zeke
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Peekaboo slot 2023
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Post by zeke on Sept 5, 2020 4:37:31 GMT -8
I am returning to the Grand Canyon later this month, and I thought about why it has such a draw for me. The difficulties about the place are a lack of shade and water. The positives are the lack of trees (hence the lack of shade) obstructing the views of the magnificent red rocks, and the wonderment of where and when the water is found amongst the rock. I think I enjoy the ability of the scenery to overwhelm my vision, for it to be so large it cannot be taken in by the human eye, without turning your head. Our field of vision is not wide enough to take it all in.
I know others of you are fond of a place so much as to return to it frequently. For some, it may be the Tetons, or the Sierra Mts. Tell me about your go to place, the one spot you cannot get enough of.
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crawford
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Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.--Edison
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Post by crawford on Sept 5, 2020 5:07:47 GMT -8
This pales in comparison, but I find myself returning to a 26 mile loop in NE Pennsylvania. It is named the Pinchot trail and it doesn't offer great vista's (only one) and isn't grand. It does have a nice waterfall. I think the draw is two-fold. First, it gives the impression of transitioning through different ecosystems (deciduous forest, alpine meadow, bog, river bottom) along the trail. Second, it has become an early summer thing for me. Going on it in June is like marking the beginning of the season.
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driftwoody
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Take the path closer to the edge, especially if less traveled
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Post by driftwoody on Sept 5, 2020 5:53:27 GMT -8
I keep going back to Red River Gorge in Kentucky, mostly because I love sandstone bluffs & arches and partly due to its proximity. It's only a 6-1/2 hour drive from my home in Chicagoland, which makes it closer than my other favorite places aside from Southern Illinois. RRG is very popular, but relative solitude can be found on weekdays and on many of the unofficial trails I have yet to fully explore. I've visited some of the same sites many times, and I derive pleasure from bringing first-timers to this hiking mecca. It's also a rock climbing mecca, though I've never gotten into technical climbing. I do, of course, always stop for a meal at Miguel's Pizza.
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driftwoody
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Take the path closer to the edge, especially if less traveled
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Post by driftwoody on Sept 5, 2020 5:56:28 GMT -8
crawford, I've long been meaning to but have yet to hike in Pennsylvania. Always good to have something **new** to look forward to.
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Post by swmtnbackpacker on Sept 5, 2020 6:02:44 GMT -8
Any of the mountain ranges first of all. Sierra, Cascades, and Rockies (including the “Sangres” into southern NM for the summer and spring, respectively. For winter there’s the Superstitions and even, avoiding slick ice areas, the Angeles mountains where the PCT tracks through.
Deserts: the Grand Canyon and Big Bend
One of these days I’ll try the Appalachian trail region and supposedly Alabama is finishing its own long trail which may intersect each other with the Pinhote trail. Does that rhyme somewhat with frijole?
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rebeccad
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Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Sept 5, 2020 6:40:26 GMT -8
Well, if you lump the whole of Canyon Country (the Colorado Plateau) together, that’s one place I could spend much of my life exploring, including returning to old familiar spots. The desert is always different, I think, in a way the mountains may not be. But I will always return to the Sierra Nevada.
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Post by Lamebeaver on Sept 5, 2020 10:56:16 GMT -8
The Gore Range, the La Garita Wilderness, the Sangre de Cristos, the San Juans.
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crawford
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Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.--Edison
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Post by crawford on Sept 5, 2020 11:27:52 GMT -8
crawford, I've long been meaning to but have yet to hike in Pennsylvania. Always good to have something **new** to look forward to. There are some real gems here. The Black Forest Trial (near the PA Grand Canyon) is a 44 mile loop with amazing vistas. The West Rim Trail (another trail nearby) is awesome. The Loyalsock Trail is 60 miles with 11,000 feet of elevation change that does not disappoint. There are many more. If you want to come to PA, let me know. If my schedule allows we can share a trail.
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ErnieW
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I want to backpack
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Post by ErnieW on Sept 5, 2020 12:13:33 GMT -8
crawford, I've long been meaning to but have yet to hike in Pennsylvania. Always good to have something **new** to look forward to. I think I also fall into the category of looking forward to something *new*. I do have go to trails I repeatedly go on for local hikes and taking beginners out on because I know what to expect but nothing like a great love of somewhere like the Grand Canyon that I want to repeatedly visit. The reveal of something new is exciting to me. I want to hike all these hikes mentioned including the GC. I have been to both north and south rims but never had a chance to get a BP trip there.
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driftwoody
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Take the path closer to the edge, especially if less traveled
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Post by driftwoody on Sept 5, 2020 12:19:14 GMT -8
I do have go to trails I repeatedly go on for local hikes Tell us a little about those hikes, please.
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ErnieW
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I want to backpack
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Post by ErnieW on Sept 5, 2020 12:39:18 GMT -8
Tell us a little about those hikes, please. The primary local is Harriman park NY near Bear Mountain. It has a large network of trails so that you can make it up as you go if you like. The alluvial deposits leave large interesting rocks seemingly like they were intentionally placed in the middle of the woods. You can tell which way is north because the glaciers scraped lines into the bedrocks that run the north-south path they took. I am always amazed when I think the area was under a mile or more ice just 14000 years ago. Long Island is just a big pile of alluvial sand where the glacier hit the Atlantic. There are quiet valleys where I can believe I am way out in the wild. There is hilltop camping like West Mountain where you are overlooking miles of the green park, a section of the Hudson river and on a clear night Manhattan twinkling in the distance. For new hikers that want something of a less urban area, Lake Colden in the Adirondacks. It really has the NE mountain experience and puts you in a good place for Mt Marcy. A lot of newbies like the idea of possibly climbing the highest peak in NY.
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driftwoody
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Take the path closer to the edge, especially if less traveled
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Post by driftwoody on Sept 5, 2020 12:49:14 GMT -8
Lake Colden in the Adirondacks. I love the High Peaks, which are a 15 hour drive for me. Scaling Mount Colden from the lake side is a steep climb on bare rock, but the views are worth it! Spent a night at the head of Lake Colden in a shelter, with beautiful mountain reflections on the lake as the daylight dimmed into the night. Hiked along Avalanche Lake on the way there from Heart Lake the first week of October 14 years ago, during peak color. We were the first ones on top of Mt. Marcy a few days later, with winds strong enough to lean into.
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Westy
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Post by Westy on Sept 5, 2020 16:12:37 GMT -8
I am returning to the Grand Canyon later this month, Ditto! Have permit for Powell Plateau/North Bass six (6) nights, seven (7) days for a relaxed outing, Saturday, September 12th-18th. A night on the rim, another on Powell Plateau and four (4) in North Bass zone. Come early and join me! Have space! As far as go to hikes that's easy Every time I go back home it's obligatory to hike Mount Monadnock, NHStay at Home Favorite w/Five hikes YTD, Deseret Peak Wilderness, UT
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texasbb
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Post by texasbb on Sept 5, 2020 17:09:42 GMT -8
...it has become an early summer thing for me. Going on it in June is like marking the beginning of the season. Similarly, I have a season kick-off destination in the Blue Mountains of eastern Washington. An area known as Indian Corral in the Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness is not only one of the first places you can get to around here, but it's the hub of many miles of ridgetop meadows that radiate out in multiple directions. Immediately after the snow melts they are lush green and often covered with billions of mountain parsley, bistort, or--if you get there at exactly the right time--grass widows. Best place to spot wildlife I know of (especially bear, elk, coyote). I look forward to it all winter. I'll post pics when this forum ends its war on static web content.
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Post by Coolkat on Sept 5, 2020 17:26:01 GMT -8
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