Palo Duro Canyon (Texas), Cadillac Ranch, Ute Lake State Park (New Mexico): Winter Break 2016 Day 3

Sunrise in Palo Duro Canyon

Hoodoo

Moosie and Camo hiking back to the car

Chimney Rock trail

Chimney Rock

Canyon view from Chimney Rock

The Cave

Texas Longhorn

Cadillac Ranch

I woke up early once again on day 3 of Winter break 2016. Moosie and Camo were still sleeping while I walked out of camp to get some more early morning photographs. I picked a picturesque boulder field to explore, which included fragile, bright orange dry mud closer to the canyon. This mud created several hoodoos, which are mushroom shaped mud structures with a giant boulders balanced on top. When I saw them, I was instantly reminded of a video I remember seeing a couple years ago of a scout leader and his troop pushing one over in the desert somewhere. Not a good idea.

I returned to camp around 8:00 and Moosie and Camo were packing up. Our plan was to spend a little more time in the canyon and then begin driving west towards New Mexico. After packing up and hiking back to the car, we chose to hike the Chimney Rock trail. It was about 2.7 miles to reach the rock structure, and 2.7 miles back. It was a pretty easy hike, temperatures were just right. The view of Chimney Rock was pretty spectacular, as well as the surrounding canyon. Several other hikers enjoyed the view with us. By the time we reached the car once again, Moosie suggested it would be best if we hit the road soon, since we did not know where we were going to camp that night. Before leaving the park however, we did a quick hike up to a giant cave, and then stopped by the Visitor's Center and read up on some of the history of the canyon.

A couple days before, Camo played a podcast about a hospital in New Orleans during the Katrina incident. The podcast noted how within three days, the hospital had gone from a normal, operating institution into an unfamiliar, wild place with decisions being made that had never been made before in regards to the life and death of the patients in the building, all due to the conditions of the city after the hurricane. I joked that the same is true on the trail, that on the third day, we begin to become feral once again. By the time we left Palo Duro, I was beginning to feel feral once again, and I liked it.

We decided to set our sights on Ute Lake State park in New Mexico to spend the night. While driving west on 40 near Amarillo Texas, We spotted Cadillac Ranch by chance. Of course we had to turn around and get a few pictures. There was a steady stream of tourists arriving and departing the 15 minutes or so we were there.

We reached New Mexico late in the afternoon, not long after Camo struck a giant piece of metal lying in the middle of the highway, denting and damaging the exhaust below the car. The landscape began to look more wild, the plains dotted with cactus and juniper, more canyons opening up in the land. I felt very happy to be back. Temperatures were dropping and a cold wind blew across the desert. After taking some incredible wide open back roads, we reached Ute Lake State Park around sunset. Other than a few RV's, the park was pretty much empty. The small town of Logan was a few minutes away, and Camo suggested we head into town for dinner and some beer. Moosie and I cheerfully accepted that idea, and before long, we were in a nice warm brewery, drinking and eating our fill, and sharing trail stories. The night would be a cold one, Moosie and I cowboy camped once again behind a brick wall designed as a wind break in our campsite, and the next day we would begin heading towards Bandelier National Monument a few hours away...

Palo Duro Canyon (Texas): Winter Break Day 2

Early morning sunrise

Morning camp

Camo finding his way up the canyon

Camo and Moosie find clean water in the canyon

Pictographs

A Prehistoric kitchen used for grinding food

Hiking south

Miles and miles of canyon privately owned. This was as far as we could go in the park.

Sunset

Camp for the night

I woke up the next morning early. Day two in Palo Duro Canyon had begun. I think I was still on Maryland time as my body naturally woke up an hour before sunrise. Moosie and Camo were still sleeping so I decided to look around the area and take some sunrise photographs. I slept pretty comfortably and peacefully during the night. When camping, I never know what to expect. My dreams can be pretty vivid, and many times somewhat traumatic. I had many nightmares while hiking the Appalachian Trail last year. Later in the morning, Camo commented on having a vivid, stress filled dream.

While taking my morning stroll, I was thinking about the book "Empire of the Summer Moon: Quannah Parker and the Rise and fall of the Comanches, the Most powerful Indian Tribe in American History." Palo Duro Canyon was a favorite winter camp ground of the Comanches and the site of the last battle between the United States Army and the remaining Comanche tribe before being escorted onto the reservation in Oklahoma. The book describes in detail the trials and tribulations of General Ranald S. Mackenzie and his troops to hunt down, and eventually surprise attack the remaining Comanche Indians wintered down in Palo Duro Canyon, who were led by their last great chief Quannah Parker. Mackenzie and his men killed only four Comanches after marching down the walls of the canyon, but destroyed most of their winter lodges, supplies and killed over 1,000 Comanche horses. This was the final blow which led to a Comanche surrender. Without their horses and supplies, the Comanches could not continue their resistance and way of life.

While the sun was rising above the horizon, I tried to imagine the scene. Did Mackenzie and his troops come down the canyon walls where we were now camped? How many Native Americans camped where we now found ourselves? The canyon has been used over 10,000 years by various Native American tribes, are there any signs of their presence on the rocks and grounds nearby?

By the time I returned to camp, Camo and Moosie were finishing their breakfast and packing up. We decided to spend the day bushwhacking up a random side canyon. Camo immediately took a high route and found himself way up on the surrounding cliffs. I was about midway up and traveling across sketchy, steep washes. Moosie, perhaps the most wise, was traveling along the canyon floor, where eventually Camo and I would meet her. We continued up the canyon for a few hours before turning around due to time. The entire canyon appeared as if it could completely wash away in a single rain storm. There was evidence all around of traumatic water movement, where flash floods appeared to destroy parts of the canyon sweeping down tons of mud and large boulders.

By afternoon, we decided upon another place to camp. We still had an hour and a half of sunlight left so we decided to get one last quick day hike in. We walked as far as we could along the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River before reaching the park boundary and barbed wire fences of private property. There were still miles and miles and miles of canyon beyond those fences. Camo, Moosie, and I soaked in the serene scene before us. By the time we returned to camp the sun was already setting. I wondered what the night would bring. General Mackenzie's slaughter of the Comanche horses had spawned a legend: A phantom herd could be seen riderless, galloping through the canyon, their hooves kicking up red soil along the trails. Would we hear them in the night? Would they appear in our dreams?

Palo Duro Canyon (Texas): Winter Break 2016 part 1

Town of Quannah

Palo Duro Canyon

Myself, Moosie, and H2Camo

My old Appalachian Trail friends H2Camo, Moosie and I decided to get together for winter break this year. It's been just over a year since the three of us finished the Appalachian Trail together. After some discussion, we decided to head to Texas and New Mexico to do some hiking. Moosie and I work in public schools in our respective areas, and Camo is in grad school in Texas, so the timing worked out perfectly to get together for a week.

Moosie suggested we check out Palo Duro Canyon which is located in the Texas Panhandle. It is considered the Grand Canyon of Texas. I was very excited about this suggestion because I just finished reading the book "Empire of the Summer Moon: Quannah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History." Palo Duro Canyon was a favorite winter camping area for the Comanches, and the site of their final battle with the United States Army before being forced onto the reservation. The book follows the story of Quannah Parker in particular, the mixed-blood Comanche who became their last and greatest chief. The book was a real eye opener, and I found myself at times identifying with the plight of the Comanches, as well as the Texas frontier settlers, and with the army generals. What would I do if I were in their shoes? The brutality the two sides waged against one another was shocking, the original size of the Comanche empire was staggering to comprehend (240,000 square miles), and the outcome of the culture clash left me feeling battered by the time I finished the book. Visiting Palo Duro Canyon and driving through the Texas plains allowed me to visualize various scenes in the book, and connect to some of the characters.

Moosie and I took planes and arrived in Dallas on the 26th of December. Camo picked us up at the airport. After spending the night at Camo's parents house, we were off first thing in the morning. It was about a six hour drive from Dallas to Palo Duro. Looking out across the Texas landscape, it was hard to comprehend the size of the place. Once we reached the plains, it was a little easier to imagine buffalo once wandering in huge herds across the grasslands. Mostly I remember looking at the occasional ranch, and the giant wind powered windmills along the highway. Moosie, Camo, and I caught up on life after the trail, listened to music, and several episodes of Radiolab. The open skies, warm air, sunshine, and good friends were just what the doctor ordered at this time.

We reached the canyon an hour or so before sunset. We secured backcountry permits for two nights. Shortly before dark, we began our hike into the canyon. The canyon is 120 miles long, and we would see just a sliver of the place. It felt great to put the backpack on again, and walk along the trail. Moosie, Camo and I followed the Prairie Dog Town Fork of the Red River, the waterway responsible for the carving of the canyon. It was one of the strangest rivers I have ever seen, looking like a muddy irrigation canal more than a river, thinly slicing through the canyon. The ranger told us not to drink the water as it contains waste from the nearby town of Amarillo. By the time the sun set, we were still looking for a place to camp. We decided to climb up from the floodplain and the cottonwood trees and camp amongst the junipers, prairie grass, and cactus. We found a nice spot with a juniper windbreak, and the three of us chose to cowboy camp under the bright stars.  Day one was coming to a close and I couldn't have been happier to be where I was...

Incredible Collection of Historical Redwood Logging Photos

Check out this incredible collection of historical redwood logging photos. There are even a few of the Avenue of the Giants, Richardson Grove, and Bull Creek Flats...

Leaves Gone

Most of the leaves are on the ground now. I'm not a big fan of winter, but it's going to make tree measuring quite a bit easier, at least in the forest. This is a picture of the first tree I tried to measure back in the spring, a medium sized tulip poplar growing in the neighborhood woods. I had difficulty measuring it in the spring because I could not find a clear vantage point. Turns out, I measured it to be about nine feet taller than it probably really is. Now that the leaves are gone, I found a nice clear vantage point of the entire tree through the forest.

Ice is already forming on the creek in spots. Depending how the winter goes, the ice will come and go as the temperature fluctuates through the winter.

Maryland Heights Trail: Harpers Ferry

Last fall color of the season along the Appalachian Trail in Harpers Ferry

Graveyard in Harpers Ferry. Tombstones dating back to the early 1800's.

Jefferson Rock. The spot where Thomas Jefferson once stood in 1783 while looking up the Shenandoah River.

Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers merge into the Potomac.

My nephew Jack noticed the bridge across the Potomac is turning into a "lock bridge."

Overlook Cliff: View towards the town of harpers Ferry and up the Shenandoah River

Overlook Cliff: View up the Potomac River

Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, my brother Michael has created a tradition of hiking up Old Rag mountain in Virginia the last few years. Last year, the overwhelming crowds on Old Rag on Black Friday finally reached a point where my brother decided he needed a new place to carry the tradition. I suggested we hike to the Overlook Cliff in the Maryland Heights, across the river from Harpers Ferry. It's no Old Rag, but it's a nice hike nonetheless. So last week, on Black Friday, my brother Michael, his son Jack, and I hiked up to the Overlook Cliff.

We began the day at the Appalachian Trail Conservancy Headquarters in Harpers Ferry. After visiting the headquarters, we hiked a blue side trail to reach the Appalachian Trail. We passed the old cemetery in Harpers Ferry and Jefferson Rock. The trail took us through town where we saw the building John Brown barricaded himself into. Eventually, we hiked over the bridge, over the Potomac River, and hiked north on the C&O towpath for a short ways. There we reached our trail head which brought us up into the Maryland Heights. There were plenty of fellow hikers out on the trail as well, but not overly crowded. After a good climb, we eventually made it to our destination, the Overlook Cliff. Here are the best views into Harpers Ferry and up the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers in my opinion. Michael, Jack, and I spent 45 minutes or so looking around and taking pictures. When we had our fill, we turned around and began our trek back to the ATC headquarters.

Overall, I'd say it was a 4 to 5 mile hike, difficult, but not overly so. It was a great way to spend the day after Thanksgiving. I think even though Harpers Ferry is a small historic town, it's important not to get stuck in the past. The area has a source of power and beauty to it, still palpable in the present...

Weaverton Cliffs: Harpers Ferry

I needed some mountain time yesterday and drove out to Harpers Ferry and took a hike up to Weaverton Cliffs on the Appalachian Trail. The days don't get much better than yesterday-cool, crisp, bright sun, and leaves in peak autumn color...