Charlie Stein's Photoblog

Yosemite National Park, California – July 4-5, 2010

Posted on July 5, 2010 by Charlie

Sunday: I flew from LaGuardia to Cleveland, then on to Denver, then to Fresno, California. (I found a bargain airfare of around $350 roundtrip.) The planes grew progressively smaller with each flight: I started on a Boeing 737 that held about 126 passengers, then it was a Bombardier CRJ-700 that held 66 passengers, then an even smaller Bombardier CRJ-200 that only held 50 passengers.

I only took a carry-on bag on this trip, as I didn’t need my tent and sleeping bag. The last two planes were so small that standard carry-ons didn’t fit inside, so instead baggage handlers took the carry-on luggage from passengers at the loading area and put them in the plane’s cargo area, then crew in the next city returned the luggage as the passengers were deplaning.

In Fresno, I rented a car from Avis, and they gave me a choice of cars in the class I had requested. I don’t know if they always do that, or if it’s just at this location, but I think generally the rental agencies just tell you what car you’ll be stuck with, and it’s usually different than what you had expected and hoped to get based upon their website. I selected a Volkswagen Jetta. It was also better-equipped than the usual stripped rental car I am used to, as it had a sunroof and a satellite radio.

I stopped at the WalMart and Whole Foods in Fresno to buy groceries and supplies. The WalMart was out of gallon water bottles, but Whole Foods had them. I also bought sunscreen, then drove north to Yosemite. My destination within the park was Yosemite Valley, about 90 miles from the airport. The road outside the park is fine, though it has several steep climbs with pull-off areas so that slower traffic can get out of the way of faster vehicles. Inside the park, the speed limit was much lower and the road was under repair, with the asphalt having been removed from several areas in preparation for later repaving.

Shortly after I entered Yosemite Valley, a coyote crossed the road right in front of my car, but my camera was not within reach. I finally arrived at my destination, Curry Village, which is one of several lodging choices within Yosemite Valley. The parking lot was very big and very crowded, so I had to park far away. I then grabbed my luggage and my groceries and headed to the reception desk. (The National Park Service makes a big deal about not leaving food in vehicles or in one’s tent or tent cabin, as bears have been known to break in to get at the food.) I was assigned a tent cabin that was also far from the reception area (and not so close to my car, either), and got settled for the night.

A tent cabin has a wooden floor, a wooden frame, and canvas walls and roof. Inside, it has two or more beds, an overhead electric light (but no receptacles), metal storage shelves and a garbage can. Mine had a full-size bed and three twin beds. They provided bedding. Outside each tent cabin is a metal locker for storing food and toiletries (“anything with a scent”). The theory is that if the bears don’t smell food in the cabin, they won’t come inside, and unless they develop opposable thumbs, they can’t get into the storage lockers. There were communal bathroom and shower facilities within Curry Village. Yosemite seemed very commercial, having concession operators for almost everything. I’m surprised they didn’t charge for showers at Curry Village, as Bryce Canyon does. These tent cabins cost $120/night, so someone is making a killing.

Tent cabins

Tent cabin interior

Here we have a tent cabin under construction:

Tent cabin frame

Yosemite Valley affords nice views of the surrounding granite walls and at least two waterfalls. There were nice views even from Curry Village itself. The photo below shows the 7,546′ tall North Dome (top center), Washington Column (at right), and the Royal Arches (the exfoliation arches in the granite wall at lower left and center):

North Dome, Washington Column, and Royal Arches

In addition to sunscreen, it’s helpful to have insect repellent to keep the mosquitoes away.

Giant Western Crane Fly

Actually, a helpful poster at GardenWeb.com identified it as a harmless Giant Western Crane Fly, Holorusia rubiginosa, the largest fly west of the Rockies.

Monday: I woke around 6:00 and loaded my backpack with water and lunch. As the pack sat on top of the bear locker, it pressed down on the bite valve for the water bladder, causing a few ounces to leak out, making the hip belt of the pack wet. I’ve had such leaks a couple of times, from stepping on the bite valve or pressing my arm against it while tying a shoe, etc. So I’m trying to get in the habit of using the shut-off valve when I’m not actually drinking from the bite valve.

My objective on this day was Mt. Dana, in the northeast corner of the park, about a two-hour drive from Yosemite Valley. As I began my drive, and while still in Yosemite Valley, I stopped to photograph Bridalveil Fall, a 617′ waterfall. This is one of two waterfalls (the other being Yosemite Falls) that may be easily seen from the valley.

Bridalveil Fall

I bought a new camera about a week before this trip, a Panasonic Lumix GF1. This is a “Micro Four-Thirds” system camera, which allows for interchangeable lens. It has a 4:3 image aspect ratio, as opposed to the 3:2 ratio that was popularized by 35mm film cameras. The image sensor is somewhat smaller than the APS-C sensors used in most digital single-lens reflex cameras, but it’s still around 9 times the size of sensors used in compact digital cameras, allowing for three times the image quality. The “Micro” part means that unlike the full-sized “Four-Thirds” cameras, these cameras lack an internal mirror and optical viewfinder. Thus, they are not single-lens reflex cameras. The Micro Four-Thirds cameras are made by both Panasonic and Olympus. I actually bought the lens separate from the body, because I preferred the Olympus M.Zuiko 14-42mm F/3.5-5.6 zoom lens to the Panasonic lens, primarily because the Olympus lens collapses when not in use, making it more compact. The cameras have a crop factor (focal length multiplier) of 2, meaning that the 14-42mm lens is equivalent to a 28-84mm lens on a 35mm film camera. So it’s a wide-angle to slight-telephoto lens.

Except for when I went rafting, all the photos on this trip were taken with the GF1. As you will see, I have included a number of panoramic shots. I produced these by stitching two or more photographs, using Microsoft’s Image Composite Editor, a free (!) program. I did not have a tripod, so as I was panning the camera by hand to take multiple shots, some shots were lower or higher than others. This left some blank areas in the stitched photos. In many cases, I simply cropped out the blank areas. However, in other cases I used Gimp to clone a missing piece of sky or ground at the border or edge of a photo, when cropping would have caused too great a loss elsewhere in the photo. I also used Gimp to correct a curved foreground that had been introduced by the stitching of the above panorama.

Returning to my rental car, I continued driving through the park. The road wound its way through the park, gaining in altitude. Yosemite Valley is at 4,000′ elevation. My next stop along the way was Siesta Lake, just beside the road, at about 8,000.’

Siesta Lake

Here are three shots at Siesta Lake in which I try out the depth of field with the camera/lens combination. In this first shot, I select the maximum aperture, F/3.5 (at 14mm). This is a narrow depth of field, and I focused on the foreground pine needles. The background trees beyond the lake are therefore not focused well.

Siesta Lake

In this shot, I kept the same aperture, but changed the focus to the background trees, and so the foreground needles are not in focus.

Siesta Lake

In this last shot, I selected the maximum aperture, F/22, for a broad depth of field. I don’t remember whether I focused at the foreground or background, but both are relatively focused.

Siesta Lake

Continuing on my drive to the northeast corner of the park, my next stop was at Olmstead Point, with nice views:

My next stop was at Tenaya Lake:

The trailhead for Mt. Dana begins at the park’s northeast entrance/exit. I did not see a sign to the trail, so I asked at the ranger station at the exit, and the ranger said that the trail began at the back of a parking lot, and pointed toward a small lot that was marked for official vehicles only. Per her direction, I drove out of the park and parked along the road, where there were a few other cars. I walked around the back of the parking lot but didn’t see a trail, and wondered if she had really meant to wave toward the official vehicle parking lot or had meant a different parking lot, so I wandered around half an hour or longer looking in different areas. I finally asked another tourist, who led me to the trailhead, which did start several yards behind the parking lot. It was not marked at all, though. Apparently the Park Service doesn’t mark every trail.

While wandering around Dana Meadows, I took this photograph, which is one of my favorites from Yosemite.

Dana Meadows

This is a stitched panorama showing one of the ponds at Dana Meadows, at the foot of Mt. Dana:

The pond is very shallow and very clear; I am sure it is just runoff from the melting snow.

Pond at Dana Meadows

Another shot of Dana Meadows, as I began climbing Mt. Dana.

Mt. Dana

Mt. Dana is the second highest mountain in Yosemite National Park. The base of the mountain is around 10,000′, with the peak at 13,061′. (Mount Lyell, at 13,120′, is the highest mountain in Yosemite, but it is far from the roads and harder to climb.) Jeffrey P. Schaffer, Yosemite: Must-Do Hikes for Everyone, recommended Mt. Dana as offering great views and being a moderate hike, with the 5-mile round-trip taking only 3 to 5 hours. A friend from law school was meeting me in Yosemite, and we planned to hike to the top of Half Dome on Wednesday, which all agree is a strenuous hike. So I thought that a moderate hike would be good for spending the day before my friend arrived.

Here is some of the interesting plant life. [Carol23 at GardenWeb.com has identified this as cynoglossum. It’s probably Western Hounds-tongue, cynoglossum occidentale, or perhaps Pacific Hounds-tongue, cynoglossum grande.]

Cynoglossum

Here’s Dana Meadows and the Kuna Crest from the trail up Mt. Dana:

Dana Meadows and Kuna Crest

A little higher up, with an even wider panorama.

At first the trail was regular soil, but about halfway up it became rocky.

Mt. Dana

As I hiked above the tree line, I took a shot looking below. You can see that the trees end and the ground turns rocky. I noticed something sitting on that rock in the center of the photograph. I took the shot at maximum zoom, but that 42mm focal length (equivalent to 84mm on a 35mm film camera) is not even a 2x telephoto. It’s likely a Yellow-bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris), but hard to tell from that photo.

Yellow-bellied Marmot

My camera makes images that are 4000 x 3000 pixels, which I have reduced in size to fit a monitor. In the next shot, I have cropped the image to just the center, and not reduced it in size (other than the thumbnail, obviously). But unfortunately, I still can’t tell what it is.

Unknown animal

I was now trudging over rocks and it wasn’t comfortable. Not only that, but I ran into snow banks and had to decide whether to skirt them or walk through them. Schaffer had said that when the trail ended, people generally just walked due east uphill, so I was trying to do that. I wasn’t having that much fun, though.

Mt. Dana

Another panorama looking downhill toward Dana Meadows, with the Kuna Crest to the left:

This shot shows the rocks that I was contending with, and shows the peak of Mt. Dana:

Peak of Mt. Dana

This is a panorama that not only shows the peak of Mt. Dana, on the left, but to the right shows the Kuna Crest and then Dana Meadows.

Another panorama:

While I had the peak in sight, I also had developed a slight headache and was feeling a little light-headed. I had hiked to 13,000′ in elevation previously, years ago in Colorado, but I had acclimated to the altitude beforehand, camping at 8,000′ for one night, then hiking up to 10,000′ and camping there, and then hiking up to 13,000′ on subsequent days. I suspected that the low oxygen at the high altitudes was bothering me because I had not acclimated to it, so I decided to descend, and soon began to feel better. It was disappointing not reaching the peak of Mt. Dana, but at least I had gotten some exercise and taken some nice photos.

Here’s another interesting plant that I saw on the way downhill. This looks like something my vegetarian friends would serve for lunch, but another poster at GardenWeb identified it as a poisonous plant, the California Corn Lily, Veratrum californicum.

California corn lily

I finally made it back to my car, having spent 6 hours on what was supposed to be a 3-5 hour hike, and not having even made it to the peak. I probably reached about 12,000′. On the way downhill I began developing a blister on one toe. My boots are pretty good on level ground or going uphill, but going downhill on a steep grade, it seems that my feet slide forward a bit in the boots and rub against them. I’m not sure what to do about that: if I need different socks, different boots, etc.

I worried, “How can I hike 15 miles to the top of Half Dome in two days if I couldn’t even complete a 5-mile ‘moderate’ hike to the peak of Mt. Dana?” I also worried about whether the blister would cause trouble. But on the other hand, I knew that my problem with Mt. Dana was due to the altitude, and that the peak of Half Dome is “only” at 8,836′, where I would not experience a lack of oxygen. So I tried to reassure myself that Wednesday’s hike would go well.

I began driving back to Curry Village. My friend, Julie, phoned and said that she had arrived in the park and was checking into her cabin, so I told her that I would meet her at the Village in about an hour and a half. I only stopped along the way for a few minutes to shoot photos at Tuolumne Meadows, which I have stitched together into this panorama.

Next: Rafting on the Merced River.

Posted in Hikes, Vacations | Tagged California, waterfall, Yosemite | Leave a comment

Ward Pound Ridge Reservation, Westchester County, NY

Posted on June 27, 2010 by Charlie

Ward Pound Ridge Reservation is the largest park in Westchester County. Native Americans built a fenced-in enclosure into which they drove deer; this provided the “pound” in the name of the park. The park supposedly has 41.9 miles of trails, though I wonder if that includes the ones that aren’t on the map. (More about that later.) The park charges $8 admission for a car, but no one was there to collect the fee, so I got in for free.

I drove to the middle of the park, to the parking circle at the end of Michigan Road, to access the trails at the southern half. I had grand plans, but due to one trail running for far longer than is shown on their map, and due to the temperature being in the 90s, I only covered about half the trails that I wanted to hike. I still estimate that I got in around 8 miles, between 9:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

This is an open/wetland area adjacent to the parking lot and just before the trailhead:

Wetland

This is the trailhead for the red and green trails. The kiosk did not have any maps (other than the one hanging up behind glass), so I was glad that I had brought my own that I printed off from the Internet.

Trailhead

At first I thought that the trails were all going to be well-marked:

Trailhead

There were several wet areas in the park:

Wet area

The principal trails are clearly woods roads and are not badly eroded, either. That is, it’s entirely possible that some are still traveled by county vehicles if required, such as for maintenance. On the other hand, there are smaller trails that are not former roads, such as this path:

Footpath

The footpath I am on is called the Leatherman Loop. There is a 10K run here every year. The Leatherman was a homeless guy who wore clothing that he patched together out of leather. He apparently walked ten miles a day, covering a 365-mile circle every five weeks, accepting meals from farmers and sleeping in caves in New York and Connecticut.

Leatherman’s Loop

This is an overlook on the Leatherman’s Loop, I believe looking west, toward the Cross River, which is a tributary of the Croton.

Scenic view from Leatherman Loop

Cross River

I walked by a huge rock wall, and thought that one way of showing that it was taller than a human was to photograph myself in front of it:

Self-portrait

Rock wall

This is the Leatherman’s cave in this park:

Leatherman’s Cave

It is not very big inside:

Leatherman’s Cave

I left the Leatherman’s loop and returned to the red and green trail. The trail ran over a stream (they installed a culvert so that the water runs under the trail/woods road).

Stream

I took a detour off the red loop, taking a trail that led under power lines to a lookout called Spy Ridge. Along the way, I believe I saw a white-tailed deer running away from me. It was really just a flash of red and white. I reached Spy Ridge; I believe looking south:

Spy Ridge

There was a big bird also enjoying the view, which I believe was a black vulture:

Black vulture

I backtracked from the Spy Ridge, and continued on the minor trail until I came to the Bear Rock Petroglyph:

Bear Rock Petroglyph

I then continued on, and then took a short side trail to Dancing Rock. I thought the name was describing the rock, such as “balancing rock,” and was wondering how a rock could dance. I found a huge flat spot, and realized that it was perhaps a place where people had danced, or at least a place suitable for dancing. I later read a description that said there’s a kiosk there, but I sure didn’t see any kiosk. The kiosk supposedly says that farmers did hold dances there. So I was able to correctly discern the meaning from the name.

Dancing Rock

Here’s a side view showing that the rock is pretty thick.

Dancing Rock

I continued on the minor trail, which then joined the red trail. I then made the mistake of taking a minor side trail leading to “Castle Rock.” I thought perhaps this would be another overlook or some impressive sight. I later passed a sign nailed to a tree that read “Castle Rock,” but I didn’t see anything of interest nearby. I later learned that Castle Rock is a large rock formation. Either I didn’t see it or I wasn’t impressed. I kept going on the trail, which was not well-traveled, at least not in some places, and was not blazed all that well. But I was able to continue on by looking for crushed leaves and the occasional white blaze. The map that I had showed that the trail should have ended after about 1/2 mile, at Castle Rock, whereas it kept going and going and going. [I later learned that the trail had been extended before the map was updated.]

Castle Rock Trail

At one point, there was a fenced-in enclosure. It bothered me that they used a tree for one corner of it. This can’t be too healthy for a tree. I don’t know what they are fencing in. It reminded me of a fence at Mianus River Gorge where they wanted to see how the plants would grow if deer couldn’t get to them. I don’t understand the point of that, as deer are native to the area—it’s not as though deer are an invasive species.

Exclosure

In addition to the trails being blazed by the park, there were a few trails that were marked BRLA. I had no idea what that was, but later learned that these are trails used by the Bedford Riding Lanes Association, and may be used by either equestrians or hikers. I don’t see any maps on their website, though.

About 0.7 miles past the Castle Rock sign, I reached a nice boardwalk beside Stone Hill River. There was a nice bench there, and I had a late lunch. Looking upstream:

Stone Hill River?

Looking downstream:

Stone Hill River?

I like the contrast of the texture and colors of this rusted metal piece sitting on the rock, with the greenery in the background.

Texture of rusted iron, rock, grass

There were a number of stone walls in the park. More than 30 farms once existed here, and they were eventually consolidated into this giant park by Westchester County. I hope to return someday, in cooler weather, to explore more of this park.

Stone wall

After the hike, I wanted to visit the Trailside Nature Museum, but it was closed.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged New York, Westchester County | 1 Comment

Blue Mountain Reservation, Westchester County, New York

Posted on June 20, 2010 by Charlie

I joined a group heading for Blue Mountain Reservation for what was supposed to be a 5 mile hike. Unfortunately, the leader took a right when he was supposed to take a left, and when I attempted to point it out to him he waved me off. Half an hour later he admitted that I was right, but as we were now almost back at the entrance, he decided that was enough of a hike for the day. So our 5 miles became more like 2 miles. I was not happy about that.

As a consequence of traveling with a group and only having a very short hike, I did not take many photos.

This poor tree is trying to grow, but someone nailed a metal sign to it many years ago, impeding its growth rings.

I’ll let my herpetologist friends identify this snake for me:

This is the view from near the peak of Blue Mountain, which at 680 feet should not even be called a mountain, as the American standard for naming is that only an elevation over 1000 feet qualifies for “mountain” status. The view is of the Hudson River, with Dunderberg and Bear Mountains beyond.

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

Mt. Greylock State Reservation, Massachusetts

Posted on June 13, 2010 by Charlie

“[W]hether we will or no, Majesty is all around us here in Berkshire, sitting as in a grand Congress of Vienna of majestical hill-tops, and eternally challenging our homage.” – Herman Melville, from the dedication of Pierre

Leaving home at 6:00 a.m., my objective was Mt. Greylock, the highest point in Massachusetts, located in the northwest corner of the state. I drove north across the Whitestone Bridge, then took the Hutchinson River Parkway, then I-684 (which cuts across a tiny corner of Connecticut before reentering New York). I then continued on Route 22, which took me through a number of small communities. One was Dover, New York, where I noticed a number of vacant buildings east of the highway. Research shows this was the Harlem Valley Psychiatric Center.

At one place on my drive, I noticed a big rabbit by the side of the road, and just as I was admiring it, a male cardinal flashed by in front of my car’s window. So for a fraction of a second, I saw two animals that I rarely see. It’s too bad that I couldn’t have a picture of that, but there are many moments that are simply too ephemeral to be captured by a camera.

8:00 a.m.: I only stopped once on my drive, still along Route 22, to admire a green field and the mountains beyond, which beckoned to me:

Farmland beside Route 22

I finally left Route 22 and headed east, crossing into Massachusetts. I arrived at the Mount Greylock State Reservation around 9:15 a.m. The trail begins at the end of Hopper Road in Williamstown:

Hopper Road trailhead

While a gate bars vehicular traffic, it seems that Hopper Road continues for a fraction of a mile as a former 1830s carriage road. Fields have been cleared to the north and south of the road, but somehow a narrow border of trees remain on each side of the road to provide shade and separation from the fields:

Hopper Road Trail

Here are fallen logs covered in moss, along the southern border of the trail. Just beyond, you can see the cleared field to the south of the trail.

Hopper Road Trail

I want the Money Brook Trail, to the left. To the right is the Haley Farm Trail, which will be my return path, as my route will take me in a giant clockwise loop.

Intersection of Hopper Road Trail and Haley Farm Trail

Looking to the right, a path of trampled grass marks the Haley Farm Trail. I make a note of it for the end of the day.

Haley Farm Trailhead

Another crossroads. Again, I want the Money Brook Trail, to the left. The Hopper Trail takes the right fork.

Intersection of Money Brook Trail and Hopper Trail

This is a detail of nearby trees, and you can see that the trees in the background are quite concealed by fog. The chance of rain had been projected as 40%, and I decided to take a chance. I did not encounter rain, but it had rained a lot, and conditions were muddy at times. Also, the fog never burned off, and sadly I was not able to enjoy any views from the mountaintop or outlooks.

Foggy day at Money Brook Trail

9:35 a.m.: There is a reason they call this the Money Brook Trail: there’s actually a brook here. The trail roughly parallels the brook for a few miles. At first it runs southeast, then makes a 90 degree angle and runs to the northeast.

Money Brook

9:43 a.m.: The Money Brook Trail begins an ascent:

Ascending on the Money Brook Trail

10:01 a.m.: Perched on a nice wooden bridge that straddles the brook, I put my camera down and take a longer exposure:

Money Brook

11:07 a.m.: The Money Brook Trail continued higher, and I finally was able to take a short detour to the base of Money Brook Falls:

Money Brook Falls

11:42 a.m.: The Money Brook Trail continued on a roughly northeast direction, reaching a primitive campground called Wilbur’s Clearing. No one was camping when I arrived. Here is a shelter for those who want to enjoy a meal out of the rain.

Shelter at Wilbur’s Clearing

11:50 a.m.: The trail continues on puncheon through some especially wet areas:

Puncheon

11:54 a.m.: After 3.75 miles, the Money Brook Trail finally reached an end, intersecting the famed Appalachian Trail. I don’t remember if I’ve ever hiked any part of the AT before. Hopefully I’ll remember that I did so on this occasion. I decided to take a 0.3 mile detour to the northwest, to a lookout.

Intersection of Money Brook Trail & Appalachian Trail

12:05 p.m.: Arriving at the lookout, I feel pretty stupid, as I realize that it’s so foggy that there’s nothing to see. If it had been a clear day, I would have had a vista of Williamstown.

Foggy vista

Flower

I reversed course, following the AT south. (It actually ran east for a while, before turning due south.)

Appalachian Trail

1:12 p.m.: I reach the peak of Mt. Williams, at 2,951 feet.

Peak of Mt. Williams

2:31 p.m.: As I have said, it was muddy in places. I met a few hikers, though they were always close to where the trails intersected roads. Thus, I don’t know if any of the ones I saw were walking a long distance on trails, or if they had just entered from the road and were walking along the trails for a short distance.

Muddy trail

Of course, slugs thrive in wet conditions:

Slug

Flowers

3:10 p.m.: After 3.75 miles on the AT (plus another 0.6 miles to that “vista of Williamstown”), I finally arrived at the peak of Mt. Greylock, at 3,491 feet elevation. The mountain has been an inspiration to many poets and writers, and some of their thoughts were engraved in rocks at the summit. Herman Melville had a view of Mt. Greylock from his farm, Arrowhead, and he said that Mt. Greylock appeared to him as a breaching whale, inspiring him to pen Moby Dick.

Stone engraved with quotation from John Ruskin

Stone engraved with quotation from John Bascom

This shot of the 93-foot high Massachusetts Veterans War Memorial Tower shows how foggy it was.

Massachusetts Veterans War Memorial Tower

Directional signs

I met a couple who had biked to the summit (on the roads, not on trails). The man commented that at least there weren’t any crowds this day. I have no idea how many people there would be on a sunny day, but the mountaintop was practically deserted.

Foggy observation point

U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey magnetic station

Stone engraved with quotation from Henry David Thoreau

Elevation sign

The Veterans Memorial was open, and I went inside. I was shocked to see the poor condition, with water leaking inside, letters having fallen off the inscriptions, etc.

Interior, Massachusetts Veterans War Memorial Tower

I climbed to the top of the tower, just for the exercise and to say that I’d done it. I knew by now that there would be no view other than impenetrable fog.

Whiteout

Back outside:

Appalachian Trail marker, Mt. Greylock, MA

This was pretty cool: a relief map of the mountain and surrounding area, drawn at a scale of 1 foot = 1 mile.

Relief map, Mt. Greylock, MA

Stone engraved with quotation from Henry David Thoreau

I left the summit and resumed walking southwest on the AT for another 0.6 miles. Then I took the Hopper Trail (a different part of it than I had seen at the beginning of my hike).

4:51 p.m.: After 1.2 miles of the Hopper Trail, I came to Sperry Road. This is a nicely graded road, though a gate “discourages” vehicular traffic. I followed this road 1.4 miles northwest, and it was pretty easy walking, though I was getting tired at this point. There are a number of primitive campsites along this road.

Sperry Road

A nice little stream visible from the road:

Stream off Sperry Road

5:18 p.m.: At the end of Sperry Road, I reached the Stony Ledge Vista. Of course, there was nothing to see.

Foggy day at Stony Ledge Vista

There were some pretty flowers there, though.

Wildflowers at Stony Ledge Vista

I followed the Stony Ledge Trail for 0.1 miles, then veered off onto the Haley Farm Trail, which I had noted at the beginning of my hike. Interestingly, the Haley Farm Trail does not appear on the USGS Survey Maps. I wonder if it’s a newer trail. It started out heading north, then west, then north again, meandering 2.2 miles.

5:30 p.m.: Very colorful lichen:

Lichen

5:48 p.m.: I know this is a crummy photo, but it’s an American Porcupine. They are apparently nearsighted, and I wonder if this one wasn’t also hard of hearing. I wasn’t getting good shots of him and tried a flash, and that got his attention and he slowly waddled off, even though I tried reassuring him that I wouldn’t hurt him. While there was still more than two hours of daylight, it was getting pretty dark. I guess the overcast skies and the foliage overhead blocked out most of the sunshine. I knew that I must have been getting close to the end of the trail (and I also had a flashlight with me), so I wasn’t too worried.

Blurry photo of American Porcupine

6:17 p.m.: The Haley Farm Trail runs out of forest.

Haley Farm Trail

As I crossed the field that I had photographed at 9:15 a.m., I took one last shot of the foggy horizon.

Haley Farm

This 13.6-mile hike took me 9 hours. I then had a long drive home, arriving around 10:00 p.m.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged Appalachian Trail, Massachusetts | Leave a comment

Pine Barrens, New Jersey

Posted on May 31, 2010 by Charlie

David Brotsky has been leading trips around the world for over a decade. I have been on a few of his one-day events and signed up for this two-day event over Memorial Day weekend. Continue reading →

Posted in Miscellaneous | Tagged New Jersey | 2 Comments

Mianus River Gorge, Westchester County, New York

Posted on May 22, 2010 by Charlie

Another source for learning of hiking locations is the Nature Conservancy. Its website is not that easy to navigate, but if you keep drilling through it you might find a list of places worth visiting.

Because of a late start, I only had time for a short hike this day, and I decided to visit the Mianus River Gorge, which has a page on the Nature Conservancy’s website and which also has its own website. In 1964, the Gorge was designated a Registered Natural History Landmark. It is only about ten miles from the Mount Holly Preserve, which I visited a month earlier. Unfortunately, the Mianus River Gorge facility closes at 5:00 p.m., which is a shame since it doesn’t get dark for another three hours.

A kiosk near the entrance presents a number of posters with information about the Gorge. The Larger versions are large image files, so that if you want, you can zoom in and read the text.

Introduction

“Early Years”

History

Old-growth forest

Threats to the forest

Protecting the watershed

The trail(s) start out and as may be seen, are very-well defined. At the beginning, the trails are bordered by logs, which help to define the trail and keep people from veering off and trampling the adjacent vegetation. However, later on they stopped using the logs. Still, it is easy enough to follow the trail based on the ground being trampled.

Trailhead

Trail

Once again, I encounter stone walls. Their brochure says that the stone walls date back to the early 19^th Century.

It’s quite hard to see in this photo, but there is a wire mesh fence a few feet in front of my position. To the right, it’s easier to see a wooden gate for that fence. This is a deer “exclosure,” an area that they have fenced off to keep deer out, for research projects.

Stone wall

Where is a botanist when you need one? This looks like a wetlands plant. I realized about halfway through the hike that I had my camera set for indoor lighting, and reset it for an outdoor cloudy day. I’ve increased the reds and decreased the blues of those photos, but they are still far from perfect.

Wetlands plants

You know the saying, “It’s hard to see the forest because of the trees?” Well, there’s a river back there, but it’s hard to see it through the trees. I haven’t figured out how this works, but when I’m on a trail, my brain filters out the trees in the foreground and I can see things behind it very clearly. But if I then take a picture and look at the picture, I can only see the trees. I don’t know if that’s a function of stereoscopic vision or if it’s because I have a much wider field of view than the camera does, so that my brain has more information to work with. So I frequently feel that I’m looking at something beautiful but it’s difficult or impossible for me to get a decent shot of it.

Mianus River

Here you see that the trail continues without logs bordering it.

Trail

A fallen tree has roots with an interesting shape.

Spidery tree roots

Trail

It would be hard to get lost here. The trails are roughly linear, following the river south toward Connecticut. There is a green trail (“River Trail”) that is 0.3 miles each way (0.6 miles round trip). There is a blue trail (“Old Farmland Trail”) that is 1.05 miles each way (2.1 miles round trip). Finally, there is a red trail (“Old Growth Forest Trail”) that is 2.2 miles each way (4.4 miles round trip). There are no loop trails, but one can take the red trail to the end, then backtrack and at one point switch to the blue trail to return to the parking lot. That yields a 4 mile round trip, so it cuts a bit off the round trip one would have just sticking to the red trail. The red and blue trails cross at a number of points and share the same path at a few points, so they really only diverge at two or three locations. I took the red trail/blue trail combination, so I had about a 4-mile hike. It only took me about two hours.

Unlike other places I’ve hiked, the trails aren’t “blazed” by having trees painted with a splash of color or being affixed with a colored disk. Rather, they just have signs every once in a while. But this preserve is relatively popular and the trails are well-trod, so it’s easy to keep on the trail even without the blazing.

Trail sign

This is a better view of the Mianus River, which “provides a source of drinking water for over 100,000 people in Greenwich and Stamford Connecticut, and Port Chester, Rye and Rye Brook, New York.” This is Rockwall Breach, the narrowest point across the Gorge, cut by melting glacial waters 15,000-20,000 years ago.

Mianus River

Another stone wall.

Stone wall

There’s a short detour from the red trail that leads to the Hobby Hill Quarry. Local farmers mined mica, quartz and feldspar here. There are a few nice quart rocks and boulders, and the mica is fascinating stuff, which has a few rocks being very reflective.

Mica

This is the quarry area. The sign reads, “No collecting of minerals. Leave for others to see.” Again, it’s a shame that my camera can’t record what my eyes saw, which was a lot of glittering light being reflected by the mica.

Quarry

Returning to the red trail, here’s another stone wall, being one of the more substantial ones that I’ve seen.

Stone wall

This is a shot from the Gorge Overlook, one of the steepest points in the preserve. Again, it’s hard to see anything because of the trees. We’re supposedly looking at “an ancient hemlock-hardwood forest dating back to pre-colonial America.”

Overlook

Here’s an intersection of a number of walls.

Stone walls

Here are a couple of shots (the second using the zoom feature) where one has a better view of the Mianus River in the distance, as it is widening.

Mianus River Gorge

Mianus River

The trails cross two tributaries that flow down to the Mianus River. The first one, Saffords Cascade, was apparently so dry that I missed it. This is the second, leading to Havemeyer Falls.

Tributary to Havemeyer Falls

Havemeyer Falls

I’ve now walked downhill to Havemeyer Falls. The falling water did not make a great visual impression, but it sounded nice. I guess one has to come at a different time of year to enjoy more of a waterfall. The preserve is only open from April 1 to November 30, though.

Havemeyer Falls

A creepy-crawly thing:

Millipede

I’ve reached the end of the 2.2-mile red trail. It dead-ends where the Mianus River has widened into the S.J. Bargh Reservoir, on private property owned by the Connecticut-American Water Co.

S.J. Bargh Reservoir

Walking back, I encountered this brightly colored bug.

Beetle

There’s a chipmunk in the center of this shot. I didn’t see any deer or other critters.

Chipmunk

I thought this was a nice contrast between the dead brown leaves in the foreground and the bright green ground color in the background.

Scene with contrast

Another wall.

Stone wall

A wall, large boulders, and a fallen tree with interesting roots.

Stone wall and boulders

This was about a 4-mile to 5-mile hike, and as I said, it only took me two hours. I saw a number of hikers. I was wearing boots, and long pants and a long shirt to keep bugs away, and was carrying a backpack with water, whereas I think they were wearing shorts and
sneakers and not carrying any packs. I don’t know which of us was smarter; maybe them.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged chipmunk, New York, waterfall, Westchester County | Leave a comment

South Beacon Mountain and Scofield Ridge, Dutchess County, New York

Posted on May 9, 2010 by Charlie

The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference website listed an 8 mile strenuous hike, suggested by Daniel Chazin, in Dutchess County, New York. The hike is routed over a number of trails and properties, as I will detail below.

I set my alarm for 4:15 a.m., but after turning off the alarm, I next woke at 5:00. I left home around 5:50, headed north to Beacon, New York, and arrived at my destination right at 7:00 a.m.

The parking area is a large gravel lot in Mount Beacon Park. This 234 acre park is owned by Scenic Hudson, an organization dedicated to land preservation. My car was the first in the park’s large gravel parking lot, though by the time I returned from my hike at 1:00 p.m., there were about a dozen cars. A kiosk presents informational posters, explaining the historical significance of Mount Beacon Park. During the American Revolution, our soldiers stood guard on this mountain, using signal fires to report sightings of British troops.

On Memorial Day, 1902, the Otis Elevator Company opened a tourist attraction at Beacon Mountain: an incline railway that would take passengers 1,540 feet up the mountain, affording them with incredible views. There was also a hotel and dance hall up there, the Beaconcrest Hotel and Casino. Here are the posters, if you want to read more:

Welcome poster

Note that the poster only covers Mount Beacon Park and the 1 mile of trail within in. There are many miles of trails beyond the small park, as I will describe.

History poster

7:04 a.m.: Behind the kiosk with the posters, a wooden fence and gravel road signaled the start of my hike. A woman and her dog were just leaving as I started hiking.

Gateway from parking lot

The gravel road was level, and within minutes I arrived at a second kiosk and the foundation of the old stationhouse, where the passengers of a century ago would board the incline railcars for the trip up the mountain.

Stationhouse location

Here’s the poster at the second kiosk:

“Gateway to Mount Beacon Park”

7:10 a.m.: Just beyond the kiosk is a stairway that climbs about 120′ of a particularly steep ascent. The three red markers on the tree to the right signify the start of the red-blazed “Casino Trail.”

Start of Casino Trail

As you can see, there is a footpath to the right of the stairs, for people who might think that stairs are cheating. However, I thought that climbing the stairs was a pretty good workout in itself, as it was about the same as climbing twelve flights of stairs. The unsightly power poles are following the path of the ancient incline railway; I believe the poles are to provide power to radio transmitters on the mountain.

Stairs and footpath

7:17 a.m.: At the top of the stairs, a trail continued up the mountain, then hit a switchback and kept going higher:

Casino Trail

7:21 a.m.: It’s hard for a picture to depict how steep a trail is, but perhaps this gives some idea. It was quite a cardio workout.

Steep portion of trail

7:35 a.m.: There are a number of “woods roads” on the mountain, and in places the trails use these roads, while in other places the trails are footpaths that were never designed for a vehicle.

The woods roads were built by mining and forestry interests, and were probably abandoned decades ago. In places significant erosion made them impassable to most vehicles, such as these large rocks that could damage the oil pan on vehicles that are low to the ground.

Erosion on woods road has washed dirt downhill, left large rocks behind

7:43 a.m.: You can see on the right side of this photo that the “woods road” has seen so much erosion that the adjacent topsoil is several feet higher than the roadbed.

The roadbed has lost several inches of dirt compared to the surrounding soil

7:49 a.m.: Imagine trying to drive over this spot. Probably at one time there was soil surrounding these big rocks.

Big rocks would make for a punishing ride

7:54 a.m.: I finally reached the top of the incline railway. The shell of the power house is still there, and you can also get a sneak preview of the view of the town of Beacon and the Hudson River:

Shell of power house

I found a flat rock and engaged my camera’s auto timer, and jumped into the photo:

Self-portrait in front of power house

A view inside the powerhouse:

Remains of power house

The bridge over the Hudson is the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge.

Newburgh-Beacon Bridge is in the background

Here’s a postcard from 1907 showing the hotel and powerhouse. Only the foundation remained of the hotel and dance hall, so I didn’t take any photos of those:

1907 postcard shows hotel and power house

I spent about twenty minutes at this spot, enjoying the view:

Beacon, the Hudson, and the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge

A stitched panorama:

Beacon, the Hudson, and the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge

I continued my hike on the red trail. I met a man jogging down the mountain. He was the last person I would see for over four hours.

8:22 a.m.: Can you identify this car? It had an inline six-cylinder engine. Whatever it was, it didn’t make it off the mountain.

Wrecked car

8:49 a.m.: The red trail now left Mount Beacon Park and entered Hudson Highlands State Park. I temporarily departed from the red trail to take a detour on the white-blazed Breakneck Ridge Trail. One rock was covered with an impressive amount of flora:

Rock with moss

Moss

8:53 a.m.: I approached the peak of South Beacon Mountain, which afforded nice views. Note that now there are big sheets of solid rock, instead of a few rocks sticking out from dirt and gravel.

View from South Beacon Mountain

8:54 a.m.: The fire tower on top of South Beacon Mountain comes into view.

Fire tower

8:56 a.m.: The fire tower has seen better days. It was a very windy day, and I was almost afraid the wind would blow down the steel tower, so I didn’t want to stand too close or linger too long. I was wearing a number of layers, including a couple of lightweight polyester mesh shirts, a midweight fleece jacket with a hood, and a nylon windbreaker.

Fire tower

8:58 a.m.: There were nice views from the base of the tower:

View from South Beacon Mountain

9:08 a.m.: I backtracked to the red trail and continued on. Something tells me this feather didn’t belong to a sparrow:

Large feather

9:15 a.m.: The red trail came to an end, and I turned left onto the yellow-blazed Wilkinson Memorial Trail, following a footpath, rather than an old road. At some point, the yellow trail left the state park and continued through private property. Apparently the owners don’t mind, as long as hikers stay on the trails.

Wilkinson Memorial Trail

9:24 a.m.: This trail led me up various minor summits, which each afforded nice views:

Scenic view

9:38 a.m.: Another summit, another view, this one of Beacon Reservoir, with the Hudson in the background:

Beacon Reservoir

9:57 a.m.: The crushed leaves among the grass show the path:

Wilkinson Memorial Trail

9:59 a.m.: There was a bit of rock scrambling on this hike. Definitely no vehicles on this path:

Scramble

10:24 a.m.: I saw rock walls all over my last hike, and finally encountered one on this hike. I left the yellow trail and followed a blue trail. This trail left the private property and entered Fishkill Ridge, 1,900 acres of property (with 11.5 miles of trails) owned by Scenic Hudson.

Intersection of yellow and blue trails

10:31 a.m.: What’s left of a rotary tiller?

Wrecked rotary tiller

10:35 a.m.: The short blue trail ended at Dozer Junction, about the halfway point of my 8-mile hike. [I believe this is a Caterpillar D2 tractor, which was manufactured from 1938-57.]

Dozer Junction

Abandoned Caterpillar D2

Four cylinder engine:

Engine

This looks like a good place for lunch:

Sitting on dozer

The pedals still work, and the transmission lever moved around, though it wouldn’t go into gear.

Dozer pedals

11:18 a.m.: I turned left onto the white-blazed Fishkill Ridge Trail, climbing Lamb’s Hill, which afforded more nice views:

View from Lamb’s Hill

11:25 a.m.: This was a tall, wet rock face.

Wet rock face

11:35 a.m.: Descending.

Newburgh-Beacon Bridge

Scenic view

The white trail crossed a stream and a gravel road. I saw a black dog trotting by on the road. If he saw me, he ignored me.

11:56 a.m.: I entered an area where many trees had fallen, perhaps in the strong winds we’d experienced lately.

Fallen tree

The trail descends

12:08 p.m.: The white trail followed a dry brook, then again found the stream and ran alongside it. There were a few tiny waterfalls of a few feet, but I didn’t get any good photographs there. At this point, the trail had left the Fishkill Ridge property and was cutting through private property. This rock looked interesting: I wondered if someone had started chipping on it to make a spear point:

Spear point?

I left the white trail and entered a yellow trail, which re-entered the Mount Beacon Park, ending at the red Casino Trail, not too far above the stairway. I met a family of five climbing the stairs, not having seen anyone since meeting the jogger hours earlier. I returned to my car right around 1:00 p.m.

Posted in Hikes | Tagged Beacon, Dutchess County, Hudson Highlands, New York, waterfall | Leave a comment

Hunt Parker & Mt. Holly Sanctuaries, Westchester County, NY

Posted on April 18, 2010 by Charlie

I wanted to do a moderate hike, and checked the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference website for suggestions. A contributor named Jane Daniels had suggested this 7.6-mile route in northern Westchester County, New York, that visits two sanctuaries. I decided to give it a try.

I woke up early on Sunday morning, and left home by 7:30 a.m., driving north about an hour.

The hike begins at the Hunt-Parker Memorial Sanctuary, a 318-acre property owned by the Bedford Audubon Society. I parked in the small parking lot, and found a kiosk with a map of the sanctuary. Following Jane’s directions, I followed the orange-blazed trail uphill, starting around 8:30 a.m. A “blazed” trail means that trees are marked with a splash of color, typically with spray paint, though sometimes with a plastic or metal marker.

8:37 a.m.: I saw quite a few stone walls on these hikes. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to collect stones and pile them in walls that were a foot or two high, apparently to delineate property boundaries. At the far right of this photo, you can see a tree with orange blazing. The trail is on the right side of the wall; I stepped over it to take this shot. To the left of the orange-blazed tree, you can see a branch on the ground with an interesting shape to it. I’ll have a closer shot of that in a moment.

Stone wall

Here’s another view of the wall, from a different angle.

Stone wall

As promised, here’s a closer photo of that oddly-shaped branch:

Fallen branch

8:39 a.m.: Here’s yet another wall:

Stone wall

8:50 a.m.: The orange trail came to an end, and the blue trail began. And here’s a very strangely-shaped tree root. It looked like a giant spider was trying to hide behind that tree, so that it could pounce on an unsuspecting hiker. Scary! The blue trail makes a loop, and I was moving clockwise on it.

Tree root shaped like spider

8:51 a.m.: The blue trail led me through a break in this particular stone wall. Whoever is in charge of blazing the trail must have run out of dark blue paint, and used light blue paint part of the time.

Stone wall

9:02 a.m.: The trail leads to a short wooden bridge over a tiny stream.

Bridge

Here are two views of the tiny stream:

Stream

9:15 a.m.: The blue trail continued. In addition to looking for blaze marks on trees, in many cases the hiker can follow a path left by other hikers. Here, leaves crushed by others mark the way:

Crushed leaves show path to follow

9:29 a.m.: Here is a more substantial stream, which I encountered after having covered about half of the blue trail. Following the directions, I left the blue trail and continued on the white trail.

Stream

9:32 a.m.: Jane’s description is that the white trail goes through wetlands on puncheon. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that word before. My dictionary defines it as a plank road. Well, I found the plank road, but the wetlands appeared to be bone dry.

Puncheon

I met a woman on this trail, the first person I’d seen since beginning the hike. I asked if this was the way to North Salem Road and the Mt. Holly Sanctuary. She confirmed that the white trail led to the road, but did not believe there was an entrance to the Mt. Holly Sanctuary anywhere nearby. But I had my directions, which did not fail me. The white trail soon ended at the road, I turned left, walked past a house on the right and found an AT&T pole, which had a metal gate next to it. An AT&T right of way led between the house on the right and another house on the left. Is it really okay for a hiker to walk along an AT&T right of way? I don’t know. A right of way (or an easement, in legal terms), gives AT&T the right to plant poles and to run wires underground, and to have their people come onto the property to service their easement. But does it also allow AT&T to give permission to someone else to enter the property for an unrelated reason? And has AT&T consented to this? Interesting questions, and I don’t know the answers. But I continued to follow the directions for the hike and no one challenged me.

9:50 a.m.: I soon entered the Mt. Holly Sanctuary, 209 acres owned by The Nature Conservancy, and found a pond, with another rock wall right in front of it.

Rock wall

9:53 a.m.: Now following a yellow-blazed trail, I continued to walk for a while along wetlands that were actually wet.

Wetlands

9:58 a.m.: Still wet.

Wetlands

9:59 a.m.: Some types of algae are healthy to eat, right?

Algae

10:10 a.m.: Still wet.

Muddy area

10:39 a.m.: I then hiked along a blue trail and then a red trail. At one point, I met a couple and a dog on the trail. It was only mid-morning, but I had worked up an appetite, so I sat down on one of the walls and enjoyed lunch.

Stone wall

10:47 a.m.: This looked like a manicured lawn and was right next to a building. I don’t know if the building and lawn were also part of the Mt. Holly Sanctuary, or if it is private property adjacent to the sanctuary, so I did not investigate.

Lawn

10:51 a.m.: While I know nothing of geology, this rock looked out of place. The other rocks were dark, and were smaller or bigger, and weren’t round. I wonder what the story was with this guy:

Round rock

10:53 a.m.: A fallen tree with lichens, and a lot of them:

Fallen tree with lichens

At this point, the route that Jane mapped out exited the Mt. Holly Sanctuary, again making use of the AT&T easement. I walked the short distance along North Salem Road back to where I had exited the Hunt-Parker Memorial Sanctuary. A man in a truck passed me. I re-entered the Hunt-Parker sanctuary, retracing my steps along the
white trail over the nonexistent wetlands. Rejoining the blue trail, I continued moving clockwise on it, covering new territory.

11:44 a.m.: I came across some thorny bushes. Do you think this would hurt? Luckily, I avoided learning the hard way.

Thorns bush

11:53 a.m.: I came to more puncheon. (See, I learned a new word!) This time there was actually some water. But my path was blocked by a fallen branch. Luckily I was able to hop over it.

Fallen branch on puncheon

12:02 p.m.: Another fallen tree with lichen:

Fallen tree with lichens

I completed the blue loop, which took me back to the orange trail, then hiked downhill to my car.

Jane had estimated the 7.6 mile hike should take 5-1/2 hours, but
it only took me 4 hours.

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

Zion Canyon, Utah – September 3, 2009 (P.M.)

Posted on September 6, 2009 by Charlie

Thursday afternoon: Re-energized, I rode the shuttle back north, stopping at the “Court of the Patriarchs” exit. Whereas Bryce Canyon had “overlooks,” featuring beautiful vistas from the canyon rim looking down, I suppose that one could say that Zion had “underlooks,” featuring beautiful vistas from the canyon floor looking up at the cliffs.

A Methodist minister and a local boy had traveled into Zion Canyon and began naming the prominent mountains and features, and many of the names stuck. The Patriarchs are three mountains named, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Jacob is actually the white peak hidden behind the rust-colored peak at the foreground of the photo below. That rust-colored peak is called Moroni, a figure from the Book of Mormon (and I suspect that mountain wasn’t named that by the Methodist minister). I also don’t know if there is a view possible from a different angle that will show Abraham, Isaac and Jacob without Moroni blocking most of Jacob. (Moroni is about 5700 feet high, while the three Patriarchs are 6800 feet high, so perhaps from a higher elevation it’s easier to focus on the three Patriarchs alone.)

Three Patriarchs

Returning to a different shuttle, I rode to the next stop, Zion Lodge, and crossed the road to climb to the Emerald Pools. This was probably a 3-mile hike, and wasn’t too strenuous. I hiked up to the Upper Emerald Pools, then worked my way down to the Middle and Lower Pools.

Water dripping down the rock face carries different minerals, which create quite a canvas of color:

Emerald Pools

Behind a waterfall:

Standing behind a waterfall

Greenery:

Emerald Pools

Some sort of bugs that float on water:

Floating insects

Emerald Pools

Apparently big rocks sometimes just fall off the cliff face. I wondered if someone good at puzzles could figure out where this one on the ground came from:

Emerald Pools

I don’t know what the story is about these piled rocks.

Emerald Pools

I don’t know if I’d call the algae emerald-colored, but it’s definitely some shade of green:

Emerald Pools

While the 3-mile hike wasn’t as strenuous or as inspiring as the morning hike to Angel’s Landing, it did give me an opportunity to eat another energy bar and I think to polish off another 1.7 liters of water.

Returning to the shuttle, I rode back to the Visitor Center. A short walk away is a rock on which the Native Americans had left some symbols. Unfortunately, so have some recent visitors, as well.

South Gate Petroglyphs

I have no idea what’s Native American and what isn’t. I suspect the curly item and pitchfork (snowshoes?) may be Native. I’m skeptical that Snoopy is.

South Gate Petroglyphs

This is really shocking: Amy & Greg 1982 chipped onto the surface of a rock alongside ancient graffiti. One would think that people who travel great distances to visit a precious resource like a national park would know better than to deface it!

Friday morning, September 4:

I broke camp, this time packing up my tent, sleeping bag, and sleeping pad. I drove back to the eastern entrance of the park to take a few photos, then drove back through the park and exited to the west, driving to I-15.

I then exited a few miles to the north, to visit the Kolob Canyons section of Zion National Park. I drove to the top of the Kolob Canyons Road, where I found the Kolob Canyons Viewpoint. This features a number of small “finger canyons.” This photo shows Beatty Point and Nagunt Mesa:

Kolub Canyons Viewpoint

I then went on my last hike, a one-mile roundtrip on the Timber Creek Overlook Trail. I even forgot to put on my boots, just walking in my casual shoes.

From this trail, one can see south to the Kaibab Plateau on the north rim of the Grand Canyon. (I won’t guarantee that I was pointing the camera in the correct direction, though.)

Kolub Canyons Viewpoint

I continued my drive north to Salt Lake City, where I checked into a motel about 0.7 miles from Chabad.

Friday evening, September 4:

There were only about 13 men for services at Chabad, including myself and another out-of-town guest.

Rabbi Zippel and his wife had me as one of their guests for Friday night dinner. He mentioned that he had recently been invited to an upsherin, and had brought his shofar as it was Elul, and that while blowing it, a dog had come up behind him and started howling. Someone was recording this, and it ended up on YouTube.

Saturday, September 5:

For morning prayers, there were only about 18 men. The rabbi did almost everything: led all the prayers and also read the Torah. Another man, a professor of Hebrew at the university, read the haftorah. He read it without a melody, but with a dramatic emphasis on the words. That was interesting.

I then went back to the hotel and managed to sleep for a few hours. I had not been wise enough to purchase a book, but I had one or two alumni magazines that I read very slowly.

For afternoon prayers, there was not even a quorum of men.

Sunday, September 6:

In the morning, I flew back to New York, arriving in the afternoon. That’s how I spent my summer vacation.

Posted in Hikes, Vacations | Tagged Utah, waterfall, Zion Canyon | Leave a comment

Zion Canyon, Utah – September 3, 2009 (A.M.)

Posted on September 6, 2009 by Charlie

Thursday morning: With my backpack, an energy bar, an apple, and a one liter and 700 ml bottle of water, I boarded the shuttle at the Visitor’s Center. As the shuttle pulled away, I saw a man wearing a red knitted yarmulke. It’s too bad that I didn’t get a chance to greet him. The shuttle drove north on the Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, and I exited at The Grotto stop, where I walked across a footbridge across the Virgin River and began climbing the West Rim Trail toward Angel’s Landing.

The hike is 2.5 miles each way, so 5 miles round-trip. It is estimated to take 4 hours; I think I stopped for about ½ hour on the way back to enjoy the scenery, so it took me about 4-1/2 hours.

I started at about the same time as a lady who was probably around 70. I spoke to her briefly, but she told me she thought that she would move slowly, so that I should go on ahead and not let her hold me back.

The path at first was level and was sandy, with the river to my right.

West Rim Trail

After a short while, the trail became paved. Some of the other hikers speculated on what had been involved in paving the road. Originally, pack horses and mules were involved.

West Rim Trail

While Bryce Canyon had been desert, I don’t remember seeing any cactus there. However, I saw many of them at Zion, though typically Opuntia ficus-indica (prickly pear):

Prickly pear cactus

I looked back every few minutes, and the older lady seemed to be not so far behind me. I should have taken her photo.

Gaining some elevation, the river appears to shrink.

West Rim Trail

Getting higher still, and the switchbacks begin. The older lady seemed to be drawing closer.

Walter’s Wiggles

The series of 21 short switchbacks is called Walter’s Wiggles, in honor of the park’s first superintendent, Walter Ruesch. In 1925, with no engineering background, he designed and built this trail. Here’s a close-up of one of the Wiggles. This area was repaved more recently, with the aid of helicopters instead of pack animals:

West Rim Trail

This shot shows a number of the switchbacks winding back and forth below. At one point, I stopped to catch my breath, and the 70-year-old lady passed me.

West Rim Trail

After about 75 minutes, we had walked 1.9 miles (and climbed 1,000 feet), to Scout Lookout. There are actually two prefabricated restrooms up here! They must have been brought in by helicopter.

The paved trail ended, and the final 0.5 miles (and 500 feet in elevation) to Angel’s Landing involved scrambling over rocks. In many places a heavy metal chain had been added, either to keep people away from a dangerous edge, or to aid people in their
scrambling up the rocks (or down the rocks, when descending). I sat and rested for a few minutes, enjoying my energy bar and some more water, contemplating the next step of the way.

Scout Lookout, with warning sign

Warning sign for Angel’s Landing

The older lady decided that Scout Lookout was far enough for her, so I finally passed her for good.

Here’s a great view of the Virgin River and Zion Canyon Scenic Drive, about 1,000 feet below:

View from Angel’s Landing Trail

Getting closer to the top:

Angel’s Landing Trail

And closer:

Angel’s Landing Trail

A look down at some of the rocks I’d scrambled up, and the helpful chain:

Angel’s Landing Trail, Zion Canyon National Park, UT

Looking at an adjacent cliff:

View from Angel’s Landing Trail

Different minerals are carried by rainwater and paint the sides of the cliffs:

View from Angel’s Landing Trail

Finally made it! At the summit of Angel’s Landing:

Posing on Angel’s Landing

Here I am modeling my Columbia Dillon Ridge boots (the Virgin River is 1,488 feet below) [the rest of my body was behind a heavy chain]:

Looking down from Angel’s Landing

On the way downhill, I overheard a couple of blonde-haired women talking about Birthright and how someone they knew had taken advantage of the program to go to Israel. I stepped aside in a safe place, allowing them to ascend the chains. One thanked me for stepping aside, and I answered, “Shalom Aleichem.” They laughed, and one said, “I guess he heard us.” But they didn’t stop to talk.

Further down the trail, but before getting back to Scout Lookout, I saw that there was a tiny cave under the trail, just big enough for one man. I sat in there for many minutes, eating my apple and watching people as they walked by. The people heading uphill never looked back at this point, and thus never saw me in this little cave. The people going downhill may have seen me. A squirrel ran into the little hole, was shocked to see a human in there, and ran out again.

Cave under Angel’s Landing Trail

As I noted earlier, the hike took me 4-1/2 hours. I drank my 1.7 liters of water as I returned to the trailhead. I rode the shuttle back to the Visitor Center and walked the short distance to my camp, where I changed clothes, ate lunch and drank more water. The experts recommend that people drink a gallon of water each day in the desert, and I was on track to do so.

Next: Emerald Pools.

Posted in Hikes, Vacations | Tagged Utah, Zion Canyon | Leave a comment

Charlie Stein's Photoblog

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Zion Canyon, Utah – September 3, 2009 (A.M.)

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