hiking – Page 2 – OsteoPraxis on the road

As I have said before, the list of things to see/places to go from this very central point of California….is long.

On this day the pick was the Muir Woods National Monument. ,one of the last remaining Pacific Coast ancient redwood forests sitting just across the bay from the big city of San Francisco….and a step across the threshold into wilderness. Named for John Muir, an interesting Scottish fellow who along with Roosevelt was instrumental in the creation of the National Park Service in 1916.

Muir Woods is the setting for the new habitat for the Apes in the Planet of the Apes reboot……but the movies were actually filmed in the Redwoods outside Vancouver …and not here.

The proximity to the city makes it a popular spot…so the mechanism used to control the flow of people….is that you have to book your parking spot in the park online in advance, not many spots hence not many people. Pretty clever really.

We had picked a very early slot to try and beat the commuter traffic headed to the city. This tactic scored us a plum parking spot mere yards from the visitor centre.

The road up to the park gate is not for the feint of heart…..certainly not with any kind of trailer…..the truck barely made it round some of those corners. It’s a residential zone with driveways I can only describe as terrifying. (Steep and barely off the very narrow twisty road)

From the access road back down into the valley where the parking area and visitor centre is located….is just as terrifying. Sharp switchbacks down a sheer drop. Once you reach the gate multiple cars were being turned around as they had not secured their advance parking pass. Strict enforcement protects the forest from overuse.

As you step out of the vehicle the size of the trees and the height of the canopy makes you feel like you have been miniaturised somewhere along the road.

…and that wonderful slightly dampish, cedar-y forest floor aroma belies how close you are to vast residential developments.

As always…I have to hit the visitor centre to add another National Park/monument/forest pin to my ever growing collection.

At the beginning of the trail there is a network of boardwalks making this immediate area very accessible.

The scale of these ancient trees is beyond my ability for meaningful description. It would not be a surprise to here that Jurassic Park thud thud of the brontosaurus strolling by.

The Canopy trail and up through Tamalpais peak was the trail pick today….

..following switchbacks up to the edge of the park for the canopy view.

My trusty blogtographer never misses an opportunity to catch me falling in water…or mud…..

At the top of the trail, the last switchbacks take you right to the edge of the park.

The view is atmospheric rather than spectacular as the sea fog sits on the trees.

We have done forest hikes before….but the Muir Woods have a different feel of ancientness.

There are many moments where you just have to stop …gaze upward at the trees and just breathe.

Its the same kind of feeling as standing by the ocean just breathing the air……

Extra Pix

It’s difficult to comprehend (for me anyway) that Holbrook AZ is at an elevation of 1548m (5079 ft) above sea level, then continuing west on route 66 the road climbs another 558m (1830ft) to Flagstaff at 2106m (6909ft) above sea level.

The upside of this much up is that it also keeps the temps a little more livable which, as we were heading into the July 4th weekend….seemed important. Prepping for July 4th weekend in the US was a bit stressful……anticipating fully booked campgrounds and much Independence Day revelry, I was relieved to score a site at the somewhat dubiously named…Black Barts . There had been a great deal of emailing and phone calling to many campgrounds in the area, so it was a bit of a concern….thankfully it turned out to be just fine….(and they gave me a nice shady spot…..!!)

As we drove into Flagstaff, we passed a sign for Walnut Canyon …..Hmmmm…Interesting…I looked it up as we drove and it turned out to be yet another National Monument.

Walnut Canyon National Monument

From the visitor center (where they strongly advise everyone to carry water…and to drink said water…!!) there is a staircase down to a loop trail that takes you around the cliff dwellings that are estimated to be around 1200 years old.

It’s a long way down….and all the time you are acutely aware that 1. it’s blistering hot…..and 2. it’s a loooong way back up again…..LOL…

The trail is one way only…..and not very wide, so you really would not want to be passing anyone.

But it is an incredible little window into a time past…..

…as well as being a geological marvel…..

On the walls of the caves you can still see the smoke streaks from the fires used to keep warm in winter.

It was sufficiently fascinating to distract from looking over to the right where the drop off down the canyon was……..daunting…..

The path back up was not as bad as anticipated…..it was pretty brutally hot down there tho…the increase in elevation putting us ever closer to the surface of the sun

Totally worth the visit……those ever so helpful rangers pointed us in the direction of Sunset Crater and the Wupatki Pueblo as well……so…..off we went….

Sunset Crater National Monument

Here we find ourselves in another lava field. Maybe its just me , but I think these places are mesmerizing. 1000 years later the landscape has barely changed.

As the road winds through the park, there are designated parking areas for some short, marked trails. Much of the park is restricted access in an attempt to reduce erosion of the landscape.

Just about the time that it’s occurring to you that this is like a moonscape……the confirmation appears in front of you. Yes !!… this is the area that was used for training astronauts for their first steps on the moon’s surface.

….then we found lots of these little guys running around. You can only spot them when they move….they blend so well with their background.

The bigger trail up to the crater was closed following wildfire damage….so the closest we could get was this boardwalk trail. Probably a good thing…it was warm for hiking…!!!