Sandia Peak rises 5,000 feet above Albuquerque, New Mexico and well into spring can have snow atop the peak. The views are incredible and despite being a popular weekend spot you can often find the peak void of people on weekday mornings.
Thanks! – Josh
The Wright Lake Trail is a 5 mile loop trail in Florida’s Apalachicola National Forest that shows the diversity of plant life in Florida’s swamps. Dad and I hiked this trail in late March on a weekend trip. The trailhead is found at the Wright Lake day use area across from the Wright Lake Campground. We arrived early in the morning and caught the light just right to see the trees and clouds reflecting on the lake. At the trailhead is a large sign with loads of information about the different types of swamps and marshes that the trail goes through. Dad and I took a minute to read the sign and then went on down the trail.
The Apalachicola National Forest has been logged heavily and is mostly rows of pine trees planted for future logging with small pockets of swamp and marsh scattered throughout. It’s a very strange and unique looking place. We hiked through it while keeping an eye out for alligators and the pitcher plants that grow in this part of Florida.
We came to a dome swamp filled with bald cypress trees with some deep water and only one way to cross; a long plank not even a foot wide across the middle of the swamp. We went one at a time because we didn’t trust the bridge but it proved sturdy and gave us a nice view from the center of the swamp without getting mucky.
After the bridge we walked through the forest a bit more before we came to a sandy forest service road that cut through the forest straight and flat. After the road the trail makes a large loop and crosses the road once again. After this it curved around a circular depression of trees that looked like an aliens crop circle.
As we neared the end of the trail we came to a wonky bridge with a sign that said “Bridge Closed”. We decided to pretend we didn’t see the sign though and took the bridge anyways. It felt sturdy but about half way through the bridge made a 45 degree turn and the entire thing seemed like it had been lifted up on one side and was very slanted. There was a sign here that read “Marleen’s Magic Corner”. We weren’t sure what that meant but we figured there was a witch living nearby or something.
Soon we returned to the trailhead after a nice hike and we hungrily headed out to find some lunch. We never saw any pitcher plants on the hike but there were a lot of pretty wildflowers. We did find some pitcher plants off the road and stopped to take some pics.
I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed the Apalachicola National Forest and I think it’s worth visiting especially if you like plants and/or boating in swamps with alligators and snakes.
Thanks! -Josh
Table Rock seems to be the go to name for any mountain with a flatish granite top. It seems like half the states have a Table Rock Mountain and all of them have incredible views! Perhaps one of the most popular and most beautiful is Table Rock Mountain in North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest. About two hours from Asheville, Table Rock rises 2,000 feet straight up from Linville Gorge with a squared off peak that makes it impossible to miss when driving towards the mountain. It is easy to see Table Rock’s 4,101 foot elevation on paper and dismiss it since that is not very high even for east coast standards but the views from the top rival any other mountain range in the country!
After camping in an awesome little campsite off of Forest Service Road 210 (the long dirt road that leads up to the trailhead), we woke up a bit late at 9am and made coffee before heading up to the trailhead about 1.5 miles away. The road is typically fairly well maintained but the recent hurricanes on North Carolina’s coast sent enough rain to wash out the roads in a few places and create somewhat rough conditions. It is certainly still driveable but be careful in low clearance and 2 wheel drive vehicles. The trailhead has a large parking lot to accommodate how many hikers and rock climbers come to this area. I think we saw more climbers than hikers here actually. We excitedly hit the trailhead with perfect weather and an eagerness for great views.
The trails length is a bit iffy because there are many side trails to explore and an open granite top to run around on but if you hike from trailhead to where the trail ends and the mountaintop opens up then the trail is about 1.2 miles round trip. The trail is steep, slippery, and a steady incline but it is still a relatively easy trail thanks to the short distance.
Driving up the steep road I saw sneak peeks of the great views to come through the trees. The first opportunity for a view unencumbered by trees is made possible by a large rock sticking out from the trail that looks out on the Linville Gorge. Even from here (about halfway up the trail to the top) the views are amazing and make this mountain feel huge!
From here the trail continues steeply through the trees with long switchbacks and rocky steps. Soon the trail goes through two tall rocks and up some more before a split about halfway through that will take you up and right to the summit or down and left to some great rock climbing spots and is part of the Mountains-to-Sea through hiking trail.
After some more swithbacks through some dense rhododendrons the views start to really open up to the west and soon we created the peak of the mountain where there is the foundations of an old rock house that once stood at the summit.
There are many bushes on the large flat peak of Table Rock with chunks of granite poking out and giving way to incredible views. To the north is Hawksbill mountain and a thick forest.
To the west and south west is Linville Gorge plummeting down and in the distance clouds shrouded the black mountain range and Mt Mitchell, the highest peak in the eastern US.
To the south is Shortoff Mountain and Lake James.
And to the east is the flat North Carolina country that seems so far down if you fell you’d never land (don’t test that).
In every direction the views are breathtaking and worth a long while to take in and enjoy. We found a nice spot to sit down and brew some coffee and enjoy the beautiful day and beautiful views around us. We sipped our coffee and explore the top of the mountain a bit longer before deciding it was time to hear back. On our way back we ran into a friendly older man who knew everything there was about these mountains and just had to share it. He asked if we knew about the “stack rock cave” and when we said no he told us to follow him. So we did. He took us back down the trail and just after the two tall rocks we followed him somewhat warily through the brush and scrambled up a small rocky cliff and at the top was indeed a cave created by two pillars of rock that was layered making it a “stack rock cave”.
The views were very cool from here and despite the somewhat sudden and weird nature of us finding out about this place we were grateful to this guy for sharing his knowledge with us. After chatting with him a bit we headed back down to the trail head to eat our lunch. We made sandwiches in the car and then headed back down for Asheville and eventually home wishing we were still on the mountain.
Thanks! – Josh
The Forks Campground in New Mexico’s Gila National Forest is great for many reasons. The first being that it is free. Who doesn’t love free? It’s location just off of highway 15 makes it the perfect location when visiting the nearby Gila Cliff Dwellings. The views aren’t bad either as the campground is next to a very cool canyon formed by the West Fork Gila River. Once the sun goes down and you can’t see down into the canyon anymore then you can look up as the stars come out in the millions. The Gila is one of the darkest places in the contiguous United States so unless there are clouds you’ll be stargazing all night at this campground.
The only downside to the campground is the lack of potable water so be sure to bring enough water for your camping trip! (You can hike down to the river quite easily if you are in dire need of water but be sure to boil it before consuming!)
There are vault toilets that are fairly well maintained by the forest service and a large fire pit in the center of the campground if you want to have a party. I prefer to find a nice secluded site and hang out by the fire though. Whatever you do here though I’m sure it’ll be a great time!
PS. Be sure to check the fire hazards for the national forest. As a native New Mexican, Smokey the Bear wouldn’t be too happy if you started a wildfire in his home state.
Thanks! – Josh
I took this picture in early April from my campsite in the Gila National Forest of southwest New Mexico. The stars were beautiful that night and I’m really glad I got a good picture of them to remember! I hope this encourages you to get out and go see some stars for your own! The new moon will be tomorrow night (the 12th) so go find a dark area near you and stargaze a little!
Thanks! – Josh
Just east of Albuquerque sit the Sandia Mountains, rising up to twice the height of the city. Every time I have visited Albuquerque I have wanted to go and explore the mountains and on our last trip to New Mexico I finally got to! We entered the Sandia Mountains area going south on 165 which is a dirt 4wd road halfway through the mountains before turning to a paved highway by Sandia Crest (the tallest point in the range). Somewhere along the road we found a small parking lot for the Sandia Cave Trail and decided to check it out!
The trail was pretty short but gained a good bit of elevation for being less than a mile long. At the end of the trail we came to a small spiral staircase on the side of a cliff that took us up to the cave. The stairs didn’t really feel safe but we didn’t die so I guess they were a little safe.
At the top of the stairs there is probably ten feet before you hit a waist high brick wall that we climbed over to get into the cave. We didn’t expect to go crawl in the cave so we only had one head lamp and our phone lights with us but thanks to some firefighters at the entrance we were encouraged to go check it out. The cave is very dry and extremely dusty but is a nice cool escape from the New Mexico heat. The end of the cave was probably half of a mile tops from the entrance and we crawled on our bellies or hands and knees most of the way. After crawling to the end and back we emerged looking like Oompa Loompas from all the orange dirt and dust in the cave. We headed back to the Jeep and continued on with our day covered in orange dirt!
Despite the trail being nothing this hike is really cool and unique compared to any other trails I’ve done. This is the only easily accessible cave I know of in a national forest that is so unregulated. There wasn’t a single warning sign about cave ins or all the dust you will inhale in the cave. I would recommend this trail to anyone unless your claustrophobic and I want to do it again already!
Thanks! – Josh
The Bighorn National Forest is one of our favorite National Forests (because of the great name obviously). We didn’t see and Bighorn Sheep while we were there but we did see a moose out in the middle of a field. I would love to spend a couple days camping and exploring this unique Wyoming National Forest!
Thanks! – Josh
Bighorn Travel Blog 