Great Basin National Park is one of the least visited and most underrated of the 63 managed by the NPS. The park preserves about 120 square miles of the Great Basin, the largest area of contiguous contained watersheds. There is plenty to do in this small park. I spent 2 full days there and wished…
[Acadia National Park, Sep 23, 2024] For our second day in the park, I had two trails on the docket. I also hoped to make it to Jordan Pond House right as it opened at 11 am so we could have their famous popovers! This was an experience I didn’t want to miss, but it…
[Acadia National Park, Sep 22, 2024] There were three hikes at the top of my much longer Acadia wish list: the Beehive, the Precipice, and the Bubbles loop. Two of these, the Beehive and the Precipice, involved climbing on iron rungs on vertical rocks of Acadia granite with plenty of height exposure. The Precipice was…
[Bar Harbor, Maine, Sep 21, 2024] After visiting with Martha in Portland, it was time to make the 3-hour drive to Bar Harbor. The fastest route goes north to Bangor before veering east. Martha recommended we take the upper part of the coastal route instead. So we put Belfast, ME in our GPS and headed…
[Great Basin National Park, Sep 1, 2024] When I originally looked at hikes in Great Basin National Park, I set my sights on the Wheeler Peak Summit Trail. At 8.5 miles and less than 3,000 ft of elevation gain, it was totally doable for my hiking abilities. The only problem? The trail begins at over…