scrambles – Page 11 – besthike.com

August 16, 2010August 12, 2010

Cirque of the Towers, Wyoming

trip report by besthike editor Rick McCharles

First off, I declare this the second best hike I’ve done in the American Rockies. (Only the North Circle in Glacier National Park ranks higher.)

The Cirque of the Towers is located in the Wind River Range Wyoming …

… the cirque is a very popular destination for technical rock climbers. Climber Orrin Bonney gave the area its current name in 1941 after his survey of the cirque. Prior to this, few if any visitors had ventured into the cirque due to the remote location. The cirque is an almost circular hole or valley carved by a glacier that retreated over 8,000 years ago. As is true with the rest of the Winds, the mountains are composed almost entirely of granite. The Continental Divide spans the crest of the main peaks. …

From Pinedale, Wyoming it’s a long, pretty 55mi (88km) drive, partly paved and partly gravel, to the Big Sandy trailhead.

After being near bugged to death on my previous hike, I was worried about mosquitoes. … Happily, in early August, they were not bad. Not an issue.

Many complain that this hike is crowded. It wasn’t while I was there.

Lunch at the Cirque was a hiker’s paradise. Surreal.

I spotted this waterfall from the top of Jackass Pass 10,800ft (3,290m) and couldn’t resist the sidetrip.

Most hikers finish at Lonesome Lake in the Cirque, then backtrack.

Instead I climbed over Texas Pass:

I placed a Summit Stone atop this spire to the west of Texas Pass.

The vista over to the far side of Texas:

I saw only 2 other hikers cross the pass on this day, peak season.

It’s actually quite pretty from the backside.

At my campsite near Shadow Lake, I jammed my bear canister between a tree and a boulder so no critters could roll it away down the hill.

It’s a long, mellow walk out if you do the full circuit.

The only downside to this hike is that you must share the trail with tourist cowboys.

Horses really muddy the trail.

more photos from my Circuit of the Towers

If you’re interested in planning for this hike yourself check Lonely Planet Hiking in the USA. It lays out the Circuit (sometimes called “Circle Route”) … though it was obvious to me that the authors had turned back before Texas Pass. (They got the map wrong.)

And check out our besthike information page – CIRQUE OF THE TOWERS

Anglers will love it.

August 10, 2010August 4, 2010

Beartooth High Lakes, Wyoming

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

35mi (57km) on the Continental Divide

This lollypop loop circuit, as recommended by Lonely Planet Hiking in the USA, starts and (supposedly) finishes at the Island Lake trailhead on the intensely scenic Beartooth Highway, an access to Yellowstone National Park.

The wildflowers here in early August are insanely great.

Unfortunately, the horseflies and mosquitoes are insanely awful. Fish food, I guess.

For all the wildlife in nearby Yellowstone, I was surprised to see nothing larger than this marmot. … Perhaps the mosquitoes drove them out.

The High Lakes hike is aptly named. You trek from one remote lake to the next. With all the granite, at times it reminded me of the Sierra Nevada.

You are going to get your feet wet, for sure. But normally there is a way across the widest streams.

Many love this wilderness for the remote tenting options. Set up wherever you want.

Lonely Planet rates this adventure easy-medium, the worse misranking of any hike in the book. It is correct here:

… Waymarkings and signposts are unreliable. …

The Beartooth High Lakes circuit is very challenging due to the many rocky and wet scrambles. The snow that stays into late July. The lack of signage. Trails that often fizzle out completely.

In fact, I’d not recommend you try it without a good topo and GPS. One lake looks like the next up here.

Here I am wandering out through charming alpine meadows, looking for a good spot to leave a Summit Stone.

Though I was blissfully unaware at the time, I was far lost.

I ended up at the Clay Butte lookout tower, miles from my vehicle. … It was a long highway walk back to my car.

I loved the High Lakes hike. But I’d never do it again until after the mosquitoes are mostly gone. Perhaps September.

The best day hike is the section up to Becker or even Albino lakes.

See all photos from my High Lakes hike.

August 3, 2010August 1, 2010

best hikes Rainier – Burroughs Mountain

trip report by best hike editor Rick McCharles

Mt. Rainier is an outdoor playground scary close to Seattle.

… Although Mount Rainier is an active volcano, as of 2010 there was no evidence of an imminent eruption. However, an eruption could be devastating for all areas surrounding the volcano …

… a mudflow might also reach down the Duwamish estuary and destroy parts of downtown Seattle, and cause tsunamis in Puget Sound and Lake Washington. According to USGS, about 150,000 people live on top of old lahar deposits of Rainier …

Of all Mt. Rainier day hikes, I like Burroughs Mountain best, 7mi (11.3km) return.

You start high at Sunrise trailhead. This is 6400ft (1,950m), the highest point in the park accessible by vehicle.

The approach is via a gorgeous ridge walk. … We LOVE ridge walks.

If conditions allow, you can side trip up one, two or three Burroughs Peaks. Here’s the start:

Check with Rangers at Sunrise (not open until 10AM) on local conditions. The day I was there, many turned back at this point:

Rainier looks awesome from the top of Second Burroughs (7402ft).

Of course if the weather is terrible, as it normally is, don’t bother. You won’t see a thing.

more photos of this day hike on Burrough’s Peaks

August 2, 2010August 1, 2010

best hikes Rainier – Camp Muir

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Mount Rainier is a large active stratovolcano, Washington, USA, located 54 miles (87 km) southeast of Seattle. It towers over the Cascade Range as the most prominent mountain in the contiguous United States …

The mountain and the surrounding area are protected within Mount Rainier National Park. With 26 major glaciers and 36 square miles (93 km2) of permanent snowfields and glaciers, Mount Rainier is the most heavily glaciated peak in the lower 48 states. …

This quote greets the hiker at Paradise trailhead, Mt. Rainier, Washington:

Wild flowers are terrific on Rainier. But …, I’d love to take John Muir to Waterton/Glacier and the Canadian Rockies during wildflower season. … To compare.

Wildlife is another highlight of the Rainier alpine meadows:

The 5000+ft climb to Camp Muir (10,080′) begins on the excellent Skyline Trail 5.5mi (8.9km), a good alternative to Muir if conditions are not safe for the snowy ascent up high on the volcano.

We find it troublesome to recommend Skyline, however, as it’s so busy. It’s ideal, though, for children and visitors who have not seem much snow. Rainier is one of the snowiest places in the USA!

The maze of trails out of Paradise are confusing. Get advice and a free map from the Ranger’s desk.

If the weather is GREAT, as it was the day I was there, best hike is to scramble up to the historic base camp, the most popular for those climbing Rainier.

You’ll often need an ice axe for this scramble. But not in ideal conditions.

It’s hard to imagine a better place to be than Camp Muir on a sunny day like this.

Here are some climbers, prepping for the ascent:

I descended 2mi in 40min on a plastic bag toboggan like this. Great FUN.

more photos from this hike to Camp Muir

July 20, 2010July 15, 2010

best day hike Grand Tetons

Some outdoor adventurer currently living in a van recommends Glacier Gulch to Delta Lake (3-6hrs) off-trail:

… If you want to get away from the crowds and truly experience the rugged majesty of Wyoming’s Teton Range, you’ve gotta get off the beaten path. This is easier to do than one would think: several canyons leading into the mountains do not have established trails, and countless beautiful alpine lakes and dramatic summits are rarely visited. …

… The route ascends approximately 2300 vertical feet over the course of 1.5 miles (as the crow flies). It involves a little bushwhacking and a steep off-trail hike that’s a little too rugged for the typical tourist. Since there’s no trail up Glacier Gulch, you may come across, at most, a few groups of like-minded adventurers throughout your excursion.

Park at the Lupine Meadows Trailhead and take the main path towards Garnet Canyon. …

get the skinny on Cleansnipe – Shhhhh!… The Best Day Hike In Grand Teton National Park

June 23, 2010June 24, 2010

scrambling Mt Remus, Alberta

Great day.

Evidence we made the summit – Amber writing us up in the summit log.

Of our group of five hikers, three were gymnasts. Here’s Krista celebrating the summit.

_____

We cycled in 6.5km (4mi), then had trouble finding the small cairn marking the start of the rough path to the river crossing. Our experience was exactly that posted on peakware:

Description – by Dow Williams:

Mount Remus is part of the horseshoe shaped Fisher Range at the front end of Kananaskis Country in the Elbow-Sheep Wildland Provincial Park.

Kananaskis Country is a maze of provincial parks which encompasses over 4,000 square kilometers of foothills and mountains bordering Banff National Park in the central Canadian Rockies.

Mount Remus starts one end of the horseshoe and Mount Fullerton the other. In between lies Mount Romulus and Fisher Peak. Mount Remus was officially named in 1940 along with Mount Romulus after the legendary twin brothers and founders of Rome.

The only published route up Mount Remus is the moderate to difficult scramble up its eastern slopes to its summit block. The guide book determines the chimney up the center of the summit block to be difficult with an optional moderate approach from the north. I found the chimney did not present a difficult challenge and rate this scramble moderate at most.

The most challenging aspect of the day involves crossing the Little Elbow River. This aspect of the trip more than likely explains why there is no trail and few, if any, cairns, thus little evidence of any traffic up this mountain. …

read more on peakware

Most fun was screeing and glissading descents. Here’s my butt track after I discovered tobogganing was even easier.

more photos from this great day hike

related post – biking hiking Banded Peak, Alberta

May 13, 2010May 10, 2010

climbing Angel’s Landing (VIDEO)

Steve Howe linked to this on Backpacker.com – VIRTUAL SCRAMBLE: ANGEL’S LANDING, ZION

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

May 10, 2010May 1, 2010

day hiking Valley of Fire, Nevada

trip report by site editor Rick McCharles

Valley of Fire State Park is 50mi (80km) northeast of Las Vegas. Though I’d been to Red Rock a dozen times, this was my first trip to Valley of Fire.

… It sounded similar to Red Rock.

… It derives its name from red sandstone formations, formed from great shifting sand dunes during the age of dinosaurs. These features, which are the centerpiece of the park’s attractions, often appear to be on fire when reflecting the sun’s rays. …

Ideal for family hiking, it would be difficult to lose your children on any of these short trails. Kids and adults love scrambling the rock features.

I’m very happy I made the scenic drive via Lake Mead National Recreation Area. Recommended.

more interesting photos tagged Valley of Fire

Spring and Fall are the best times to visit though it’s open year round.

related: Desert USA – Valley of Fire State Park

May 8, 2010April 26, 2010

biking/hiking Red Rock Canyon, Vegas

My favourite attraction in Las Vegas is Red Rock Canyon, perhaps the best hiking and scrambling destination in the world this close to a major city.

It’s super popular with road bikes, too. I was out-of-place on the 13mi (21km) scenic loop drive … on a mountain bike.

There is no off trail biking allowed at Red Rock.

My first stop was the new Visitor’s Center. Impressive.

From there I road on to the Calico Tanks trailhead:

… fairly strenuous, 1.2-mile hike and scramble runs up a canyon and over sandstone slickrock to a large natural depression (a tank or tinaja) near the top of the Calico Hills ridge. The tank sometimes holds water. There are great views of Calico Basin and the Las Vegas valley from a saddle just beyond the tank. …

Bird and Hike

The trail is not well signed nor defined. But at the Visitor Center it was explained to me …

Follow the obvious trail. When that runs out, look for stone steps.

When there is no trail and no steps, scramble up the easiest way you can find. Until the next section of trail. Or steps.

Finally you reach the largest “tank” itself.

Five minutes higher and you just might be able to eye your Casino hotel in the distance.

See the rest of my photos.

The hiking’s fine at Red Rock. But, for me, the best activity is rock scrambling.

May 4, 2010April 26, 2010

Hole-in-the-Wall Loop, Mojave

Bird and Hike has a succinct webpage:

This easy, 1.5-mile loop trail starts at the Visitor Center, wanders east and south down a sandy wash, heads west around the south side of the Hole-in-the-Wall hills, climbs up through the Hole-in-the-Wall cleft on the Rings Trail, and then follows the road for 0.2 miles back …

Hole-in-the-Wall Loop Trail (4,252 ft)

Almost every tourists stops at Hole-in-the-Wall. But not all are willing to try the assisted scramble.

I’d call it a perfect little day hike for a confident walker. The scenery is desert classic.

Add on the “Nature Trail” to the campground. Desert vegetation is signed, … all the bushes looking somewhat similar. With unlikely names like: Paper Bag Bush, Hedgehog Cactus, Horsebrush, etc.

Tent caterpillars were everywhere when I was there.

… Mojave National Preserve, at 1.6 million acres, is the third largest National Park Service managed area in the Lower 48; only Death Valley and Yellowstone are larger. …

It’s so close to Vegas, I’m surprised more tourists don’t visit. There’s no Park entrance fee. And “wild camping” is allowed almost everywhere.