Archive for November 30, 2011

Golden Canyon Hike Death Valley

November 30, 2011 Cliff California, Death Valley, Hikes, Mojave Desert
Share|

Trip Date: February 2005

Golden Canyon Badlands in Death Valley

Golden Canyon Badlands

This is one of our favorite hikes in Death Valley because of all of the colors and endless shapes and contours of the eroded badlands. The hike up Golden Canyon is a popular one because of many reasons.  For one, it showcases what Death Valley is all about: stark barren beauty.  Two, it is close to Death Valley’s central settlement: Furnace Creek.  Three, it is an easy and rewarding hike, even if you simply walk a few hundred feet into the canyon from your vehicle.  The bottom line, a visit to Death Valley should include a small or long hike into Golden Canyon, just like a visit to Death Valley should include a stop in Badwater.

There are a few ways to plan a hike through Golden Canyon.  The most popular way is to hike from the entrance to Golden Canyon from the parking lot along Badwater Road.  Here, you can hike into the canyon as far as you wish and then turn around and head back to your vehicle.  For the more motivated hiker, you can make the complete loop hike up Golden Canyon, across Manly Beacon, skirt by Zabriskie Point, head down Gower Gulch and then back to the Golden Canyon parking lot.  Another method is to have someone drop you off at Zabriskie Point, hike down Golden Canyon and have that same someone pick you up at the Golden Canyon parking lot.
» Read more..

One comment

Taylor Creek Hike to Double Arch Alcove in Zion National Park

November 22, 2011 Cliff Hikes, Utah
Share|

Trip Date: September 2011

Double Arch Alcove, Taylor Creek

Double Arch Alcove, Taylor Creek, Zion

The Taylor Creek Trail that heads up into the Middle Fork of Taylor Creek, which is located in the Kolob Canyons section of Zion National Park, gives the hiker a sampling of what Zion is all about, along with a unique half-created double arch at the trail’s end. The Taylor Creek Trail is located in the northern portion of Zion National Park in a region known as Kolob Canyons. The great aspect of this trail is that it is located in an area that is seldom visited because it is located a considerable distance from the national park’s main attraction: Zion Canyon.  This gives the Kolob Canyons area the distinction of being less crowded than the main part of Zion.

The hike up Taylor Creek ceremoniously ends at a unique geological feature named Double Arch Alcove. If you’ve visited a few of southern Utah’s national parks, then you’ve probably seen some of Utah’s iconic arches. Although not as popular, alcoves, which are partially-created arches, are unique features where wind or water eroded out sandstone to create a regress or partial cave into a sandstone wall. Another amazing aspect of the lower alcove in Taylor Creek is that it is quite colorful.

» Read more..

No comments