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TrailGroove Blog

A Blog by the TrailGroove Team

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Entries in this blog

Trips

Hiking & Exploring Kentucky's Red River Gorge

Usually when I travel, I am pulled to the west – New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and surrounding areas. For my latest trip, however, I headed in the opposite direction and visited a place that I had first heard about several years ago: Red River Gorge Geologic Area in northeastern Kentucky. My companion for this trip was Joel, with whom I’ve taken several other trips, both mountain biking and hiking. We left Oklahoma on October 2nd, 2022 and spent four days hiking in the area. The Red Rive
Steve Ancik

Steve Ancik in Trips

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Trips

The Canadian Rockies: Day Hikes in Jasper National Park

Canada's Rocky Mountain Parks are a great location for hiking, and attract millions of visitors every year. At 10,878 km² (4,200 sq. mi.) Jasper is one of the largest, but Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks are also part of the network as is Mt. Robson Provincial Park in British Columbia and Waterton in Southern Alberta. Much of the traffic tends to go to the commercial hub of Banff, leaving the rest for hikers and others who enjoy the wilderness. But my philosophy has always bee
Peter

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Trips

Hiking the Tahoe Rim Trail Day by Day

For many backpackers, thru-hiking a major long trail just isn’t a realistic option. Not everyone can pause life, quit their job, and leave their family and friends behind for half a year to hike a long trail. Even if they could, not everyone has the mental and/or physical stamina to enjoy such an arduous task over multiple months. Maybe you’re an aspiring to thru-hiker, but feel like you need more experience before committing to such a long endeavor. If you fall into any of these categories, or
Wired

Wired in Trips

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Trips

The Pyrenean Haute Route & GR5: Hiking through France

When I mention hiking in France, it tends to illicit an immediate reaction of assumptions and misconceptions. The comments tend to address the validity of long distance hiking in Europe compared to what most Americans have experienced in the United States. The most common comments include, “Is there real backpacking in France?” “Isn’t it all road walking and overcrowded hostels?” “You need a lot of money to hike out there.” “You know camping is prohibited out there.” “Are there even mountains ou
Wired

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Trips

Hiking through Rubies: Backpacking the Ruby Mountains

Recently I set out to explore the Seven Devils Wilderness in Idaho and walk a 27-mile loop through those mountains, but a large fire in Hell’s Canyon diverted that plan at the last minute. The Ruby Mountain Wilderness of Nevada had long been on my “to do” list, and this seemed like a good time to change plans and head south. The Rubies were misnamed in the 1800s during the gold rush, when a group of army explorers thought they’d found a range filled with rubies; instead they discovered only
David Cobb

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Trips

Backpacking the Enchantments: Alpine Lakes Wilderness

With names like Gnome Tarn, Dragontail Peaks, and Aasgard Pass, you’d think I’d stumbled into a land of Norse Sagas. But instead I walked through a land of water and granite surrounded by the fall color of subalpine larch. The Enchantments are a small section of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness in northern Washington’s Cascade Range. This is a land of high valleys and beautiful aqua-marine lakes, all lying under the ever-present view of Prusik Peak. While an Enchantments hike can offer rew
David Cobb

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Trips

Backpacking Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Trail

The Pictured Rocks Lakeshore Trail is one of the best coastal hikes in the United States. This 42 mile trail has been called one of the crown jewels of America’s longest National Scenic Trail, the North Country Trail – a trail that runs from North Dakota and will soon terminate in Vermont. The Lakeshore Trail includes a variety of coastal features including sand dunes, a remote wilderness beach, and impressive cliffs high above Lake Superior. The trail is located in Pictured Rocks National Lakes
Eric

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Trips

Towering Beauty: The Wahweap Hoodoos of Southern Utah

Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a huge 1.9 million acre park in south central Utah, full of scenic wonders and surprises. One of my favorite subjects to photograph is the scattering of hoodoo formations that are found here and there on cliff edges and slopes. Hoodoos are formed when a harder, more resistant layer of rock protects a softer layer underneath. As erosion from water, freezing, thawing, and wind all work their magic, the rock layers are exposed and form into towers of r
Steve Ancik

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Trips

Hiking the Beaten Path: Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness

The drive into the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness is one of many layers. Like the layers of the range itself, you must first go through the first layer: in this case the grasslands and rolling hills of Interstate 90, then continue chipping your way up the foothills and hope you make the correct turn. Unraveling further, you pass through farmland where finally, you bounce down a dirt road dodging potholes and prairie dogs while beginning to see the landscape change from rolling hills to forested s
jansenjournals

jansenjournals in Trips

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Trips

Magnificent Solitude: Hiking in Big Bend National Park

Big Bend National Park – the key word here is Big – so big, in fact, that the park is home to thousands of species of plants, animals, and insects, and is so large that it contains an entire mountain range! The park is also quite a ways away from major cities, being in far southwestern Texas up against the Rio Grande River and just across from Mexico, allowing it to be a dark sky location. The Chisos Mountains dominate the center of the park, with the high point being Emory Peak at 7,
Steve Ancik

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Trips

Backpacking & Hiking Grand Canyon's East Tonto Trail

A cheerful pumpkin sun peeks over the Coconino Plateau at dawn. It’s Thanksgiving weekend, and the air is frosty as dad and I join a gaggle of backpackers, clad in billowy down jackets evincing a cornucopia of startling colors, lining up outside Grand Canyon Village’s backcountry information center. It turns out the park’s Phantom Ranch and Indian Garden campgrounds are as jam-packed as pilgrims on the Mayflower which renders my hoped-for rim to rim route unfeasible. A bearded ranger suggests we
Daniel Anderson Jr

Daniel Anderson Jr 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

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Trips

Hiking the West Coast Trail of Vancouver Island

As my son and I took the mandatory trail class by Parks Canada we were warned of many things that one might encounter. Along the shore there were the tides that can block beach routes and river crossings, fast changing surge channels that were responsible for the only death documented on the trail, and the remote possibility of a tsunami. Along the West Coast Trail, time and logistics turns more by a maritime clock, whether by tide or ferry. The trail itself owes its creation to the sea, in
JimG

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Trips

Backpacking Washington's Wenaha-Tucannon Wilderness

For most hikers and backpackers, when they think of Washington their thoughts tend to drift to the rugged grandeur of the North Cascades or the rainforests, beaches, and mountains of the Olympic Peninsula. The beauty and opportunities for amazing trips in those locales can certainly not be understated. As evidenced by increasing crowds at many trailheads in recent years, and stiff competition for permits in areas where they are required, the public lands in the western part of the state aren’t (
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

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Trips

The Alpine Lakes Wilderness: A Cascades Backpacking Trip

One can easily say that Washington State holds some of the most beautiful, untouched, and rugged terrain in all of North America. At breakfast one could wake up on a driftwood littered beach on the coastline of a temperate rainforest, and by dinner be jumping into a glacial lake of the high Cascade peaks. With some of the most amazing wildlife covered landscapes and best backpacking in Washington and even in the United States, one can spend the rest of their lives trying to explore and conquer a
J. Parascandola

J. Parascandola in Trips

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Trips

Hiking Wolverine Canyon in the Grand Staircase-Escalante

As I approach a place as remote as Grand Staircase-Escalante in the middle of a hot summer I know I'm not going to find something tangible that I require to continue existing. I will, however, encounter some things that I want. Beauty, solitude, adventure. Maybe I'll find inspiration. Challenge. Do I need any of those things? Perhaps not, but what a dull existence it would be without all of them. My use of the word remote is not an exaggeration. This is a remote place, in a remote section of a s
SparbaniePhoto

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Trips

A San Juan Mountain High: Hiking on the Colorado Trail

The San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado have some of the most breathtaking scenery in the country. The views are filled with high peaks, beautiful waterfalls, scenic valleys, and prolific wildflowers which call to you to explore! I have spent several vacations in the area over the years, and was long overdue for another visit. This trip was with three of my hiking friends from the flatlands of Oklahoma and Texas – Craig from Houston, and Ward and Joel from Oklahoma City. We all live at l
Steve Ancik

Steve Ancik in Trips

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Trips

High Desert Scenery: A Hike On the Yakima Skyline Trail

Although the quintessential image of backpacking is of alpine lakes, thick forests and craggy peaks, deserts offer the well-prepared backpacker breathtaking scenery and an opportunity for longer hikes months before most mountains have melted out. Desert backpacking is typically associated with the iconic landscapes of the Southwest and destinations such as Canyonlands National Park, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Grand Canyon National Park, and numerous other national parks, forest
Mark Wetherington

Mark Wetherington in Trips

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Trips

Backpacking in the Dominguez Canyon Wilderness

November tends to be a dead zone for Colorado hikers. It's too early for skiing or even snowshoeing in the high country. But cold temps and the threat of blizzards are present even if the snow is lacking. Most backpackers sit out the month, maybe catching up on their favorite trail magazine. Not all Colorado is high country and 14er's though. Out beyond the West Elks, the Uncompahgre Plateau runs from the Utah border 60 miles southeast down to the edge of the San Juans. Elevations range from 400
HappyHour

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Trips

Backpacking the Selway River Trail: A Hike from Paradise

Most backpacking trips enter a figurative “Paradise” at some point or another. It could be an exquisite sunset, a perfect campsite, or time spent mesmerized by a waterfall. My trip along the Selway River Trail with my stalwart backpacking companion Justin had the amusing distinction of actually beginning at a Paradise. The Paradise boat launch and trailhead in the Bitterroot National Forest in a remote corner of Idaho, to be exact. From here we would follow the Selway River downstream
Mark Wetherington

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Trips

Backpacking the Noble Canyon Trail, Southern California

Distance mode. Proximity mode. Red light night vision mode. At 90 lumens, my new Black Diamond Spot headlamp is the newest addition to my backpacking kit in ages. For the second or third time on today’s maiden voyage hike, I unsheathe the Spot from my Gregory Z65’s brain pouch, cradle it in my fingers, and imagine how its endless wonderful qualities will make every trip better. The blood red bezel’s sharp lines attach to a diagonally-shaded retro headband conjuring the aura of Optimus Prime.
Daniel Anderson Jr

Daniel Anderson Jr in Trips

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Trips

Distant Corners: Hiking the Oklahoma & Texas Panhandles

Lines drawn on a map are peculiar. Sometimes they follow terrain features and make complete sense. Oklahoma and Texas, for instance, are divided both politically and geographically by the Red River, a natural enough line of separation although its shifting, serpentine course has made boundary disputes a regular thing. Other lines are more confusing, and seemingly arbitrary. One example is the region containing the “panhandles” of these two states. Oklahoma’s panhandle is a strip of la
Susan Dragoo

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Trips

Hiking Marble Canyon in Death Valley National Park

I once saw a postcard in an Eastern California gas station showcasing a photo of an impressive blue slot canyon. The earth in the photo looked barren, bleak, and chalky. The rock looked smooth as if carved by water long ago. Clearly no water remained in this place so dry and desolate, and the landscape looked distinctly like it belonged to the unique ranges within Death Valley National Park. The mysterious blue rock was known as Marble Canyon, and I decided the weekend after I had bought a new c
michaelswanbeck

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Trips

Hiking the Donjek (Dän Zhùr) Route: Kluane National Park

The opposite bank is tantalizingly close, just a couple of meters away. In fact, it would be fewer than 10 paces on solid ground. Instead, we can only gaze longingly across the un-crossable, raging river that stands between us and the next section of our route. We are stuck on the west bank of the Duke River. It’s a crushing defeat. On a normal hike, this would be a mild inconvenience, but we are on day six of a backpacking epic that is far from normal. View of a scenic upland section
DKim and PatriciaV

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Trips

Backpacking & Hiking into the Richland Creek Wilderness

Arkansas: The Natural State. Nothing is more natural than this remote wilderness deep in the Ozark National Forest in the northern part of the state. This wonderful wild place is known as Richland Creek Wilderness, where waterfalls, not-so-secret caves, thick forests, swimming holes, bluffs, colorful fall foliage, wildflowers, and more are to be found. There are a multitude of boulder-dotted creeks in the Wilderness, the main ones being Big Devils Fork, Long Devils Fork, and Richland Creek. Rich
Steve Ancik

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