1-9-2009 Capital Reef National Park Utah

Today I drove 3 hours to Capital Reef National Park. I was feeling ok, and the knee was getting better. Either that, or I was taking enough pain killers to be able to walk. I decided to do a hike and look for a good back country place to camp for the evening. I hiked to a natural stone bridge. You have to see the pictures. This place is amazing. Utah is pretty much filled with several different kinds of rock formations to look at. While on my hike, I found a perfect camping spot right next to the natural bridge. It was till early, and I didn’t have my gear with me so I had to head back to the car. I heard that one of the rangers (astronomer) was giving a demonstration that night. I really wanted to hear what she had to say and see what she wanted to show us, So I decide to set up the campsite in the dark and go to this first. I had some time before sundown, so I drove the 10 mile scenic drive. The sun was just setting so this was an amazing experience. I made it back just in time for dinner and then off to the stargazing. The ranger had some pretty interesting things to show us. Capital Reef is one of the darkest and best places to stargaze. They have very little light pollution which made for a great experience. After the viewing, I had to make it back to my campsite. I got pretty lost trying to hike miles into the total darkness, but I eventually found my way. I set up the tent and stargazed a bit more.
The next day I woke up before sunrise to be able to experience the whole thing. It’s pretty amazing to be able to camp right next to a national monument. Especially for free. I caught the sunrise and then headed back to my car. Later that morning I decided to do another hike to the top of the rock formations to see what the view was like. Just at expected, it was amazing. I hiked for a few hours and then headed to my next destination, Canyon Lands National Park Utah. I made it about an hour away when I decided to get a night of R&R and heat, so I purchased a campsite with power. This is a pretty shady campsite, So I hope I make it out alive.

10-8-2009 Red Canyon National Forrest, Bryce Canyon National Park Utah

Today I drove to Bryce Canyon Utah. On my way, I noticed signes for Red Canyon National Forrest. I decided to pay it a visit. I hiked to the top to a scenic overlook spot to take some pictures. This place is a pretty good warm-up for Bryce. Later I arrived at Bryce Canyon. This is one of the premier national parks in Utah. It consists of thousands of Hoodos. Hoodos are rock formations formed by the freezing and thawing of rocks. This is possible because the canyon freezes over 200 nights a year. The rock thaws every day and pieces of it fall off forming the sculptures. They are like little sculptures each significantly different from the other. You have to see the pictures. I decided to hike down to Queens Garden. This is where the majority of the Hoodos are. There are thousands within a couple hundred yards. Once again, the pictures speak for themselves. I hiked for about 3 hours then packed up my gear to do an overnight back country hike at the swamp canyon inside of Bryce. The night got pretty cold (down to the 20’s). I pretty much froze. I need to get some better gear. The following day I hiked down the Navajo trail for about hours. This trail was amazing. It was a pretty steep decent and accent, but was well worth the effort. Later that day I headed over to my next destination, Capital Reef National Park.

10-6-2009 Glenn Canyon, Zion National Park Utah

Today I visited Zion National Park in Utah. On My way, I noticed signes for Glenn Canyon National Park. I decided to pay it a visit. This place is pretty sweet. It is made up of some large red rock formations followed by a gorge of water. I hiked around for an hour or so before heading to Zion. Zion park was pretty amazing, and I was very excited to get explore it. I did however have a problem. I was physically unable to walk. After my hike at the Grand Canyon, I had some serious knee pain. So, I had to drive around the park for a bit. The park is absolutely beautiful. You definitely have to hike it, so I will put this one on my short list of places to return to. I took the shuttle buss around for a tour as well. Later that night, I was determined to find a sporting goods shop that sold the kind of overnight camping rig that I needed. I was shocked to find out that after driving over an hour, there still were no shops that had what I needed. So I once again slept in a Walmart parking lot.
The next day I set out to find a way to get a camping pack that suited my needs. I also needed a day of R&R so I got a campsite at a local KOA. They had some pretty nice facilities and laundry services as well. I spent the whole day tying up some loose ends and looking for a pack. I actually found the same one that I used at the Grand Canyon online from an outdoors shop in Texas. I decided to have it shipped to an address in Moab Utah as I will be passing through there on my way to Arches National Park. It’s pretty tough not having an address where you can get things shipped to. After my day of R&R, I am pretty excited to head to my next destination, Capital Reef National Park Utah.

10-4-2009 Grand Canyon National Park Arizona.

Today I arrived at the Grand Canyon. I am getting pretty mixed up with the changing of time zones, so I actually got there at 6:30 in the morning. I was actually fine with that because I was able to see the sunrise over the canyon. That was absolutely amazing. I stared at the canyon for about an hour before I decided that I must hike it. This was going to be the longest hike of my life. Usually my hikes are about 2-3 hours. Well the ranger informed me that this one was going to be an overnight hike that could take up to 20 hours. I was a little nervous, but totally excited to take the adventure. I had some time to kill before I left for the hike, so I did some more sight seeing. I needed to leave from the top of the Kaibab trail by 2:00 to make it to where I could camp before sundown. Well that totally did not work. I did not have the right gear to make to hike, so I tried to daisy chain two backpacks together to make one large enough to carry all of my gear. I was on the bus to the trail when it dawned on me that if I actually used this rig, I would possibly die. Hiking the Grand Canyon is pretty dangerous. The Kaibab trail is extremely steep and has no water. You have to carry all of the water you will need on your back. I decided to check out the local general store to see if they sell any hiking rigs. They only had a crappy selection and none that were large enough. They did however rent them. So I checked one out and made it to the trail at 3:30. This was way too late to start my decent, but I was determined to do it anyway. I had to run down the trail to make up for lost time. I did not have any light source so I had to move fast. I was going so fast that I blew out my knee on the way down. This was quite a predicament because you have to hike out and I was unable to take the shorter way up because there was no water. I had to go the extra twelve hours up the other side so that I could get water. So I lost the light and lost the trail as well. I had to set up the tent wherever I could find a spot that was flat. I set up shop for the night and went to bed. Tomorrow was going to be pretty intense.
The next day, I had twelve grueling hours ahead of me. I woke up before sunrise to get an early start. After my tuna fish breakfast, I started my way back to the actual trail. The made my way to the Bright Angel Trail that started at the bottom of the canyon. There was water there, so I was in good shape. I had to take a ton of ibuproferine to be able to walk, but I was getting around pretty well. Along my journey, I met many nice people, and had some pretty interesting conversations about traveling. Everyone is pretty interested in my journey and has some good advice about places for me to visit. I made it to the top around 5:00. This has to me one of my biggest accomplishments next to the 160 mile bike ride I also completed this year. After the hike, I started on my way to Zion National Park. Once again, I slept in a Walmart parking lot. They are pretty RV friendly out here, so I haven’t been kicked out yet.

10-3-2009 City of Rocks state park and Gila National Forrest New Mexico

Today I made the drive to City of Rocks state park. This place is gorgeous. It had 3.5 miles of natural rock formations. The pictures say it all. I hiked around for an hour and headed out to Gila National Forrest. The drive to Gila was the most incredible drive I have ever made. At some points you could actually fall off the cliff and down seven thousand feet. I had to be very careful considering I had the trailer behind me. Once I made it to the forest, I set up the tent and worked on my blog for a bit. The sunset was pretty nice. I am very excited to explore the cliff dwellings and hot springs tomorrow.
Today I made the hike up to the cliff dwellings. These are ancient ruins from Native Americans many years ago. The hike was pretty cool. What was better was what I experienced next. After the hike, I headed down to the car and drove 3 miles to the natural hot springs. When I got there, I red the sign that said “clothing optional”. I thought nothing of it and proceeded to the springs. When I got there, I started talking to a couple that was soaking in the hot spring. We chatted for about 20 minute before they arose out of the water. Yep, they were completely naked. They then continued the conversation for about 30 more minutes, still naked. They gave me some good advice as to where to go next and headed on their way. I decided to spend the rest of the day driving to Arizona to see the Grand Canyon. I made it to about an hour out when I stopped in at a local Walmart to sleep for the night. There were plenty of RV’s there, so this place looked safe. Tomorrow I will hike the grand canyon.

10-2-2009 White Sands National Monument New Mexico

***Some of the images in this blog are pictures I found on the internet. I do not claim ownership of any of this photos in any of my blog posts. They are only examples of where I have been****

I made it to the park about 3 hours before sundown. Today I will experience my first back country camping trip. I checked in with the ranger and got my pass to hike/camp. I headed to the campground parking lot and notice some people dune surfing. Since I had a trailer full of all of my sporting equipment, I just so happened to have a boogie board that I could use. I surfed for about an hour before I had to hike to my campsite for the night This place is amazing. I have never seen so many pure white sand dunes in my life. I hiked about a mile out to my spot and set up the tent. The sunset came next and was incredible. It seamed to last for hours. While enjoying the sunset, a nice family came up to talk to me. The were asking about my trip and had some suggestions as to where to go next. I seem to be leaving my travels up to people advice that I meet along the way. He was raving about Gila National Forest. He told me that there was amazing cliff dwellings and natural hot springs. Since he chewed my ear off about the place, I decided to pay it a visit. Camping was going well until the sandstorm hit. I was awakened by my tent flipping over with me in it. I feared that I was in the middle of a tornado. You have to see the video attached. After packing all of my gear in the collapsed tent, I hiked my way back to the car only to beet the rainstorm that was headed our way. The good thing about being homeless, is that you can simply pack up and head to good weather. Today I will head to City of Rocks state park and Gila National Forest.

10-1-2009 New Mexico Carlsbad Caverns National Monument

After a long drive and a bad nights sleep in the shadiest gas station parking lot I have ever been to, I arrived in New Mexico. My first stop was Carlsbad Caverns National Monument. This place blows away any cave I have ever been to. I thought Lurray Caverns in VA was good, this place was amazing. The great room inside was over 14 football fields big. After touring the cave for about 2 hours, I decided to check in with the park rangers and get my back country camping permit. Here you can go on a hike and camp out in the wilderness for free. Considering my tight budget, this was pretty appealing. I went to Rattlesnake Canyon for the hike. I really prayed that the canyon didn’t live up to its name as I was planning on sleaping there. Luckily I didn’t get bit by a snake. I had an amazing view of the sunset from my car. I had to sleep there because I had some issues with my tent. I made my way a mile into the hike and found the perfect spot., Only to find out that I left my poles in the car. I left all of my gear and sprinted back to the car. I was in a race against the sun as it was setting in only 20 minutes. I made it back to the car only to find out that my poles were nowhere to be found. So then I had to sprint back to the campsite and gather my gear only to sprint back to the car. I made it just before I was too dark to seee. You have to be very careful where you walk out here because the place is covered in cactus plants. After enjoying the sunset on the deserted desert, (unfortunately) slept in my car. It actually got down to the 30’s that night. I was absolutely freezing. The next morning I spent 2 hours rearranging the trailer and finding my poles. Being homeless is pretty difficult, but it sure is fun. I then headed off to my next location, White Sands National Monument.