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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Boyden Cavern, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

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Boyden Cavern, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

Long time readers of this blog know that I was raised on a diet of science fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, and adventure as a child. It should therefore come as no surprise that I wanted to live in a cave during part of my childhood. But once I read The Time Machine, I developed an irrational fear of morlocks and the I-want-to-live-in-a-cave-phase was over. Even though I never lived in a cave, I know a spot where people have lived – and died in a cave: Boyden Cavern, in Sequoia /Kings Canyon National Park. 

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Crystal Cave, Sequoia National Park

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Crystal Cave, Sequoia National Park

If I was to ask you what the signature attraction of Sequoia National Park is, chances are that you’d give me a funny look and say, “Giant Sequoias??!?!”.  In some respects, you’d be justified in giving me that treatment, since the park is indeed named, Sequoia National Park. But, even though the park is named Sequoia National Park, and the Giant Sequoias are stunning, spectacular, and stupendous, the signature attraction to some people is not the trees, it is something secret that lies deep beneath the shallow roots of those gentle giants. That’s right: I am talking about caves. One of the little known facts about Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Park is that beneath the trees, and under all of the hiking trails, there is an extensive network of caves. According to the National Park Service, even if the Giant Sequoias didn’t exist, chances are that Sequoia and Kings Canyon would still be National Parks because of the caves. Think about that for a second: this is an area with amazing biodiversity both above ground and below ground, which is something that exists in few places around the world.

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Awaroa to Tonga Quarry, Coast Track

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Awaroa to Tonga Quarry, Coast Track

The decision to tramp the Coast Track is easy; it has world class beaches, stunning forests, and sea-side scenery. What is not easy, however, is deciding how long to spend on the track and deciding which direction you head on the track. If you’re an international traveler like me, or have limited vacation days, the sad reality is that you might not have the time to backpack the whole track. The first time I was in Abel Tasman, I took three days to hike part of the Track from North to South, and this is my day-by-day guide of that backpack, which covers about three-quarters of the total track, along with a side trip into the interior portion of the park. A couple of years later, I went back and hiked the top quarter portion of the track; and enjoyed it as well, but in terms of a great multi-day trip, the one I am about to describe is hard to beat for backpackers.

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Coast Track, Abel Tasman National Park

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Coast Track, Abel Tasman National Park

The Coast Track is a hiking trail that extends from Wainui Bay to Marahau in Abel Tasman National Park. The trail is 55.2 kilometers long (for Americans, that’s 34.29 miles long, so we’ll round up, and call it 33.3 miles total distance), and it can be hiked and or backpacked from North (Wainui Bay) to South (Marahau) and South (Marahau) to North (Wainui Bay). This trail, or as New Zealanders call it, “track”, covers a variety of stunning terrain, from forested areas, to estuaries, to golden sand beaches, along the shores of the Tasman Sea.  It is considered one of New Zealand’s “great walks”, meaning that while it can be hiked piecemeal in a series of day hikes, it can also covered, and is best appreciated in a one-to-four day backpack trip (which New Zealanders call “tramping”). The best time to go on this great walk along the Coast is during Spring and Summer in New Zealand, which is from October to March.

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May Lake Trailhead to May Lake

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May Lake Trailhead to May Lake

When is a backpacking trip not a backpacking trip? While such a question sounds like either a riddle, or a rhetorical question, it actually is a question with a solid answer. In my mind, a backpacking trip is not a backpacking trip when it is an introductory backpacking trip. Simple, right? Wordplay aside, what I mean by this is that when you are starting out as a novice backpacker, or whether you are trying to interest someone in backpacking, the thing to do is start out slow – don’t start out with the fifty mile, multi-day trip with no experience; or all new gear. If you want to be a backpacker; start out with smaller one to two day trips – such an approach allows you to test out your gear, and it allows you to test out your conditioning. Also, if you’re trying to introduce someone else to the sport, it allows them to become acclimatized to being immersed in the wilderness without becoming overwhelmed. Finally, this approach allows you to enjoy what you are doing without the pressure of having to be somewhere on a deadline; and allows you to appreciate the experience.

Tunnel Log

Tunnel Log

One of the most iconic things to see in Sequoia National Park is a relic of a bygone past. It is not a hiking trail. It is not a perfectly natural feature. And, it is not alive. Yes, I am speaking of something that requires no effort to see - the infamous Tunnel Log . It's not to be confused with the Tunnel Tree  that existed in Yosemite National Park, but both involve Giant Sequoias. In 1937, a Giant Sequoia fell across the Crescent Road in Sequoia National Park, and rather than remove it, the Park Service elected to cut a tunnel through it which people have been happily driving through ever since. On the plus side, since the the tree fell from natural causes, the tunnel log does not represent any wanton destruction of nature, or Giant Sequoias. The tree also represents a different wilderness philosophy of the National Park Service; one that preserved nature while also making it a bit of a spectacle with things like this and the infamous Yosemite firefall. This different wilderness ethos, along with the sheer spectacle of the Tunnel Log make it worth visiting while you can, as it is a curiosity of a time long gone. 

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Hospital Rock

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Hospital Rock

 Sometimes, adventures are easy to find – they’re marked in large white letters on big brown signs right next to highways, telling you where to turn to find something unique. Other times, adventure takes a little initiative to find. Take Hospital Rock, for example. It’s located at the southern end of Sequoia National Park. It is well marked, but other than that, not much is publicized about it other than that it’s a picnic area. On the surface, it doesn’t appear to be that interesting of a spot, nor a spot containing adventure – but it is. For starters, let’s address what it is – it’s not just a National Park Service picnic area, but a large quartzite rock that is partially is a “cave” due to its resting location next to other rocks.