National Parks

About Backpacking and Great Walks

Take a course in good water and air; and in the eternal youth of Nature you may renew your own. Go quietly, alone; no harm will befall you.-John Muir  

Take a course in good water and air; and in the eternal youth of Nature you may renew your own. Go quietly, alone; no harm will befall you.-John Muir


 

There are hikes in the world that are greater than hikes. They are greater than hikes because most of the time, they consist of distances that cannot be covered in a single day by a single person. These hikes are greater than hikes because even if the distance isn’t that great, the scenery and the natural beauty present on them demand that the individual attempting that hike stop, watch, and listen at what the world is telling them through trees, mountains, hills, meadows, streams, and every other natural feature. It is for these hikes that are greater than hikes that the backpack was developed; and the term “backpacking” invented. And, if you really stop and think about it, backpacking is one of the oldest “sports” on the planet; except that for eons, it wasn’t considered a sport – it was considered a way of life for humans to get from one destination to another!

Today, things are obviously a little different, but the lessons our ancestors took from spending time in the wild remain; carried through time by such luminaries as John Muir (“Keep close to Nature's heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.”) While backpacking is a vacation activity or sport to many people, it also is a reflection of a world-wide historic tradition of becoming one with nature at certain points in life. In this respect, there are backpacking trips, and there are areas that are known as “Great Walks”. To me, any trip of a day or more is a great walk, but while it is hard to judge, some walks are greater than others. In any event, the purpose of this section is to discuss some of the backpacking trips and great walks I’ve been on, in all forms – gear, directions, and everything in between. If you are considering getting started in backpacking, or attempting the great walks of the world, remember this:  mountaineering is the freedom of the hills; backpacking is the freedom of everything.  I say this because with the right skills, the right gear, and the right motivation, a person can roam forever with his backpack, stopping only to find food – much as people have always done. Backpacking, therefore, is a great freedom – and whether you do it for a day, or two days, I highly recommend it, and hope to see you on the trail.

Moro Rock and Hanging Rock

Moro Rock and Hanging Rock

One of the great things about California is that the state has an enormous amount of “wild” space. Some of these spaces are State Parks; some are National Parks; and some are open spaces that are run by other governmental organizations and non-profit foundations. The variety present in this system of wilderness protection and preservation means that there’s always something new to explore; and there’s always hidden gems to be found. Take for example the Moro Rock Trail (yes, that’s right: Moro Rock, not Morro Rock). This trail is one of my “secret” favorite summertime trails in the Southern Sierra, and one that is fairly accessible. Why is it one of my summertime favorites? For starters, you get to climb Moro Rock (Elevation 6,275), and you get to hike amongst giant sequoias. You also get some spectacular views of the Southern Sierra mountain range. And, if you’re particularly lucky, you might even get to see some black bears. Interested? Read on!

Mountain Lions on the Trail: They See You Before You See Them.

Mountain Lions on the Trail: They See You Before You See Them.

like to tell stories. Sometimes, I even like to write stories about things that I've seen, done and experienced. This one's a long one, so don't complain about "TL; DR" to me - you've been warned, but it is one of my favorites. I'm also happy to say that in my opinion, the story is made at least ten times better by the great photos that Calipidder lent me to accompany the piece, so go check out her site as well for more great trail reports and photos! So, without further ado, here's the story about how I avoided death-by-mountain-lion!

Emerald Pools Trail

Emerald Pools Trail

The best example of this is that at every National Park, there is at least one trail that is accessible to all, and provides a great experience and introduction to nature and that specific park. These trails are gateways to nature – literally – as they allow all parties the ability to experience something that they would not otherwise experience. For Zion National Park, that trail, or trail system is the Emerald Pools Trail network.

Winter Hiking - it's not really about the gear.

Winter Hiking - it's not really about the gear.

Don’t go any further, you’ll die. Today’s quiz, hotshots, is what you would do if you heard this phrase on the trail. Would you turn around, or would you keep going? It’s also a statement that’s led me to pen this mini-diatribe. Before I go any further, I can already hear you asking, “Wait – what’s the situation? The terrain? The temperature? I can’t answer this question until I know these things.” Fair enough, let me give you the relevant background details: it was a partly cloudy day in Zion National Park. The cloud deck was resting at around 7,000 feet, and the ambient temperature at the Weeping Rock Trailhead (Information here) was around 20 degrees, although it could have been slightly colder as there were intermittent wind gusts of around 10 mph. For the last two days it had been snowing down to approximately 4,500 feet, but at the lower elevations there had been some melting and re-freezing. These were the conditions I found when I arrived at the trailhead one Sunday in mid-December of 2012 at around 7:30 a.m.

Old Pinnacles Trail to Balconies Cave

Old Pinnacles Trail to Balconies Cave

 At Pinnacles, the two main areas for spelunking are Bear Gulch, which I talked about in December, and the Balconies network of caves, which I’ll talk about today. All of the caves in Pinnacles are talus caves, which are formed over a period of time when rocks have fallen atop other rocks at the base of a cliff. In particular though, the caves at Pinnacles formed in the following manner: “…when steep, narrow canyons filled with a jumbled mass of boulders from the cliffs above. The canyons are the result of faults and fractures in the central area of volcanic rock. These shear fractures filled with gigantic toppled boulders are clear windows into the geologic wonder of the Monument.” (More information on the geology of Pinnacles here and here).  In any case, both the Balconies cave and the Bear Gulch cave network provide a great spot to explore over 50 million years of geologic history over the course of a morning or afternoon.

Bear Gulch Cave Trail

Bear Gulch Cave Trail

Let’s say you’re in California, or thinking about visiting California, and you’re looking for a National Park that you can hike in, camp at, climb at, and possibly do a little spelunking at. If you were seeking recommendations for such a place, chances are that you’d get the usual recommendations – Sequoia National ParkYosemite National Park, or even Joshua Tree National Park. There’s nothing wrong with any of these recommendations – these parks are known world-wide because they’re stunning. But there’s another National Park in California that’s a little bit off the beaten path, and not as well known that has all of these things, and is equally stunning in its own right. That park is none other than Pinnacles National Monument.