Zion National Park

Where: Zion National Park
Trail: Emerald Pools Trails to the Kayenta Trail
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 2.6 miles
Adventure Rating: 4 Stars
Pets: no


We took the shuttle from the Visitor Center to the Zion Lodge. Across the from the lodge, we crossed the bridge over the Virgin River and began the Lower Emerald Pool Trail. The Lower Pool was my favorite. The brilliant green of the foliage and the light green of the pools was beautiful.

We continued on up the steep trail (there are many steps carved in the rock) to the Middle Pool, which was very small. It's chained off because it's very dangerous. Foolish people have crossed the chain and stood in the pool, which is very slick, and slipped and slid over the edge, plummeting to the lower pool and their death. There is no swimming in the pools for very good reason.

After yet another steep climb and a bit of rock scrambling, we made it to the Upper Pool. When it's not crowded, it's a great place to sit and relax from the hike. Stop a moment and just listen to nature.

We hiked back down the upper trail and then took the Kayenta Trail. The trail has moderate drop-offs, but overall is less strenuous than the pools trails. There is a more gradual decline down the mountain. It offers spectacular views of the Court of the Patriarchs and the other surrounding peaks.

Coopers Rock State Forest

Where: Coopers Rock State Forest
Trail: Underlook, Rattlesnake, Rock City, Ridge, Mont Chateau, Clay Run...
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: 5.5 miles (I think)
Adventure Rating: 4 Stars
Pets: not sure...

First, let me just say that the trail markers aren't very good. Originally, we were supposed to hike the following trails: Underlook, Rattlesnake, Rock City, Rhododendren, Eagle, then take the road to the stone stairs, and finally to the Overlook Trail. We definitely hiked the first three trails and then I don't know what happened. As far as we can ascertain, we ended up on the Ridge Trail and then on the Mont Chateau Trail. I believe the last trail we were on was the Clay Run Trail, but I don't know for sure. What I do know was that briefly, we were lost in the mountains of West Virginia. So, it was only natural for us to decide to take a short cut--which actually worked out. Unfortunately, the shortcut was across an open area that was hot and sunny, as well as covered with thorn bushes. We got a little scratched up and I fell off a tree, but other than that, it was awesome.

We started out at the Coopers Rock Overlook, where I saw a bald eagle for the first time (in the wild). Then we headed down the Underlook Trail, which went below the overlook. The Rattlesnake Trail and Rock City Trail were very cool, with lots of rock scrambling.

Buttermilk Falls at Cuyahoga Valley NP

Blue Hen Falls

Where: Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Trail: Unmarked Trail
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: ?
Adventure Rating: 4 Stars
Pets: Allowed on leash

We parked at Blue Hen Falls, which were very cool. Originally, we were going to hike to them from the Boston Store Visitor Center, but we ended up just parking there. I found a website that mentioned Buttermilk Falls and knew we had to check it out. It's not marked on any maps that I could find, but if you hike downstream from Blue Hen Falls, you'll find it. There is a rough unmarked trail heading that direction, but we spent most of our time walking on the rocks along the stream. The water was shallow enough that we could cross back and forth across it. It was way fun.

Buttermilk Falls

The linked website says that you should visit Brandywine Falls before spending time on this one. If you're judging the falls on size, then sure, I guess they are right. However, I completely disagree with this statement. I found the Brandywine falls so uninteresting that I didn't even take a picture of them. Nor did we bother to do the hike. The Buttermilk Falls might not be amazing, but the adventure of finding them was amazing. I say don't even bother with Brandywine.

Red Rock Canyon

Where: Red Rock Canyon, Las Vegas, Nevada
Trail: Calico Tanks Trail
Difficulty: Moderate to Strenuous
Distance: 2.5 miles round trip
Adventure Rating: 4 Stars
Pets: Allowed on leash

We paid the entrance fee and started the drive back (it's a one-way loop). As we drove past all the beautiful red rock that gives the park its name, I began to wonder if I had selected the right trail for us. And then we parked in the Sandstone Quarry lot and I just knew I had picked the wrong trail. The area was flatter and there was far less rock. Certainly not the mountainous boulders we'd just passed. Thankfully we decided to try it anyway. I am so glad we did. The hike was awesome!

The beginning of the trail is well-marked, but once you get into the rocks, it's harder to find, which makes it more fun. And anyway, there came a point when we quit the trail altogether and just climbed from boulder to boulder. Even though dogs are allowed on the trail, we didn't encounter very many, probably due to the amount of climbing we had to do. Our little dogs loved it. They are adventurous as we are. At the end of the trail, there is a view of the mountains and Las Vegas. If I'm ever in Vegas again, I am definitely hiking Red Rock again.

Pinnacles National Monument

Where: Pinnacles National Monument, California
Trail: Moses Spring Trail, Bear Gulch Cave Trail, High Peaks Trail, Condor Gulch Trail
Difficulty: Moderate to Strenuous
Distance: 6 mile loop
Adventure Rating: 4 Stars
Pets: Not allowed

We hiked the Moses Spring Trail, through the Bear Gulch cave to the High Peaks Trail, and then took the Condor Gulch Trail back to the parking lot. It was a 6-mile hike, varying from easy to strenuous with an elevation gain of almost 1500 feet. The cave involved some crawling (and flashlights) and the High Peaks Trail had some very narrow passages with rock on one side and NOTHING on the other except a low rail. It is by far the most awesome hiking adventure yet. The fact that we got to hike through a cave is just too cool.

El Morro National Monument

Where: El Morro National Monument, New Mexico
Trail: Mesa Top Trail Loop
Difficulty: Moderate to Strenuous
Distance: 2 mile loop
Adventure Rating: 4 Stars
Pets: Allowed on leash


The Inscription Trail portion of the hike was very easy. It's paved and flat. The beginning of the Mesa Top Trail is fairly strenuous as it is a 200-foot climb. In the morning, that part of the hike is in the shadow of the sandstone bluffs and was pretty chilly in November. Once we were on top of the bluffs, it was much warmer in the sun. Most of the trail is up on the sandstone bluffs, which is just cool.

See the parallel lines in the sandstone? That's the trail.

El Malpais National Monument

Where: El Malpais National Monument, New Mexico
Trail: Sandstone Bluffs
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: n/a
Adventure Rating: 4 Stars
Pets: Allowed on leash

There isn't a trail per se, but there are plenty of places to climb all over the boulders.

BE VERY CAREFUL, THERE ARE STEEP DROP-OFFS. THIS AREA CAN BE DANGEROUS.

Old Man's Cave

Where: Hocking Hills, Ohio
Trail: Grandma's Gatewood Trail & Exit Trails
Difficulty: Moderate
Distance: ?
Adventure Level: 4 Stars
Pets: Allowed on leash

We sort of got lost on this hike and therefore, I have no idea what trails we were on exactly or how far we traveled.

We also crossed a creek and found a trail that was closed due to fallen rock. That, of course, didn't stop me. We climbed up rock steps and were soon stopped by the destroyed trail.


So, I found a way across the middle, over boulders and downed trees. When I went back for Marc, I stepped on a downed tree that was damp and mossy. I don't really know what happened next, but I fell off the boulder and tree and landed hard on my hip and elbow. The bruise on my hip ended up being the size of my hand (not my palm, the whole hand). This was the first time I ever used my first aid kit hiking, though, so that was pretty exciting.

This is the area we crossed. In the upper left corner, you can see my blue shirt behind a tree--that should help give perspective on how big the boulders were that we were hopping.

After we made our way across that mess of boulders, we met up with a trail that took us to wooden spirl-ish stairs that led up to the rim trail. We decided to call it a day. It was late afternoon and the pain in my hip was making me walk funny.

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore

Where: Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
Trail: Lakeshore-North Country Trail
Difficulty: Strenuous
Distance: 14 miles one-way
Adventure Rating: 4 Stars
Pets: Allowed on some trails, see website

Prior to driving to Michigan's Upper Peninsula for camping and hiking, I made reservations with Alger County Transit to have them pick us up at Little Beaver Campground (where we parked our car) and drop us off at Miner's Castle. This allowed us to hike back to our car (since the trail isn't a loop).

We got to Miner's Castle between 8:30-9 AM. Even though it was August, the morning was quite chilly--good thing we dressed in layers. We hiked to Miner's Beach and spent a lot of time exploring the beach, rocks, and boulders.
The hike along Miner's Beach was a bit rough (hiking in soft sand always is), but we weren't in a hurry. At Mosquito Beach, we took the trail inland to see Chapel Falls, except we took the wrong trail and missed it completely and arrived back on the lake at Chapel Beach. Between the Mosquito Falls trailhead and Chapel Beach, the forest thins out and becomes very sandy--which made hiking a lot tougher, especially this late in the trip.

It was about that time that we realized that we were way behind schedule. It was also about this point that I realized that I may have miscalculated the length of our hike. I still don't know how I did this, but prior to the hike, I thought the trip was 7 miles. If you read the info above, you know the hike was actually 14 miles. This posed a problem for us since we were planning to take a Sunset Cruise. We really started pushing hard at this point, trying to get back to the car in time. The last two miles were exhausting. Every rise/hill we came upon, we were sure the car would be on the other side. The disappointment when we couldn't see it was devastating. 

Eventually, we made it back to the car, completely and utterly exhausted. At the time, it wasn't all that fun, but it has become a funny story... Remember that time we accidentally hiked 14 miles? And my brother refuses to ever go hiking with us again.

Robert H Treman State Park

Where: Robert H Treman State Park, New York
Trail: Gorge Trail and Rim Trail
Difficulty: Moderate to Strenuous
Distance: 6 miles
Adventure Rating: 4 stars
Pets: Not allowed on Gorge Trail

The hike begins in the forest and there are several places with steep hills. Throughout the hike, there were many times that we had to take breaks due to the steep steps--especially on the Cliff Staircase. There were many opportunities to get close to Enfield Creek and the many small falls. There were also tight squeezes and some rock scrambling.

Lucifer Falls

Enfield Falls

Big Bend National Park

Where: Big Bend National Park, Texas
Trail: Window Trail
Difficulty: Moderate to Strenuous
Distance: 5.6 mile round trip
Adventure Rating: 4 Stars
Pets: Not allowed on trails

Big Bend National Park was my first real hiking trip. Go big or go home, right? The park is over 800,000 acres, so there was no way we could see all of it. We chose the Window Trail because it seemed to be the most scenic. The hike out is downhill and much easier than the hike back, which was all uphill. The elevation change on this hike is 980 feet, which you will notice when you're on your way back. We started our hike in the morning because we knew the afternoon would be too hot. But it's Texas, so even in the morning, it was pretty warm out.