Bryce Canyon 2006, Navajo Trail, Peekaboo Trail, Tropic, UT

I left Vegas and headed up to Bryce Canyon National Park without any type of hotel reservations and plans. I saw that the entrance to the park was very tourist oriented, which wasn't for me. So I drove past it and headed into the tiny town of Tropic, UT. I found a bunch of motels there but, strangely, none of them were open. I asked someone where I could stay and luckily one motel had reopened for the season, the Bryce Valley Inn. I introduced myself to the innkeeper, Wes, and was given a very comfortable room. I told Wes I wanted to do some serious hiking in the park and he suggested that instead of going through the park entrance I should begin my hike at the town of Tropic and go in the back way. This turned out to be an excellent idea. This way I started from the bottom and was able to go up and down twice. The views were spectacular, however, the weather warmed up to about 60 degrees F rendering the snowy trail into a mess of slush and mud. I was only able to hike 16 miles that day. I took lots of pictures.

One segment of the Peekaboo Trail was closed, so naturally I had to find out for myself why they were keeping me off the trail. I went under the chain and quickly descended. It turns out that portion of the trail was under 1 foot of messy snow, there were huge ice patches and one portion of this cliff-lined trail was completely washed out. It was quite the technical challenge and I was happy that I had brought my emergency blanket, extra water and food as well as a signal light. If I had slipped-up I would have been in the canyon for awhile.

( Update 01/26/21 I received a very nice guide from a man named Lukas for the trails in Bryce Canyon. It is far more in depth than anything I can provide. If you are thinking about visiting and hiking Bryce Canyon this is an excellent source: https://www.10adventures.com/hikes/bryce-canyon-national-park/.)

There are lots of pics associated with this.

Grand Canyon 2006, Bright Angel Trail, Tonto Trail, Salt Creek

I had a premonition that something bad was going to happen and I was right. My plane was 6 hours late(strong headwinds resulting in missed connecting flight) and then the airline lost my luggage which took two hours to rectify, consequently it was nearly 8PM before I got started toward the Grand Canyon from Las Vegas. Fortunately, in Arizona it is perfectly okay to drive 80 mph. I spent the night in my rented PT Cruiser in a hotel parking lot next to the "No Car Camping" sign.

I woke up early Sunday morning, checked in at the GC Back Country office and then descended on the Bright Angel Trail. There were hundreds of people on the trail which wasn't for me. When I turned west on the Tonto trail I only saw one group of older men who were tired and thirsty. They were amazed that a middle-aged woman was headed into the hinterland all on her lonesome so I turned on the perkiness and charm just to fuck with them. After I passed this group I didn't see anyone else until I returned to the Bright Angel Trail which was nice. Salt Creek was really wonderful and remote.

I managed to do a total of 24 hard miles with the pack. My weight-lifting paid off, I barely felt the pack. I hiked from Indian Gardens to the South Rim on monday morning in 3 hours, a 3500 foot rise over 4.5 miles. Not bad with 25 pounds on my back. I'll let the pics speak for themselves:

Baltimore, snowtime

Last August, I smugly decided to take some pictures so I could remember one of my favorite places when it was cold and miserable. Yes, February has brought some frigid temperatures but sometimes the planets become aligned in the winter and this city quickly becomes worth every single penny I pay in my ever-escalating property taxes. The fat tourists have retreated from the harbor to their rumpass rooms with their toaster streudals and video games leaving the city to me (except for Fed Hill, of course).

The yard







Before the kids mess up the lot










Even the ugly Harborview townhomes don't look bad in the snow












Federal Hill
Due to tight living quarters,South Baltimoreans believe in multi-use possessions. I saw plastic bags, trash can lids, inflatable boats and an incredibly fast inflatable mattress.










Downtown








Frosty Sea Monsters








New Security Guard
I found this in front of my house when I got home.










So the next it's 95 degrees in my living room and the air is stale and stagnant, I can have something cool and powdery to look at.

Shawl Gap/Sherman Gap, Virginia

Yesterday due to laziness I decided to go on a Mountain Club of Maryland hike, I just didn't feel like driving someplace and have to simultaneously look at a map. A group was going to Shawl Gap or Sherman Gap or whatever you would like to call it in the Massanuttens, across from Signal Knob. The weather called for a 90% chance of rain, but the mcomers are more reliable than the postman. Rain, sleet, snow and hurricanes don't do much to put a damper on this crowd.

Needless to say, everyone showed up promptly and we took off for the mountains. Naturally, it started to rain. Fortunately I wore a wide brimmed hat and some minimal rain gear so the short 9-mile hike was pretty enjoyable.
Visibility wasn't much more than 20 feet. I'd recommend this hike for anyone wanting a daytrip hike of 1600-2000 foot elevation change. It's a 2 hour ride from DC or Baltimore.

Weverton to Lambs Knoll and back, on the Appalachian Trail, Maryland

I finally got off my duff yesterday, Saturday, and put on some real mileage, 23 miles to be exact. The weather was exactly right for a long haul hike, clear and 33 degrees F. This temperature is ideal because my water tube doesn't freeze and I don't sweat, consequently I can go long distances without relying on more than a couple of liters of water. Yesterday I only drank 1 liter.

I started out at 9AM at the base of Weverton Cliffs near Harpers Ferry and enjoyed the switchbacks on the way up. Once I was at the overlook I realized I didn't need to wear my extra pants, my turtleneck and my jacket, leaving me in my light sweater. I wanted to keep these items with me because you can't count on the temperature in winter, it can drop precipitously in just a few minutes. This proved to be a PITA because, for once, I didn't forget anything and manage to pack a 1/2 pound of trail mix, my GPS, my phone and, get this, 11 packs of goop. I didn't realize I had 11 packs until I was hiking, I guess I just kept throwing them in my daypack so I would have enough.

This proved to be my one glitch on the hike because my pack ended up being rather heavy and it wore out my shoulders near the end. Otherwise I had no issues, I was in hiking zen mode. I sailed into Gathland state park, I was impressed on how many people were on the trail. Yes, I think Baltimore does deserve the title "Fittest City" from the number of people out that I saw yesterday, even in the cold weather. There was a well organized group of Korean hikers and lots of couples with hiker dogs. I saw many shepherds,huskies and one retriever, it was perfect dog weather.

I seemed to have angered seriously one pileated woodpecker who took issue with me up at Lambs Knoll. I guess I was in his territory. That was the first time I had ever seen one of them, they are huge and very noisy, and have a beautiful red crest. I also ran into a hunter that seemed to be confused about the rules about not hunting on the Appalachian Trail, as he had chosen a tree on the trail to hide behind with his two guns in his search for bambi. After I got done with him he was very clear about where he could and could not hunt, I don't think he wants to have that discussion twice.

I was very limited with hikeable hours, sundown was at 5PM, I was well prepared to use my headlamp to get off the trail but didn't need it, I beat sundown by 10 minutes. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures because I just couldn't gamble on taking a break for even a few minutes.