Hiking

Timpanogos Cave National Monument

/ bigdiff / 9 Comments

The cave is famous for its helactites, the squiggly ones that seem to defy gravity. To see them, I’d recommend a reservation or getting here early (open at 7am), as they do sell out. Then, walk up the switchback trail for 1.5 miles, and be careful not to wander off the near vertical drops while you gawk at the stunning views. The gap between the mountains appears to be deeper than it is wide, and there’s a river flowing through a forest at the bottom along with the road. Don’t mind the many hikers. They’re probably just out for exercise, as one lady told me her friend had climbed it over 100 times. And I suspect they exercise regularly with mountain goats here, since I also saw two moms carrying two kids each with more in tow.

The regular tour is ranger led and includes three sections of cave. The middle section has a crack in the ceiling which has dripped water for ages to create the amazing structures: flowstone, soda straws, popcorn, bacon, small crystals, stalactites, stalagmites and columns, in a variety of colors. We also saw a party of explorers with caving equipment entering small passages, which is another tour option for the skinny and flexible. This is my favorite cave.

Here’s the link to my visits to all parks in Utah.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park

/ bigdiff / 7 Comments

Certainly the highlight of my trip, the three units are connected by the Little Missouri River, which is the south unit oxbow on the left. The south unit also has bison, wild horses, a painted canyon, petrified logs, a prairie dog town, badlands, a replica of Teddy’s cabin, a ranch, camping, and lots more. The north unit has even better oxbow views on one of the best hikes I’ve ever done: Caprock Coulee 4 miles. Even the tiny Elkhorn Ranch unit, hemmed in by cattle fences and pumpjacks, had a pair of whooping cranes to amaze me. I’m honestly struggling for superlatives. Teddy used the phrase “grim beauty” which gets at the serious nature of the park. This is one of my favorite national parks. Click here for more Teddy Roosevelt sites.

I would like to spend a week up here and ride a horse, but I’m already in Montana. For EV travelers who want to see all 3 units, I recommend charging overnight in state campgrounds before & after. There’s one next to the south unit and another not too far from the north.

Here are my visits to all parks in North Dakota.

Badlands National Park

/ bigdiff / 5 Comments

I took the photo just a minute after arriving at Cedar Pass campground. Much of the “original badlands” scenery is down in canyons, but these peaks are more photogenic. The long loop road is worth it, and the park allows even off-trail scrambling. The ranger talk was excellent, and I learned that the town of Wall (and famous Wall Drug Store) is named after the barrier that the park’s landscape presents to travel.

Here’s the link to my visits to all parks in South Dakota.

Devils Tower National Monument

/ bigdiff / 4 Comments

There are climbers in the photo on top of the leaning column on the left. I walked around whistling the theme from Close Encounters, but nobody seemed to get the reference. The area nearby is also beautiful, with a prairie dog town and lovely green and red valley with bison.

Here’s the link to my visits to all parks in Wyoming.

El Malpais National Monument

/ bigdiff / 4 Comments

The caves were closed by Covid, but I enjoyed the hike and wildlife. There’s a private site nearby that apparently is still conducting “ice cave” tours. I’m happy to leave the bats alone underground and not risk introducing fungus or disease. I suppose it’s ironic to have the cave closed here when Covid likely originated from a bat cave in China. But the larger problem is that climate change is spreading more diseases globally, affecting both us and other species, so we need to be more responsible.

I should add that beyond the borders of the monument, there are both wilderness and conservation areas protected in El Malpais, meaning badlands.

Click to see my photos of all national park units in New Mexico.

Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument

/ bigdiff / 3 Comments

This park is surrounded by real wilderness, and any intelligent visitor would plan on camping overnight to take a longer hike or maybe even a trail ride on horseback. Of course, I drove through on my way back to Arizona, practicing my hairpin turns on mountain switchback roads. Well, at least I didn’t burn any species-ending fossil fuels on the drive.

The cliff dwellings are spectacular, with details like a wall mural and a pictogram, well worth the brief hike along the pretty creek and up the cliff side. Unlike Montezuma Castle NM, I was able to climb right into the main room and climb ladders to peer into the past. There was even a volunteer there who reminded me that pictograms are painted and petroglyphs are carved.

Click to see my photos of all national park units in New Mexico.

Walnut Canyon National Monument

/ bigdiff / 1 Comment

With a bit of hiking down into the canyon, you can walk right alongside many cliff dwellings and look across the canyon at more. The steps bring on a bit of vertigo and require extra breathing at around 6,500′, but the views are extraordinary. Plan ahead, since the Island Trail closes at 3:30 pm.

Both the alcoves along the trail and in the distance contain many cliff dwellings.

Click to see my photos of all national park units in Arizona.

Pinnacles National Park

/ bigdiff / 2 Comments

I enjoy revisiting parks now that I travel by electric vehicle (EV), but this one was particularly good. When Pinnacles was still a National Monument before 2013 and I still traveled by burning carbon, we took the kids, but our timing was a bit off. Pinnacles gets crowded on weekends with full campgrounds and limited parking at trailheads. And the seasons are tricky. Winter can be too cold with icy roads in the hills, and summer is too hot for me, especially with our new and changing climate. Spring break is popular, and the campground pool opens on April 1st this year. Last time, we experienced both too many crowds and too much heat. After a bit of research, I decided to go mid-week at the beginning of Spring.

The biggest difference is visiting the caves at Bear Gulch. To protect the large, sensitive colony of Townsend’s big eared bats, it’s rare to be able to visit the entire cave. I remember being underwhelmed by the caves on our earlier visit and described it as being more like a narrow canyon with a few boulders stuck overhead, compared to other caves in the park system. So this time, I checked the status of the caves, and I learned that the last week of March often has full cave access, before the bat breeding season starts. And wow, it was a very different experience.

First, I hiked from the campground to save EV battery range and get more exercise. That turned out to be a beautiful hike through varied terrain with quail, wild turkeys, woodpeckers, jays, turkey vultures and other birds. But when the Gulch narrowed, I felt the cold air from underground, even before entering the lower caves. Last time, we must have taken the less-scenic shortcut. This time, I felt like a spelunker. By the time I got to the upper caves, my iPhone was in my breast pocket for light, because scrambling and ducking required both hands. It was more adventure than I expected, but fortunately, people along the way helped keep me on the path to the lovely small reservoir at the top. Well worth revisiting!

“An elf would go underground, where a dwarf dare not. Oh, I’d never hear the end of it.” — LOTR Return of the King

Click to see my photos of all national park units in California.