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TrailGroove Blog

A Blog by the TrailGroove Team

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Entries in this blog

Trips

Hiking, Biking, and Climbing to Three Fingers Lookout

We had been warned that the Three Fingers Lookout wasn’t for the faint of heart. But that didn’t take away from the shock of first seeing it. The hut was just a speck in the distance, perched precariously on a jagged spire of rock rising up above a crevasse-riddled glacier and a low sea of clouds. From our vantage, it seemed impossible that the wooden hut could balance there for another night, let alone that there would be a passable trail to reach it. My partner, Emily, and I had got
mgraw

mgraw in Trips

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Trips

New Heights: Hiking the Guadalupe Mountains of Texas

Conquering each state’s high point could take a lifetime and, unfortunately, I didn’t start peak bagging soon enough to expect to claim all fifty. But I’ve acquired a small handful – that of my home state of Oklahoma (Black Mesa, 4,973 feet of elevation) and neighboring states Arkansas (Mount Magazine, 2,753 feet) and New Mexico (Wheeler Peak, 13,167 feet). Being right next door, Texas was a logical next step. Texas being Texas, however, it’s a very long drive from central Oklahoma to
Susan Dragoo

Susan Dragoo in Trips

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Trips

Hiking & Exploring Vermilion Cliffs National Monument

Huge views, colorful rock, geology on display, nature exposed, fresh clean air, massive amazement...these are all included in a trip to this Sandstone Wonderland. In far northern Arizona there is a vast area of rugged and beautiful locations known as the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. An area covering 280,000 acres, the monument includes the Paria River Canyon, Buckskin Gulch, the Paria Plateau, the Vermilion Cliffs, and Coyote Buttes. The area is under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Lan
Steve Ancik

Steve Ancik in Trips

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Trips

Hiking the Slough Creek-Buffalo Fork Loop in Yellowstone National Park

Wolves, Red Dogs, Grizzlies, & Outlaws A tiny “red dog” – a fuzzy, reddish bison calf – was all but glued to its mother’s side as she fought off a half dozen wolves near Yellowstone’s Slough Creek. The mother had strayed from the herd, and wolves were attacking from all sides in an attempt to separate her from her baby. The stiff-legged little calf wheeled and turned with its mother as best it could, but the outcome seemed inevitable. The standoff was visible to the naked eye
Barbara

Barbara in Trips

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Trips

An Outlaws' Retreat: Hiking in Robbers Cave State Park

The forested slopes of southeastern Oklahoma’s ironically named Sans Bois Mountains provide the backdrop for much of the excitement in “True Grit,” a novel by Charles Portis and two major motion pictures (1969 and 2010). You wouldn’t know it though, for the mountain peaks shown in the films suggest places farther west. Indeed, the movies were filmed in Colorado and New Mexico, but pursuing outlaws in post-Civil War Indian Territory, as the main characters are portrayed as doing in “True Grit,” w
Susan Dragoo

Susan Dragoo in Trips

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Trips

Thru-Hiking (the Junior Version): The Triple Crown in Short

Recent books and movies have inspired countless hikers and potential hikers to dream about thru-hiking one of the “big three” of America’s long trails: The Appalachian Trail, Pacific Crest Trail, or the Continental Divide Trail. However, most people that attempt the feat drop off the trail before completion. A six-month commitment to a hike can become just too difficult. Countless others don’t even try; it’s just too much time away from family and the lives they’ve built. Completing all three tr
JimR

JimR in Trips

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Trips

Hiking the Hoodoos & Badlands of Northwestern New Mexico

In the San Juan Basin of northwestern New Mexico, there are several incredible badlands and hoodoo areas, such as the Lybrook and Burnham Badlands, the Fossil Forest, and the Bisti/De-Na-Zin, Ojito, and Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah wilderness areas along with several others. I have had the pleasure to visit, hike, and photograph the first four listed above. These badlands, mostly managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), feature many bizarre and wonderful hoodoos and rock formations, from tiny mushroom
Steve Ancik

Steve Ancik in Trips

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Trips

Hiking Mount Iwaki & the Importance of Proper Planning

In the summer of 2009 I was sitting in a hotel room in Hirosaki, a small city in the far north of Japan’s main island of Honshu, eagerly anticipating my upcoming hike. It was to be the second big hike I’d ever gone on in Japan, and I was determined that unlike my first journey into this country’s wilderness, this one would be perfect. Unfortunately for me, though, neither of the two friends I was traveling with seemed particularly enthusiastic about hitting the trails, and we had yet to make the
MattS

MattS in Trips

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Trips

Desert Gold: Backpacking in the Superstition Wilderness

Long before I’d ever shouldered a backpack for a hike into a wilderness area, I found myself intrigued by Arizona’s Superstition Mountains. As the purported location of the Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine, I was first exposed to the Superstitions in books about lost treasures and historical mysteries I checked out from my middle-school library. An episode of “In Search of . . .” with Leonard Nimoy that featured the legend and aired as a re-run on the History Channel further deepened my fascination. Hi
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

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Trips

Arizona Wonderland: Hiking Chiricahua National Monument

Along with towering mountains and alpine lakes, awe-inspiring rock formations are one of the quintessential landscape features of the American West. From Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, to Delicate Arch in Utah, to Half Dome in California, iconic formations draw hikers and sightseers to far-flung public lands to witness the majesty sculpted by nature. In the Southwest, rock formations are by and large the main attraction. National parks, monuments, and other public lands contain enough arches, canyons
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

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Trips

A New Mexican Oddity: Hiking to the Paliza Goblin Colony

Even though this sounds like somewhere from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth, it is indeed a place here on our Earth, in northern New Mexico. I had already planned a trip in May 2021 to see some New Mexican scenery, and this was right along the route, so I added it to the itinerary, and boy am I glad that I did! Leaving the somewhat boring highway, my hiking buddy Rod and I headed up into the Jemez Mountains where the colony is located. Climbing up higher into the hills, the scenery changed from dr
Steve Ancik

Steve Ancik in Trips

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Trips

To the Chinese Wall: Bob Marshall Wilderness Backpacking

There’s a geologically interesting Chinese Wall that’s not in China. It is part of the million-plus acre Bob Marshall Wilderness of Montana and consists of a 15-mile, 1000-foot cliff of limestone that runs north to south along the Continental Divide. The last time I hiked along the base of the wall was in mid-June during my hike of the Continental Divide from Canada to Mexico. That time I post-holed through 4-12 feet of snow, so I wanted to return in nicer climes and for the opportunity of bette
David Cobb

David Cobb in Trips

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Trips

Hiking in Kentucky's Daniel Boone National Forest

The musical theme from the 1960s Daniel Boone television show ran through my head when, as we drove across southern Kentucky, I saw signs indicating we were entering Daniel Boone National Forest (DBNF). The historical Boone was not actually a big man in physical stature, but his legend, and the actual accomplishments of the Kentucky frontiersman, were sizable. Daniel Boone was a man, Yes, a big man! With an eye like an eagle And as tall as a mountain was he! In 1775, Boone blazed
Susan Dragoo

Susan Dragoo in Trips

3
Trips

From Mexico to Canada: Thru-Hiking the Route In Between

Hikers love maps. Maps are more than just navigational aids – they’re permission to let our imaginations run free. Maps inspire childlike wonder. We dream about what’s around the bend. I’ve spent years staring at a map of long-distance hiking trails in the United States. The Arizona Trail runs north-south through its home state, as does the Idaho Centennial Trail. Between the two, there’s a gap where no established trail exists. The gap is not for lack of scenic beauty, however. The state o
Kevin DeVries

Kevin DeVries in Trips

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Trips

Hiking the Fiery Gizzard Trail of the Cumberland Plateau

Just the name Fiery Gizzard sounds like an adventure doesn’t it? The Cumberland Plateau is known for spectacular waterfalls, spring wildflowers, and panoramic views overlooking wild gorges extending for miles in the distance. The Fiery Gizzard Trail has a little bit of everything for the hiker or backpacker looking for a true wilderness experience any time of year. The official name of Fiery Gizzard is the Grundy Forest State Natural Area which is part of the South Cumberland State Park complex
DustyD

DustyD in Trips

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Trips

Guadalupe Mountains National Park Hiking & Backpacking

Along the edge of an ancient sea, a reef formed. The water was an inland sea, connected to the rest of the earth’s oceans by a narrow channel. The reef grew and grew until it stretched around the horseshoe-shaped shoreline of the sea for a length of over 400 miles, towering high above the ocean floor, similar to the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia. This 250-million year old reef is known as The Capitan Reef. It was a tropical ocean, teeming with life – sponges, algae, and other lim
Steve Ancik

Steve Ancik in Trips

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Trips

John Muir Trail Tips and Hiking Guide

Some years ago I was eating breakfast with my wife, Lyn, at the Vermillion Valley Resort when a group of unusual looking people sat down at an adjacent table. They were wiry and weather beaten and gave off a raised-by-wolves vibe. They proceeded to eat enormous platters of food, which they washed down with beer. They turned out to be thru hikers from the nearby John Muir Trail (JMT). After they told us a little about their trip, I said to my wife, “I want to do that! – or, at least, I want to lo
George Graybill

George Graybill in Trips

4
Trips

Hiking the Vermilion Cliffs & Exploring Grand Staircase

Vermilion Cliffs National Monument is a vast plateau in north central Arizona and adjoining southern Utah. The 280,000-acre (roughly 20 miles east-west by 20 miles north-south) monument includes the rugged and beautiful Paria Plateau and Coyote Buttes North and South. The plateau is also known as the Sand Hills. Many hikers and photographers visit The Wave, Paw Hole, Cottonwood Cove, and White Pocket. All those are worthy destinations, but going beyond yields even more impressive hikes, views, a
Steve Ancik

Steve Ancik in Trips

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Trips

Rugged and Remote: Backpacking the Ferris Mountains WSA

For years and usually while driving to go hike or visit some other place, a small mountain range in southern Wyoming had always caught my eye from a remote stretch of highway in south-central Wyoming – a range that sharply rises up above the dry sagebrush plains in a place nearly without a name. The consistently jaw-dropping views of these obscure peaks from north of the range and a unique row of limestone fins on the south side of the range led to further research, and I eventually learned that
Aaron Zagrodnick

Aaron Zagrodnick in Trips

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Trips

Wild and Alone: Backpacking the Ventana Wilderness

The Ventana is a designated wilderness just inland from the resort area of Big Sur on the central coast of California. The Ventana Wilderness covers a total area of 375 square miles. For comparison, it is about the size of New York City or one of the smaller Hawaiian Islands. The wild, rugged terrain is in stark contrast with the surroundings, which include nearby major highways and several medium sized cities. And the Ventana becomes wilder every year. I’m sure the Native Americans w
George Graybill

George Graybill in Trips

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Trips

Thru-hiking the Pacific Crest Trail: Lessons Learned

While any thru-hike will involve an uncountable number of steps, the biggest step of them all is the proverbial first step – making the decision to go hike the trail yourself. After you’ve watched the videos and read the articles, the inspiration is at its highest, and you finally decide to hike a long distance trail, the second major step into the world of long distance hiking is preparing to walk – up to 25 miles every day for up to 6 months straight. Is Hiking the PCT a Physical or Menta
jansenjournals

jansenjournals in Trips

1
Trips

Hiking the Grand Enchantment Trail: GET Wet!

Whitecaps swirled in the ochre mixture of water and clay in the flooded wash at our feet. I never knew water so muddy could have whitecaps and now our route lay on the opposite bank of the torrent as it raged over unseen boulders and cut into the edge of its banks. Standing there at the two-track crossing in the middle of nowhere New Mexico, I wondered how many “do not enter when flooded” signs we passed on paved roads in the Southwest. It was late October and the third day in a row o
HikerBox

HikerBox in Trips

3
Trips

Solitude in the Sapphire Mountains of Montana

I’ve always placed a premium on solitude when planning my outdoor activities and, with some planning and luck, have never found it to be particularly difficult to obtain. However, with trails across the country being more crowded than ever the past few years, it’s taken a bit more effort even in sparsely populated western Montana to have that lake, peak, or meadow all to yourself. Fortunately, with a bit of flexibility and research I was able to turn a short-notice opportunity for an overnight t
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

3
Trips

Day Hiking the Ozarks: Exploring a Geological Wonder

The Ozarks of northwest Arkansas and southern Missouri are full of magical places, and thanks to the rest of the world’s inattention to this glorious natural area, solitude can often be easily found. Eye-catching geology abounds as a consequence of erosion of the high plateau that created the peaks and hollows characteristic of the area. Clear rivers and streams lace through limestone bluffs, interesting rock formations, over natural bridges and over waterfalls, making the Ozarks an outdoor
Susan Dragoo

Susan Dragoo in Trips

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Trips

Backpacking the Lost Coast Trail: Oceanside Wilderness

The Lost Coast Trail (LCT) in northern California may very well be the best beach hike in the United States. The name derives from the fact that it is the only part of the California coast that is not paralleled by a highway. I’m sure the romantic ring of that name only adds to its considerable popularity. It sounds like something from a teenage adventure novel. “The Hardy Boys and the Pirates of the Lost Coast” There is a northern section and a southern section. The southern stretch is muc
George Graybill

George Graybill in Trips

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