How long?
1 day or 2 days, 1 night

How many miles?
14 miles / 23 km

How?
Run / hike

Maps?
Satnav / phone for driving from Blantyre or Lilongwe or a Malawi road map (Note: the road from Mulanje to Likhubula is unpaved and can be rough in places).
For the route (and alternative hiking routes), consult the excellent hiking guide and maps from the Mountain Club of Malawi: http://www.mcm.org.mw.

Itinerary:
Likhubula -> Skyline Path -> Chambe Plateau -> Lychenya Plateau -> Milk Run Trail -> Likhubula

“60 seconds!”
[5 seconds later]
“24 seconds!”
[8 seconds later]
“10 seconds!”
[2 seconds later]
“5 seconds!”
“6 seconds!”
[5 seconds later]
“6 seconds!”
“5 seconds!”
“4 seconds!”
“4 seconds!”
“3 seconds!”
[5 seconds later]
“3 seconds!”
“1 second!”
“Get ready!”
“Set!”
“Go!”

With this weirdly time-warped countdown, the 2017 Mount Mulanje Porters Race got under way – at 7.03am for a scheduled 6am start. Preceding this had been a joke start which most people luckily did not take seriously. Anyway it set the mood for what was to be one hell of a race. Fiendishly and relentlessly tough, yes, but great fun, mercilessly humbling (no matter how good a runner you think you are, you will find yourself getting beaten by barefoot 15 year olds and maybe also the occasional woman running, equally barefoot, in a full dress) and above all, unbelievably scenic.

The Mount Mulanje Porters Race is held annually, on the second Saturday in July, since 1996 when it was limited to the porters and guides on Mount Mulanje. Nowadays it is open to local, national and international runners, and attracts about 400 participants. After the race there will be concerts in town as well as food and drink – a big party really, not to be missed. So should you plan to visit Malawi at some point in the future, make sure you plan your trip so as to be in Likhubula in July.

The race takes one of the steepest (none are easy) ascents to the Mulanje, the Skyline Path. So-called because of an old cable runner that was used to haul gear up to the mountain (you can still see it – though if racing, you might have other things on your mind than looking for it), it is mercilessly steep and rocky. Since you will do this early in the morning it is, at least, in the shade. Though it’s less than 5km to the top from Likhubula, you will climb about 1000m in altitude, and consequently this will probably take up to a third of your total race time.

Once you reach Chambe Plateau (there’s a checkpoint here – make sure to get your bib marked), if you paced yourself correctly on the ascent, you can put the hammer down: while still undulating and at altitude, you can run at a decent pace, power-walking the few short inclines on the way to Chambe Hut. You will run along the impressive west face of Chambe Peak – at 1700m the longest vertical rock wall in all of Africa no less.

If you are not racing, enjoy the views of Chambe, especially when you get to the picturesque Chambe Hut where you can load up on water, and even sodas. Just as for the other huts on Mulanje, you can spend the night at Chambe Hut. You cannot book the huts in advance and in general no-one showing up at the huts will be turned away. So on good weather weekend nights, some of the more popular huts (Chambe is one of those) can be quite busy with fellow hikers. Be advised that nights in winter can be very cold, so pack accordingly.

After Chambe Hut, there will be another noticeable incline and from here onwards it’s a lot of up-and-down until you get to the descent. Power-walk the ascents, blast down the less technical descents and be careful on some of the steeper and rockier downhills. On your way over to Lychenya Plateau you will cross the Knife Edge – stunning views over valleys on either side of you. Of course during the race, you won’t really be able to enjoy these fine views. After the Knife Edge will be a second, and, at least in 2017, final checkpoint – again make sure to get your bib marked.

You will reach the highest point of the course just before you set off on the descent. It’s a long steep-ish incline and you will start to feel quite tired by now. Note that if your legs have given by this point, you will be in trouble: the upcoming descent is incredibly technical and will take a toll on your leg muscles, so make sure you hold back earlier in anticipation of this.

The descent is brutal, steep and seemingly endless. Going down fast here is nothing for the faint-hearted and the slightest misplaced step could spell disaster – so be sure to be careful. If your race is anything like mine, you will get to appreciate the supremely elegant descent racing by Malawian mountain runners.

This part also had one of the funnier moments in the race: on a piece of slickrock marshals hand out bananas much welcomed by tired runners. However for the next mile or so, you will have to dodge the banana peels along the route – as if it was not dangerous enough with all of the sharp rocks. Somehow this felt like being in Super Mario Kart!

You will criss-cross a number of streams that run down the mountain face, and after a long straight patch, you will take a right turn, cross a set of rock pools (big crowds cheering you on here), and from there it is a short dash to the finish line.

You won’t recognise Likhubula upon your return. There are thousands of people at the Forestry Office now, all eagerly watching the finish of the race and waiting for the party to start. It’s a joyous atmosphere, and really a great finish to a great race.

Whether you ran or hiked, a fantastic idea is to trace back your steps to the pools and take a well-deserved and most welcome dip in them to cool down and help your legs recover (a bit).

Notes:

As a shorter alternative (e.g. for a 5-6 hours day hike), you can backtrack from Chambe Hut, then come down via the Likhubula Falls. This option comes to about 16km and the descent is somewhat less technical and significantly shorter than the Milk Run. Crucially from after Chambe Hut there is no further climbing along this route.

Finally, there’s some pretty cool drone footage from the 2015 edition of the race on youtube:

Data files (click on the links, then download whatever format you prefer from the gpsies site):

Porters Race loop: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=ejldbzvrhyamfdmk
Alternative (shorter) loop: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=fctcgoeecbcpwhxi

How long?
1/2 day (running) or 1 day (hiking)

How many miles?
15.5 miles / 25 km
(~13 miles / 21km without any detour)

How?
Trail running or hiking
Map required, compass optional (i.e. well maintained & sign-posted trails & prominent features all around; still I would carry a compass just in case)

Maps?
New York New Jersey Trail Conference Map #119

Itinerary:
Manitou rail station-> Anthony’s Nose -> Bear Mountain Bridge -> Bear Mountain -> Manitou rail station

Metro North from Grand Central or 125th Street takes you from NYC to Manitou. Be sure to check that your train does indeed stop at Manitou as it is something of a request stop and you will need to be in the last 2 coaches to get off the train at Manitou (it’s just a level crossing with a shed; not really a proper train station at all).

Manitou -> Bear Mountain

When you get off the train, you just go straight on ahead along the road (Manitou Station Road), leaving the Hudson river behind you. Cross highway 9D and follow the dirt road for 200-300 meters, then take a right onto South Mountain Pass Road and follow this for half a mile until you hit the trailhead on your right (the Appalchian Trail (AT) crosses the road here).

Now that you are on the trail, follow the white blazes of the AT for a bit over a mile. At the beginning the AT will follow a wood road used by the military at Camp Smith, but then will shoot off to the right at some point, very easy to miss. Anyway it’s not too bad if you do miss this turn (if you download the GPX file below, you’ll see that I missed it on my way out and only got that part correct on the way back), as you will be able to get back on the AT before it meets up with the Camp Smith Trail (blue blazes). Here the AT plunges down the mountain on the right, and this is where you will need to go to get to the Bear Mountain Bridge and Bear Mountain. However, you can do an optional out-and-back detour (0.6 miles each way) to Anthony’s Nose. If you arrived on the first train and visibility is good, I urge you do this detour now: Anthony’s Nose will become busy later in the day, and the light is best in the morning here as you are looking due west.

The view here is spectacular and it will give you a good idea of what is to come: you see the bridge you will cross shortly and Bear Mountain looms up before you across the Hudson.

Once you took in the view, head back to the Camp Smith Trail and AT crossing, then head down the mountain to the Bear Mountain Bridge. It’s another gorgeous American bridge, a real pleasure to cross, and the view north is breathtaking.

Once on the other side, cross the road and head towards the shore of Hessian Lake. From here you will be on the loop of Bear Mountain. You can go either way: clockwise, heading up Bear Mountain on the AT, then down the Major Welch Trail (MWT), or anti-clockwise with the MWT first, then the AT. The MWT is good fun as you’ll be walking over slick rock to get up (resp. down) the mountain.

Whichever way you ascend (on this particular trip I went up the AT, down the MWT), though it’s not a very long ascent, it will knock the breath out of you and once you manage to get your sorry ass up to Perkins Tower, you will be greeted by fresh looking car drivers who haven’t really earned the gorgeous view that awaits you here.

Bear Mountain

On good visibility days you can see the Manhattan skyline (~40 miles away) in the far distance when you are standing at the main viewpoint, looking south. In fact you can see the NYC skyline on the cover image to this post above. Rapper B.o.B. once took this fact as proof that the Earth was flat, not curved and was promptly corrected by Neil DeGrasse Tyson (which did not stop him to release a song, called Flatline, about his theory and he even mentions Tyson in it).

The trees and boulders on top of Bear Mountain are a delight in autumn, and particularly the top end of the MWT makes for a fine picnic spot (it’s also bit removed from all the crowds at Perkins Tower), so go for it – enjoy your lunch in nature.

On the MWT, just below the top of Bear Mountain, you will get a good view across the Hudson, looking over Bear Mountain Bridge the other way as earlier and opposite you will be Anthony’s Nose.

Bear Mountain -> Manitou

Once you completed the loop of Bear Mountain, you need to cross the Hudson again, and make the tough ascent of the AT. If you haven’t gone up to Anthony’s Nose before, you have another chance now. If you do go, there’s also a good view to be had a hundred yards south of Anthony’s Nose, along Camp Smith Trail (another good, quiet picnic spot, just a bit removed from the crowds at Anthony’s Nose). Once you are done here, you have two options: follow the Camp Smith Trail until its end, then continue along the road to Peekskill and take the train back from there. From Anthony’s Nose, this is a tough 6-7 miles. The other option is that you just head back along the Camp Smith Trail to the AT, then head back to the trailhead and then Manitou.

At Manitou, you can either head back to the station the way you came, or, if you’ve got spare time before the next train, loop back to the rail station via Manitou Point Reserve. It’s a nice detour, but not a must.

One of the finest views of the entire route is actually right at the Manitou rail station: look south across the little pond/swamp towards Bear Mountain Bridge — if the sun is out, it’s just gorgeous.

However, it’s safer to wait for the train on the other side of the rail crossing. You can actually wait for the train on a little beach on the Hudson, or else in the little shed that serves as the rail station. When the train arrives (again, make sure you checked the times beforehand as not every train stops here), everyone will need to get in through the same door. Relax for an hour on the train, enjoying the find views over the Palisades along the route, and you will be back in NYC.

Data file (click on the link, then download whatever format you prefer from the gpsies site):

Complete route (including detouring twice to Anthony’s Nose and once to Manitou Point Reserve): http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=zamewyqbxffnnpne

How long?
2days, 1 night

How many miles?
27 miles / 43km

How?
Hiking + wilderness / backcountry camping
Map required, compass optional (i.e. well maintained & sign-posted trails & prominent features all around; still I would carry a compass just in case)

Maps?
National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map #268

Itinerary:
Summit Lake trailhead -> Corral Meadow -> Grassy Swale -> Horseshoe Lake -> Snag Lake -> Cinder Cone -> Twin Lakes -> Echo Lake -> Summit Lake trailhead

On top of paying your park admission fee, you will need a backcountry permit for any overnight stay in the Lassen Volcanic wilderness. These are free and there are no quotas, so you don’t have to get them in advance. Just turn up at a ranger station / visitor center (there is one at either entrance of the park on highway 89) and get yours. There is also a ranger station at Summit Lake, but, to my knowledge, they do not issue permits there. You will also need a bear canister for your food.

Leg 1: Summit Lake -> Horseshoe Lake -> Snag Lake

It’s always embarrassing when you get lost right at the start of a hike, particularly if there are still buildings and campgrounds nearby. But that’s what almost happened to me. You need to start at the Summit Lake trailhead, which is a bit north along route 89 from Summit Lake South and North campgrounds. Then the first two-thirds of a mile takes you around both campgrounds and off on the trail to Corral Meadow. The trail to Echo Lake (where you’ll come back from the next day) is impossible to miss and sign-posted. However at Summit Lake South campground there are so many unofficial tracks (both human and animal I would guess) that go off into the forest, that it is not quite clear which is the track you need to take. Anyway, I did about 200-300 meters on the wrong side of Summit Creek, then quickly noticed my mistake after consulting the map and bushwhacked my way back onto the correct trail. From that point on, route finding is easy and every trail crossing is clearly sign-posted.

The first leg of the loop is mostly through dense forest, which occasionally opens up to reveal a meadow or a lake. There are plenty of water sources along the route, so you do not need to carry much onto the hike with you (do use a filter though).

The first few miles are mostly downhill as you follow along Summit Creek. Just before you get onto the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), look to your left, on the far side of the narrow valley that Summit Creek has carved and there should be a nice waterfall not indicated on the map. Right after the junction with the PCT, you will need to ford Summit Creek (yes you will get your feet wet, but, at least in mid-September, it is not a dangerous crossing: the water is fairly shallow and not too fast flowing) and head north. Near the trail junction should be Corral Meadow, but I did not see it, so I guess it is a bit further south on the PCT. After the creek fording there is a bit of an uphill section before you get to Grassy Swale, which is boardwalked in places. Continue along and watch out for deer, wood peckers and the occasional bird of prey. At the next junction, you need to take the much smaller right fork, sign-posted for Horseshoe Lake. Continue along the trail until you get to the Lake. If you set off in the early afternoon like me you should get here in late afternoon with the sun’s reflections in the water blinding you when you look across the water from the western shore. Here will be another crossing and you need to head north on Grassy creek Trail towards Snag Lake. When I did this trip, there were many deer in the grass along the creek, so watch out for them. There will be two more crossings, and each time you just continue straight, due north. If you don’t want to get water from the standing waters of Snag Lake, then Grassy Creek is your last chance to fill up on water.

Finally you reach Snag Lake. If you are doing this on a weekend there will be other hikers camping along the lake (when I did the hike, there were 3 groups camped along the eastern edge of the lake, and the next morning I spotted two more tents on the small beach at the northeastern end), so you might have to walk a bit along the lake to find a secluded spot all for yourself. I found a beautiful one on the small peninsula at the southeastern end of the lake.

The lake is quiet and a great place to be camping to watch the stars later in the night. Before the sun sets, be sure to check what animal tracks are near your camp site, just so you don’t get surprised at night. There had been some deer tracks near the water, but not where I had pitched my tent. Still, ten minutes or so after switching off my camping light, there was a dozen deer that surrounded my tent as they walked out of the forest to the water’s edge.

Legs 2: Snag Lake -> Cinder Cone -> Summit Lake

Yesterday’s hike was nice, today’s hike will be spectacular, take my word. There will be, however, far fewer water sources, with no water between Snag Lake and Rainbow Lake, so be sure to fill your bottle at Snag Lake before setting off.

Depending where you set up camp along Snag Lake, you’ll have a 2-3 mile hike to Cinder Cone and you want to be there shortly after sunrise (the light will be best and there won’t be many, if any, people that hiked from Butte Lake campground yet), so get up early, have a quick breakfast, pack your tent and set off.

As you reach the north end of Snag Lake you get a first taste of the spectacular geological features that are to come: there is a sheer wall of black rocks, a good ten to twenty meters high, that forms the northern boundary of the lake. This is the southern end of the Fantastic Lava Beds. In fact it is a natural dam wall and the reason why Snag Lake exists. Cinder Cone, which is a, wait for it …, cinder volcano, erupted twice in the mid 17th century (hence quite recently by geological standards) and spew out ash and lava which then cooled to form what is now called the Fantastic Lava Beds. Those lava flows dammed various creeks, thereby creating Snag Lake to the south and Butte Lake to the north. In fact Snag Lake still feeds Butte Lake by water that seeps through the lava rocks. The lava beds are a truly stunning sight, and you will get a good view of them from the top of Cinder Cone (see the cover image for this post, which shows Butte Lake and the northern end of the lava beds). In fact the striking appearance of the lava beds meant that people in the 1870s initially thought that they were formed only a few decades ago. You can also clearly see the lava beds from aerial and satellite images on Google Maps / Earth or Bing Maps etc.

Anyway, after Snag Lake, the trail continues pretty much all along the edge of the lava beds until you get to Cinder Cone. It’s an epic sight, and with all those black and red cinders you might as well be on Mars were it not for the surrounding vegetation.

The ascent, especially with your hiking backpack, is tough. It is very steep and the ground is quite loose, so it is difficult going. The good point about going up from the southern side is that you can just stop now and again, turn around and enjoy a marvelous, incredible view: Lassen Peak in the distance and the Painted Dunes nearby.

The eccentric colours of the Painted Dunes are caused by volcanic ash that oxidated as it fell on the still hot lava flows. Also if you look carefully, you can see red rocks in between the Painted Dunes and the lava flows to the south of Cinder Cone: these are the remnants of an earlier cinder cone, or scoria cone, that was destroyed by the later lava flows. In fact the Painted Dunes are sitting on lava flows from this earlier cone, with the ash of more recent flows sitting on top. The Fantastic Lava Beds, as well as the Painted Dunes, are all deposits from several eruptions of the two scoria volcanoes.

Anyway, as you struggle your way up Cinder Cone, you slowly get to appreciate the full scale of the Fantastic Lava Beds — it’s a huge area, stretching completely from Cinder Cone to Snag Lake and from the to Butte Lake and then back to Cinder Cone. Lassen Peak in the background adds even more drama to this incredible natural scenery.

Once you are on top, you can actually walk right down into the crater (though, mind you, you have to hike back up out of there), you can walk around the inner rim, or along the outer rim from where you get dramatic views in every direction. The landscape here is so gorgeous, you just want to run around in excitement like a child, stop, take in the view, scream out in joy or awe, run around some more, stop again, scream again etc. Thankfully the air is thin here and you spent so much effort to get up here, that you don’t actually do this, and instead just walk around, murmuring ‘wow’ now and again. If the ascent hasn’t done it, the view here will take your breath away (see again the cover image for this post).

Needless to say, with such beautiful surroundings, it is a great idea to take that apple out of your bag and have a bit of a snack. Stay as long as you want at Cinder Cone — it is by far the highlight of the hike. But then, when you are done, go down the north side, then take veer almost 180 degrees back onto the bypass trail and head back down along Cinder Cone and the lava beds. Originally I had planned to fork off right onto the Nobles Emigrant Trail at the first crossing you get to, then take the PCT or the Cluster Lake Trail to get back to Summit Lake. However the ranger at the wilderness office had advised me that this area has been much ravaged by the 2012 Cluster Fire and so would not be that great to hike through. Hence I opted to only fork off to the right at the junction with the trail leading to Rainbow Lake. The trail will take you uphill for a bit and there won’t be much shade here (most trees around here are dead too), so since it is now getting to be late morning, you will get hot and it will feel to be a tougher uphill hike as it really is. Anyway, soon enough the trail goes back down again to Rainbow Lake.

From here, you just string up the lakes to get back to the trailhead: Lower Twin Lake, Upper Twin Lake, Echo Lake and finally Summit Lake. All of these lakes have clear, blue, refreshing waters, so really do take the chance and go for a quick swim in one of them (I took a dip in Lower Twin Lake) — this will cool you down (even in late summer, early autumn the water will be cold, though you will get used to it quickly) and nicely breaks up the hike for a bit. Do watch out for bears though, certainly leave no food outside, as bears tend to be active around these lakes.

After Echo Lake, you will have to do a last ascent to a pleasant plateau with good views towards Lassen Peak before you head back down to Summit Lake. If you enjoyed this hike as much, you will pretty much be the happy, smiling hiker stepping off the trail onto the parking lot at the trailhead.

Data files (click on the links, then download whatever format you prefer from the gpsies site):

Leg 1: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=xpbkcrwutijpxeae
Leg 2: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=qnlebscbljhfenlu
Complete route: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=waepujmeqbshyzcc

How long?
1 day or 2 days, 1 night

How many miles?
25 miles / 40 km

How?
Run / hike as a day trip
Hike +  wilderness or campground camping
Map required, compass optional (i.e. well maintained & sign-posted trail — just follow the red tags)

Maps?
New York New Jersey Trail Conference Trail Map 141 (Northeastern Catskill Trails)
(You can probably also get a National Geographic topo map to do this route — certainly I saw 2 hikers with such a map on the trail — but whenever you can, get one of the NYNJ Conference maps — they are really high-quality, made by and for hikers, and the profits from the sale go straight back to maintaining the trails.)

Itinerary:
Prediger Road trailhead -> Stony Clove Notch -> Spruceton Road trailhead

Pretty much since I moved to NYC, I wanted to do the Devil’s Path. It is reputedly the toughest hike on the entire eastern seaboard and one of the first things I read about it was that it is one of the deadliest hikes in the US. The latter is also a consequence of the trail being very popular with hikers — the more people on a trail in a year, the more people that can die while on the trail (so it’s partly just a numbers game; rest assured: almost everyone doing the Devil’s Path will make it out alive). So given this almost mythical reputation of the trail, it is a bit of a surprise it took me well over a year and a half to get out and do it. No doubt the fact that you need to rent a car to get up there contributed to why it took me so long to get it done.

The most annoying thing about this hike is that it is one-way and not a loop. So unless you plan to make it a grueling 50 miles out-and-back hike, you need to either drive up with some friend(s) in 2 cars and leave one car at either end of the trail or arrange for a taxi company to drive you from the end to the start, resp. pick you up at the end (the former is obviously much easier as phone signal is not great in the region and you’d anyway would have to wait for the taxi to make it to the trailhead). I organised this trip on a whim on a Friday lunch time, so booked a rental car in NYC to be picked up at 4am on Saturday, and arranged to meet Smiley’s taxi in Tannersville at 7am. I found Smiley’s through hiking forums and sure enough they know all about the trail, will be able and happy to give you plenty of advice and they will also make sure that you’ve got everything you need before you set off (e.g. they tell you that there aren’t really any reliable water sources on the eastern half etc). For a simple hike, the taxi fare ($70 to drive with the taxi from Tannersville to the Spruceton road trailhead, leave my car there, then be driven to the Prediger Road trailhead — all of which took about 1 hour) obviously makes this hike more expensive than most hikes around NYC, but well, if it’s the only way to do it, so be it.

With this set-up it meant I was going to do the Devil’s Path from the East to the West. The eastern half is really what gives the route its name and reputation, so you front-load the toughest bits. If you do it the other way, you get to the hard stuff by the time you are already tired. The route itself is dead easy: just follow the red trail blazes from start to finish. When I did the Devil’s Path the trail was in good condition, except for occasional patches where the summer vegetation had grown over the trail.; but at no time was I at a loss where the trail was headed.

Starting from Prediger Road, the first few miles are quite easy: flat or with just a modest incline. For the first hour I did almost 5 miles (NB I did this as a run/hike, meaning anywhere it was not too steep or dangerous, I would jog/run). But soon enough, the climb proper to Indian Head will come up and it will be steep, no doubt about it.

In fact over the next 25 miles you will occasionally have to navigate near vertical inclines, using tree roots and rock features to haul your sorry ass up. But it’s all good fun.

The Catskills have quite dense forest growing throughout and for almost all of the trail you will be hiking / running under a dense canopy, fairly oblivious to anything more than 100 yards off the trail. However, there will be occasional clearings, often rocky ledges, from which you get quite amazing, far-reaching vistas over the Catskills and even the Hudson river. There are really 3 main reasons why people do the Devil’s Path: i) the challenge, ii) the vistas, iii) the fact that you will bag 5 of the 35 Catskill High Peaks (defined as those over 3,500ft height). The 5 peaks you will get are: Indian Head, Twin, Sugarloaf, Plateau (all on the eastern half) and West Kill (on the western half). If you are OK to do 2 short-ish detours, you can claim 2 more: Hunter and Southwest Hunter.

The Devil’s Path is so tough because you go up and down and up and down and up and down. It’s no easy ridge hike. Each and every mountain along the route will need to be climbed from the bottom up. Also, do not underestimate the descents as these can be quite technical. Especially when you come down Twin Mountain, you have to navigate quite a few steep sections and sharp rocks. This slowed my progress quite a bit — you simply cannot run downhill on that stuff.

After Twin Mountsin, the trail takes you up the next Catkills Peak: Sugarloaf Mountain. If you have not felt the effort until now, you will certainly feel fatigue set in by the time you reach the summit of Sugarloaf. It’s another long, tough climb up and the descent from Sugarloaf is quite technical too with several sections of loose rocks and parts where you have to squeeze through in-between rocks. There was a solid rain shower as I made my way up Sugarloaf and this slowed my progress, since for the descents now, the rocks had become wet and slippery, so running was not always possible, even on the flatter sections.

After Sugarloaf you still have to get over Plateau Mountain and once you come down this, you will cross a road: route 214 at Stony Clove Notch. Though you technically have done a bit over half of the distance by now (certainly the toughest bits are done and dusted now), mentally it feels as half-way since the road divides the Devil’s Path into its eastern and western halves. At Stony Clove Notch there is a small artificial lake, Notch Lake, and if you walk a bit down the road there would be a ranger station and Devil’s Tombstone campground. If you plan to make it a 2-day hike and not camp in the wilderness or a lean-to, then this would be your base. Some people also leave their car at the trailhead parking in Stony Clove Notch (note though that parking fees apply at this trailhead), since that gives them the option to pull out half-way.

Anyway, there is a water fountain, so be sure to fill up your water bottle, and, if you did not already have lunch at one of the overviews, here would be a nice enough spot too.

After this, you only have two more significant ascents to make: up the side of Hunter Mountain (you don’t go to the top, you cross the saddle between Hunter and Southwest Hunter; going to the top of Hunter mountain is a 1.6 mile one-way detour, so would add ~3.2 miles / 5km to your route; going to SW Hunter is a ~1 mile one-way detour) and up West Kill. There is a little side-peak to West Kill that you ascend after West Kill which barely looks noticeable on the map, but that last steep ascent comes a bit as a surprise, and you really are tired by then, so be aware it is there waiting for you at the end.

When I started going up Hunter Mountain, it started raining again and except for a short break in the downpour on top of West Kill, it kept raining for the rest of the day. Thankfully, this being July, it was fairly warm and so I did not suffer from hypothermia after becoming thoroughly soaked. Anyway, well prepared, I had spare dry clothes in my day pack, so could have changed if needed. The break in the rain was well-timed as it coincided with my arrival at one of the few viewpoints on the western half. The view from West Kill over the fog- and rain-swept Catskills was quite a sight to behold. I only encountered 3 other groups of hikers on the entire western part — the rain had kept people away (and 2 of those 3 groups were on their way down, after changing their plans due to the rain).

The descent from West Kills is fairly straightforward, though quite long. By this time I just wanted to get it over with: there were no more viewpoints, the forest is quite dense in this part and it was raining hard. The ground had become a wet mess and I slipped a few times — I still ran from time to time, but quite sparingly so; it was just too risky.

When I reached the car, I had been out on the trail for exactly 9 hours. I was a bit disappointed, as I thought I could have managed about 3 hours less, but it is a really tough route and the rain had prevented me from letting rip on the descents.

Final thoughts?

While super tough, I was a bit disappointed by the trail in the end. This is supposed to be the toughest, deadliest and generally most kick-ass trail in the eastern US; yet while some of the ascents are super steep and tough, there was less scrambling involved than I thought and I never once felt in real danger. I have done routes that involved scrambling on loose rock with a 600ft sheer drop to one side (e.g. the Snowdon Horseshoe loop), hence this slight anti-climax. Also, while a nice and rewarding hike, there are fewer viewpoints than you might expect — most of the time you are surrounded by dense bush. Don’t get me wrong: considering you cover 25 miles and numerous peaks, you will get your fair share of absolutely stunning vistas to behold, but you would have thought there would be more of those welcome breaks along the long, grueling hike. Most of the time you are “just” looking at trees, plants, rocks and the trail ahead of you. I am glad I have done it now finally, and as a day hike / run too, but I am not sure I will do it again any time soon (certainly not in its entirety).

Data files (click on the link, then download whatever format you prefer from the gpsies website):

One-way (drop you car at the final trailhead or arrange a pick-up for the end): http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=grixwiueoyzlljsg

How long?
2 days, 1 night

How many miles?
32 miles / 52 km

How?
Hiking + wilderness / backcountry camping
Map required, compass optional (i.e. well maintained & sign-posted trail — anyway you just have to follow the river)

Maps?
National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map #216

Itinerary:
Graves Creek trailhead -> Enchanted Valley -> Graves Creek trailhead

The route couldn’t be easier: from Lake Quinault, follow the South Shore Road until it becomes a dirt road and changes name to Graves Creek Road, then follow this to the end. Park your car, and follow the east fork of the Quinault river for ~15-16 miles until you get to a large-ish valley: you’ve arrived in Enchanted Valley. There is only one trail crossing, 200 yards beyond the official trailhead, where you need to take the trail to the right and that’s it — you just follow the main trail for the rest of it. You hardly need a map for this hike. You will need a backcountry permit from a ranger station, but you can get that in Quinault on your way to the trailhead. Permits are not limited for Enchanted Valley, so you will be guaranteed to get one.

Graves Creek road has been washed out for some time now it seems and is likely to remain so for some time more. The river bed moved and claimed a short section of the road and is perilously close to the road in other parts. This now means that the trail head is essentially 2.5 miles earlier down the road, with an improvised side-of-the-road parking area and makeshift turn-around point. Graves Creek campground is now essentially a backcountry / wilderness campground and the ranger station at Graves Creek looked unmanned at the time of my visit. That said, it’s a flat 2.5 miles and pleasant enough: you have good views over the Quinault river and there are beautiful patches of moss-covered old-growth forest along the trail / dirt road.

After 2 miles you will come past the Graves Creek campground and then the ranger station. The official trailhead is another half mile (maybe a little less) up the road. You cross a bridge and you are off for a 13.5 miles hike through prime Olympic rain forest.

There is not so much to say about the hike itself. It’s a straightforward affair, and to be fair, a bit repetitive after a while. You pretty much stay in the dense woodwork except for a few clearings as you get close to the river bank. When I did the hike (July 2016), ranger crews had cleared the trail up to the O’Neil camp site. For the second half of the trail to Enchanted Valley you then had to climb over fallen trees now and again, the longest bit involving crossing the Quinault river twice over fallen tree trunks. That said, I quite liked that as it added a bit of fun to the hike (the ranger at Port Angeles where I got my permit told me I would have to ford the river, but thanks to the tree trunks this was not necessary). You will hike past 3 other wilderness camp sites: Pony Bridge, Pyrites Creek and O’Neil Creek — so if you do not wish to push all the way to valley, you can set up camp there too (or split the trip into 2-3 nights…).

In spring this trail, and Enchanted Valley in particular, are great for bear spotting (so the ranger said) but less so in Summer. And sure enough, I did not come across any bear. There was however an osprey very actively hunting in the valley when I got there and it was quite a sight to see it soaring across the valley floor.

Once you are in the valley, you can pretty much pitch your tent where you want, though you really should pitch it on a previously disturbed / used camp site. I was actually surprised by how many people there were in the valley (it is a long-ish hike after all, with much less spectacular scenery than the beach or mountain hikes in Olympic NP, and the weather, overcast & grey, wasn’t so great either). Most seem to stick fairly close to the old ranger chalet, but the valley is spacious and you should be able to find a nice secluded spot out of the way of the other hikers. There are 2 pit toilets in the valley, which is nice as you do not have to do any digging and don’t have to carry out your used toilet paper. The ranger chalet is quite picturesque, and when I arrived in the evening the clouds were hugging the mountain ride opposite.

The skies cleared over night and sunrise in the valley was beautiful and spectacular. There was quite a lot of morning dew, so I had to pack up my tent wet and then dry it in the car / at home.

After a good hearty breakfast, pack you stuff and then just hike back to Graves Creek road the way you came in. Not so exciting, but if you want to make a looping hike here, it will be quite a bit longer and you’d have to plan spending 2-3 nights out in the wilderness. But it can definitely be done, but since I was only here for a weekend, it was not an option for me.

What would I do differently now that I’ve done this

I had decided against camping out on one of the beaches since I read that in summer the bugs will be fierce there at dusk and dawn and also since I read that Shi-Shi beach on a summer weekend can see as much as 100-150 people camping out there. I also decided against one of the hikes in the mountains (e.g. the hike up to the Upper Royal Basin is supposed to be amazing) as I had been out to Yosemite NP not so long ago and figured it would be similar to that, so wanted a bit of a changed of scenery. That left only the third of Olympic’s 3 ecosystems: the rain forest. Enchanted Valley seemed perfect: much of the rain forest and probably much fewer crowds than you’d get at Hoh Forest. That said this is probably not the best one-night backpacking trip you can do. The rain forest is really, really nice (just look at the cover image for this post!) but 15 miles is a lot of it, so you have enough of it after a while. The Enchanted Valley is also really, really beautiful, but still not sure if it is worth hiking several hours for (one-way took me 5h, and I was going at a decent pace!). One big reason for me to do this hike was the chance to see bears, but alas this was not meant to be. If all of this sounds quite negative, then that’s only relative. It is a really great hike with great scenery, but compared to the scenery you can get in other parts of Olympic NP it’s probably not the most scenic and spectacular.

Data files (click on the link, then download whatever format you prefer from the gpsies website):

One-way (just hike the same route back the next day): http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=ptjxwfotlnmqsaql

How long?
3 days, 2 nights (really just 2 half days, 1 full day and 2 nights)

How many miles?
26 miles / 42km

How?
Hiking + wilderness / backcountry camping
Map required, compass optional (i.e. well maintained & sign-posted trails & prominent features all around; still I would carry a compass just in case)

Maps?
National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map #206 or #306 (I’d recommend #306 over #206 though)

Itinerary:
Glacier Point -> Little Yosemite Valley campground -> valley between Illilouette Ridge and Mount Starr King -> Glacier Point

Leg 1: Glacier Point -> Little Yosemite Valley

The route for this leg is incredibly simple: starting from Glacier Point follow the Panorama trail until it merges with the John Muir trail and follow this one until Little Yosemite Valley. This first leg is just over 7 miles of hiking, and mostly downhill. So you can set off in the afternoon if you want to arrive at the campground in the early evening.

This leg is incredibly scenic. Stepping out of the parking lot, it’s just BOOM! and already you will be overwhelmed with a jaw-dropping view over Yosemite Valley and Half Dome. But it will continue: the Panorama trail has well deserved its name. You will also walk by two very beautiful water falls: Illilouette Falls, and then later, the much bigger (and popular) Nevada Falls.

Since it’s so scenic, enjoy the views and take your time. Have a snack or, why not, a late lunch at either Illilouette Falls or Nevada Falls. Or just sit down and gaze over the valley below.

Pitch your tent at the Little Yosemite Valley campground. The whole point of pitching your tent here is so that you can leave your tent and all your heavy stuff here and only carry water and some snacks for the Half Dome ascent (that part is the real butt-kicker of this trip, so you want travel as lightly as possible on that bit) in the morning of the next day.

Half Dome ascent:

For the Half Dome ascent, simply follow the John Muir trail some more until the Half Dome ascent trail branches off. The trail will go uphill modestly at first and you will walk across a pleasant forest. Just before you get to the famous Half Dome cables, right after the sign telling you that you now really, really need a permit to continue on this trail, you will have to deal with a first, very steep section that will take you right above the tree line. The views will be worth the effort. You will be quite exposed to the elements here. In our case this was just the sun, but even at 8am it was already burning fiercely — remember you are at altitude here.

After that first serious uphill bit, you get a short respite and then you will reach the much dreaded cables. Be sure to bring gloves (though there is a good stockpile of old gloves at the foot of the cables) and shoes with solid grip. You don’t need any climbing skills to manage the cables, but it’s still not for the faint-hearted or those with serious vertigo issues. It’s quite steep and since you are at altitude you will find that you will need to catch your breath from time to time. You are also extremely exposed here (and will stay so at the top), so don’t attempt the ascent if you see a storm heading your way.

The view from the top will be well worth the effort though and just simply knock you off your feet. Enjoy it!

Once you have caught your breath and got your senses back from the stupendously amazing views, just retrace your steps back to Little Yosemite Valley. It’s all a walk in the park (well OK literally this whole trip is…) from here.

Leg 2: Little Yosemite Valley -> valley between Illilouette Ridge and Mt. Starr King

Follow the Jon Muir trail until the Panorama trail branches off, follow this one for just a short, but steep ascent through a wooded area, then take stop following the Panorama trail and instead take the trail that branches off to the left. Follow this one for one km or so, until you reach a fork in the trail, follow the left one for about 3 miles, then when you reach the next crossing at the foot of a big rock, follow the trail to the right and cross the little stream.

Follow this trail for about a mile until you reach a clearing with good views of the Illilouette Ridge to the West and Mount Starr King to the NE. The ground is quite sandy here.

Walk a bit off the trail to the left (what we did) or the right (closer to the river) and pitch your tent here. Not too many people venture to this part of the park (I think), so you should be all by yourself at this spot. If the skies are clear you will be treated to quite a show in the night sky, as evidenced by this AMAZING time-lapse I was able to record when we did this trip (being quite the humblebrag here, I know).

Leg 3: valley between Illilouette Ridge and Mt. Starr King -> Glacier Point

Get back on the trail, at the first crossing take the trail to the left, ford the river and at the next crossing take the trail to the right. Follow this one to the end. It will merge with the Panorama trail and take you right back to Glacier Point.

When we did this trip, in early June, the water was flowing fast and deep at the official fording point of the trail. We did not think this was safe, so headed 1/3 or 1/2 mile upstream where the river was broader and forded it there. Still the water was waist deep (and COLD) and moving swiftly, but we managed to safely cross it. If you do it in late summer or autumn, you should be fine to ford it at the designated spot.

The hike after the crossing is uphill to the finish and it will become steeper as it goes on. IF you do this in summer, expect it to be brutally hot by the time you reach Glacier Point. We went straight to the little shop they got there and got ourselves some well deserved ice creams.

Notes:
Half dome cables are only installed from Memorial Day (late May) to Columbus Day (early-mid October), so if you do this trip in winter or spring, then you can only ascend half dome with proper climbing equipment (and probably need a separate permit for that).

The data tracks below are approximate. I did not record them on my gpx watch, so retraced them using a map creation tool. They should be pretty accurate, but use with care. Since it all follows established trails, use a map and only use the location files when in doubt.

Data files (click on the links, then download whatever format you prefer from the gpsies site):

Leg 1: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=ipfiybcwfuakamii
Half Dome ascent: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=uneghphwfbsoluim
Leg 2: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=kjaohyusnkcsjmad
Leg 3: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=pxyachmcvhnyzixf
Complete route: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=sgxgmbsfzueftato

How long?
2days, 1 night

How many miles?
17 miles / 27.61km

How?
Hiking + wilderness / backcountry camping
Map required, compass optional, unless you plan to bushwhack back to the start (trails are. well maintained & sign-posted; still I would carry a compass just in case)

Maps?
National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map #229 or #317 (I’d recommend #317 over #229 though)

Itinerary:
Newfound Gap -> Mount Le Conte -> Newfound Gap

Leg1: Newfound Gap -> Mount Le Conte

The route is reasonably straightforward: start from Newfound Gap and take the Appalachian Trail until the Boulevard Trail branches off, then follow the latter until you reach the Mount Le Conte shelter where you’ll spend the night. The the next morning, follow the Alum Cave trail down. When you hit the highway (route 441), you can either hike the road back up to Newfound Gap, hitchhike or try to bushwhack it back. I originally intended to do the latter, but the vegetation was too dense. Also conditions were very poorly (fog) with visibility less than 10-15 meters, so I did not want to risk getting lost. So I hitchhiked back up, which worked quite well thanks to a trio of kind Floridian backpackers.

If you do this hike as an overnight, be sure to reserve a backcountry permit from the Great Smoky Mountains NPS webpage. You have to select the Mount Le Conte shelter — there’s only 12 spots and on weekend, even in winter they will go fast. You can book the permits up to 30 days in advance and print them off at home; no need to collect them in person from the backcountry permit office in the park.

I arrived at Newfound Gap at around 1pm and it started raining just as I had got my stuff ready and was about to set off. However the clouds overhead were mostly scattered, even if densely so, and so I decided to wait that shower out — no need to be soaked right from the start. And fair enough, 10 minutes later it had stopped again. So I set off. Another 10 minutes later it was pouring down again — doh! Luckily I brought a wide rimmed hat and was wearing a quite water resistant coat and equally water repellent hiking pants. Also most of my clothes were synthetic and quick to dry, so no need to worry too much. Also I had spare clothes and my backpack is actually completely water proof — you can actually immerse it underwater. In the end it was not too bad: there were several showers as I hiked to Charlies Bunion (where it rained hard and was windy as hell) and then back to the Boulevard Trail. But once on the Boulevard Trail it stayed mostly dry, though foggy and overcast. In the evening the skies finally cleared a bit and I had great, lonely, views from the Cliff Tops overlook.

The upside of the iffy weather: hardly anybody on the trails, even though it was a Saturday. The rain and clouds actually let you appreciate that you are truly in a temperate rain forest. At times you will walk in dense fog and when it lifts, you get treated to a wild view of fog hanging in valleys and hugging densely forested mountains.

So you start the hike on the famous Appalachian Trail. In the Smokies, the Appalachian Trails runs pretty much along the state border between North Carolina and Tennessee so you can have all kinds of fun walking with one leg in one state and the other in the other state. If you really just want to get up to Mount Le Conte as quickly as possible, just continue until the Boulevard Trail branches off the Appalachian Trail. However, you can also hike a mile or so further along the Appalachian Trail to Charlies Bunion. This is a rocky outcrop with some very fine views apparently. As I got there it was quite foggy, it rained hard and the wind was howling fiercely. Still the fog lifted now and then to reveal a wild sea of fog rushing through a long valley with steep mountains rising on either side.

So I did not stay too long at Charlies Bunion, but still, I was glad I came here — the trail otherwise stays mainly well within the trees, whereas here it had opened up and you can appreciate expansive views (even in the conditions that I had to deal with). From here you then trace your steps back for a mile or so and then hit the Boulevard Trail. You then just have to follow this one all the way to Mount Le Conte.

After the final climb, there will be a short trail branching off to the left to Myrtle Point — go there! It’s a fine view over the hills you just hiked through! The clouds had cleared by now and the view was fine indeed.

Now just head back to the Boulevard Trail and continue until a short while later you will come past the shelter. It’s just a lean-to, so it’s open on one side, but someone had hung a tarp along the open wall, which was quite a nice protection from the elements. Before you set up shop for the night though, just hang you backpack on the bear cable, then head, without all that heavy weight on your shoulders, up to Cliff Tops. If the weather is fine, this is a simply spectacular view. The cover image for this post shows me gazing over the Smokies from here. I stayed here until sunset, which was really quite spectacular, then headed back to the shelter for dinner and to get ready for the night.

All 12 spots at the shelter had been reserved for the night, but I was the only one who had bother to come out in this weather. It was going to be an eerie night all alone on top of Mount Le Conte. The fog rolled back in during the night, and there was some large-ish animal (a bear? unlikely as it was still winter, really, but possible… — I certainly did not fancy to go outside and check!) that busied itself with some task behind the shelter.

You are at ~6,500 feet here, and in March that means it gets really cold. So hopefully you brought some warm & dry layers and a warm sleeping bag. I had hung my rain soaked hat outside and in the morning it was frozen solid, as was the water in my bottle. It was a pleasantly lonely, calm, foggy and eerie morning.

Leg 2: Mount Le Conte -> Newfound Gap

It would stay foggy all the way down to Highway 441. The hike back down is easy: just follow the Boulevard Trail until the Alum Cave Trail branches off, just past the Mount Le Conte Lodge (still closed in March; otherwise you might be able to get some warm food and drink over there), then hike the 5 miles downhill.

Once at the trailhead, I quickly saw that the vegetation was too dense on the other side of the road, to bushwhack my way back up to Newfound Gap. I also had enough of walking in dense fog, so I just hitchhiked back up. The 5th or so car stopped, and some kind backpackers from Florida took me up to Newfound Gap. Inf atc they had permits for Mount Le Conte for the coming night, so I gave them an update on the trail and shelter conditions.

Once back up at Newfound Gap, the clouds and fog finally cleared and a crisp, spectacular, wintry landscape was revealed. The fog had frozen in the trees and the view was simply a marvel to behold.

Data files (click on the link, then download whatever format you prefer from the gpsies website):

Leg 1: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=honcqxyugucmsoyw
Leg 2: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=mcjsmnjjjkzlhlbe
Complete route: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=qoeyfbdnscxvpyzz

How long?
2 days, 1 night (though to be fair you have to spend a first half night driving up from Las Vegas…)

How many miles?
540 miles / 870 km (of which ~18 miles are hiking not driving)

How?
Road trip + short wilderness backpacking trip
Map required for driving optional for hiking, compass optional (i.e. you can clearly see where you have to hike to in Panamint Valley)

Maps?
National Geographic Trails Illustrated Map #221

Itinerary:
Las Vegas -> Dante’s View -> Zabriskie Point -> Badwater Basin -> Artist’s Palette -> Panamint Valley -> Father Crowley Point -> Owens Lake -> Rhyolite -> Las Vegas

Leg 1: Las Vegas -> Dante’s View -> Zabrisikie Point -> Badwater Basin -> Artist’s Palette -> Panamint Valley

You want to go to Death Valley to seek solitude? Well, the best airport to get there is Las Vegas, so you’ll have first to escape from the weird concentration of human life and folly that is Las Vegas. Now, I had never been to Sin City, so I was looking forward to seeing all those kitschy hotels-cum-casinos that I only knew from films. Once you got your rental car, you can either speed out of Las Vegas on interstate 15 or you drive leisurely (even at night there seems to be a lot of traffic) along the Vegas Strip before heading onto route 95. I had arrived at 11pm and did not plan to be in Death Valley before 5 or 6am, so I had plenty of time and did the latter.

Now if you arrive like me at 11pm or midnight, you have plenty of time to drive up to Death Valley. I caught a bit of sleep on the flight over from NYC, but still, your internal clock will be a bit upset and you will get tired behind the wheel. So you can either drive to a motel along the way or, if you are a cheapskate like me, you can head to the Amargosa Valley rest area at the junction of routes 95 and 373. From Las Vegas it will take you about an hour and a half or so to drive up to here and it will be just over an hour from here to Dante’s View, where you want to be for sunrise. So you will be able to take a nap for a couple of hours in your car (or motel if you went with that option). Hell, at the rest area there’s even a weird Alien / Area 51 store which runs some kind of a truckers’ brothel on the side. The truckers that came out of there looked like you can spend a good few hours in there too! Anyway I also stopped on the way up from Vegas at a superstore to buy a few gallons of water and some food for the entire trip, so you should also calculate some time to do that.

Now, depending on what time of the year you do this trip, you want to leave between 4 and 5am from the Amargosa Valley rest area so as to arrive on top of Dante’s View for sunrise or shortly thereafter. If you don’t have an America The Beautiful multi agency pass, don’t forget to stop at the park entrance to pay your fee at the machine. Dante’s View is the best place to start your trip in Death Valley: you get a full (on clear days) overview of the entire valley from north to south. Badwater Basin lies pretty much straight ahead at your feet and you can clearly see the expanse of the salt flats. Telescope Peak (the highest point in the park) is just opposite across the valley. As the sun rises, the valley slowly catches its rays and lights up. You can hike for a bit along the ridge — a great way to stretch your legs after the drive up here.

Once you filled up on the georgeous view, get back in the car and take the short drive down the mountain and to Zabriskie Point. If you’ve seen Antonioni’s film you probably want to strip naked and make love with someone, anyone, but it’s not a great idea: you’ll probably get arrested. Zabriskie Point is probably THE most iconic scenery of Death Valley. Most people will just walk up the viewpoint from the car park and snap a few pictures (like the feature image of this post), but I highly recommend you take a short hike (or do the full loop; about 6-7 miles) in the badlands. You’ll get up close to Manly Peak and be quite on your own. Considering how much other stuff I wanted to cram into the day, I only did a short 2 miles loop rather than the full hike.

Next up: drive to Badwater Basin, passing through Furnace Creek, where you can get some food, drinks or gas if you are in for any of these. At Furnace Creek, take a left turn onto Badwater Road and from here it’s a magnificent drive down to Badwater Basin. If you do this in late winter and there was a lot of rain in the weeks / months prior, you can get lucky and witness a superbloom: the valley just turns yellow with wild flowers. This was the case in March 2016 and it was stunning!

When you get to Badwater Basin, you will probably struggle a bit to find a parking spot (I just parked a bit further down the road), but do get out of your car and walk out onto the salt flats — you will feel as if on a different planet. If you do this trip in summer, do not attempt this without sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat and plenty of water or you’ll be in trouble in no time. Even in early March it was pretty hot out here and blindingly bright as the salt reflects most of the sunlight.

When you have had enough, walk back to your car, and drive back in direction of Furnace Creek. However before you get all the way up there, be sure to take a right turn signposted for Artist’s Palette. It a nice drive through rolling badlands, and mid-way through you get to the namesake badlands with all their splendid colours. You can take a short walk / hike here too if you are still good in time.

After this, drive back up to the junction with route 190 at Furnace Creek. Go left now, driving north past Furnace Creek, then west through Stovepipe Wells. Backcountry permits are optional in Death Valley and you can backpack pretty much anywhere (though no camping on the lower Death Valley floor), but it is a very good idea to get one in case of emergency (the rangers will know where you planned to go). You can get this at either the visitor center at Furnace Creek or the ranger station at Stovepipe Wells.

Continue along route 190, crossing the Panamint range into Panamint Valley. In the valley there will be a road going left / south to Trona and beyond. Before this, a little under 2 miles up the road, is a small dirt road going off to your right. Take this road. If you want a longer hike (what I did), then just park your car on the side of this dirt road and set off for the Dunes at the end of the valley (7-8 miles one-way). If you want a shorter hike, then continue the dirt road until its end, and from there it’s a shorter 3 mile hike to the dunes.

Overnight hike: Panamint Dunes

My original plan had been to drive up to Ubuhebe Crater, then take the long dirt road to the Racetrack and spend the night there. However there were several reasons why I did not do this: i) it is a long drive up there and a longer drive on the dirt road down to the Racetrack, ii) you cannot camp next to the road anywhere and you should camp on a small campground south of the Racetrack (or you need to park you car along the road and hike out for at least a mile), iii) I was on my own in a small economy car, so if I had gotten more than one puncture along the dirt road or stuck in loose sand (a real risk from what I’ve read) I would have been in serious trouble. So if there are a few of you, you have a high-clearance 4×4 car and you have a bit more time at your disposal, then I would still urge you to do this: the sliding rocks of the Racetrack are another key Death Valley sight.

My back up plan was to hike to the Panamint Dunes: an easy hike: flat and impossible to get lost as you see where you need to go all the way. That said, it’s not the most exciting hike, since the scenery never really changes. You are also quite exposed to the elements, so if the sun is fierce or there is a sandstorm in Panamint Valley — don’t do it. Panamint Valley is also a training area for the local airforce bases, so if you are seeking solitude, the noise of jets flying overhead might not be what you are looking for. That said, watching their crazy weaponised ballet in the sky is pretty spectacular in itself.

Now I have to admit, camping at the foot of the Panamint Dunes was not the brightest idea I’ve ever had. It was quite windy (I think it is always windy in Panamint Valley), and even though I pitched my tent somewhat sheltered by a big bush, I did not spend a quiet night and feared constantly that my tent would be blown away. Also the sand gets blown up to the norther end of the valley (that’s why the dunes are there in the first place!) and it will get blown under your tent’s raincover and through your mosquito net. In fact the mosquito net will filter the sand so that all your stuff (including yourself) gets covered in very fine sand.

The upshot was, that in the morning I was up early, and had the Panamint Dunes all to myself. There were a few storm clouds from the windy night that were just beginning to disperse and when the sunlight hit the dunes, it was just magical.

I packed up my tent and stuff before setting out into the dunes and I left my backpack near a bush so that I would not have to carry all that stuff up onto the dunes. If you do this, take good note of your surroundings as finding you backpack later can be much harder than you think.

Once you have had enough running up and down the dunes (they are really high, so be aware of this if you’ve got vertigo), get your backpack and hike back out the way you came.

Leg 2: Panamint Valley -> Father Crowley Point -> Owens Lake -> Rhyolite -> Las Vegas

OK so day 2 in the desert. You will probably spend most of the morning in the dunes and hiking back to the car (unless you did the short option). You will also need to get back to Vegas for your flight back in the evening. So not that much time left, but still plenty enough to see a few things. First off, overlooking the valley you just spent the night in is Father Crawley Point. To get there, simply continue along route 190 which snakes uphill out of the valley. The first exit on your right, sign-posted Father Crowley Point,  is the one you want to take. You can either leave your car at the main parking lot, or drive the final mile on the dirt track. I hiked, but it’s up to you. The turn-around point of the dirt road makes for quite a fine view over Panamint Valley with good views over the valley floor and Telescope Peak on the far end.

After this, get back into your car and continue along 190. You will reach a plateau and, if you have never seen them before, watch out for the Joshua trees on either side of the road. As you continue along 190, get ready to be blown away by the sight of the eastern Sierra Nevada as the road bends downhill into Owens Valley. If you are like me, you will have to stop several times along the road, get out of the car and just scream in excitement at this sight.

Finally, as the road reaches the valley you will come to a junction: route 190 veers left / southeast to Olancha whereas straight ahead (northeast) starts route 136. At this junction is a handy little parking lot, where you can park your car and walk a bit towards Owens Lake. There is also an informative panel with a bit of history about Owens Lake. Now this is a mostly dry lake, but there is still some water. The reason is simple: you are standing in front of the single biggest source of dust pollution in California and the state decided it was a good idea to divert some water here to keep the worst of it at bay. Owens Lake used to hold much more water in the past but fell victim to the Californians thirst for water and much of the river feeding it was diverted into the Los Angeles Aqueduct. Flanked by the glorious Sierra Nevada mountains, the place does not look that bad, but sure enough when the wind picks up you can see the sand flying around. In fact you can see it being kicked up on the picture above. It’s a lovely spot for a picnic and the road down to Olancha is pure American road trip scenery, so enjoy the view.

Finally get back into your car and head back towards Death Valley: after all you need to get back to Las Vegas. You can take the longer way and after you go past the Mesquite Sand Dunes, take a left, and then immediately a right to get onto the Daylight Pass Road. It is a glorious exit from Death Valley, so do stop at the top for a farewell view over the valley.

Continue all the way to Rhyolite, Nevada. This is a ghost town now. It was founded as recently as 1905 after a gold rush exploded in the area. The population reached about 5,000 at its peak, but by 1920 the town had been abandoned — the local mine had been hopelessly operating at a loss and in fact closed in 1911. Most of the buildings are in ruins now, but some like the bottle house have been restored. It is a charming little place and it does not take too long to explore it.

Finally, head back to Vegas. If you need food or gas, Beatty, NV, is nearby so do stop there. Sunset will be in full swing as you drive down Amargosa Valley towards Las Vegas. It is an awesome sight, so enjoy the drive.

All in all this is a great, power-charged trip. Probably best to do it on a long weekend or even over 4 days. This gives you more time to explore other areas of this desert park. For overnight hikes, there are plenty of options. I decided for convenience on the simple hike to Panamint Dunes, but if dunes and sand are not your thing, you can easily plan a more exciting route for that bit.

Data files (click on the links, then download whatever format you prefer from the gpsies site):

Leg 1: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=znfeagoqcnradnah
Overnight hike: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=yephwbvssvxmlqes
Leg 2: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=ctmseslrvqkwvnjh
Complete Trip (road + hiking routes together): http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=hauyjffkbzirvxnm

How long?
2 days, 1 night (really just two half days, and a night)

How many miles?
10.5 miles / 17km

How?
Hiking + wilderness camping
Map & compass required

Maps?
National Geographic Trails Illustrated maps 311 or 210

Itinerary:
Squaw Canyon trailhead / campground -> Squaw Canyon -> Elephant Canyon -> Squaw Canyon trailhead / campground

To get to the Needles District, you have to drive some 70-75 miles south from Moab. There are a few optional stops along the road, such as the Hole N” The Rock (on route 191) or the Newspaper Rock (an route 211). Note that petrol stations are few and far between so your best bet is to fuel up in Moab before setting off.

Leg 1: Squaw Flat trailhead to Squaw Canyon 1 (SQ1) camp site

When you had out from the Squaw Flat trailhead, there are many trails you can choose, and you can combine them in any way you feel up to. The trails are well marked (where there’s vegetation it’s difficult to go wrong, see the picture below, on the slickrock there are cairns to mark the trail and at every junction there will be a signpost to guide you) and easy to follow. Every time you cross from one canyon into the other, you will have to go over (or through at one point) the canyon wall, so the trip is a bit on the strenuous side. Also, in summer it gets super hot here, so be prepared and carry enough water (there is some water out there, but it’s limited and definitely will need to be treated) and sunscreen.

The route is straightforward enough: from Squaw Flat campground, follow the Peekaboo Trail, then take a right to head into Squaw Canyon. From Squaw Canyon, continue all the way until you reach the junction to head into Elephant Canyon (involves climbing a ladder up and another one down). When you get out of Elephant Canyon, head east back to Squaw Flat Canyon.

A backcountry permit is required and you can reserve yours online well in advance of your trip or pick one up at the visitor center on the day.

We set out quite late in the afternoon (we spent the morning and early afternoon in Arches NP and it is a bit of a drive down from there), so we only hiked a moderate 2 miles to our backcountry camp site (in Squaw Canyon, SQ1). But, the scenery in this part of the world is such that after hardly more than half a mile of hiking, you will found yourself in a wild, prehistoric-looking landscape. I probably spend the whole trip with my jaw dropped – it’s maddeningly stunning out there.

We pitched our tent, left our backpacks and then, there still being plenty of sunshine left for the day, we explored the area a bit. So without heavy bags, we hiked a bit further into Squaw Canyon, then headed up over into Lost Canyon. You will head up a narrow passage between two rock walls, but when you look back, you get glimpses of the great view you can get by scrambling up a bit the canyon wall on your left (east).

So, the sun starting to set, we headed up the canyon wall and enjoyed an amazing view. This is a general rule: every time we were on a canyon wall, the views were simply stunning.

Needless to say, the sunset was spectacular. We just sat down and enjoyed the show.

It is a scenery straight from a Western, the view and red rocks seemingly endless. Soon enough though the sunlight started to fade, so we headed back to our camp for the night.

What surprised us a bit was the difference in temperature once the sun has set. In fact you are at altitude and so it will cool down quite a bit at night. When we did this trip (late May 2015) the temperature hit the low 40s or high 30s during the night. In fact we had only brought our summer sleeping bags, so we spend a bit of a chilly night. To make up for it though was the night sky.

I had recently bought a “serious” photo camera, and had read several tutorials (I suggest you check out www.lonelyspeck.com — you will find all the tips you need to get started) on how to capture the Milky Way. So you can imagine that I was itching to try my luck. So I set my alarm for 3am and when I woke, the sky was so dark (the moon had set quite early in the night), it was easy enough for a total beginner like me to get a good shot. The moment I saw the Milky Way peeking back at me from the camera screen was so sweet. I went back to bed happy.

Leg 2: Squaw Canyon to Squaw Flat trailhead via Elephant Canyon

In the morning I got up early and went for a short run. For this, I headed back up the Squaw Canyon, then took a right onto the Peekaboo Trail, heading towards Lost Canyon (the other end than the one from which we watched the sunset). Here too, you have to scramble up onto the canyon wall, and the view is equally stunning.

After a good breakfast, we packed up the tent and the rest of our stuff and headed further down Squaw Canyon. We pressed on past the Lost Canyon junction. After a half mile or so, the trail takes you up to a ledge, mid-way up the canyon wall. You then continue along this ledge for the next mile and a half or so. This section, until you climb a ladder to get into Elephant Canyon is the most scenic along the route: it is truly jawdroppingly beautiful. I couldn’t really contain my emotions and walked around wide-eyed and smiling like a kid in a toy or sweet shop.

A third into this beautiful stretch of the route, at the junction with Big Spring Canyon, you have to squeeze through a tight tunnel to continue along Squaw Canyon. We actually had to take our backpacks off to be able to squeeze through. When there are two of you, it is easy enough to pass the backpacks through, but this could be a bit more awkward if you are on your own.

You then continue walking right below sheer cliffs on your left until you reach a ladder that takes you up to a gap in the canyon wall, and after that there is another ladder down into Elephant Canyon.

You will walk right down into a wash and more or less follow this one for the next two miles. At some point you reach the junction with the Druid Arch Trail. For this route you just continue north, but if you are up for a 4 mile return detour to Druid Arch, then head left / south. We decided to skip that detour and headed straight north.

In Elephant Canyon you can truly appreciate where the Needles District got its name from: there’s rock spires (aka needles) stretching along the eastern canyon wall. In fact there’s plenty of weird rock shapes in Elephant Canyon and it is a really nice section of the route.

When you reach the next trail junction, head left / east: it’s about 4 miles back to the Squaw Flat trailhead. After an uphill half mile there will be a junction with the Chesler Park Trail, just press on straight ahead. As you head back to the trailhead, you are leaving the most impressive scenery behind, but it’s still a pleasant walk, if a bit strenuous at times.

So in summary this is a short-ish overnight backpacking trip, but it’s incredibly beautiful and reasonably strenuous. It is also a very quiet part of the Canyonlands National Park (we only came across people near the Squaw Flat trailhead and in Elephant Canyon on the Druid Arch Trail), so perfect for solitude seekers.

Data files (click on the links, then download whatever format you prefer from the gpsies site):

Complete route: http://www.gpsies.com/map.do?fileId=zaiwzoordnggadss

NB: I did not use a GPS watch when I did this trip. So I mapped the route from the trail information on Open Street Map — so best to use the GPS data as indication only and follow the route description, your map and trail markers.