Your Favorite Trail?

[renodesertfox]

Howdy,
So what's your favorite trail to hike? to date...

For me, now we are talking about 25 years ago, its part of the JMT(John Muir Trail) from Yosemite Valley up to Tuolomne Meadows with Mt. Whitney. Distance is about 37 miles. Mt. Whitney is at 14,495' and lucky me have only been there once! Mt. Whitney is the most climbed peaks in the United States. And the views...well words aren't good enough! It's well travelled but it's hard to understand because the summer I went we saw only five other packers besides our selves there and the best time to hike it are Aug into Sept. Took five days, not out to set records. It's hard to find photos that long ago!

[Eaglebait Ranch]

Rim Hikes - Trinity Alps

The true majesty of the Trinity Alps, No. Calif, are the rim walks, at elevations from 7,000-9,000' up - and the trail pounding to get them. So, here are some images of some of our "walks", most are minimum of 4 day ventures because we quite often stop to take in the experience.

Images: (L to R)
Typical Eaglebait Ranch Hilton basecamp set up.
Goal is peak, about 3 miles to the top. I don't know elevation off hand.
On the trail, about 1/3 of the way.
Getting closer.
View of Marble Mountains and Marble Mountain Wilderness in background

See ya on the trail.......

[renodesertfox]

The namers of the places we've been and the places hikers go, they're magical names! Someone spoke to those folks intheir minds when they were hittin trail and gave the land magical names! Sometimes the land doesn't look magical,often times it's laughing at us...but regardless the names of places are still magical in their own right! To resight the magical name of the place is power to the hiker to overcome the endurance of the hike itself! And the name of the place remains with us forever...the land rises to meet us... the magical name of the place remains for the next packer! Again thank you for sharing fleeting time.

"Time is like a jet plane...it moves too fast!"(bob dylan)

Off-hand Rancher, have you handled any 14ers? I've done Shasta, Whitney, Mt. Rainier from my Army(ranger days), and PikesPeak in Colorado land. Always wanted to do more...but never found time and ...turn around, I'm getting on...had to have back surgery to stablize what I was given from day one...now dreamin' for more fun! Hike the reverse mountain called Grand Canyon a few times, got away from generators then! But now until I re-strengthen I'm fit-to-be-tied-looking at picture books, dreamin! Your a lucky fella, Eaglebait! I tip my cap! Always...thanks for the sharing' your skills and adventures! Adios, pard!

[Eaglebait Ranch]

Favorite Trail

So far, if I want to discuss a trail with alpine beauty, it has to be the section of the PCT which goes through the Marble Mountain Wilderness. I have heard others refer to it as one of natures "Fantasyland". In the late spring, because of the elevations, the area has so many colors and variety of flora and fauna, lots of seasonal streams, and snow capped peaks. If I find some images, I will put them here.

See ya on the trail

[renodesertfox]

Never done the PCT, but enjoying your views anyhow! Long ago I thought some on it...but transportation then was harder. Your senior to me, that's a given...Uncle Sam called and I answered and sacrifice body to serve country. Now country has served me by fixin' me! Perhaps in future days, two years to four, further on up the road I'll get to do some PCT! But I ain't walkin' behind no lamma! And if I find some chips, I'll send them to ya, by cracky!:eek:

But I see, I got off the trail...so back on...the JMT from Yosemite Valley is super. You start at Happy Isles and humble yourself under Nevada Falls which drops more than a thousand feet. Now you know your into some heavy duty switch-backin'! Whew! One foot in front of the other is the only way to do it! A damp tril, mist in your mist, a glance to the left and you see water falling fast. Stop for a minute to catch a breath and your jaw drops a thousand feet! Man the views are awesome! The views are fantastic and the hustle and bustle of the Valley below never visits you again. The trail widens a bit and up you go, pace after pace! Camped the first night on the south side of Half-dome which rises to over 2000' above the valley floor. Black bears visited our camp that night, smelling fish we had caught and forgot to harbor them away. At first light, even the fishing poles had been dragged some 200 feet from our camp, like the bears had decided to fish the human way, themselves! All in all it was a wonderful experience, I could go on and on and bore you to tears, snow capped peaks, sweet smelling trees and mosquitoes as thick as fog, but I'd trade all that I do now, even the kayakin' for one more time on the JMT!

[renodesertfox]

Another trail I'm real fond of is the Bright Angel Trail(BAT) from the north rim to the south rim of the almighty Grand Canyon...it's really getting late and I really got to start cleaning the house. Next weekend my bride is having a December party here at the house for her associates. Just 35 other doctors and their wives to tramp though our house eatin' food and drinkin' booze. Man I got to get on the stick! Remind me and Monday I'll finish BAT..if I don't remind my-self! Adios, pard!.:eek:

BTW...I started this thread becasue I really have more than one favorite trail and just wanted to hash better days!

[renodesertfox]

Howdy,
Saturday evening just wouldn't be complete if I didn't fill in some details of the South Kaibab Trail(hiking south to north) and then the Bright Angel Trail up to the north rim in the Grand Canyon. Enjoy.


If you never been hiking in the Grand Canyon before then this is the place to start. The Bright Angel Trail is one of the two superhighways of the Grand Canyon, the other being the South Kaibab Trail. Both of these trails are well maintained and offer some spectacular views of the Canyon. The Bright Angel Trail has the advantage of offering a considerable amount of shade (depending on the time of day) of which the South Kaibab Trail offers virtually none. Water is also available on the Bright Angel Trail at the One-and-a-Half-Mile and Three-Mile Resthouses and again at Indian Garden(4.6 miles from the rim). Water is NOT available at the River Resthouse and your next chance after Indian Gardens is not until you get to Bright Angel Campground. Water is available at the upper two resthouses Spring through Fall only. Water is available at Indian Garden all year. Do not drink water from springs or creeks anywhere in the Canyon without treating it first. Toilets are available just beyond the One-and-a-Half-Mile resthouse, at Indian Garden and at Bright Angel Campground.

The Bright Angel Trail was originally an indian trail used by the Havasupai indians to commute between the rim and Indian Garden. The trail was improved by prospectors in the late 1800's. One of the miners, Ralph Cameron, realizing that the tourist trade was more profitable than the mining trade, bought out his partners and took control of the trail. He extended the trail from Indian Garden to the river and began to charge a toll of $1 for its use. The Park Service constructed the South Kaibab Trail shortly thereafter to provide tourist with a free access path to the river. In 1928, after a long ownership battle with the Mr. Cameron, ownership of the Bright Angel Trail was finally transferred to the National Park Service.

Camping along this trail is in designated campgrounds only, those being at Indian Garden and at Bright Angel Campground. You need a Backcountry Reservation for a site.

The trailhead for the Bright Angel Trail is located a few hundred feet to the west of the Bright Angel Lodge, next to the mule corral.

Mileages are as follows (one-way):

• Indian Garden - 4.6 miles
• Plateau Point (via Plateau Point Trail) - 6.1 miles
• Colorado River - 7.7 miles
• Bright Angel Campground(via the River Trail) - 9.3 miles
• Phantom Ranch - 9.8 miles
• North Rim (via North Kaibab Trail) - 23.8 miles

Elevations:

• Rim - 6860'
• Indian Garden - 3800', 3060' below rim
• Colorado River - 2400', 4460' below rim

The upper section of trail looks easy enough on the way down. Nice wide trail, long switchbacks and some incredible views. This section of the trail can be a killer on the way back up, depending on how far you went down. If you're hiking up from the river, or anywhere from Indian Garden or beyond, it seems to take forever to get from one switch back to the next and it feels like you'll never get back to the top. There are some petroglyphs along the top stretch of the trail near the first tunnel.

The Bright Angel Fault is also quite obvious along this section of trail as you will discover by examining the rock layers on either side of this side canyon. This is not as obvious at the top of the trail as you descend through the Kaibab and Toroweap formations, but is very obvious at the contact between the Toroweap and Coconino. Take a look around after passing through the second tunnel on the way down the trail and locate the top of the Coconino layer on both sides of the canyon. You will notice that geologic contact between the Supai and Coconino formations is much higher, almost 200 feet higher, on the west side than it is on the east.

Once you pass beyond the first resthouse the switchbacks come a little closer as the canyon narrows. The section of trail between the first and second resthouses is very scenic. There are some more petroglyphs carved into the rock above you at around the two mile mark, at a spot called Two Mile Corner.
The Three-Mile resthouse makes for a good day hike for those wanting to see the inner canyon but not wanting to exert themselves too much. There is a very nice spot for viewing just beyond the resthouse. Follow the trail that leads up past it to the right. Here there are also the remains of the old cable car system that was used to bring supplies down to Indian Garden.

Beyond Three-Mile Resthouse the trail becomes a little steeper, as the trail descends through a break in, first, the Redwall limestone, and then through the Muavformation. The switchbacks at Jacobs Ladder will seems to go on forever on the climb out. Once you are beyond this the trail levels out for the remaining ¾ mile or so to Indian Garden.

As you approach Indian Garden you will be walking across a formation known as Bright Angel Shale, which forms a wide bench about 2/3 of the way down the canyon, known as the Tonto Platform.

Indian Garden makes another very fine day hike and a great place for a picnic. From here you can also take the trail out to Plateau Point, 1.5 miles each way, for an awesome view of the Inner Gorge and the Colorado River. To head to Plateau Point take the fork in the trail to the left just beyond Indian Garden. The fork to the right will keep you on the Bright Angel Trail and take you to the river. If you are heading for Plateau Point, watch for another fork in the trail and this time keep to the right. The left fork will put you on the Tonto Trail heading west, and although it is very scenic you won't get to see the river for a long time. You will also not find anything along the Tonto Trail to make you stop and turn around as you could walk for days on this trail and not get to the end.

If you are heading for the river, you will still have another ½ mile or so before the trail really starts to head down again. The slope is very gradual as you descend through the Bright Angel Shale and the top of the Tapeats Sandstone formations, until you get to the Devil's Corkscrew where it begins a rather abrupt descent through the Vishnu Schist. Beware of this area in the summer time as the temperature can easily reach 130 degrees. Beyond the Devil's Corkscrew the trail levels out again for maybe another ½ mile that will bring you to the Colorado River. This technically marks the end of the Bright Angel Trail though some people consider the River Trail that takes you to Bright Angel Campground, 2 miles beyond, to still actually be part of it.

Hiking along the River Trail is not quite as easy as one might expect. The trail makes a couple of fairly steep ascents and descents along the way and walking across some of the dune sections with a full pack can be difficult. The trail along the river runs for 1.7 miles before it comes to the Silver Suspension Bridge. To get to Bright Angel Campground continue over the bright for approximately 1/3 of a mile. To reach the South Kaibab Trail or the Black Suspension Bridge continue east along the river trail for approximately 1 mile more. At the Black Suspension Bridge marks the other end of the River Trail. From here you can head south up the South Kaibab Trailto Yaki Point or across the bridge and north along the North Kaibab Trail to Bright Angel Campground, Phantom Ranch and the North Rim (14 miles away).
If you are planning to hike both the Bright Angel and South Kaibab Trails you are advised to come down the South Kaibab Trail and go out on the Bright Angel. The reason being that the hike out on the South Kaibab Trail can be quite hot and dry during any period other than the winter months. There is no water available anywhere along the trail and almost nothing in the way of shade. This was seven year ago fo me for my 50th birthday. Man I miss trail poundin'! Thanks for looking!