: the Devils Hole has so much security and protection, it makes one wonder if what’s in the hole is really being protected; or if we, the denizens of the planet are being protected from what’s in the Devils Hole.

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Eureka Mine, Death Valley - Likely Closed for Exploration

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Yep, those bars look pretty solid, which means the Eureka Mine is closed. (September 2012)​

Yep, those bars look pretty solid, which means the Eureka Mine is closed. (September 2012)​

Back in February, I was talking about a place off of Wildrose Road, the Eureka Mine, which you used to be able to explore (or so I was led to believe). (Article here)​. A couple weeks ago, after I passed through Trona, I stopped by, because I wanted to check it out as it was closed in February. I stopped by one entrance, and then another, and then another, and found the same thing you can see in all of the pictures: the mine entrances were blocked off. At this point, I stopped, and had a good think. Those metal bars blocking the mine entrances? Fairly permanent. And by fairly permanent, I mean, actually permanent.  I'll admit that I didn't have time to talk to a NPS Ranger about this, since I was on my way to 20 Mule Team Canyon, but at this point, after visiting twice at two completely separate times in the year, I can only conclude the mine is closed for good at this point. It is, however, still a really cool spot to visit, and after all, the mine is probably closed to protect the public from Morlocks, and that's a good thing!