Summer 2005 Trips
During the summer of 2005, Warren and I went on a number of weekend jaunts in the Western US. Here's a quick run-down of what we did:
Zion National Park
In early May we made another trip to Zion, catching a beautiful display of 'orange globemallows' en route:
While there, we hiked a bit in Zion, then explored nearby Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park:
In mid-May we took a weekend trip to California so Warren could photograph an airplane, and in late-May we spent a long weekend exploring eastern Arizona (on a photo shoot for a congressman, who wanted some beautiful landscape photographs of Arizona for his office in DC).
White Mountains
In early June we spent a weekend backpacking in the White Mountains, along Arizona's eastern border. It was my first pack-in trip, and other than having a fairly sleepless night, I was hooked. When it was all done, we climbed a nearby fire tower to survey our hiking area:
Zion National Park, again
In mid-June, we spend another weekend in Zion, this time hiking the East Rim Trail...fun but exhausting (a bit too hot!)
Backpacking in Pecos National Forest, NM
Having not gotten our fill of backpacking, we headed out again in early July for a three day hike in the Pecos National Forest, just north of Santa Fe. It was a beautiful spot, and a great hike (other than when we misread the map and ended up hiking over 17 miles in one day, fully loaded, at a 10,000+ altitude. Yikes!) En route to/from Pecos, we stopped in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.
Waputki National Monument & Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
In August, we fled the Phoenix heat in favor of a weekend in the cool climate of Flagstaff (northern Arizona). There, we explored nearby Native American Ruins and climbed a volcanic cinder cone (two steps up, one step down). Then we headed over to the Grand Canyon and headed part way down one of the trails we'd yet to hike together.
Hiking in the Wasatch Mountains
In August, while on a weekend visit to my parents house in the Salt Lake area, we spent an afternoon hiking in the nearby Wasatch mountains. After hiking up to a glacial lake and braving a sudden and fierce storm, Warren surprised me with wedding bands made out of meteorite. What a guy! :) [We'd been married for 2 years at that point, but were fairly unconventional about the whole thing so we hadn't gotten wedding bands yet.]
On the way down, we actually got chased by a moose. Seriously!
Zion National Park
In early May we made another trip to Zion, catching a beautiful display of 'orange globemallows' en route:
While there, we hiked a bit in Zion, then explored nearby Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park:
In mid-May we took a weekend trip to California so Warren could photograph an airplane, and in late-May we spent a long weekend exploring eastern Arizona (on a photo shoot for a congressman, who wanted some beautiful landscape photographs of Arizona for his office in DC).
White Mountains
In early June we spent a weekend backpacking in the White Mountains, along Arizona's eastern border. It was my first pack-in trip, and other than having a fairly sleepless night, I was hooked. When it was all done, we climbed a nearby fire tower to survey our hiking area:
Zion National Park, again
In mid-June, we spend another weekend in Zion, this time hiking the East Rim Trail...fun but exhausting (a bit too hot!)
Backpacking in Pecos National Forest, NM
Having not gotten our fill of backpacking, we headed out again in early July for a three day hike in the Pecos National Forest, just north of Santa Fe. It was a beautiful spot, and a great hike (other than when we misread the map and ended up hiking over 17 miles in one day, fully loaded, at a 10,000+ altitude. Yikes!) En route to/from Pecos, we stopped in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.
Waputki National Monument & Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
In August, we fled the Phoenix heat in favor of a weekend in the cool climate of Flagstaff (northern Arizona). There, we explored nearby Native American Ruins and climbed a volcanic cinder cone (two steps up, one step down). Then we headed over to the Grand Canyon and headed part way down one of the trails we'd yet to hike together.
Hiking in the Wasatch Mountains
In August, while on a weekend visit to my parents house in the Salt Lake area, we spent an afternoon hiking in the nearby Wasatch mountains. After hiking up to a glacial lake and braving a sudden and fierce storm, Warren surprised me with wedding bands made out of meteorite. What a guy! :) [We'd been married for 2 years at that point, but were fairly unconventional about the whole thing so we hadn't gotten wedding bands yet.]
On the way down, we actually got chased by a moose. Seriously!