visit 43 national parks (and take lots of pictures)

Majestic! Far too much snow to camp here in early May, but the hiking along the base was still amazing, standing so close to these giants and feeling minuscule in contrast to forces much more powerful than our feeble species’ wildest dreams. Definitely a place worth coming back to at a more appropriate time of the year (or with better gear). Jackson Hole was a pretty cool place to visit, though, and I enjoyed spending time there—and eating the ubiquitous Mexican food, of course!

I know I say this every time, but what an amazing place this is! It truly honors its title as First National Park in America.

What I loved most about this park was the diversity of landscapes & ecosystems. There’s a canyon of bare yellow earth (from which the park derives its name), big falls, the geisers & springs for which it’s better known (a geological paradise!), high-altitude plateaus, big lakes, forests, creeks & rivers, mountains, exposed-rock mountains… and tons of wildlife everywhere… Most notably, I saw quite a few bison (buffalo) & elk, a few black bears and my very first grizzly FAR closer than I cared to see :)

The Terraces at Hot Mammoth Springs were truly remarkable, as was the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and the Falls, the Geyser Basins, and, of course, Old Faithful. I camped out at Hellroaring Trail right next to the river in an 8-mile hike from the road and a 600-ft descent. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so much in the Wild after passing a couple elk carcasses that had been stripped of flesh to the bone by bears & wolves. Really reminds you that we were once part of the food chain and our place in it. I hiked the 20 mi to Gardiner, Montana the next morning right along the Yellowstone River, which was a great hike. There’s so many things to do that I’d have a hard time putting them all in an entry, which is why you should go and check this place out for yourselves :)

After a few days of “roughing it”, I went down to Old Faithful and treated myself to a meal at the Lodge (excessively overpriced and terrible quality—most expensive microwaved food I’ve ever had). Breakfast was pretty good though, and I did enjoy having a few drinks at the bar with the locals (i.e. resort employees). It was a lot of fun to hear the stories of how people from all over the world ended up working there, plus the bartender was hawt! and nice & cool, which is a pretty rare combination, at least in South Florida.

Anyway, I would suggest you make your plans after the 2nd week of May, as there were a few roads closed, quite a bit of snow on the trails, most of the higher elevation areas south of Mammoth were covered in over a foot of snow. A few geysers & pools were also closed. Overall, though, it was completely worth it and judging by how many people were there on the low season, I don’t want to imagine how congested the high season must be like.

Sadly, I forgot my camera so I was only able to take a few shots with my BlackBerry, but you can check those out here

Another belated entry, and one which I am transcribing from another goal related to the planning of the trip.

“The best of my photos or imagery would fail utterly in transmitting the beauty of the redwood forest. There is a humility, a realization of one’s size and place in this planet that dawns on you by spending time around organisms that tower over 350 feet into the skies. A humility that opens in your heart in knowing that the span of our lives exist in a few millimeters in the trunk of a tree. All the events of the world in one year, the craziness, the hunger, deaths, injustice, tragedy and drama, happen in the same space of time that one of these magnificent trees adds one layer of cells to its trunk, tucked away in some remote foggy grove in Northern California.

Perhaps one of the things I appreciated most about this place was the absolute silence. While our minds are incessantly concerned about what’s next, analyzing, planning, remembering, justifying, nothing but silence exists in this forest, interrupted only by the call of a bird, or the echo of a nearby emerald-green stream. The ignorance and arrogance of our species becomes starkly apparent in places like these, where we’ve devastated what took thousands of years to come into existence. I spent a lot of time hiking, backpacking, reading, and just sitting down contemplating, which helped me gain an awareness of our connection to the land—one that is easily lost living in a big metropolis, and it helped me bring into focus the simplicity of our existence, and give perspective to how we complicate ourselves with useless stuff.

California truly is a magical and wonderful place. The drive on the coastal highways is breathtaking, and even driving through the Redwood forest without getting out of the car is beautiful. I was blessed with absolutely perfect weather: the fog usually lifted shortly before noon to reveal a cloudless sky and a bright warm sun with an energetic breeze.”

For some reason I never updated this goal after my trip to Northern California last May, so there it goes…

I stopped at Point Reyes on my way out of San Francisco and following my visit to a spectacular Muir Woods early on the first morning of the trip. I got my backcountry permit at Bear Valley and drove the short distance to Point Reyes Station to buy some provisions for the 11-mile hike to Wildcat and back. I set off in the early afternoon and arrived with enough time to set up camp among the thicket of yellow wildflowers and its tuneful avian inhabitants before the sun set over the expansive and vast Pacific Ocean. I started back early next morning, making the steep climb back to the Bear Valley trail among the cool fog. Sadly, I didn’t have time to do the hike I would have preferred, which was back through Sky camp near Mt. Wittemberg, nor did I have time to visit the Lighthouse.

I didn’t expect much as the main focus of the trip were the Redwoods, but I was pleasantly surprised with this park. I certainly hope I get the opportunity to go back some day to finish the hikes & explore a bit more.

Wow! This park was absolutely incredible: the mountains, the views, the trails, the wildlife… I’ll never forget walking to Bear Lakes in a hiking trail and being completely engulfed in pine aroma, hearing melting snow trickle, songbirds singing and the bright sun pouring gently from the treetops. I loved Colorado and I hope I can go back very soon (permanently would be good). Photos

Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson was an amazing place. I would have been content simply by looking at the color of the ocean, but the history, the tranquility, the snorkeling and the mere remoteness of the place make this a place worth a next visit. Next time, however, I want to go camping; I can only imagine the absolute beauty of the night sky at this place. Some photos

5 down, 38 to go.

I’d almost forgotten about this goal! I drove out to the Grand Canyon when I lived in Las Vegas in March 2006. The weather was absolutely perfect, and there had been virtually no snow that winter which made the hiking easier. I went down the Bright Angel Trail for a good trek, heading back only because I ran out of sunlight :) I will be back the next chance I have. Photos

To visit 43 national parks as opposed to “all” after I found out there are over 300 nat’l parks.

We skimmed the southeastern edge on Resurection Bay while on a 4 hour boat tour out of Seward. We got to see a pack of orca whales!!! Not to mention at least 5 bald eagles, mountain goats, otters, a black bear, sea lions, and about 2,000 seagulls :p Quite astonishing. Pictures can be viewed here

WOW!!! Now I can see why this was one of the places that inspired John Muir. The drive from San Francisco on Hwy 120 is so awesome too. If you ever wondered where they shot that Windows XP background with the spring-green hills and the blue sky, it was probably here :) There’s fields of peach trees blossoming with pink flowers as far as the eye can see, green hills, blue skies, quaint little country houses; I could definitely get used to seeing this every day. The park is amazing. Although it was a little cloudy and gray that day, there just this feeling of peace in this place… El Capitan was impressive, and so were the waterfalls. Wildlife was everywhere, I saw wolves and deer. I am so going back to this place but on a longer stay this time. Pictures here