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Inside
Essential Park Guide / Spring 2015
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Saddle Up In Shenandoah By Kim A. O’Connell It’s time to cowgirl, or cowboy, up in the parks.
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Rainier With A Plan By Kurt Repanshek Lay out your strategy for visiting Mount Rainier National Park.
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The Slides of March By Patrick Cone Some great late-season turns in the national parks.
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A Rocky Mountain Party By Kurt Repanshek You’re invited to a party at Rocky Mountain National Park.
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Down In The Narrows By Michael A. Lanza A National Park Classic: The Narrows At Zion National Park.
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Western Comfort There’s an authenticity in the air, and the accommodations, at Bryce Canyon.
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On the Road Again By NPT Staff From castles of stone to fresh lobster, these trips are enticing.
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On the cover Editor: Kurt Repanshek Art Director: Courtney Cooper
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Acadia Revisited, 40 Years Later By Kurt Repanshek Don’t let 40 years pass between Acadia National Park visits.
Special Projects Editor: Patrick Cone
Stay Out Of the Mud By Kurt Repanshek Spring can be muddy, but choose wisely and it needn’t be.
Contributors: Michael A. Lanza, Kim A. O’Connell, Colleen Miniuk-Sperry
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Books, Gear, Et Al. By NPT Staff Some books, and a watch or two, for park travelers.
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Three Days in the Parks By Kurt Repanshek Don’t tick off Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania with a windshield tour.
Contributing Photographers: Deby Dixon, Rebecca Latson Editorial Interns: Jameson Clifton, Miri Gubler
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Showy flowers are just one beautiful aspect of Mount Rainier National Park. Photo by Deby Dixon.
Essential Park Guides are published by National Park Advocates, LLC, to showcase how best to enjoy and explore the National Park System. National Park Advocates, LLC, P.O. Box 980452, Park City, Utah, 84098. © 2015 Essential Park Guide, Spring 2015. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.
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•••• from the publisher
Spring Is No Season S To Be Cooped Up
pringtime is a bit of an “in-between” season. It’s somewhere between the longer, warmer days of summer and the cooler and muddier days of a late winter. Hopefully you’ll find your place farther from winter’s cold and closer to summer’s breezes. But with the National Park System as your playground, seek the climate you desire this spring. You can head to the high-country in the western half of the country for some late-season corn skiing. Patrick Cone did just that for the ski trip to Great Basin National Park he describes beginning on page 12. Or saddle up with Kim O’Connell and explore Shenandoah National Park by horseback, an experience you can find starting on page 5. Spring is also a great time to plan your trip to Mount Rainier National Park, Acadia National Park, or perhaps Bryce Canyon National Park. Or visit that park that you always promised yourself you’d visit. Maybe it’s a backpack through The Narrows at Zion National Park; read Michael Lanza’s story beginning on page 21. And, of course, there’s a big centennial celebration this year at Rocky Mountain National Park. Or maybe this is the spring you head out on a road trip in the park system. Plan a long weekend before the dog days of summer set in and explore the diversity of our parks. Ponder the remnants of ancient civilizations at Montezuma Castle National Monument, or take a walk through a frozen forest of stone at Petrified Forest National Park. Spring is the season to get a jump on the crowds in Acadia National Park. You also could head to Kentucky to walk the grounds where Abraham Lincoln was born, then head deep underground at Mammoth Cave National Park.
Springtime blooms in Capitol Reef National Park’s Fruita orchards / Kurt Repanshek
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These are just a few of the amazing public destinations open to you, and on page 34 there’s a larger selection to get your feet moving. Spring is not a season to stay cooped up inside. Wherever you go, just go. ~ Kurt Repanshek
Shenandoah National Park has miles of trail to explore from the back of a horse. Bring your own, or sign on for a trail ride at Skyland Stables / Delaware North at Shenandoah National park photos
By Kim A. O’Connell
As a longtime resident of northern Virginia, I feel like I know Shenandoah National Park fairly well. I’ve driven the 105-mile length of Skyline Drive several times, stayed in and near the park, and spent many weekends hiking there. And yet I’ve never experienced the park from the back of a horse...until now.
It was a late spring day, and my husband and I had arrived at Skyland Stables where we were planning to take a guided horseback tour through one of the park’s most scenic and historic areas. I’ve ridden horses before, but in fairly flat, manicured locations. Riding in mountainous terrain is a different story, and I was both excited and a little nervous. Shenandoah is just one of several national parks (including monuments, battlefields and other sites) that offer guided horseback tours and miles of open
bridle trails to park visitors. Whether you’re riding along the historic carriage roads at Acadia, climbing toward the snowy peaks of Rocky Mountain, or descending into the depths of Grand Canyon, horseback riding allows you to get out of the car, away from the crowds, and into a park’s interior without the effort that hiking or backpacking requires. It also brings riders in touch with a long-lost mode of travel across these majestic landscapes. Located off of Skyline Drive at Milepost 42.5, Skyland Stables has been
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Scenic Summits
Right: Time in the saddle at Glacier National Park brings the park’s immense beauty clearly into view/Swan Mountain Outfitters
a part of Shenandoah for more than 75 years. Newly renovated in 2014, the stables have 1- and 2 1/2-hour guided horseback rides for older children and adults, as well as pony rides for little ones five and under. The rides are appropriate for people who are experienced in the saddle as well as relative greenhorns like me. For those who have their own steeds, Shenandoah has about 200 miles of trails open to equestrians. They range from smooth gravel paths to steeper, more challenging routes. On the day of our visit, we were immediately transported away from our urban life when we spotted the stable: three original wooden structures arranged in a U-shape that house 12 horses. Our wrangler gave us a brief introduction and safety-talk: no open-toed shoes, and stay in a single file and on the trail. Then we were up on our horses for a one-hour ride. My horse was a light brown beauty with a white nose, and it moved gracefully and deliberately. I felt comfortable in the saddle. After we crossed Skyline Drive, our group of six riders moved onto an east-bound trail and down the mountainside into Whiteoak Canyon and the Limberlost area of the park. A hush fell over the group as we were lulled by the rhythmic clopping of hooves on the trail. Along the way, we passed a rocky stream, imposing stands of lush trees, and quiet meadows. We ambled along slowly, the warm breeze in our faces, birds chirping in the air, and small mammals rustling through the brush. Deer, bobcat and even black bears have all been spotted on these
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National park scenery is varied and stunning when seen from horseback. At Glacier National Park in Montana, for example, Swan Mountain Outfitters guides horseback tours that range from an hour to a whole day or even overnight (their Cowboy Cookout rides also include a steak dinner). As in Shenandoah, Glacier’s history is tied to horse travel. The park’s earliest visitors arrived via the Great Northern Railroad, and then spent days or weeks crossing the park in the saddle. According to Hannah Neel, Swan Mountain’s assistant general manager of operations, “Horseback riding is the most historically accurate mode of travel through the park.” Some of the trails have quite a bit of elevation change. They take you up into the high country to show off cerulean mountain lakes, rugged peaks, and old-growth forest. Elk, deer, mink, mountain lions, and grizzly bears are often spotted on these trails. Despite the sometimes challenging terrain, riders do not need any experience finding a horse tour that suits their interests. “We’ve taken people out who have never even seen a horse in person before,” Neel says. “Each of our horses is unique, and each of our experiences is unique. Our goal is to help our clients to value Glacier National Park and keep it protected.”
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Horses through History You can spend time in the saddle at several historic sites and battlefields as well. At Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania, concessioners lead visitors along some of the battleground’s most pivotal areas on rides that can take as little as one hour or most of a day. One such outfit, Cornerstone Farms, begins its horse tours along the Confederate line at Seminary Ridge. From there, riders cross the field where Gen. George Pickett charged on the battle’s momentous third day. Then, you’ll wind around other areas of the Union line to the base of Little Round Top, where a courageous Union charge held off a Confederate attack. Riders can go out with an experienced wrangler who offers some basic waypoints or with a licensed battlefield guide to immerse themselves deeper into Civil War history. “When you’re riding a horse, you’re experiencing the battlefield the way the soldiers did,” says John Paxson, owner of Cornerstone Farms. “Often I’ll take people out and they’ll be so quiet during the tour that I’ll think that they don’t like it, but then we get back and they don’t stop talking. They’re just so busy soaking it all in. “Not only are you experiencing this significant battlefield, but you’re also experiencing a relationship with a horse. It’s a great way to visit a national park.”
Touring Gettysburg National Military Park (stables at top) by horseback offers a surprisingly different experience. At Glacier National Park, riders head out to enjoy gem-like lakes and spectacular panoramas. / Cornerstone Farms, top photo, Swan Mountain Outfitters
rides, although I’m not lucky enough today to see any of them myself. An old apple orchard reminds us that generations of mountain people once made their homes in this Shenandoah landscape, long before the park was
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created. To soon, we returned to the stable, refreshed and invigorated. “Horseback riding has a long tradition at Skyland,” says Nick Smith, the general manager of the Skyland Resort, which also includes a restaurant, gift
shop, and lodging. “When you take one of our tours, you’re not only getting an interpretive message about the park and its history, but the horse does all the work.” Ride on.
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Laying Out Your Strategy For Exploring Mount Rainier By Kurt Repanshek
It’s easy to find Mount Rainier National Park from Seattle or Tacoma. Just point your vehicle toward the large, snow-cloaked mountain that stands against the eastern horizon and drive.
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Standing on the horizon like an enormous ice cream sundae, minus the cherry on top, Mount Rainier lures visitors from near and far / Deby Dixon
For the hour or so it took my son and me to drive from Tacoma, that icecream-sundae-vision served as our compass. The mountain steadily filled more and more of our windshield until we got into the forests just outside the park’s year-round Nisqually Entrance, where stands of fir and hemlock surrounded us, allowing only glimpses of Rainier. At more than a quarter-million-acres, this inviting Pacific Northwest landscape with its geologic and botanical wonders, Native American lore, hiking trails and shimmering waterfalls requires hands-on exploration. We were tempted to end our drive just 7 miles inside the park, at the Longmire Historic District with a room in the National Park Inn. This charming, 25-room inn, open yearround, has roots that date to the early 1900s and lures you with a front porch facing the mountain and short nature trails starting right across the road. However, our trip was just beginning. We had reservations in Paradise; more specifically, at the Paradise Inn higher up on Rainier’s flanks. Since it opened in 1917, this inn has been the base camp for visitors hoping to summit the 14,410-foot mountain, stride up onto its snowy flanks to build a spring snowman, or walk among the meadows of colorful wildflowers that begin blooming...in mid-July. As we enter the lobby, we are in awe of the massive cedar beams, rock fireplaces, and the imposing cedar chairs, tables, rustic piano, and ornate grandfather clock handcrafted by Hans Frahnke, a German carpenter, during the winter of 1919. If dining is your pleasure, you will find a large open dining room with tall, wood-framed windows that make it seem as if you’re practically eating on the mountainside itself. Enjoy authentic Northwest cuisine and locally sourced menu items served up fresh for the entire family. Across the parking area stands the Paradise visitor center. Originally built in the 1960s, the Henry M. Jackson Memorial Visitor Center was completely redesigned and rebuilt in 2006 to match the architecture of Paradise’s historic buildings. Inside you’ll find rangers to answer your questions, a short film, The Restless Giant, to orient yourself, and interactive exhibits on the mountain’s wildlife, geology, and human history.
Mount Rainier, despite its icy appearance, offers a deceptively diverse landscape. There are leafy temperate rainforests filled with the loamy smells of moldering earth, the music of cascading streams and melodious birds, and trees, towering trees that dwarf us. Ever-present above this setting is the mountain with its massive snowfields and 25 named glaciers that make Mount Rainier one of the largest glacial systems in the world. You can begin plotting your visit by heading to visitrainier.com and diving into “the Basics.” Here you’ll find an assortment of hiking information, details on what to pack for your day hike, tips for being a courteous hiker, and the exact location of trails in the Mount Rainier area. Dig a bit deeper on the website and you can bone up on fire lookout stations in the park, and overviews of five regions in the park: Sunrise, Carbon River, Ohanapecosh, Longmire, and Paradise. Consider six driving tours that crisscross the park, from the direct route from the Nisqually Entrance to Paradise to the Circle Rainier route, which covers not quite 150 miles but can fill an entire day with the many stops worth making to marvel at the forests, waterfalls, and geology. And to help build your vacation’s photo album, check out the site’s recommendations for photo hotspots not to miss. Mount Rainier, though it has few roads, can overwhelm you if you don’t have a specific itinerary. My son and I were frenetic, hiking up onto the snowfields one day, hiking down to admire 176-foot Narada Falls, pausing at Reflection Lakes to try to frame a black bear against the mountain, and winding up at Ohanapecosh.
Though Mount Rainier is famous for its glaciers, they in turn feed a dazzling number of waterfalls plunging off the mountain / Deby Dixon
We would have been wiser to study Visit Rainier’s photo-rich listings of more than 130 hikes, with details on elevation changes, distances, and snow-free dates, and mapping out a strategic approach for our vacation. Or to look at the organization’s Top 10 list of spring activities, such as riding the Mount Rainier Scenic Railroad that showcases the rumpled, and river-cut, landscape outside the Nisqually Entrance, finding the perfect photo spot to catch both Myrtle Falls and Mount Rainier, or exploring the rainforest hugging the Carbon River just inside the park’s northwest entrance. Though it appears imposing when you start your drive to the park, when you’re standing on the mountain’s flanks you find an inviting landscape. It’s one that, with a little advance preparation, welcomes you in and shows off its wonders. NationalParksTraveler.com
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Spring skiing the corn on Tioga Pass, Yosemite National Park 12 Essential Park Guide | Spring 2015
All signs point to spring: warm winds, green budding trees, flowering bulbs, and... skiing? Sure enough! Spring’s a great time to spend some time sliding around on those broad bowls, snow-covered roads, and long ridges. The weather is mild, the skies are blue, and the days are long: it’s just a lot more comfortable spring-skiing than going on a mid-winter slog in a blizzard through deep snow. While you won’t have this option in every national park, there are some where spring is the season to avoid the crowds. Out West the options are many, as retreating snowpacks improve road access into the park’s special spots. The glacial cirque below Wheeler Peak, in Nevada’s Great Basin National Park, is one of those magical places. You’ll find solitude and views and the still-
ness of the wilderness as you glide by the oldest living things on Earth: the bristlecone pines. Our packs were lighter than usual as we headed ten miles, and 2,500 feet, up the scenic drive from the gate near Lehman Caves. But we still carried enough cold-weather gear to survive a surprise spring storm. A few hours later we’d set up our tents (away from the archaic groves), and after a quick lunch headed into the broad bowls. Protect-
ed from a strong western wind, we were soon in shirtsleeves, slathered in sunscreen, as each step propelled us dozens of feet along the corny snowpack. Around us the bristlecones watched us glide by; limestone spires lined the shoulders of the 13,063-foot peak. Back in camp we had a leisurely dinner and watched the twilight give way to a vast blackness below, punctuated by a rogue headlight from a ranch truck headed to town. Great Basin
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Skiing the backcountry of Grand Teton National Park
is known for its astounding night skies, and even an autumn Astronomy Festival, but we had timed our late-March trip for the full moon. Looking down at the horizon a yellow fingernail of light grew to a full orb and seemed five times bigger than normal, lighting up our faces. An old hand, jokingly, had once told me that, “The snow soaks up the sunlight during the day, and lets it off slowly throughout the night,” but I wasn’t buying it. We were able to read the map clearly by moonlight as we shouldered our packs and headed to the northern ridge. Trading our skis for ice axes, we clambered up the 3,000 feet to the summit where it wasn’t exactly warm. The sleeping desert below was bathed in blue light. One of my partners said, “Well, this is better than virtual reality.” He had that right. After spending the witching hour on top we took the quick way back down the ridge, glissading and using our axes as brakes. Back at camp, we grinned wildly at each other, with dreams and reality intertwined.
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Here are a few suggestions for your spring skiing: Great Basin National Park has a number of great, ungroomed ski trails, plus you can camp at the Wheeler Peak Campground for free during the winter. Head up Lehman Creek, and make sure you leave time for a tour of Lehman Caves while you’re there.
Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks are two gems of the Sierra Nevada in California. From the west you can access a number of ski trails, and even reserve a spot at the Pear Lake Ski Hut for $40 per person per night. It’s a steep six-mile-trail from Wolverton Meadow, but worth the hike. Or, you can come in through Kings Canyon’s attic door from the town of Bishop by skiing to South Lake and into the head of LeConte Canyon. Take your sunscreen because spring
days here are like being in a solar reflector oven. There are a number of guide companies that will share their world with you, too. Once the Tioga Road opens, the Tuolumne Meadows area in Yosemite National Park is smooth sailing on skis. There are immense snowfields, bowls, and glades, and for a thrill take a run down Mt. Dana, which stands like a sentinel above the pass. Or stay low on the west side of the park, at Crane Flat or Mariposa Grove. Spend
The Wheeler Peak cirque and ancient bristlecone forest at Great Basin National Park.
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Top: Spring skiing the big bowls of the Sierra Nevada Above: Log cabin on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park
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a spectacular night at the Glacier Point Hut, accessed from the Badger Pass Ski Area road. It’s a 10-mile groomed trail, and it’s a bit pricey (prices start at $146 per night per person) but worth the glimpse, straight down, into the Yosemite Valley. Yellowstone National Park has miles and miles of ski trails, like the Tower Falls area for the adventurous skier and snowshoer. For an overnight adventure (backcountry permit required) ski into the Heart Lake area from the park’s South Entrance. Have lunch next to Rustic Geyser, where elk and bison have made their peace, then climb up Phil Sheridan Mountain for the ski of your life. While Grand Canyon National Park might not show up on your ski-trip list, the North Rim, at 9,000 feet, offers a rolling forest with views of, well, the greatest earth on show. The snow lasts here well into May. Ski over to Saddle Mountain through the long meadows from the Kaibab Lodge for a peek up the Colorado River.
Essential Park Guide | Spring 2015
On the other side of the country, a bountiful winter, like this year’s, could enable some spring Nordic skiing on the 45 miles of carriage roads at Acadia National Park in Maine. Some are groomed and some are not, and you can rent gear nearby. Other possibilities are some of the mountain flanks that drop below the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, such as on Roan Mountain near Boone, North Carolina. Wherever you head, late in the day conditions can turn mushy in warm weather, so earlier is better. A freeze at night will lead to perfect corn snow conditions the next morning once the sun hits the terrain. As always, be prepared for weather and emergencies. Obtain backcountry camping permits where necessary if you’re spending the night, and know your snow safety (beware the slides of March), and always carry beacons, collapsible shovels, and a first aid kit.
Backcountry Bed
Estes Park, Colorado – the base camp for Rocky Mountain National Park. NationalParksTraveler.com Join us in celebrating 100 years of pristine beauty. VisitEstesPark.com
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SPONSORED CONTENT
Get Into The Party Mode in Estes Park: Celebrating 100 Years of Rocky Mountain National Park By Kurt Repanshek
Rising before the sun, I was out the cabin door not long after its rays started cascading on the Continental Divide. The early departure was necessary to catch the gentle morning light warming the landscape of Rocky Mountain National Park. I also wanted to snag a parking spot at Bear Lake and head up the trail. 18
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My pace, and the sun climbing higher in the sky, combined to convince me to shed my outer layer before I reached Nymph Lake, which is cradled by pines barely a half-mile up from the trailhead. For those unaccustomed to the park’s elevation, this lake, at 9,700 feet, is a good first-day destination. You get to stretch your legs, acclimate your lungs, and enjoy a beautiful setting. Log benches provide great resting spots with views of 12,713-foot Hallett Peak reflecting off the water. Arrive early enough, and quietly enough, and you might see some of the locals – elk – come down to the water for a quick slurp. Spring is a favored season in the national park with locals and repeat visitors. Park visitation is lower, and the mountains are coming alive with new growth, new babies, and refreshed views. If you’re not camping in the park, Estes Park is a smart springtime base camp. Not only are Rocky Mountain’s Fall River and Beaver Meadows entrance stations practically in town, but roughly two-thirds of the park’s 355 miles of trails thread through the eastern half of the park. That means plenty of options for both avoiding the snow...and seeking it out. And, there are plenty of lodging choices to consider,
Left: Sprague Lake is a summertime main attraction, but also a great destination in spring / Robert Burns
from log cabins along rippling creeks to high-end suites. Winter is somewhat milder on the eastern side of the Continental Divide, which means trails in spring generally will dry out more quickly than those on the western side. But that’s not to say you wouldn’t want some shoe traction, or even snowshoes, in your daypack if you’re planning to push as high as your legs will carry you. While a snowy start to spring can make the hike to Nymph Lake more challenging, lower elevation options such as Sprague Lake, Gem Lake and Mill Creek Basin await. Or, you could enjoy hours at Bear Lake. If the snows have melted off, stroll the wonderful nature trail that wraps the lake. It’s just a bit over a half-mile in length, and basically level, so a great option for youngsters just getting their hiking legs under them. Looking for wildlife? Check Horseshoe Park and Sheep Lakes not far inside the Fall River Entrance for both elk and bighorn sheep, but admire them from a distance so you don’t stress them (and for your safety). After the winter months they need to put on, not unnecessarily burn off, calories. April can be a stormy month, and if the weather becomes too great to be outdoors, Estes Park’s streets abound with possibilities. You could explore Western history through the exhibits at the Estes Park Museum, tour a historic hotel, or take part in a craft beverage tasting at a local distillery, winery, or brewery. Rocky Mountain National Park is celebrating its centennial this year, and the celebration has filled the calendar with events tied to the park’s birthday. The Estes Park Museum, for instance, has exhibits and talks celebrating the park’s climbing history. There are concerts, field trips, and special talks on tap in the town and in the park. Curious about science conducted in the park? On March 4-5 the Continental Divide Research Learning Center Research Conference will look back over a century of research in the park, ranging from geology and bark beetles to fisheries and visitor use during a conference at the Estes Park Museum. On March 23, the rich collaboration through
Spring snowmelt fuels Alberta Falls, which you can find a short distance from Bear Lake / Kurt Repanshek
the decades by groups such as the Town of Estes Park, the Colorado Conservation Fund, and the Rocky Mountain Conservancy will explore the benefits of community support of the park. In April, Earth Day and Junior Ranger Day will be celebrated on the 25th at the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. Or, you could attend a program April 27 at the Estes Park Museum that looks at the pioneers of climbing in the park. The Western Heritage Art and Artisan Show and Sale will be spread over the Memorial Day weekend at the Stanley Fairgrounds Pavilion Building in Estes Park. Whenever you visit, after your day
in the park, or before if you’re an early riser, consider a stroll along the riverwalk near Elkhorn Avenue. There you’ll find the tumbling Fall River and inviting shops and restaurants. Ahead of your trip, explore VisitEstesPark.com/Centennial to see what other events or programs will coincide with your visit and to learn more about the first 100 years of Rocky Mountain National Park. While you don’t need a birthday celebration as an excuse to visit Rocky Mountain National Park, it certainly works this year.
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Words and photos by Michael Lanza
We splash downstream in The Narrows of the North Fork of the Virgin River, deep in the backcountry of Utah’s Zion National Park, mostly craning our necks up like turkeys hypnotized by falling rain. But our fascination is not with rain, but red walls on both sides that rise hundreds of feet overhead. The sun does not find us in this deep canyon, where the air temperature approximates the inside of a refrigerator, and the ankle- to calf-deep water feels about the same.
Not long into the first day of your top-to-bottom hike, the canyon walls close in on you.
Then we round a bend in the river and the walls abruptly draw in really close. My friend David Gordon and I grin and wade slowly into the first true “narrows” section of The Narrows. Sheer, roughly 200-foot-tall walls pinch in to maybe 15 feet apart. While we’ve been in the river more often than walking beside it since we started the hike three hours ago, and have forded it dozens of times, now the river spans the entire gap wall to wall. It’s still only calf-deep, but darker and even cooler in here—and funereally quiet. David and I have come to Zion to finally scratch the itch I’ve had for years, to backpack one of the National Park System’s greatest and most enduringly popular routes: Zion’s Narrows. A 16-mile hike from the top at Chamberlain’s Ranch, outside the park, to the bottom at the Temple of Sinawava in Zion Canyon, The Narrows canyon reaches depths of more than 1,000 feet, while its walls at times squeeze in to just 20 feet apart.
Hiking The Narrows is, in a sense, both a macro and a micro sensory experience. You gaze up in awe at sculpted walls rising into a cobalt sky, the red rock streaked black in places where water briefly pours over them during a rain, and only the very tops of the cliffs kissed by sunshine. From that perspective, the scale humbles. But it’s also very much a close-up, intimate environment: chilly river water fills your boots, and your feet stay wet from the first river ford—less than an hour into the hike—until you pull your boots off at the Temple of Sinawava trailhead. (We wore special canyoneering boots that drain water, and warm, 4mm-thick neoprene socks.) Hanging gardens of greenery sprout from sandstone walls, nourished by natural springs pouring from cracks in the stone. Much of the way, you step from one slick, rounded river stone to the next, ankles working harder than any other body part. In autumn, the leaves of cottonwood trees growing in wider stretches of the canyon burn a brilliant golden against the burgundy cliffs. Leaving campsite No.1 on our second morning, David and I hike another two hours downstream before encountering another pair of backpackers—the first people we’ve seen since we got dropped off at the trailhead yesterday. But then we begin running into day hikers coming upstream, a flow that starts as a trickle, but grows into a steady stream. We’re glad we backpacked The Narrows instead of day-hiking it from the bottom up, for the solitude you get in the upper section.
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Campsites bring you almost on level with the Virgin River flowing by.
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Still, despite the growing numbers of hikers, we’re transfixed by the canyon. Beyond the incongruously lush ferns and plants growing out of the wall at Big Spring, where water erupts from rock as if by black magic, we
pass through the Wall Street stretch of The Narrows—the most-famous and most-photographed leg of this hike. Dark, vertical walls barely 30 feet apart shoot hundreds of feet straight up out of the water. Even at midday, the light
in here is as dim as dusk. Below Wall Street, the canyon widens and we walk in warm, bright sunlight for the first time in some 24 hours—a stark contrast with the sometimes-chilly innards of The Narrows. Now there’s a parade of day hikers
filing past us—also in striking contrast with much of this adventure. But it’s OK. We’ve seen one of the special places of the National Park System, and for much of the time, we had it to ourselves.
Backpacking The Narrows The 16-mile descent of Zion’s Narrows can be done in a day or as an overnight backpacking trip. Because you’re walking in the river much of the time, on slippery, rounded rocks, total walking time can run 12 to 16 hours or more. Camping a night in the canyon is a unique experience, and allows you extra time to explore tributary canyons and take a lot of photos. Because the canyon receives little direct sunlight and the water can be cold, the prime season to hike it is late spring and summer. Flash floods are a danger, so do not enter the canyon when rain is in the forecast. A backcountry permit is required to hike The Narrows from top to bottom, whether you’re backpacking or dayhiking it, and it’s difficult to get a permit for this popular hike. You can reserve one up to three months in advance, enter a drawing for a permit reservation seven to two days in advance, or go to the park’s backcountry office in early morning the day before you want to start the hike and apply for a first-come permit. For details on how to apply for a permit, see this website. The road to the upper end of the hike, Chamberlain’s Ranch, is long and rough; shuttling vehicles yourself can take hours and risk damaging your own vehicle. Shuttles, as well as rental gear for Narrows trips (dry suit, canyoneering boots, and neoprene socks), are provided by: Nama Guides www.namaguides.com Red Rock Shuttle www.redrockshuttle.com Zion Adventure Co. www.zionadventures.com
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SPONSORED CONTENT
Enjoy Western Authenticity at Bryce Canyon National Park
Western authenticity: you’ll see it in the towering ponderosa pine trees, the deeply eroded canyons that showcase the sunrises and sunsets, the horseback riders wending their way below the canyon rims. Bryce Canyon is home to the world’s largest collection of hoodoos—tall, slender, multicolored rock spires and minarets. Find your spot on an overlook in the predawn dark and ready your camera for the morning sun lighting up these rare geological formations. The orange glow makes the rocks come alive and casts long shadows deep into the natural amphitheater. That same Western authenticity is the essence of what the Syrett family has been delivering to visi-
tors who have been coming since 1916 to explore Bryce Canyon National Park. They have been welcoming visitors to Ruby’s Inn for decades, starting seven years before the landscape was designated a national monument and a dozen years before it received national park status. Thanks to its location at the park’s front door, a stay at Ruby’s allows you to leave your rig in the parking lot and enjoy the park’s Western splendor and the Syrett family’s hospitality.
Standing on the rim of Bryce Canyon removes any doubt that this landscape should be in the National Park System / Ruby’s Inn
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“Guests enjoy being on the doorstep of Bryce Canyon,” Ruby’s Inn General Manager Lance Syrett said. “By being just minutes away from the main overlook, you have the ability to take in as many incredible sunrises and sunsets as you’d like.” Spend an entire week exploring the park with Ruby’s as your base camp, or wind up there after a backpacking trip along the park’s 22-mile-long Underthe-Rim Trail to savor a hot shower, a swim in the indoor pool, and dinner built around a sizzling ribeye steak, or Utah trout, in one of the restaurants. Ebenezer’s Barn and Grill at Ruby’s Inn entertains crowds nightly with a Western dinner show and cowboy grub. It’s a comforting thought. Ruby’s Inn played a prominent role in the decision to build a multi-use path from the inn’s grounds into the park. When completed this fall, the path will allow you to walk or ride your bike directly into Bryce Canyon. Or, find a seat on the Bryce Canyon Shuttle, which runs the length of the park’s 18-mile rim road, with multiple stops along the way. “We offer the best of both worlds,” said Jean Seiler, director of marketing for Ruby’s Inn. “The hotel is literally surrounded by the national park and has access to exclusive overlooks that allow for exciting family adventures.” Whatever season you choose for a visit, there’s something going on at Ruby’s Inn to complement your days in the park. Through the summer months you can attend the Bryce Canyon Country Rodeo, or just before Labor Day test yourself with the 5-mile Bryce Canyon Rim Run. February snows give a backdrop to the Bryce Canyon Winter Festival. It’s a great excuse to crosscountry ski or create snow
sculptures at 8,000 feet. Without a doubt, the most popular activities are the summer wagon rides and horseback trips in Bryce Canyon and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. Available for all ages and skill levels, the horseback tours wind through some of the most beautiful scenery that southern Utah has to offer. Riders explore the very trails used by Old West outlaws, and you’ll see remnants of ancient Native American cultures. Bryce Canyon is just one of the attractions easily accessible from Ruby’s Inn. The area is home to the white sandstone domes of Capitol Reef National Park, the layered plateaus of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and the tall chimney rocks of Kodachrome Basin State Park. “Visitors always wish they had planned additional days to explore this beautiful area,” said Falyn Owens, executive director of the tourism office for Bryce Canyon Country. “Our best advice is for guests to take their time and create some unforgettable memories.” At nightfall, prepare to be awestruck by the night skies. Bryce Canyon is recognized as having one of the darkest skies of any park in North America, affording brilliant views of the galaxies. Families are invited to take part in ranger-led astronomy presentations and telescope viewing sessions. Ruby’s Inn and its sister property, The Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel, have perfect accommodations for large groups as well. Together, the two hotels provide unique and memorable experiences for family reunions, corporate retreats, and other groups. Ruby’s Inn is only a four-hour drive from either Las Vegas or Salt Lake City. For quicker access, the nearby commercial airport in Cedar City offers Delta Connection flights.
While you can hike along the rim top, or beneath it, horses are ready to carry you into Bryce Canyon / Ruby’s Inn
Ruby’s Inn, pictured here in 1930, was welcoming guests years before Bryce Canyon became a national park / Ruby’s Inn
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Spring Has Sprung
By Patrick Cone, Miri Gubler, and Kurt Repanshek
No matter where you live, or where you’re traveling, there are some great road trips to multiple park destinations. On The Road To Castles Of Stone And Wooden Rock
Arizona is rich in history – from the 1800s all the way back to the Late Triassic Period. Stitch together some of this history with a trip from Flagstaff to Montezuma Castle National Monument and Petrified Forest National Park before ending at Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site. You’ll experience fascinating chapters of geologic and cultural history. At Montezuma Castle, 45 minutes south of Flagstaff and just off Interstate 17 (Exit 289), stand before a 5-story-tall cliff dwelling that offered safety from invaders: 100 feet above the valley floor, nestled into an alcove. The site was misnamed Montezuma Castle in the late 1800s
by whites who thought the structure had been built by the Aztecs. The original owners, members of the Southern Sinagua people, called this area home from roughly 1100-1425 A.D. A short trail loops around a vegetated landscape below the “castle,” and provides great views as well of the crumbled remains of “Castle A,” which once rose 60 feet and was home to about 100 residents. From there, it’s 95 miles via Arizona 87 to Winslow, and then 34 miles east on Interstate 40 to Holbrook. Another 19 miles southeast on Arizona 180 and you’ll enter Petrified Forest National Park and its unusual landscape. There’s no lodging within the park, and you have to leave by sundown, so you will need to make some tough decisions if you have
A castle of stone is the main attraction at Montezuma Castle National Monument not far from Flagstaff, Arizona / Kurt Repanshek
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Wood turned to stone shows off its mineralized colors in many areas of Petrified Forest Naional Park. On the northern end of the park, the Painted Desert runs to the horizon / Kurt Repanshek
just one day. Do you take time to tour the Rainbow Forest Museum with its dinosaur displays, or hike out to Agate House? A building built of petrified wood is pretty cool, so we’d suggest you stretch your legs. Then head to the Crystal Forest Trail and wander this path, surrounded by petrified wood with its hues of yellow, red, and green, black and white. Blue Mesa is another great stop. A trail takes you down into another colorful landscape of badlands with chunks, logs, and even slabs of petrified wood. The northern end of the road is anchored by the Painted Desert, a great place for sunset photos. You’ll also see the Painted Desert Inn, which some day could put the Park Service back into the lodging business. Back on Interstate 40, drive 22 miles east to Chambers, and then north on U.S. 191 for about 38 miles to Ganado and Hubbell Trading Post. This authentic trading post was opened by John Lorenzo Hubbell in 1878 on the Navajo Reservation. Although it was added to the National Park System in 1967, it’s not a museum piece but an active trading post. As such, it still holds richly woven Navajo rugs, jewelry, and other Native American artworks for purchase. Schedule your visit for May and you just might be able to attend the annual Native American Art Auction. Check with the park (928-755-3475) for the exact date. From Hubbell, it’s three hours back to Flagstaff. But you could extend your trip by heading 39 miles north on 191 to Canyon de Chelly National Monument. 28
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Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park, Mammoth Cave National Park, Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area Spring is a lovely time for a visit to the Cumberland Mountains. On rocky slopes up high the Catawba rhododendron blooms. The Painted Trillium, spring beauty, and red buds burst forth from their dormancy in all of their beauty. Take a few days to fill your eyes with beauty, your soul with history, and your body with adventure. Begin just south of Louisville, Kentucky. An hour’s drive will lead you to Abraham Lincoln’s birthplace, in Hodgenville. People from around the world make a point to visit and honor our 16th president here. Lincoln was born in a one-room log cabin on his father’s land, Sinking Spring Farm, and it was these humble and rugged beginnings that shaped the man who shaped our nation. Start at the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park visitor center for a glimpse of the family Bible before you walk up the 56 granite steps (representing Lincoln’s age) into the Memorial Building, where you’ll marvel at the tiny, one-room cabin that’s a replica of the one he was raised in. Walk the fields of the farm and see the landscape he saw, and the
This replica cabin gives you a feel for the one in which Lincoln was raised / NPS
creek that nearly drowned him. For the adventurous, head just 43 miles south to Mammoth Cave National Park, home of the world’s longest cave system known, with 400 miles of surveyed passages, and home to a dozen endangered sightless creatures. You can take an hour tour, or travel for hours with only a lantern as did the early explorers, who called, this cave, “a grand, gloomy and peculiar place.” You can even take a wilderness tour as you crawl through dusty tunnels. You’ll see magnificent structures,
New York City isn’t the only home of Broadway. Mammoth Cave has its own version of Broadway that you can stroll on the Historic Cave Tour / NPS
with whimsical names like Frozen Niagara, Fat Man’s Misery, and the Grand Avenue. Up top there are 80 miles of hiking trails, 31 miles of river trail on the Green and Nolin rivers, camping, biking, and horseback riding through verdant hardwood forest. If you pine for the free-flowing rivers of the Cumberland Plateau, drive 120 miles to the southeast to the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area that hugs the Kentucky-Tennessee border. There are miles of sandstone bluffs, pinnacles, and chimneys along this river valley. Take a whitewater trip, or spend some time bird-watching, or even bear-watching.
Mount Desert Island Road Trip Loop, Schoodic Peninsula, Saint Croix Island International Historic Site
Springtime finds many flocking to the warmer climates and sun, desperate to break free of winter. But put off bathing-suit season for just a while longer and head north to Acadia National Park in late April or early May to beat the summer crowds. From Ellsworth, Maine, it’s only about 20 minutes to Bar Harbor, the park’s gateway town, on Route 3, the only road that connects Mount Desert Island to the mainland. Relax and explore Bar Harbor’s cultural downtown area, visit the Abbe Museum, tour the William A. Bracken art gallery, and finish by grabbing a lobster dinner on the dock at Stewman’s Lobster Pound. The next day grab some maps and guidebooks at the Hull’s Cove Visitor Center, just a few miles from downtown, then hop on the Park Loop Road. Take the day and ex-
plore this 27-mile drive, where you’ll see Thunder Hole, Otter Cliffs, and Cadillac Mountain. But bundle up or bring a change of clothes in case a rogue wave drenches you at Thunder Hole. And, exercise caution on the slippery rocks, because the surging ocean has been known to carry people, and cameras, out to sea.
Moments of calm make it enticing to ply the park waters closer to Bar Harbor / Colleen Miniuk-Sperry NationalParksTraveler.com
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Rent a bike at Acadia and ride the historic carriage roads where cars are banned, though you might encounter a horse-drawn carriage. Then, spend the sunset hours high atop Cadillac Mountain via a 3.5-mile drive. You will want to stop at the Blue Hill Overlook just below the peak for the best views. Another corner of the park, the Schoodic Peninsula, has more rocky beaches but without the crowds on Mount Desert Island. Only an hour’s drive from Bar Harbor, Schoodic Point has great views of Mount Desert Island. Weather permitting, take a hike, go for a paddle, or content yourself with some climbing. Wrap up your trip by heading north two hours to the St. Croix International Historic Site, the only international historic site in our National Park System. Here you’ll find an historical and interactive trail lined with life-size bronze statues depicting the arrival of French colonists and the Passamaquoddy. It’s well worth the trip.
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From Dunes to Caves to Mountains in the Southwest
Find yourself deep in the Southwest in spring and you’ll enjoy the mild weather, perfect for this trio of parks. White Sands National Monument is 275 square miles of unique dunes of bright white sand. Just 15 miles from Alamogordo, New Mexico, these great, wave-like dunes aren’t even true sand dunes at all. They are actually the largest surface deposit of the mineral gypsum on Earth, left here by the wind. And, because they reflect the sunlight, they’re actually cool to the touch and home to many species of birds and mammals. Take an early morning, or late afternoon, jaunt down Dunes Drive once you enter the park for
a 16-mile roundtrip into their heart. You may see lizards and snakes, fox and badgers, mountain lion and bobcat amid the 50-foot-tall dunes; they’re easy to spot against the white background. Wear some good boots, take a gallon of water, and explore this other-worldly park. “There are no words...you just have to experience this place,” said one visitor. Then, head east. Drive over the forested peaks through the mountain town of Cloudcroft towards Carlsbad Caverns National Park, just three hours away. Beneath the Guadalupe Mountains’ thorny desert lays an unimaginable, underground world. There are more than 100 caves, carved by sulfuric acid-rich water through the fossilized, prehistoric limestone.
Rippling and undulating dune systems await exploration at White Sands National Monument / NPS
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Sky and dunes merge in a colorful stream at White Sands / NPS
Carlsbad Cavern is the largest and most-visited of these. Take a self-guided tour along paved, lighted trails through the Big Room, along the Natural Entrance route, or enhance your trip with a ranger-guided trip from room to room, where it’s always cool, even on the hottest day. You’ll see how water and calcium carbonate, dripping through the rock, has created a fairyland of stalagmites, helictites, popcorn, and soda straws. Don’t miss the Witch’s Finger, a natural column from floor to ceiling. Above ground again, take the seven-mile Walnut Canyon scenic drive, where you can hike and look for animals and birds. Just a half-hour south, Guadalupe Mountains National Park rises nearly 9,000 feet, making its roof the highest point in Texas. The mountains are a fossilized reef from the Permian Era that today holds wooded canyons and lush springs. At the Pine Springs Visitor Center you can plan your extended visit, or take the Pinery Trail out the back door where you’ll be introduced to the native plants, and see the ruins of the old stage station of the Butterfield Overland Mail. No matter which route you take, it’s hard to go wrong in the parks this spring. NationalParksTraveler.com
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Acadia, Then And Now 40 Years Is Too Long Between Visits By Kurt Repanshek As I gazed out on the bay and up to the roof of Acadia National Park, it was hard to believe that it had been 40 years since I first set foot on Mount Desert Island. I was only about nine or 10 years old at the time, and on my very first trip to a national park. I didn’t understand Acadia National Park, or know what to expect. To me it was just our family vacation. A rugged mix of mountains, rocky coast, and swirling surf make Acadia a magical park / Colleen Miniuk-Sperry
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And now, four decades later, I discovered that the park has hardly changed. It certainly had of course, but hiking the trails, savoring the coastal views, feasting on lobster and popovers, made those boyhood memories come flooding back. In the mid-1960s we stayed in a small cottage outside of the park. We spent our time walking the beaches in search of tide pools and their curious residents. We got soaked by the drenching spray of Thunder Hole, climbed hand-over-
hand up the iron rungs to stand atop the Beehive, and drove to the summit of Cadillac Mountain. We roamed the piney woods on the carriage roads with their elegant stone bridges, and tossed rocks into the ponds. And as a young boy, I could never forget the popovers buried in strawberry jam at Jordan Pond House! Returning to Mount Desert Island with my wife, we shared all of the wonders and scenery that fascinated me as a youngster. From a cozy Bar Harbor
cottage we headed into the park, and again explored the carriage roads, this time by bicycle. We were able to see most of the eastern half of the park on two wheels. On our return to Cadillac Mountain—not by car, but by hiking to the summit along the Cadillac South Ridge Trail—we enjoyed blueberries fresh off the stem, the cool sea air, and breathtaking views of Frenchman Bay and the Atlantic beyond. Acadia has grown in popularity since I was a boy, but the experience has not diminished. The park is still an incredible landscape for young and old, from its mountaintops through the forests to the cobble beaches and the cold surf at Sand Beach. While Acadia is always wonderful, 2016 will be especially rewarding for the park as it shares its centennial with that of the National Park Service. Just don’t let 40 years pass between visits like I did.
“Acadia has grown in popularity since I was a boy, but the experience has not diminished. The park is still an incredible landscape for young and old, from its mountaintops through the forests to the cobble beaches and the cold surf at Sand Beach.”
Low tide is a great time to walk the beaches of Acadia / Colleen Miniuk-Sperry
800.345.4617
barharborinfo.com NationalParksTraveler.com
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Mud season is here. In most national parks above the Mason-Dixon Line, and quite a few south of that line, it can be a messy time. Choosing a destination can be problematic due to the weather in general and the snow line specifically. I’ll never forget the year that I summited the Grand Teton. It was early July and I still had to wear winter outerwear. But there are plenty of places to go in the park system, even in Grand Teton National Park, where you can avoid most of the mud and muck and have a glorious experience. Southern parks, like Everglades National Park, Padre Island National Seashore, and Jean Lafitte National Historical Park, are usually safe bets, weather-wise. So, too, are Cumberland Island National Seashore, Joshua Tree National Park, and Saguaro National Park. 34
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Peregrine chicks get tagged at Acadia / NPS
Where to go? Here are some destinations that fit the calendar: Acadia National Park, Maine
Appalachian National Scenic Trail
Peregrine falcons start to nest in mid-to-late April, so May is a good time to look for them along the Precipice, East Face, and Jordan Cliffs trails. The trails are temporarily closed to hiking during the nesting and fledging periods until August, but you can get some good looks at the falcons with a decent spotting scope or binoculars.
Got some free time the next four or five months? Then it’s time to head to Springer Mountain in Georgia and start your 2,185-mile thru-hike on the Appalachian Trail. If you start your hike in late March, consider attending the Dahlonega Trail Fest, held March 27-29. Dahlonega, Georgia, is considered the southern terminus of the A.T., and has been recognized as an official AT Trail Community. Take in the festival, then hit the trail.
Dainty yellow flowers surrounded by prickly spikes make cholla cacti a beautiful blooming plant best admired from a distance in Joshua Tree National Park’s Cholla Cactus Garden. Photo by Kurt Repanshek
By Kurt Repanshek
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White House Ruin can be seen from the rim at Canyon de Chelly National Monument, or you can hike down the trail for a closer look / Kurt Repanshek
Big Bend National Park, Texas April is the perfect month to head to Big Bend. Not only are May and June the two hottest months of the year, but mid-June is the start of the rainy season, which hangs around until October. In April go in search of the Colima warbler, which flies north from Mexico to mate and nest in the park. Look for them while you hike the Pinnacles Trail, Boot Canyon, or the Laguna Meadows Trail.
Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona Navajo families traditionally head down into Canyon de Chelly in lateApril to spend the summer months tending their livestock and growing their crops. Corn, squash, tomatoes, cherries, pears and apricots ripen during the summer, while cattle and horses mill about. Tour the national monument with a Navajo guide this spring and you can witness their arrival. Get a glimpse into the past via the cliff dwellings and pictographs. The monument’s main attraction is White 36
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House Ruin, which you can spot from the White House Overlook, a 10-minute drive from the visitor center. Or hike down from the overlook. Better yet, spend a half-day, or entire day, touring the canyon floor with a guide.
Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia Spring is a good season (the bugs aren’t fierce) to hike, camp, and backpack at Cumberland Island. If you don’t already have a reservation for March, April or May, you might not be able to get one, but there’s always next spring! Options range from the Sea Camp front-country area with its 16 sites, cold water showers, running water, and fire rings, or try the Stafford backcountry campground with toilets, non-potable water, and fire rings. Take a look at Brick Hill, Yankee Paradise, and Hickory Hill Wilderness campgrounds too.
Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming Spring is a time of rebirth in the meadows and forests of Grand Teton.
Elk migrate from their winter ranges into the park in April. Bison and moose are highly visible for some great photographs. Park roads typically are closed until mid-May (except for the North Entrance), as are campgrounds. But there’re a lot of lodging options in Jackson that fit all budgets. You might find time to squeeze in a late-season cross-country ski or snowshoe hike into the park when not photographing wildlife. Sage grouse also strut their stuff in Spring at Grand Teton to attract mates. Check with the park for ranger-led hikes to see these rituals in April. (307-739-3399)
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee/North Carolina The months of March, April, and May are always great for a hike in the Smokies. The air is still somewhat cool (sometimes even cold in March, when snow storms aren’t unheard of), trees are leafing out, the dogwoods are in bloom, and there are ornate wildflowers, such as the showy orchids
The Little Greyfield Trail at Cumberland Island National Seashore lets you explore the seashore’s maritime forest / NPS
and trilliums. (Watch for the annual Wildflower Pilgrimage this April 2125). Migratory birds such as the scarlet tanager start to arrive in spring, too. Hike to Ramsey Cascades, the park’s tallest waterfall at about 100 feet, and you’ll pass beneath some of the largest tuliptrees in the park.
Homestead National Monument of America, Nebraska Plan a late-spring visit here and stroll the native prairie. The Park Service has restored 100 acres of tallgrass prairie, a small window into the 170 million acres of prairie that existed before North American settlement took full hold. A two-mile hike through this prairie shows off such natives as big bluestem, little bluestem, Indiangrass, switchgrass, goldenrod, field pussytoes, and leadplant. After your hike, tour the Homestead Heritage Center to better understand the homesteading of America. Little house on the prairie? It’s the Palmer-Epard Cabin at Homestead National Monument of America / Mel Mann via NPS
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Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve, Louisiana Pirates and jazz are found deep in Louisiana at this historical park. Its name descends from a businessman-privateer-smuggler-pirate. Cruise Bayou Lafourche with a ranger, take a riverfront history stroll from the French Quarter Visitor Center, or catch a Cajun music jam (Mondays only) at the Acadian Cultural Center in Thibodaux.
Joshua Tree National Park, California Spring is definitely one of the best seasons to visit Joshua Tree. Summer, frankly, is just too darn hot. But in spring you can enjoy all of the blooms in the Cholla Cactus Garden 20 miles north of the park’s Cottonwood Visitor Center, along the Pinto Basin Road. Though the trail loops just a quarter-mile, you’ll see the Jumping Teddy Bear Cholla, as well as the Silver Cholla and the Pencil Cholla. Interspersed among these cacti are a number of other heat tolerant plants, such as Hedgehog cactus, Climbing milkweed, Jojoba, and Creosote bush. Fill the rest of the day with a ranger-led hike to the Keys Ranch, or check with the park staff to see when the annual butterfly count will be held (typically it’s in late March).
The Cactus Forest comes alive in April as blooms wash across its landscape / Marcelle Shoop Right: The afternoon sun casts a warming glow over the Chihuahuan Desert and the Chisos Mountains / Rebecca Latson
Skunk cabbage isn’t sweet-smelling, but it is attractive in bloom / NPS
walk beneath, and past, Western hemlocks, mosses, and skunk cabbage – an odiferous plant with a gorgeous yellow flower that blooms towards late April. Got more time? Continue on down the Boundary Trail that leads to a nice waterfall. If you have all day, hike up the Carbon River Entrance Road (which was closed to vehicles back in 2006 due to flooding problems), to Green Lake. You’ll pass through some gorgeous oldgrowth forest and enjoy a pristine lakeside setting for lunch before heading back on this nearly 11-mile roundtrip.
Mount Rainier National Park, Washington
Natchez Trace Parkway, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee
The Rain Forest Nature Loop at Mount Rainier will give you a chance to visit this wonderful park and leave the crowds behind. That’s because this third-of-a-mile trail is located in the Carbon River corner of the park, far from the main roads. There’s no noticeable elevation gain, making it the perfect hike for youngsters, too. You’ll
The parkway caters to cyclists with biker-only campgrounds in five locations: the Kosciusko Campground at Milepost 159, the Witch Dance Campground at Milepost 234, the Tupelo Campground at Milepost 266, the Colbert Ferry Campground at Milepost 327, and the Tennessee Highway 50 Campground at Milepost 408. With a
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little planning you can cycle a little... or a lot...of the parkway during your spring break. On your way to the Tennessee Highway 50 Campground take time at Milepost 391.9 for a short walk to the Fall Hollow waterfall.
Saguaro National Park, Arizona One of the most incredible spring blooms I’ve witnessed in the park system was at Saguaro one April. Hiking the Douglas Spring Trail through the Cactus Forest, my wife and I were surrounded by multiple yellows and orange hues, along with a smattering of fuchsias and blues and reds, displayed by Hedgehog cacti, Scorpionweed, ocotillo, and Fairy Dusters. And we even encountered a Gila monster; its mottled reptilian skin blended into the desert floor. These are some good starters for your spring travelers. Explore your favorite park’s website to see if there’s something wonderful about spring there to visit.
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Books & Gear Worth Considering Shenandoah, A Story of Conservation and Betrayal By Sue Eisenfeld, University of Nebraska Press; 162 pages, $19.95. It was a warm, sunny October afternoon when my meandering path along the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in Shenandoah National Park took me directly through an old apple orchard. The trees’ limbs were sagging with ripe fruit. The apples were small – but crisp and tart – and a wonderful snack on a day of hiking the ups and downs of Shenandoah. They also were a reminder that long before this rumpled landscape became a national park, it was home to thousands of residents who scratched a living off the land. Sue Eisenfeld opens a window into the lives of some of those mountain folk in Shenandoah: A Story of Conservation and Betrayal. Just now arriving in bookstores, this 162-page narrative (with another 31 pages of acknowledgements, notes, and bibliography) follows Eisenfeld and her husband, Neil, as they seek out old homesteads and family cemeteries that have been grown over by the recovering woodlands. They turned up pottery fragments, broken heirlooms, foundations, chimneys, and rows of daffodils that outline some of these long-lost cabins. She sifts through the personal upheavals as the Commonwealth of Virginia turned the Blue Ridge Mountains into a park. This meant clearing the landscape of these homesteads and their owners, a chore
The never-never land we find ourselves in — a place that once was and will never be again — reminds me of something Mattie Yager said in the 1970s, years after her parents were gone, years after the family left the mountains. “Oh, I’d love to have went over there but I never could have,” she lamented about a place such as where Neil and I happen to find ourselves at this moment, land lost to the ages. “I couldn’t walk up that mountain and you couldn’t get there in a car. Now I think about all our ancestors; grandmother, and all of their children and everything buried up there. I just wonder if it’s all growed up. I reckon that you wouldn’t even find the cemetery. 40
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the Commonwealth accomplished with the power of eminent domain. Ms. Eisenfeld recounts the stories of cast-out residents. It’s not a new story, but has been repeated time and again since Europeans arrived on the shores of the continent. In national park history, it played out in that other great Appalachian park, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and elsewhere in the park system. It continues even today as inholdings are purchased. But this book is poignant, and one that would have been invaluable on that hike I took, glimpsing those who came before. Some of their homesteaders claims dated back to the 1600s when the king of England bequeathed a great expanse of the “New World” to Lord Fairfax. The beauty of Virginia’s high country can’t be denied, and Ms. Eisenfeld’s book won’t let us forget those who were uprooted here so that that beauty could be preserved long after they gone. — Kurt Repanshek For an extended review, read National Parks Traveler.
The Galapagos, A Natural History By Henry Nicholls. Basic Books, 144 pages.; $27.99 For Charles Darwin, the Galapagos Islands off the Ecuadoran coast kindled the spark of evolution in his mind. Ever since that time these islands, and their unique flora and fauna, have captivated visitors. This curiosity, sparked by the plants and animals, even played a passing movie role in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, a 2003 film starring Russell Crowe as captain of a British warship during the Napoleonic wars. Crowe’s character brings his ship to these islands to nurse his wounded friend back to health. Stepping ashore on the islands of Galapagos National Park, or swimming in their waters, is a magical moment. Henry Nicholls explains why in this 2014 book. Through ten chapters he explores the oddities and unique qualities of the islands, from rocks and ocean through the arrival of humans and their impacts. And, of course, he doesn’t overlook the locals.
It’s possible to get incredibly close to the wildlife in the Galapagos, and anyone who’s been to the islands will know just how moving this can be. It certainly was for the captain of HMS Blonde, George Byron. “The place is like a new creation,” he wrote of his experience of the islands in 1825. “The birds and beasts do not get out of our way; the pelicans and sea lions look in our faces as if we had no right to intrude on their solitude; the small birds are so tame that they hop upon our feet; and all this amidst volcanoes which are burning around us on either hand. Altogether it is a wild and desolate scene as imagination can picture.” The book also contains an appendix that can serve as a guide for your own trip to the Galapagos. There’s also information on the Friends of the Galapagos, which will help expand your knowledge. There are maps and diagrams that outline some of the volcanic activity, and
plate tectonics, that created these islands and which is largely responsible for the unique ecosystems found there. — Kurt Repanshek For an extended review, read National Parks Traveler.
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Books & Gear Worth Considering
Working Watches, Not Fashion Pieces Dakota Watch Co., $25-$70 Designer watches are nice, but in the backcountry you want a sturdy timepiece that simply tells you the time. Flashiness isn’t the point, which makes the “clip watches” from Dakota Watch Co., dare we say, timely? This Cincinnati, Ohio, company has a wide selection of watches – fashion pieces included – but what caught our eyes was its clip-on series. These timepieces, from $25 up to $70, all revolve on a clipping mechanism, usually a carabiner or something similar, to attach to your belt loop or one of your pack’s shoulder straps. The Aluminum Backpacker Clip Watch, (above, right) for exam-
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ple, has a black military dial with luminescent hands and hour markers for night work. The crystal is mineral glass, the carabiner is aluminum and is connected to the watch by a nylon strap, and the watch itself can withstand a 100-foot-deep dunking...not that you’d want to be attached to it at that point. More versatile is the Dakota Knife Clip. (above, left) This is a handsome, stainless steel watch that is also a multi-purpose tool. There’s a fold-out knife and scissors, perfect for the fly fisherman who finds himself in mid-stream retying a fly. There’s a red diode flashlight, and a small compass as
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well. And the clip on this timepiece is spring-loaded to keep it secure. Another watch that caught our attention was Dakota’s Cover Clip Backpacker Clip. This watch features a spring-loaded cover to protect the dial. It comes with a lobster clasp, which doesn’t seem quite as durable as the ‘biner on the Backpacker Clip, and certainly not the mechanism on the Knife Clip. The watch movement comes with a five-year warranty to keep accurate time. They’re functional without being gaudy. What a concept. — NPT Editors
The Sunken Road leads past the Innis House, which to this day shows the damage a lead ball can do / Larry Stuart
Three Days At Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park By Kurt Repanshek
Take a walk to the Bloody Angle at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, stand before the Kirkland Memorial just below the Sunken Road, or gaze at the bed where General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson died and the gravity of this nation’s greatest internal conflict washes over you. It’s not uplifting; in fact, it’s somber. Walking the hallowed grounds in the park in northern Virginia you can’t help but pause, reflect, and gain some insight into the power of national unity. Whether Union or Confederate, it will set you back on your heels.
It’s not nearly as large as the massive size of Great Smoky Mountains National Park or Shenandoah National Park, but its 7,500 acres is packed with interest. There are the four battlefields here: Wilderness, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Spotsylvania. Plan at least
two, and better yet, three, days to walk where they walked.
Day One Orient yourself by visiting the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania Battlefield Visitor Center and Bookstore at 1013 La-
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fayette Boulevard in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Inside the bookstore you’ll find shelves well-stocked with guides and books specific to each of the battles that played out here as well as the Civil War in general. There’s an informative 22-minute video, and a knowledgeable staff ready to field your questions. From the visitor center, walk along the Sunken Road. It’s bordered by a stone wall; the same one that provided such great protection for the Confederate forces. The gravel pathway leads to views across the battlefield that turned bloody not once, but twice: on December 1862 and again the following May of 1863. Bullet-splintered boards at the Innis House still bear witness to the mayhem that a speeding lead ball can cause to human flesh. Above on the hill is the colonial mansion of Marye’s Heights. More than 8,000 Union troops tried to take the heights...and failed. It was the most one-sided victory by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee during the entire war. Along the Sunken Road also look for the small monument to General Thomas R.R. Cobb, who was mortally wounded during the battle. As the primary writer of the Confederate Constitution, Cobb was the best-known soldier killed in the Battle of Fredericksburg, according to the Park Service. From the Innis House, head towards the Kirkland Monument. It pays tribute to a young, compassionate Confederate soldier. At battle’s end, with permission from his commanding officer, he carried water to the wounded Union troops in the fields below. Down in Fredericksburg itself, gaze across the rocky Rappahannock River: it was here that the Union troops built their pontoon bridges on their way to their destiny. If time allows, head up to the Fredricksburg National Cemetery where more than 15,000 Civil War dead are buried. It’s located adjacent to the visitor center.
Day Two The Spotsylvania Courthouse Battlefield saw the longest, sustained, intense fight of the Civil War. It may be a pastoral scene now, but it wasn’t then. A trail of less than a mile crosses landscape features with names such as Mule Shoe Salient, and the Bloody Angle. Both of these names were taken from a small “u,” or “v”-shaped, ridge, or salient. Defended by the Rebel forces against the Union blue, nothing but carnage followed. The Confederate forces built log-lined earthworks, at shoulder height, for protection, but as the battle slogged on they just could not hold out against the sheer hell of the Union onslaught. Historians wrote that after the battle, in light rain and mud, the dead were stacked five feet deep. “May God in his mercy never again permit us to behold such a field of carnage and death,” one soldier wrote afterward. Then head to the Chancellorsville Battlefield Visitor Center, near the intersection of the Orange Plank and Furnace roads. Inside you’ll find uniforms, weapons, and soldiers’ personal belongings from those dismal days. Just outside, and behind, the building, walk the short trail to the site where Stonewall Jackson was mortally wounded by his own troops - a case of mistaken identity. Along the trail you’ll find two monuments to Jackson. One is a small block of quartz where he was initially tended after his wounding, and the other is a larger granite monument, inscribed with the general’s name. From there proceed to the Stonewall Jackson Shrine at 12019 Stonewall Jackson Road in Woodford, Virginia, roughly 17 miles from the center of Fredericksburg. The home at the time was Chatham Manor is surrounded by color in spring. Inside, the mansion holds some 250 years of history / NPS
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owned by Thomas Coleman Chandler as part of the Fairview Plantation. While doctors initially thought the general would recover from his wounds after amputation of his left arm, he subsequently developed pneumonia, which led to his death. The plantation’s main house no longer stands, but the “farm office,” where Jackson spent his dying days, does. Inside the bedroom you’ll see where one of the South’s mightiest generals passed away.
Day Three With one day left, don’t miss two key elements of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania: Chatham and Elwood. You can visit briefly in half-a-day, or linger to soak up the history. Chatham is a Georgian-style brick manor that stands high above the Rappahannock River. It dates to the late 1700s when the slave trade flourished here. Though most visitors to the military park are drawn to the four battlefields, Chatham Manor shouldn’t be overlooked. It’s richly steeped with American history. During the Civil War the manor was owned by James Horace Lacy, a Southern sympathizer who joined the Confederate Army. His wife and children remained at Chatham until 1862, when the gathering war prompted them to flee and the house became a Union headquarters. It was then pressed into service as a field hospital, and the grounds filled with graves. All of the graves have been removed and relocated to the National Cemetery, except for three that still remain on the property and can be located with the help of the park rangers and volunteers. There are few signs of Chatham’s early days. The plantation covered nearly 1,300 acres, and included orchards, a dairy, ice house, and a fishery along the river, but it’s all gone now. But the slope of the rear yard down to the river has been restored to how it appeared during the war Take a walk around the 85-acre estate that surrounds the manor, and enter the home. The public areas are devoid of the furnishings of the past. Instead, there are exhibits from the families who lived here, for 250 years and during the military occupation during the Civil War. Elwood Manor is an important stop if for no other reason than to see where Stonewall Jackson’s amputated arm purportedly is buried. Behind the manor, which stands in the Wilderness
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Despite this marker’s presence behind Elwood Manor, questions remain in some minds whether the general’s arm really is buried here / Kurt Repanshek
Battlefield, is a low, stone monument inscribed, simply, “Arm of Stonewall Jackson, May 3, 1863.” While there are stories about the limb being disturbed and reburied, park historian John Hennessy does not doubt that it remains in the family cemetery. And yet, the fate of the arm remains a quirky conversation-starter. “I think that of all the sites that we manage in our park (and of course there are hundreds and hundreds of them and four major battlefields) Jackson’s arm is probably the most curious of them all,” the historian told me a few years back. “Visitors wrinkle their noses and their eyebrows when they hear about it, but they still want to see the place. Before Elwood was open to the
public, virtually every time I went back there a visitor had managed to find his way, or her way, back there to see. They wanted to see the arm.” “The idea that the arm isn’t there, is a pretty recent phenomenon. It is one of those Internet phenomena, at least where I encountered it. There’s no reason to believe that it’s not there. But it has had an interesting history and a lot of legend and stories surrounding it over the years,” he added. While three days will give you a good glimpse back in the time when men hunted men during the Civil War, you may want to return and explore other poignant sites within the park, and reflect on a time gone by.
Parting Shot
The Song of Wandering Aengus By William Butler Yeats I went out to the hazel wood, Because a fire was in my head, And cut and peeled a hazel wand, And hooked a berry to a thread; And when white moths were on the wing, And moth-like stars were flickering out, I dropped the berry in a stream And caught a little silver trout. When I had laid it on the floor I went to blow the fire a-flame, But something rustled on the floor, And someone called me by my name: It had become a glimmering girl With apple blossom in her hair Who called me by my name and ran And faded through the brightening air. Though I am old with wandering Through hollow lands and hilly lands, I will find out where she has gone, And kiss her lips and take her hands; And walk among long dappled grass, And pluck till time and times are done, The silver apples of the moon, The golden apples of the sun. Source: The Wind Among the Reeds (1899)
The orchards of Capitol Reef National Park / Patrick Cone
Early fall is an exquisite time to float the Colorado River through Cataract Canyon in Canyonlands National Park. And how better to enjoy that float than with fellow park travelers on this National Parks Traveler adventure? After shoving off into the Green River from Mineral Bottom just upstream of the confluence with the Colorado River, we’ll spend six days drifting through one of the most mesmerizing landscapes in America. There will be days when we float through calm pools and stretches of river, and a day of busting through some of the most renowned whitewater in the Southwest. We’ll explore the Doll House with its geologic oddities, and look for ancient ruins and pictographs in other side canyons in the national park. This trip, during southern Utah’s typically warm and glorious early fall weather, is set for September 28-October 3, 2015. It will be guided by the professional river runners from Holiday River Expeditions. They’ll provide natural history interpretation, and cater to us with three sumptuous meals a day, beginning with lunch the first day and ending with lunch on the last day. But once ashore, noted national park historian Dr. Alfred Runte, who consulted for and appeared on the Ken Burns/Dayton Duncan documentary, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, and wrote
National Parks, The American Experience as well as Yosmite: The Embattled Wilderness, will lead campfire discussions about the National Park System and how it has changed over the decades. During the day, award-winning photographer Patrick Cone will offer instruction and tips for capturing the striking scenery, and Traveler Editor-in-Chief Kurt Repanshek will be along to keep the parks conversation flowing. We’ll also dig nightly into Traveler’s “swag” bag of giveaways. This trip will take you through some of the most remote, rugged, and amazing landscape of the Southwest and arguably the Lower 48. This is the perfect trip for lovers of whitewater, red-rock, and the Southwest. Families with enthusiastic and adventurous youngsters at least 8 years old are welcome. Meals range from blueberry pancakes or made-to-order omelets for breakfast, wraps and deli sandwiches for lunch, and steaks, fish, or chicken for dinner. Special dietary needs can also be easily handled with enough notice. We’ve reserved September 28-October 3 for Traveler readers. Pricing is $1,150 per person. To reserve your spot, call Holiday River Expeditions at 1-800-624-6323 and tell them you’d like to be on the Traveler trip. Or, book online at Holiday’s website. Space is available for 18-22 park travelers.