Charlie Stein's Photoblog

Connetquot River State Park Preserve, Suffolk County, NY

Posted on October 30, 2011 by Charlie

A freak snowstorm left snow covering most of the upstate parks, and I suspected that the scheduled hikes were all canceled. However, New York City itself had very little snow and Long Island was clear, so I decided to go on my own to this park in central Long Island.

I had not been able to learn much about it before visiting, other than it had at one time been a hunting and fishing club for wealthy people. Also, the Connetquot River is six miles long, and there were said to be trails on both sides of the river. I envisioned a scenic hike within frequent sight of the river. Unfortunately, the reality was quite different. I saw a pond, and also a canal, but I don’t recall seeing a river. If the trails ran on both sides of the river, they ran far enough away from it that one couldn’t see or hear the river.

Near the entrance is a large building. Originally Snedecor’s Tavern, it was established around 1820. Between 1866 and 1973, it served as the clubhouse of the South Side Sportsmen’s Club of Long Island.

Clubhouse

This is the main pond, with swans.

Main pond

I initially missed the trail markers, and began walking along West Club Road, a paved road that runs north.

West Club Road

Rainbow Bridge crosses a manmade canal that was dug with hand tools about 100 years ago. It was designed to provide cool waters for the trout.

Rainbow Bridge, over hand-dug canal

Canal

Here’s a dragonfly resting on the ground. I don’t have a macro lens for my camera, and usually all my attempts at a macro shot end in failure. This is a very rare exception!

Dragonfly

There were a lot of deer present. I first saw a doe in a field, and left the road to try to get a better shot of her. A groundsmen drove by and mentioned that there were usually some buck present in the area. Continuing on the road, I soon found this buck, and then I saw many other deer. In fact, whereas at the big parks it is rare for me to see deer, here they were as common as squirrels in some other parks.

Deer

The road intersected the green trail, and I thought that I was continuing to the north. However, I found myself back at the buildings near the entrance, and realized that I must have turned the wrong way when I reached the green trail. Having only walked about 2.5 miles at that point, I now found the blue trail, an 8.4 mile loop, and decided to follow that. These trails were all on dirt roads. There were a few other hikers, but I saw more equestrians. The riders were all women, with the exception of one man riding alone.

Blue trail

Another deer:

Deer

There were still a few Fall colors, but most are gone now:

Fall colors

The ground was generally sandy, and in a few cases really looked like beach sand:

Sandy trail

Around the halfway point on the blue trail, I figured out how to take a shortcut and cut 1.2 miles from the loop. I did so. It really was monotonous. I’m used to hiking in parks that have scenic views, that have bare rock in places, or glacier boulders. Here it was just dirt roads, trees, and deer.

Connetquot River

So I hiked about 10.7 miles at the park, over the course of four hours, or a little more. While I was not impressed with the park, I was happy to get the exercise, and to mark the fourth Sunday in a row that I went hiking.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged deer, New York | Leave a comment

Minnewaska State Park Preserve, Ulster County, New York

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Charlie

I joined the Jewish Outdoors Club for this trip to Ulster County, about 80 miles northwest of New York City. I drove through Manhattan picking up three other hikers on the way. We were told to arrive at the park at 10:00 a.m., and that we would begin hiking promptly at 10:30 a.m. We arrived right at 10:00 a.m., though the group ended up waiting on stragglers (as always happens, despite the threats to the contrary), and we didn’t begin hiking until around 10:40 a.m.

10:47 a.m.: We began hiking south (counterclockwise) on the red trail (Lake Minnewaska Carriageway), traveling along the west side of Lake Minnewaska. The fall colors continue to impress.

Fall colors along Lake Minnewaska

I haven’t mastered picking an exposure when there is a sharp contrast between the sky and the foreground. Either the foreground is well-exposed but the sky is overexposed and washed out, or else (as here), the sky is well-exposed but the foreground is too dark. Maybe someday I’ll learn how to take multiple exposures and blend them together with HDR software.

Lake Minnewaska

11:07 a.m.: After 0.8 miles, we approached the south of the lake and arrived at the yellow trail, which we followed to the west. After another 0.2 miles, the trail diverged into two yellow trails (confusing!), the Hamilton Point Carriageway and the Milbrook Mountain Carriageway. These two trails are divided by the Palmaghatt Ravine. We followed the Millbrook Mountain Carriageway to the southwest, to the south of the ravine. We began to see a lot of bare rock and continuous scenic views of the ravine.

11:23 a.m.: After another 0.6 miles, we stopped briefly at Patterson’s Pellet for a photo opportunity.

11:35 a.m.: The trails so far had all been “carriageways,” which are very easy trails with shale surfaces, with gentle grades. Many of these are used for skiing in the winter. I took this photo only a couple of minutes before we left the carriageway for a red-blazed footpath (the Gertrude’s Nose Trail) that would take us to Gertrude’s Nose.

View from Millbrook Mountain Carriageway

11:42 a.m.: About 0.4 miles after Patterson’s Pellet, we diverted from the yellow trail (which turned southeast, away from the ravine) to follow the red trail, which continued toward the southwest, parallel to the ravine.

View from Gertrude’s Nose Trail

11:51 a.m.: This is most of the group, except for myself and four others who were standing next to me and also taking photos.

JOC Group Photo

11:59 a.m.: A number of people mentioned that they preferred the footpath to the easier shale carriageways, as it provided more of a workout.

Footpath

View from Gertrude’s Nose Trail

12:14 p.m.:

Fall Foliage on Gertrude’s Nose Trail

12:19 p.m.:

Scenic view

12:25 p.m.:

Scenic view

12:27 p.m.: Walking along a wide path and keeping a safe distance from the sheer cliff face.

Sheer cliff

12:38 p.m.:

Gertrude’s Nose Trail

Scenic view

1:08 p.m.: After 1.0 mile on the red trail, we reached Gertrude’s Nose, the southernmost point on the trail, at which point we turned to the northeast, away from the ravine. I don’t know if I realized when we reached Gertrude’s Nose, as there were so many scenic views that it was hard to correlate them to the map, which only showed a few. So if you know what Gertrude’s Nose looks like and don’t see the photo here, it could be that I didn’t photograph it, or it could be that I photographed it but didn’t select it as among the most pleasing photos to include in this hike description.

Scenic view

1:46 p.m.: Even though we no longer had a view of the Palmaghatt Ravine, we still had nice views of the surrounding countryside, including farmland.

Scenic view

2:00 p.m.:

Scenic view of farms

Farmland

2:05 p.m.:

Scenic view

2:45 p.m.: After Gertrude’s Nose, we continued along the red trail for 1.6 miles, where it rejoined the yellow trail (Millbrook Mountain Carriageway). We almost immediately turned north onto another red-blazed trail, the Millbrook Mountain Trail. The first 0.5 miles of this trail ran through the Mohonk Preserve, and this included a trail that had standing water in some places, with many slippery leaves. I slipped on leaves and fell once, as did several others. We finally crossed the Coxing Krill, seen below, at which point we re-entered the Minnewaska State Park Preserve:

Coxing Krill

3:13 p.m.: After another 0.7 miles, we returned to Lake Minnewaska, leaving the red-blazed Millbrook Mountain Trail for the red-blazed Lake Minnewaska Carriageway. (You’d think they could find more colors.) This time we traveled north while skirting the eastern bank of the lake.

Lake Minnewaska

3:43 p.m.: After 0.5 miles, we stopped for a while at rock ledges that offered a nice view of the lake.

Lake Minnewaska

I pose in front of Lake Minnewaska

I think this was advertised as an 8-mile hike, but I estimate it was only about a 6.5-mile hike. In any case, it was fun.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged New York, Ulster County | Leave a comment

(Return to) Norvin Green State Forest, Passaic County, NJ

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Charlie

I arrived at Norvin Green State Forest for the second week in a row. This time, I joined about 20 people with the Jewish Outdoors Club.

We followed the green trail southwest from the Weis Ecology Center for 0.4 miles, then continued on the blue trail for about 0.2 miles, which I had seen the week before.

We then followed some trails I hadn’t seen before. We turned east onto the yellow trail and followed that for 0.4 miles, at which point it turned southeast for another 0.3 miles. We then followed the red trail west for about 0.1 miles, and then took the white trail south for 1.4 miles.

This took us to Posts Brooks and back to trails I had seen the week before. We continued on the white trail as far as Chikahoki Falls, then backtracked and continued north on the yellow trail for 0.8 miles, then the blue trail 0.8 miles to Wyanokie High Point, and then continued on the blue trail 0.6 miles, and the green trail 0.4 miles back to the Weis Ecology Center. With the unplanned (but welcomed) detour to the Chikahoki Falls, this was close to a 6 mile hike. The temperature was in the 60s, and the hiking was much more comfortable than the week before.

As I had documented most of this area the week before, I am only presenting a few photos here.

Colorful Fall foliage:

Fall foliage

I like the geometric patterns sometimes formed by rocks, fallen trees, etc.

Boulders and fallen trees

More Fall foliage:

Fall foliage

Following the trail:

Footpath

A scenic view:

Scenic view

One of the hikers did some yoga poses for us:

Yoga pose

A nice view of the Wanaque Reservoir:

Wanaque Reservoir

Another scenic view:

Scenic view

Another view of the reservoir.

Wanaque Reservoir

Posted in Hikes | Tagged New Jersey, Norvin Green, Passaic County | Leave a comment

Norvin Green State Forest, Passaic County, New Jersey

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Charlie

I arrived at the parking lot of the Weis Ecology Center at 10:25 a.m., and expected to meet a small group of people between 10:30 and 10:45. When that group didn’t show by 10:50, I instead accepted an invitation to hike with a trio that I met in the parking lot.

10:51 a.m.: I began by following the green trail southwest, which ran past picnic benches and fields of the Weis Ecology Center and then up a long hill. The trail was not well-blazed, and in fact at the top of the hill I saw white blazes that were not shown on the map, but I followed them and they eventually turned into green blazes.

Green trail

11:31 a.m.: After crossing a stream, the trail resumed its ascent. After about 0.4 miles, the green trail intersected the blue trail. We turned onto the blue trail, also traveling roughly southwest. This led us to the first of a number of scenic views.

Scenic view

11:44 a.m.: Another scenic view.

Scenic view

11:46 a.m.: I pose in front of a boulder. The blue trail turned east around this point.

Posing in front of boulder

11:47 a.m.: Another boulder.

Boulder

11:58 a.m.: After about 0.6 miles, the blue trail intersected the red trail, and we diverged from the blue trail briefly so as to ascend to Wyanokie High Point, which afforded very nice views of the Wanaque Reservoir, with the Manhattan skyline viewable in the hazy distance.

Wyanokie High Point

Wanaque Reservoir

I bid farewell to the trio with whom I had began the hike, and continued on my own. (They wanted to do a shorter, slower hike than I had in mind.) I returned to the blue trail, which now turned south.

12:37 p.m.: After 0.6 miles, I reached Carris Hill. At this point, I turned off the blue trail and onto the yellow trail, which ran southeast.

Yellow Trail

1:01 p.m.: Another scenic view.

Scenic view

Boulder and scenic view

1:05 p.m.: And another scenic view.

Yellow trail

Scenic view

1:11 p.m.: More views of the Wannaque Reservoir:

Wannaque Reservoir

1:19 p.m.: Another view of the reservoir:

1:52 p.m.: After 0.8 miles, the yellow trail ended. I turned west onto a white trail that ran along Posts Brook.

Posts Brook

2:06 p.m.: The trail ran beside Chikahoki Falls. [This photo was actually taken the following week. The blue trail runs on the north side of the brook and doesn’t provide a very good view of the waterfall. When I returned to Norvin Green a week later, I was able to cross the brook and take this photo across from the falls.]

Chikahoki Falls

2:24 p.m.: After 0.5 miles, the white trail ended and I rejoined the blue trail, now running west. The temperature was in the 80s on this day, and I was feeling hot and tired at this point, which was only about halfway into my hike.

2:56 p.m.: After another 0.9 miles, the blue trail reached the Otter Hole, where the brook falls over two short waterfalls in quick succession.

Otter Hole

3:25 p.m.: The blue trail ended at the Otter Hole, so I rejoined the green trail, now running north back towards the Weis Ecology Center. Unlike the set of trails running south and west, the green trail running north was mostly level or downhill, so it was easier. As well, the temperature was moderating somewhat.

This was a scenic view along the way.

Scenic view

3:56 p.m.: Another view from the green trail.

Green trail

4:05 p.m.: This was the only stone wall that I saw at Norvin Green.

Stone wall

After 2.7 miles on the green trail, I returned to the Weis Ecology Center and my car. So this was about a 6.7 mile hike.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged New Jersey, Norvin Green, Passaic County, waterfall | Leave a comment

Clarence Fahnestock Memorial State Park, Putnam County, New York

Posted on September 4, 2011 by Charlie

I drove north on the Taconic and turned west on Route 301, parking at the southern end of Canopus Lake.

12:10 p.m.: I hiked north on the white-blazed Appalachian Trail, where in the course of a few minutes I met nine hikers, in five groups, heading south. I thought it would be one of those days in which I had no solitude, but my encounters with others waned after that.

Starting the hike

12:23 p.m.: After 0.5 miles, I turned left (west) onto the blue-blazed Fahnestock Trail.

Intersection of Appalachian Trail and Fahnestock Trail

12:39 p.m.: It was a hot and humid day, so when I came to a large bare rock, I took the opportunity to rest a few minutes and enjoy a Clif bar.

Bare rock

12:57 p.m.: I appreciated the fact that most of my hike was on footpaths, rather than on old woods roads.

Fahnestock Trail

1:00 p.m.: There were a number of trees across the trails, but I don’t know if they fell recently (such as during last Sunday’s Hurricane Irene) or if they’ve been down a long time. I think I duck-walked under these two. In another case I was able to step over one, and in one case I sat on the tree and then swung my legs to the other side.

Fallen trees

1:05 p.m.: After another 0.9 miles, the blue trail turned north and was joined (briefly) by the red-blazed Charcoal Burners trail.

1:12 p.m.: The trails then passed by Beaver Pond:

Beaver Pond

1:16 p.m.: After 0.3 miles, the red trail continued north, but I stayed with the blue trail, which now turned west once again.

1:33 p.m.: Mossy rocks:

Mossy rocks

1:51 p.m.: The trail curved, first turning north-northwest, and then southwest. The trail then passed by a large pond which the map does not name. Trees screened most of the pond from the trail, however. Here, a low stone wall afforded some contrast.

Stone wall

2:02 p.m.: After 1.7 miles, the blue trail reached an intersection with the yellow-blazed Perkins Trail. I continued on the yellow trail, which continued to the southwest. There is some private property in the middle of Fahnestock, and signs warned hikers to keep to the trails.

2:14 p.m.: After 0.5 miles, the yellow trail crossed Glynwood Road and reentered the woods, where this brand new bridge (with a dead tree wedged against it) crossed Clove Creek.

Bridge over Clove Creek, near Glynwood Road

2:45 p.m.: The yellow trail then ran alongside the creek for a while. I stopped along the way for a late lunch.

Clove Creek, beside Perkins Trail

2:57 p.m.: An old stone wall:

Stone wall

After 0.6 miles of running parallel to the creek, the trail turned south, away from the creek. The trail then doubled back toward the northeast.

3:21 p.m.: After another 0.7 miles, I came to a scenic view identified on the map, a bare rock that afforded a nice view of the countryside. The heat and humidity was again bothering me, so I rested here for a few minutes.

Bare rock

3:39 p.m.: The trail then led to a clearing, with the trail pretty much continuing straight through the clearing and through a gap in the trees on the far side.

Clearing

3:40 p.m.: Another stone wall:

Stone wall

3:48 p.m.: After about another 0.6 miles, the trail led to another clearing, and another starred scenic view. This was not a single point, but an entire cleared hilltop that afforded a nice view to the north.

Scenic view

3:49 p.m.: Just beyond the second clearing was a gated fence, with blazes indicating a turn to the right.

Gate to farmland

A closer look at the tillers:

Tillers in a field

I first turned right in front of the fence, but after about 0.1 miles the path became too overgrown to follow. I backtracked to the gate and discovered that there was a yellow blaze on the inside of the gate, so I decided that I was supposed to hike inside the fence instead of outside of it. The map just showed that I was to hike south about 0.2 miles. I hiked south, and noted one or two blazes on fenceposts as I hiked, though I didn’t see very many of those blazes.

4:05 p.m.: After a while I didn’t see any blazes at all, but I continued following the fence until it ended. At that point, I saw a very impressive (and thick) stone wall. Obviously, if one clears a field, one has to do something with all the rocks.

Stone wall

Unfortunately, I didn’t know where to go from here. There were no blazes. The map showed that the yellow trail was supposed to turn left (east), but from what point? I had been following a fence bordering a huge field with ankle-high grass. I was probably supposed to turn east at some point, but I hadn’t seen any blazes on the fence post indicating a turn to the east, or any path through the ankle-high grass indicating a path.

So as I stood at the southern end of the field, this was the view toward the east. No blazes there.

Edge of field

To the south, an open gate led to an unmarked trail. I wasn’t terribly concerned about being “lost,” because the map showed that I was at the most 0.3 miles from a road, and I believed that if I found a trail to the east that I would soon encounter the road. I also knew that I could cross the open field to the east and find the road, but I didn’t like the idea of doing that, especially in an area that was private property.Not having much choice, I continued through the open gate onto the unmarked trail (which also did not show on my map).

4:13 p.m.: The trail turned east, the direction I wanted, and soon led to this horse corral.

Horse corral

As I walked by the corral, I saw a fence with a dirt road behind it, which I realized was the road shown on the map. I found a gate and let myself out and onto the road. Now the only problem was that I had wanted the yellow trail, which led to the east and back to Route 301, whereas the road led to the south-southwest and Route 301, taking me about 0.8 miles in the wrong direction. I had little choice in the matter, though.

I followed the road, which led me to Stonecrop Gardens, a public garden. I walked through the parking lot and continued following the road to Route 301. What should have been a 1.4 mile walk back to my car was now a 2.1 mile walk, because of the unplanned detour.

5:05 p.m.: Made it back to my car, after a 5-hour hike of about 9 miles.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged Appalachian Trail, Fahnestock, New York, Putnam County | Leave a comment

Sterling Forest State Park, Orange County, New York

Posted on August 21, 2011 by Charlie

This was my first hike after the Grand Canyon. Several weeks had passed, in part due to weekend thunderstorms. On this day, I joined the Appalachian Mountain Club, with the understanding that they were going to visit Harriman State Park, specifically some trails that I hadn’t yet hiked. Instead, I was disappointed to learn that the intended leader had been replaced, and the replacement leader had changed the venue. Apparently this was communicated via e-mail to members of the AMC, but since I was not a member, I didn’t know that.

So we went to Sterling Forest, to the very trails that I had hiked just two months earlier. The only difference was that whereas I had done the hike clockwise, the group did it counterclockwise. They also added a hike around Sterling Lake onto the end of the hike.

This is a panoramic view of Greenwood Lake from Bare Rock.

Greenwood Lake

The following images were taken toward the end of our hike, as we walked around Sterling Lake.

Sterling Lake

This was about an 8.5-mile hike.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged New York, Orange County, Sterling Forest | Leave a comment

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona – July 13-14, 2011

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Charlie

Wednesday: We woke up about 4:45 a.m., dressed, ate breakfast, finished packing, weighed our duffel bags and left them for the mules to carry to the top of the South Rim (my bag weighed 14 pounds, if I recall correctly, and I was happy to have a mule carry it for me). We began hiking around 5:50 a.m., with Phantom Ranch being around 2788′ above sea level. The intent for starting the hike so early was to try to cover several miles before the sun rose high in the sky. Also, the temperature would be lower at the higher elevations, which would also make it easier for us.

6:04 a.m.: This little bridge spans the Bright Angel Creek.

Bridge over Bright Angel Creek

This is another view of the Kaibab Suspension Bridge (also known as “the black bridge”), which we had seen when we arrived on our rafts. However, we were not hiking up the South Kaibab Trail, but instead the easier Bright Angel Trail.

Kaibab Suspension Bridge

6:08 a.m.: This is the silver Bright Angel Bridge (also known as “the silver bridge”). We had descended about 200′ to reach this bridge, over a distance of about 1/2 mile.

Bright Angel Bridge

As you can see, the silver bridge is not very wide. The mules cross the river using the black bridge. The silver bridge only caries people, and it also carries the water pipeline. We were surprised to learn that the South Rim obtains water from the North Rim! Water is piped from the North Rim down into the canyon, through Phantom Ranch, across the river (suspended under the silver bridge), and then is pumped up to the South Rim.

Bright Angel Bridge

6:37 a.m.: We were not officially on the Bright Angel Trail yet. Rather, we were on the River Trail, which ran for about 1.3 miles from the silver bridge to the “River Resthouse.” Between the bridge and the River Resthouse the River Trail rose and fell a bit, perhaps climbing 200 or 300′ and then giving up almost all of that elevation.

River Trail

6:39 a.m.: Impressive lens flare.

River Trail

We passed the River Resthouse about two minutes later, and began climbing the Bright Angel Trail.

6:54 a.m.: On the Bright Angel Trail. At least now my camera was starting to record the sky as blue instead of white:

Bottom of the Bright Angel Trail

7:21 a.m.: Gaining elevation.

Gaining elevation on the Bright Angel Trail

7:30 a.m.: A very fat squirrel. Supposedly the most common injury on the Bright Angel Trail is squirrel bites.

Fat squirrel

7:39 a.m.: Gaining more elevation, the path of the trail below us, including switchbacks, can be clearly seen. By advance agreement, we were all hiking at our own pace, or at least we split up into a number of groups. Julie and I hiked together, while others in our party were ahead of us or lagged behind. I should mention that the oldest and youngest members of our group of 9, and in fact of the entire group of 22 that had been on the boats, was a 71-year-old man and his 13-year-old grandson. The Canyoneers crew said that they had previously hosted children as young as 8 or 9. Our guide was actually operating as a “sweep,” bringing up the rear to make sure that no one had any trouble.

Switchbacks on the Bright Angel Trail

7:47 a.m.: We arrived at a little oasis. Hikers said they had spent the night at the Bright Angel campground (not far from Phantom Ranch) and did not have potable water, so they were filling up with water from the stream. (They had filters to purify the water.) At that point we were not too far from a rest point that had potable water, so I don’t know if it was really necessary, but of course it’s good to be prudent and to have water available.

Oasis

7:50 a.m.: Julie has crossed over a little stream:

Stream on Bright Angel Trail

7:55 a.m.: Passing an eroded sandstone formation.

Sandstone formation

7:59 a.m.: A small waterfall cascaded down the rockface:

Waterfall adjacent to Bright Angel Trail

8:06 a.m.: A rock formation is framed by a cactus on the left and a “Century plant” on the right.

Century plant and cactus

At 8:08 a.m., we passed an intersection with the Tonto East Trail. Then at 8:14 a.m. we reached Indian Garden, about 3.6 miles into our hike, and at 3800′ elevation (about a 1400′ climb above the river). We were amazed at the good time we were making. There was a rest house and ample water at Indian Garden (in addition to a campsite that I didn’t see). Thermometers registered 69 degrees in the shade and 102 in the sun. The air temperature felt hotter than 69 degrees, but it wasn’t bad. We refilled our Camelbaks, rested for a few minutes, and continued our climb.

8:42 a.m.: Gaining additional elevation:

Gaining elevation

8:58 a.m.: We encountered the mules descending from the South Rim with their passengers. As instructed, we went to the “high side” of the road and gave them plenty of room to pass.

Mule team

9:07 a.m.: More scenery from the Bright Angel Trail.

Bright Angel Trail

9:10 a.m.: I remembered to stop every so often to take pictures:

Bright Angel Trail

9:21 a.m.: We would occasionally run into others from our party, or into complete strangers, and offer to take photos of each other.

Julie and Charlie on Bright Angel Trail

At 9:25 a.m. we reached the Three-Mile Resthouse, meaning we were only 3 miles from the South Rim. Three-Mile Resthouse is at 4748′ elevation, so we had walked about 6.6 miles and climbed about 2300′ at this point.

9:48 a.m.: More beauty.

Scenery from Bright Angel Trail

9:55 a.m.: I’ve been told that it’s normal for the canyon atmosphere to be hazy in the summer, and we definitely saw some of that.

Scenery from Bright Angel Trail

At the Three-Mile Resthouse, Julie had changed from her pink shirt (which matched the sandstone formations) into her fashionable Yosemite shirt (to match the increasing greenery).

Above Three Mile Resthouse

10:02 a.m.: Gaining more elevation.

Bright Angel Trail

10:10 a.m.: The views were getting more and more expansive. I understand that the South Kaibab Trail has even better views, but it is a harder climb.

View from Bright Angel Trail

10:20 a.m.: As you can see, I have been stitching together many panoramas from this day’s activity. I didn’t have many opportunities to do that in the previous days, because while rafting the boats were constantly moving and so not conducive to panning the camera while taking multiple shots to later stitch together.

View from Bright Angel Trail

10:34 a.m.: More scenery from the Bright Angel Trail.

Bright Angel Trail

View from Bright Angel Trail

10:40 a.m.: The Bright Angel Trail appears as a ribbon far below us.

Bright Angel Trail

At 10:53 a.m., we reached the Mile-and-a-Half Resthouse, at an elevation of 5729′, after hiking about 8.1 miles and climbing 3300′ feet. A thermometer (I believe in the shade) showed 85 degrees. That seemed like a more realistic air temperature than the one I had seen at Indian Gardens that read 69 degrees.

Only 1.5 miles and 1000′ to go at this point. We also began encountering a fair number of day-tourists at this point, who decided to hike down the trail for a mile or until they got to the first resthouse at 1.5 miles.

11:05 a.m.: Getting closer to the rim.

Mile and a Half Point

Bright Angel Trail

11:23 a.m.: We reached the “second tunnel.”

Second Tunnel

11:30 a.m.: A nice view.

Bright Angel Trail

11:37 a.m.: Almost at the top.

Bright Angel Trail

11:48 a.m.: The “first tunnel.”

First Tunnel

By 11:55 a.m., we had reached the South Rim, at 6860′ elevation, having hiked about 9.6 miles and climbed over 4400′, not including some additional ups and downs from Phantom Ranch to the river and along the River Trail. It had taken Julie and me six hours, but we were fine, not being sore or overheated. I felt it was an easier hike than the 7.1 mile, 4800′ elevation gain from Little Yosemite Valley to the top of Half Dome the year before (and plus, we had to then leave Half Dome and descend the same distance and elevation). We eventually reunited with the rest of our party. We learned that a couple of older teenage boys had done the hike in an amazing four hours! Another pair of hikers, with our guide Dave accompanying them, had required 8 hours. So Julie and I were right in the middle of the pack, at 6 hours.

Our reservations on the shuttle back to Flagstaff were for 6:00 p.m., so we had little choice but to spend a lot of time hanging out at the top of the South Rim. There had been an earlier shuttle, but we had no way of knowing how long the hike would take, so we had all been conservative and had booked seats on the later shuttle. So we ate ice cream; talked; went to the mule barn to collect our duffel bags, which the mules had kindly carried for us; visited a couple of gift shops, etc., and finally it was time to take the shuttle. The group rode back to Flagstaff, checked back into the hotel, reclaimed the possessions we had left there, and finally were able to enjoy hot showers.

Thursday: Julie and I bid farewell to the others in our group, took a taxi to the airport and caught the commuter flight to Phoenix, where we once again parted ways, returning to our homes.

It was an amazing trip, and I highly recommend white-water rafting in the Grand Canyon and hiking up the Bright Angel Trail, especially if you can do so with such excellent company as I enjoyed.

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Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona – July 12, 2011

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Charlie

Tuesday: I wasn’t sure whether to be happy or sad about the third day, which would be our last day on the river. I was enjoying the rafting, but at the same time thought it would be interesting and fun to visit Phantom Ranch and hike up the Bright Angel Trail. I also had heard that Phantom Ranch had showers, which was appealing. I had sand in my hair from the sandy beaches/campsites, and the 45 degree Colorado River was not conducive to bathing. (Baby wipes are used by many campers to freshen up when there is no suitable body of water.)

8:06 a.m.: Back on the river, I was finally able to get a few good shots of white water rapids. This is Nevills Rapid, at mile 76:

Nevills Rapid, Mile 76

8:19 a.m.: By mile 78, other geological layers had appeared, namely Shinumo quartzite and Hakatai shale.

Mile 78

8:25 a.m.: You’ll note that we are now seated inside the boat. In calm water we could even sit on the outrigger (perhaps it’s more proper to call them the pontoons). Generally, though, we found it more comfortable to sit on padded benches, and that was also our position for going through almost every rapid. For one or two of the largest rapids, though, we were instructed to sit on the floor of the boat, for safety. This is one such case, Hance Rapid, where numerous large rocks constrict the channel and form powerful hydraulics:

Hance Rapid, Mile 78

In this second photo going through Hance Rapid, you can see the yellow padded benches where passengers in the front of the boat (ahead of the articulated hinge) sat, as well as the white benches in the rear of the boat. (The white material was just a cover, under which were the sleeping pad mats that we used while camping.)

Hance Rapid, Mile 78

8:41 a.m.: After Hance Rapid, we quickly resumed our places on the more comfortable benches. Here we are going through Sockdolager Rapid, at mile 79. For the geologists, Vishnu schist, Zoroaster granite, and Hotauta conglomerate had appeared. In fact, other than lava flows downstream at mile 179, we had now seen all the formations int he Grand Canyon rock sequence at this point. The crew told us that this first part of the river was the most scenic (perhaps to cheer up those of us who were only riding with them for 2-1/4 days), though the lower canyon offered more rapids than we had seen in the upper half.

Sockdolager Rapid, Mile 79

8:59 a.m.: Approaching Grapevine Rapid, mile 82:

Grapevine Rapid, Mile 82

9:18 a.m.: 83-Mile Rapid:

83-Mile Rapid

9:34 a.m.: This is the Kaibab Suspension Bridge, at mile 88, marking the end of our rafting adventure.

Kaibab Suspension Bridge, Mile 88

Upon beaching the boats, the nine of us who were leaving the party offloaded our dry bags and removed our duffel bags from them, offloaded our ammo cans and removed the personal items from them, and took whatever else we had aboard. We bid farewell to the Canyoneers crew. The nine of us were replaced with 12 passengers who had hiked down the Bright Angel trail that morning. (I don’t know what time they had to start the hike.)

One of the crew led us to Phantom Ranch, where we would spend the rest of the day and the night. The nine of us were put in a ten-person cabin, with bunk beds and air conditioning. The tenth bunk wasn’t wasted, as we were being joined by David, a guide that Canyoneers had hired to lead us out of the canyon the next day. (It would be hard to get lost on the trail, as there are only two or three trails that branch off of it, and they are hard to spot compared to the very well-traveled Bright Angel trail. Still, Canyoneers apparently thought it prudent to hire a guide.) Phantom Ranch was nice except that they’d had a water line break, so the promised showers were not available. They had a supply of potable water, and we filled up our Camelbaks for the next day’s hike. They also had non-potable water, which we used to fill buckets to pour into toilets so that they would flush. We heard that it wasn’t the first time that Phantom Ranch had experienced such a water supply disruption. The Bright Angel Creek ran right behind our cabin, and it was warm enough to tolerate sitting in it for a few minutes.

11:34 a.m.: While planning for the trip, I had spotted one or two hikes in the vicinity of Phantom Ranch that I was interested in, including one to one or two waterfalls. However, I foolishly forgot to bring a print-out of the hikes with me. Julie also didn’t want to go on a hike, as she was concerned about the next day’s 9.6 mile hike climbing 4400′, and none of the others in our party were interested. Therefore, I felt that I had little choice but to remain at Phantom Ranch. If I had brought the print-out with me, I might have been tempted to go on the hike on my own. In the evening, our guide David appeared, and we learned that after he had dropped off the 12 people replacing us at the boats, he had gone on a hike by himself to the waterfalls. I wish that I could have known that and gone with him. As it was, I did little that afternoon, other than take a nap.

Some of the scenery at Phantom Ranch:

Phantom Ranch, Grand Canyon

Phantom Ranch

Prickly pear cactus:

Prickly pear cactus

Mules travel up and down the Bright Angel trail and the Kaibab Trail. They carry passengers or supplies. Canyoneers had arranged for our duffel bags to be carried out by mules the next morning, so that we would only have to carry water and snacks on our hike out of the canyon.

Mules

A ranger presented a program in the afternoon and one in the evening. I missed about 90% of the afternoon program because of my nap, but the evening program was on condors. I don’t think I saw any condors at the Grand Canyon, and I was also disappointed that I didn’t see any sheep or other large animals. Other than a heron, smaller birds, lizards and squirrels, I didn’t see any animals at all.

Condor program

After the talk, the ranger led us a short distance to some rocks and used an ultraviolet light to show us a scorpion, as they fluoresce under such light. We then returned to our cabin.

Next: Day Four below the Rim.

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Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona – July 11, 2011

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Charlie

Monday: The wake-up call was “coffee,” and it came around 5:30 in the morning. After breakfast, we took down the tents and packed up our gear, then we boarded the boats and got underway. Continue reading →

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Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona – July 8-10, 2011

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Charlie

Friday: I flew from LaGuardia to Charlotte, then on to Phoenix, then to Flagstaff, where I checked into the Holiday Inn Express in the mid-afternoon. Continue reading →

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