Sunday Hikes: Devil’s Bridge Trail

Possibly the most popular hike in Sedona, Arizona is the Devil’s Bridge Trail. This is the largest sandstone arch in the Sedona area. There are multiple hiking routes to get to the Devil’s Bridge, but we took the most direct route. Tip: get here early to beat all the Jeep tours.

We walked the high clearance dirt road to the final leg of the hike, but our Jeep Patriot could have handled it easily. This made it a 3.7 mile round trip. If you drive out the high clearance road then you can hike as little as 1.8 miles round trip. There are alternate routes that are over 5 miles round trip and are less crowded.

The final leg is mostly up and has a few fun scrambles. It was pretty icy while we were there so we had a little more fun than usual. The views of the Sedona area are amazing from up on high.

One of the interesting things about Devil’s Bridge is that you get to go on top of the arch. Most arches are not that way. As you can see from the pics that is is pretty exhilarating on top, especially when icy.

This is a great fun hike, but again I caution to get out there as early as possible to beat the crowds. Thanks for reading. rk

Sunday Hikes: Alkali Flat Trail

The Alkali Flat Trail in White Sands National Park was different than any hiking trail I’ve ever done before. It’s a 5 mile loop trail through the seemingly neverending sand dunes. It’s also unusual as most hikers are carrying plastic sleds as well.

The trail follows from one marker to another where you can walk up a sand dune and then sled down the other side. Eventually you get the the far end where you can see the Alkali flights along with the adjacent White Sands Missile Range in the distance.

This hike is really unusual but also amazing with mountains off in the distance surrounding you as you navigate the sand dunes. This is the definite White Sands hike you must do when visiting our newest National Park.

rk

Sunday Hikes: Mount Fremont Lookout Trail

We drove into Mount Rainier National Park from the north and beelined straight to the Sunrise Visitor Center. After checking out the Visitor Center and the area maps, we identified the Mount Fremont Lookout Trail as the one we wanted to hike.

Mount Fremont is a 5.7 mile round trip trail to the closest fire lookout to Mount Rainier. We started on our way with gorgeous views of Mount Rainier in front of us.

The trail wraps around the promisingly named frozen lake. Sadly it looked more like a retention pond during this September hike. I’m sure it was much more impressive in June.

From here the hike picks up elevation and eventually cuts sharply to the right where you walk on scree with the fire lookout visible in the distance.

The lookout has amazing 360 degree views in all directions. The Cascades are to the north and Mount Rainier to the south. This was definitely worth the hike.

We headed back facing Mount Rainier as we watched a helicopter travel back and forth from Sunrise to a spot in the distance. I’m assuming ferrying supplies. We were able to spot a group of mountain goats down below, but the pictures just didn’t come out well sadly.

I can’t recommend this hike enough when at the Sunrise Visitor Center area. I really enjoyed it and hope you do as well.

Thanks for reading. rk

Sunday Hikes: Grove of the Patriarchs

This fun trail is packed with lots of cool sights and is quick to complete as it is flat and only one mile round trip. After several days backpacking in the North Cascades this was right up my alley.

Conveniently located right off the main road in Mt Rainier just east of Paradise Visitor Center, this is a must do hike in Mt Rainier National Park.

The trail begins running along the Ohanapecosh River with plenty of large trees and scenic river views.

At the halfway point you cut right and cross the river on a very cool bridge.

This leads you into the Grove of the Patriarchs. This grove of ancient 1000 year old trees is made up of Douglas Firs and Western Red Cedars. The trails through the grove are mostly on wooden boardwalks to protect the trees.

With fellow Bighorn blogger Josh for scale, you can see the size of these amazing trees.

You head back the way you came, crossing the bridge and soon back to the trailhead. Definitely hit this quick hike on your next visit to Mt Rainier.

Thanks for reading. rk

Sunday Hikes: Ernst Tinaja

Big Bend National Park is a wonderful place! Collectively I have spent over a month exploring the park’s near 1,300 square miles (that’s 10x the size of Atlanta). Each new visit brings new places I had never even heard of to explore. One could spend a lifetime in the Big Bend country and still have more to explore. On our last trip one of these places was Ernst Tinaja.

Ernst Tinaja is by no means a secret but it is tucked away in the less visited eastern side of Big Bend National Park. The trailhead is located off the Old Ore Road about 5 miles from the south entrance near Rio Grande Village. Old Ore Road is considered a 4×4 high clearance only road but as long as it is dry most vehicles can make it to Ernst Tinaja driving carefully (if it has been rainy I would not attempt it, visit Panther Junction visitor center for road info). Along the way are beautiful views of the desert and Chisos Mountains.

Chisos from Old Ore Road

Along the road are a few landmarks starting with Candelilla campsite (one of my favorites), then Camp De Leon campsite and the nearby grave of Juan De Leon (a mysteriously murdered mexican man from the area’s more lawless times). Soon after Camp De Leon is Ernst Tinaja campsite and trailhead marked by a small stone sign. If you hit the La Noria campsites you’ve gone too far.

Grave of Juan de Leon

The trailhead is marked by a small metal sign like most others in Big Bend.

The trail starts in open desert and moves into a valley that then narrows into a canyon. In the valley are large stone ridges running across the trail with small pools of water (after rains anyways). Like many places in Big Bend the past is evident in the geology of the area and it is very clear a river flowed through this area creating the valley and canyon.

As the valley narrows into a rocky canyon there is a relief of shade created by one of the canyon’s walls during most of the day. When the temperatures can regularly reach the 90s even in the winter, any respite from the sun is welcome. The ground is loose and gravely like most dried up desert creek beds until quickly and suddenly turning to smooth pinkish brown limestone with a slight climb up.

Inside the limestone are three ‘Tinajas’, pockets of water collected from past rains (Tinaja literally means Jar in spanish).

I had fun playing with the tinaja reflections

The climb up and around the tinajas is fun and can feel a little sketchy (especially when you’ve heard accounts of mountain lions drowning in the very tinaja you are scrambling by).

Just past the Tinajas on the left side of the canyon is a fascinating force of nature captured in rock where presumably whatever water once flowed through distorted and twisted the limestone wall into a small cave (another place to hide from the sun).

At this point there are two options: turn back or carry on. The canyon continues for miles eventually hitting Ernst Valley (or at least the hills before Ernst Valley, I have not explored this far). With what seems like endless desert to explore turning back wouldn’t be a bad option either.

PSA: Anyone hiking here should know their limits and pack accordingly to their trip. Over 400 people die in National Parks every year with a majority of these deaths being because of drowning or heat exhaustion (both very possible in Big Bend). Visit the Panther Junction visitor center to get info from rangers on how to explore Big Bend safely.

To sum it all up: Ernst Tinaja is incredible and is a highlight of that trip for us now. If you have the ability to hike there, you should. Be careful and have fun! 🙂

Thanks!

– Josh

Sunday Hikes: Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve

Armstrong Redwoods is a great option near San Francisco to go see Redwoods without the crowds and appointment necessary at beautiful Muir Woods. Located in Sonoma County northwest of the wineries in the valley, this park is still convenient but is away from the tourists.

Conveniently located at the Visitor Center parking lot, is a series of shorter trails that connect and go by several large Redwoods. If you do the Pioneer Nature Trail plus the spur Discovery and Armstrong Nature trails you can see the named features and hike 1.5 miles total.

Visitor Center area trail map

The trails are wide and well maintained. The Colonel Armstrong Tree and Parson Jones trees are very large for this part of California.

Beginning of the Pioneer Nature Trail

Parson Jones Tree

Colonel Armstrong Tree

I did learn from talking to the volunteers working the trail about the difference between diameter and circumference. Depending on the tree and where you are in California, some trees are marked by diameter and some by circumference. Diameter is the distance thru the tree traveling directly thru the center. Circumference is the distance around the outside circle of the tree. I should’ve paid attention in high school geometry.

More Redwoods

In any case, this is a relaxing and easy hike and I recommend it especially if you are looking to see some Redwoods within an easy drive of San Francisco without all the crowds. Thanks for reading! rk

Sunday Hikes: The Chimney Rock Trail

Chimney Rock sounds to me like a hike you would find in Great Smoky Mountains National Park or maybe in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. However, in this case, the Chimney Rock Trail is located in Point Reyes National Seashore in California.

Chimney Rock is a 1.75 mile round trip hike out to a popular whale spotting overlook. The trail gets its name for a small rock island in the ocean visible from the overlook. In addition to whales, the trail promises lots of opportunities to spot elephant seals and sea lions.

The trail starts thru a grassy section heading uphill. I promptly spotted my first wildlife with a rattlesnake crossing the trail about 5 feet in front of me.

Quickly you come to a crest in the trail with a gorgeous view of the coast off to the right. You can see sea lions lounging down below.

Sea Lions are pretty lazy

Continuing to follow the trail up and over the crest soon you are surrounded by ocean on three sides. It is a very beautiful spot to just soak in the views.

Right above the view of Chimney Rock is the best spot to see whales. Remember to bring binoculars! We were lucky as a pod of whales was passing by a few miles offshore. With the naked eye I could see their spray and with binoculars I could see some fins and their backs as they swam by. Pretty cool!

Chimney Rock. My iPhone camera couldn’t pick up the whales sadly.

Looping back, I noticed that there were quite a few elephant seals lazing about on the opposite side of the shore of the peninsula we were on.

Going downhill now, I arrived at the parking lot in short order. There is another shorter trail on the far side of the parking lot with leading to an overlook with a huge population of elephant seals. Some of these were playing in the water so it was good to see some actually moving about.

More elephant seals.

Point Reyes and Chimney Rock didn’t disappoint. I recommend checking out this trail and the rest of the National Seashore if you are ever in the area. Thanks for reading. rk

Sunday Hikes: Tom’s Creek Falls

Tom’s Creek Falls is located in the Pisgah National Forest north of Marion, North Carolina. The hike itself is very short at only one mile round trip with a flat gravel trail that is very easy to traverse (there were multiple people in wheelchairs on the trail when I went in March).

The trailhead is located a mile-ish off of highway 221 on a maintained dirt road. It was midday when we started our hike and thanks to the recent spring rains there were loads of wildflowers at the trailhead. And thanks to the first warm weekend of the year the small parking lot was full (Like 5 or 6 cars).

The trail starts flat and wanders through the woods for a bit before reaching a small stream. With the stream to our left the trail got a little steeper with a few easy switchbacks. After the switchbacks the trail straightened up and here is the first view of the waterfall. I was surprised when I first saw it, the 80 foot cascade pours off a cliff into a rounded and rocky area before draining away into a small stream.

The trail ends at somewhat of a split in the road, to the left is a wooden balcony with benches for viewing the waterfall, and to the right is a small hill that is probably twenty feet above the balcony and has a nice view of the waterfall. We went right and scrambled up the small hill and then down into the round and rocky area below the waterfall. From there we could not see or hear anyone and despite the trail having decent traffic it felt very secluded.

The Tom’s Creek Falls trail is a short and easy hike with a lot of reward! If you are ever in the area it is definitely worth the time.

 

Thanks – Josh

Sunday Hikes: Mariscal Mine

Long before Texas’ Big Bend country was made into a national park it was populated by a handful of small ranches. In 1900 Martin Solis discovered cinnabar near his farm and quickly tried to capitalize on it. Mining continued here sporadically until the creation of Big Bend National Park in 1944. The mine was fairly unprofitable in it’s day but has become a benefit to all future generation as a protected historical site. It is now an eerie reminder of the past in the heart of Big Bend’s backcountry.

We visited the derelict mining town after a long day of exploring backroads and canyons on the park’s east side. From the Rio Grande Village area we took the River Road East towards the center of the park. We set up camp at the Fresno backcountry site (the only place you can camp near Mariscal Mine) around 5:30pm and as the sun was setting we rushed to explore the mine.

At this point I will say that purchasing the Guide to Big Bend’s Dirt Roads book from any of the camp stores of visitors centers in the park. This book is a well of information for all the parks roads and it has a nice map of the Mariscal Mine complex telling you what each building is and what it was used for.

The hike begins in a small dirt parking area with rock houses scattered around where the former miners once lived. There is a sign at the trailhead with a warning not to touch anything because of the mercury that has soaked into the bricks. Up on the hill we could see the mine blending in with its surroundings as it is made of rock from the hill it sits on. The trail up to the mine is loose and rocky dirt so we had to be careful not to slip while trying to take pictures and hike at the same time. The largest structure in front is one of the many furnaces used to melt down the mercury containing cinnabar ore.

The trail curves past the large furnace and gains some elevation to get a view of the complex from above and to see the mines themselves. Large deep and dark pits with metal grates blocking entrance. some went like a doorway into the mountainside and some were just a hole in the ground dropping vertically  to the center of the earth (or close to it at least). The only other people out there, some kids and two adults with them were dropping rocks and sticks into the largest mine shaft and counting before it hit the bottom.

We reached the end of the trail at a high point overlooking the mine with great views of Boquillas Canyon and the east side of the park as well as the setting sun and west side of the park. After enjoying the view for a bit we started to head back down, peeking in the mines along the way.

We spent about an hour hiking and exploring the Mariscal Mine area with the trail being about 2 miles out and back. The mine is in the middle of nowhere and takes an hour to drive to but it is well worth the trip!

 

Thanks! – Josh

Sunday Hikes: The Windows Trail

One of the more popular and iconic hikes in Big Bend National Park is The Windows Trail.   The Chisos Basin in the center of Big Bend is a secluded valley surrounded by the Chisos Mountains, with a small “window” in the mountains to see out into the surrounding area.   The Windows Trail is the trail that leads to this notch.   At 3.6 miles round trip, it is a fairly easy trail to navigate with some fun scrambles near the end through and around a stream.

It was foggy as we started the hike and I couldn’t even see the Windows which normally is visible from everywhere in the Chisos Basin.   We parked near the campground and strolled through the campground to the trailhead.   The trail was pretty much all downhill, but not a very steep grade.   Of course that meant the return would be the opposite.   The trail winded through some small stands of trees and other flora.

As the fog began to lift, I was able to start seeing the mountains around us and my first glimpse of “The Window”.

While the hike to this point had been fun, there hadn’t been to much that was notable other than the loads of fog.   As we neared the Window, we caught up to a creek that the trail followed allowing us the opportunity to climb, jump and scramble with the risk of getting a little wet if we slipped in.   This part was my favorite part of this hike.

The trail finally narrowed to just a gash with what seemed to be a huge immediate drop on the other end with the stream rushing through the gap.   Other hikers went as close as they dared seeking the perfect instagram picture, risking what would be a certain and thrilling death with one slip down and out of the Chisos Mountains.   I perched as close as I felt safe and got my picture and then we headed back the way we came.

The Windows Trail is a must do when visiting Big Bend National Park.   You can knock it out fairly quickly and you get a much better feel for what the Chisos Basin is like from hiking this trail.   Thanks for reading.   rk