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Year: 2012

Telescope Peak – a good warm up

Telescope Peak is the highest point in Death Valley National Park and hiking it is naturally our choice of activity. Although it is located in Death Valley with its high temperatures it is comfortable to hike in the summer because the peak is at 3366 m above sea level. Actually it is snow covered in the winter so summer would be the best time to go.

The hike starts at Mahogany Flats Campground and is totally 14 miles (23 km) round trip. It climbs steadily during the 7 miles to the peak which makes it a fairly easy hike in that perspective. The trail is nice all the way with a few switchbacks at a couple of places. But it is very long and will take most people a full day. We climbed it in 3 hours, spent about an hour on the top enjoying the view and then went down in a bit more than 2 hours. A suggestion is though to start early because at the start of the hike it is quite warm.

On the way up to the peak, which is the one in the left part of the picture. It is one of those peaks where you never really see the peak itself. You end up passing a number of “false” peaks before you actually make it to the real one. Can be very annoying after a long hike.

On the top which featured an American flag, a register, a first aid kit and a flask of some content we did not dare to taste. 🙂

From the peak looking down the ridge from where we came.

This was a nice warm up hike for what is yet to come…

 

Quick drive through Death Valley

After leaving Las Vegas we drove to Death Valley. Because it is about 45 C there we did not plan to linger in the valley for very long. It is simply too painful. We arrived late afternoon and drove through the valley only stopping at a view point and at the sand dunes in the center of the National Park. The goal of the day was to drive up as close as possible to Telescope Peak which we wanted to hike the day after.

It was a nice drive in the evening sun, perfect for nice photos. So here are a few.

Bryce Canyon

Before leaving the Page area we really wanted to see the Wave. It is a red and white sandstone canyon which is shaped like a wave. The images from there looks very cool, if you google it you will see. But since we had not done enough research before the trip and found that you have to reserve a spot more than 4 months ahead of time we had to leave this for another trip. Too bad but since they have started to regulate many sites you can not just pass by and think you can see it all.

So instead we decided to take a drive through the Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument and visit Bryce Canyon National Park again. Last year on our holiday we did a two day hike through the park but did not do all the short hikes closer to the visitor center.

The shorter hikes in Bryce Canyon are actually the best ones also. The two day tour we did last year went through a lot of forest where you do not see any hoodoos which is what you come there for. So if you don’t have time of feel like a longer hike, don’t worry, you are not missing anything.

As we were coming closer to Bryce it became cooler because of higher altitude and it was actually quite cold during night. When the sun came out though it was nice and warm.

This time we did half Navajo Loop, Peekaboo Loop and Queen Mary Loop. It goes a bit up and down which means it is not an easy walk but they are not very long so most people can make it if it is not too hot. It took us a few hours to complete the hike and afterwards we cooked some food before driving towards Las Vegas.

Antelope Canyon

Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon just outside of Page, Arizona. It has become very popular over the years. The amount of visitors are now being limited in order to fit everyone in the canyon that is almost 500 meters long and very narrow at places. It is also not allowed to go without a guide anymore because people were carving their names and other things on the walls in the canyon.

You can have different tactics when visiting the canyon. Either you choose less crowded and not the best light which would be in the morning or afternoon. Or you choose midday which is where you get light beams coming down through the canyon. This is what the canyon is known for. If you go for the best light you will though not get a chance to take one single photo without a number of other tourists in it and you will pay almost the double price. If you do want that great picture you can pay even more and stay longer in the canyon with a guide that will do some “crowd control” at the best photo spots. These tours are only for “professional” photographers whatever that means. I guess you just need to bring a tripod…

Since we are not into crowds we chose the first morning tour. There were 9 people in our group and we had the canyon to ourselves for most of the time. As we were coming out again there was an endless line of people coming in which made us think it was the best time to go.

The height of the floor of the canyon is changing from year to year depending on how much rain they get through the canyon. It can differ many feet from before and after a heavy rain storm.

The guide created this effect by throwing sand which then came running down.

 

This is from the most narrow part of the canyon

As we were walking out we did catch the first sun beam coming down through the canyon. Not very big but this is what most people are after when they visit Antelope Canyon.

Do you see the butterfly? 🙂

After the tour of Antelope Canyon and a short hike to Horseshoe Bend we spent a lazy afternoon at the restaurant at Wahweap Marina. It was way too hot to go hiking so we could not resist a few beers and some snacks at the pool with a view of Lake Powell.

Watson Lake, Prescott, AZ

Watson Lake is just outside Prescott. It is surrounded by granite rock formations some of which are very nice for climbing. It is possible to rent kayaks or hike around the lake. Popular also is to pack a picknick and spend a day in the park next to the lake. There are hiking trails around the lake and many just do some rock hopping along the water front.

The cliff we found for climbing was very close to the water and had 5 routes. The wall was well protected (easy to place gear that felt safe) and had a couple of very nice routes. It was not difficult but a nice start of our climbing holiday. 🙂

Want to see more photos from Watson Lake? Click here.