The second hike for the day is in the South Cumberland State Park - a site known as Stone Door. My friend Dawn had suggested this spot and just like the previous hike, it didn't disappoint. Essentially, this entire area sits on a limestone plateau with the cliffs overlooking a bright green sea of deciduous forest. It's late in the afternoon and the skies are looking pretty gray, but with the trail distances listed as nothing more than about a mile each way, we are confident we can make it and back before the clouds open up - little did we know...
Before heading taking the right fork of the trail towards Stone Door, we decide to head to the left and visit a small, but interesting waterfall called Laurel Falls. The hike listed as only a couple of hundred yards, but the steep staircase down to the viewing area make it a good work out. This great setting allows the visitor to walk right out to the edge of the falls, which while flowing nicely are not truly raging at this moment. The falls is not all that tall, but plummets into a pool and rock pile below - better to watch my step here.
Returning to the parking lot, we take the other trail headed for the Stone Gate. The forest here is as lush as I remember them being in the mid-west of my child-hood. The trail starts on pavement, but quickly turns to well maintained dirt. We stop to survey the view from a wooden lookout. You can see for miles here and it's green all the way to the horizon. A few turkey buzzards fly by overhead to see who is invading their territory, but the seem to evaluate us as little or no threat and go on about their business.
Crossing a couple of small wooden bridges, we finally arrive at the feature known as Stone Door. Dawn says it reminds her of Hobbiton from Tolkien's great works, and I can definitely see why. The ancient boulders and cliffs make for a great setting. We scamper around the top of this magnificent cliff for a while taking a few shots. I'm amazed at the erosion beneath the cliff and ask how long she thinks it will be before the overhang breaks off. I think that thought startled her a little bit, but it looks safe enough for now.
As a few rain drops begin to fall, we decide to hurry up our itinerary a bit and make it over to the other side of this cliff to visit the Stone Door itself. It's just a few yards away. The cliff has already started to separate from the larger plateau and over the millennia and has opened up a narrow passage through the crag. A gnarled old tree greets us as we start down the human carved staircase through the crag. Looking back up, I'm reminded of Aragorn entering the mountain stronghold seeking assistance from the Army of the Dead in the great battle of the Pellenor Fields to come.
The rain begins to pick up and while we want to stay longer and take in more of this magnificent locale, we decide the wiser choice is to head back to the car. We push our pace a little bit, but it's not enough, the rain begins to beat down harder and harder. We are a mile into the woods with no rain gear when clouds eventually open up completely. Staying dry is a completely lost cause and by the time we reach the car, we are soaked to the bone. We only ended up hiking about two miles, but the company, the amazing vistas and monsoon adventure at the end made it well worth the trip.
Taking a few days to visit an old friend in Nashville, I had to get in a few hikes in the lush hills of Eastern Tennessee. Several stops were suggested and one of them intrigued me. As I've been on a waterfall kick the last couple of years and my visits to two falls near Reno have been recently been postponed due to bad weather, we chose Fall Creek Falls State Park as our first stop.
We got an early start and after a beautiful drive down some winding country roads (queue the John Denver music), we arrived at the park. Just minutes from the parking lot we encountered the first of the falls - a beautiful spot known as Cane Creek Falls. A suspension bridge of wood and steel cables crosses the creek and while it looks well maintained and sturdy, the bounciness as one crosses is sure cause of at least minor concern. Reaching the other side, we are rewarded with views of the same falls from other angles.
Continuing on through the woods, we put in a mile and a half or so before reaching a small vista of the next water fall - Rockhouse Falls. This one is right out of a nature magazine; a small stream of water plummets 125-feet over a limestone cliff into a blue-green pool below. With the lushness of the forest here, it looks like something you would see in a rain forest, though the oaks and elms give away the true location.
Another mile or so and we reach the namesake of the park, Fall Creek Falls. This is a magnificent 256-foot multi-tiered falls, which can be viewed from a couple of different vantage points. The red clay of the creek has painted the top of the cliff, from which the majestic falls runs off, a rich umber color, which ends after the first tier of the plummet. Beyond, is simply a limestone drop off into the abyss, but it doesn't lack for spectacle.
While I'm used to the tall majestic falls of Yosemite and other places out west, it's refreshing to see so many visually rich water falls on the opposite side of the country. If you are ever in the area, I highly recommend a visit. All in all, we hiked about 3.5 miles. I didn't track the path, as I didn't think it was going to be quite that far, but the trail system is pretty well marked and leaves little room for getting lost. This was a great choice and I'm thankful for the suggestion.
I remember seeing pictures of the La Brea Tar Pits in school books I used as a small child. I've always been fascinated by natural wonder/prehistoric death trap. And since I'm in LA for the weekend, I had to take the opportunity to visit. The tar pits exist right in the middle of Los Angeles and though they fenced off (probably wisely), access to the area is completely free.
While this more sightseeing than hiking, I take the opportunity to walk around the numerous black bubbling lakes of tar. The largest, Lake Pit, features figures of an elephant family unit, with the female hopelessly stuck in the tar, while the male and calf look on helplessly. My childhood memory is actually of these statues, which probably simulate events that occurred thousands upon thousands of times in the distant past. As I will later learn while touring the museum that sits nearby, over three million fossils have been recovered from these death traps, making it the singles riches sight of ice-age fossils in the world.
Walking around the various smaller pits, the occasional methane bubble reaches the surface and gurgles a deathly belch. While its obvious a lot of tragedies took place here for the animals buried in this black goo, the knowledge gained from our finds here are invaluable. It's a short leisurely walk around the area, but its definitely worth seeing if you are ever in the area.
"Hollywood! What's your dream?" That line from a well known early 90's movie has always stuck with me and since I'm in LA for the weekend (to see Iron Maiden's final US show on their current tour), I figured I would take a little time to hike up to the famous Hollywood Sign overlooking Los Angeles. Even though it's only April, it's already hot here in southern California and so I decide to get a fairly early start. As this is my first time in the "City of Angels", I wasn't really sure about the traffic, but it lives up to its reputation. Traffic and the road systems more generally are pretty terrible here.
Following the GPS on my phone to the first of a couple potential trail heads I had researched beforehand, I follow narrow, winding roads up the sloping hills. Homes and parked cars limit the width to just over a single car, but these are not one-way roads, which of course causes issues at times. When I finally reach the trail head, signs indicate there is no access to the sign from here. Well crap!
I head back the way I came and make for my second option, which turns out to offer access to the tops of Cahuenga Peak and Mount Lee, and then finally to an area above and behind the famous sign. The trail starts by passing through a residential area. Gigantic cacti cover the hillsides and the 'yards' of the homes here. Finally, leaving the pavement, I start up a steep single-track dirt trail. The trail is obvious, but with a lot of buried rocks and boulders, and the intense grade, it makes for some good exercise. A few others are braving a similar trail and one group that I speak with tells me that the sign is, in fact, not accessible from there. I decide to try my luck anyway and continue on. It feels good. The trail is rugged and very steep, but I'm in good shape at the moment and make quick work of the short mile and half up to the top.
Once I reach the top of the ridge, the trail forks. Left leads out to the 'Tree of Life', which is a lone tree on top of a small peak surveying the entirety of Los Angeles below. While the right fork leads to the actual peak of Cahuenga Peak and to the Hollywood Sign beyond. The trail in either direction is much less steep here and I opt to head right to my intended destination. As the sun beats down, its getting very hot up here. I would really hate to be up here during the summer, but I push on. Between Cahuenga and Lee, a rugged saddle requires some climbing and rock scrambling to navigate, but eventually, I reach the area above the sign. Apparently, there is a paved foot trail coming up the backside of the mountain to this same area, as I am joined by a large crowd. I'm glad I took the road less traveled though, as it always seems to be more rewarding.
After taking in the view and snapping a few shots of the back of the sign through the fence (the sign itself is not directly accessible due to issues with vandalism in the past), I head back the way I came. While I can't touch the sign itself, I am still just a few yards from the giant H-O-L-L-Y-W-O-O-D letters. Total distance covered was a mere 3.2 miles, but having visited such a landmark makes it totally worthwhile.
Another beautiful spring day; another day to get out and hike. With the forecast for a sunny 70+ on this early April day and a hike posted on one of the meetup groups I belong to, it seemed like a great day to get out and explore a new trail with some good people. I've heard of the Incandescent Rocks area previously, but I wasn't sure where it was. Luckily, the organizer for this hike was very knowledgeable of the area.
The group met up a the Starbucks on the corner of Pyramid and McCarran a little after 8:15 - 29 of us in all. With a huge group like this, we took a number of cars to the trail head, but I decided to drive myself, as I was planning to hit a couple of other destinations afterwards. Following Pyramid Highway to Grass Valley Road and then up a dusty dirt and gravel road to a fenced area with the colorful rock formation dead ahead of us. I think some of the cars struggle with this rough road a little bit, but luckily, my jeep has no such issues.
We pretty quickly hit the trail with cattle on either side of us. The first mile or so is just more of the dirt track leading up into the red and white hills beyond. The scenery is amazing beautiful with the clear blue skies in sharp contrast to the colorful rock formations. After some distance the road turns into a single track and begins to follow along a nearly dry wash. A bit further up, there is a neat 25 or so foot waterfall, or at least it would be if there were any water running. With no way around the waterfall, we begin scrambling up the bank to the left of it. The gravel is loose and the grade is steep, but we manage.
We continue a bit further up and then decide to wait for the rest of the group to catch up. Once we have regrouped, we decide to split into two bands, each heading for a clearly identified group of red rocks on top of one of the distant ridges, where we will meet and have lunch. Group one will head to the south and follow the ridge line, while group two, which I choose to go with, decides to follow the wash. We know the wash will be more treacherous, but supposedly there are some amazing pictures to be had going this route.
The trail doesn't disappoint, as we are forced to scramble up and down loosely graveled hills, climb up small waterfalls, and make our way steep slopes to finally reach the top. It certainly proves to be the more difficult of the two, but some of the shots are amazing. The red and white hues of the rocks sing to us, as we capture some still shots.
Finally reaching the lunch spot, we rejoin our other band and the large groups begins to take in the magnificent view on this glorious day, which appears to be made for hiking. We sit for a bit and talk of past trails and other assorted topics before continuing on towards the backside of the ridge, from which a great view of Pyramid Lake can be found. The lake, approximately the same size as Lake Tahoe, but far shallower, is the norther terminus of the Truckee River, which flows from Lake Tahoe through Reno and eventually empties into Pyramid Lake, which sits on the Paiute Reservation of the same name.
The trip down turns out to be slightly more treacherous as the trip up was. A few of the more experienced hikers, including myself, begin pathfinding our way down, but there isn't really a trail. We do our best to find areas where we can scramble down the steep hillsides covered loose gravel without breaking our necks. After about thirty minutes of this scrambling, we eventually reach the jeep trail again and make for the cars. In all, it was just over 6.5 miles for the hike. The scenery was gorgeous though and may require a revisit someday, especially when that waterfall might be flowing.
