2017 is nearly in the books, and it’s been a banner year for Live and Let Hike. Viewership reached new heights (roughly 85,000 visitors and 167,000 page views in 2017), and I added 76 new posts this year that covered hikes, scenic byways, and other destinations in 11 different states: California, Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, …
Rising abruptly from the dry prairielands at the base of Colorado’s Front Range, the ruddy sandstone outcrops at Red Rocks Park are a popular destination in the Denver area. A short drive from the bustling metropolis, Red Rocks feels in some ways like an urban spectacle: the park is most well-known, after all, for its …
Gaining 180 feet in elevation, the Bruin Bluff Trail is a slightly more difficult alternative to the Bear Creek Trail in Lair o’ the Bear Park, roughly five miles west of Morrison, Colorado. Climbing in and out of mostly spruce forests, the meandering path provides views of a sun-soaked valley in Colorado’s Front Range, including …
Continue reading Bruin Bluff Trail Loop (Lair o’ the Bear Park, CO)
The Appalachian Trail’s (AT) 41-mile stretch through Maryland is known for following long, relatively level ridgelines, making for—in general—a milder experience than other parts of the AT. Maryland Section 3, a 9.2-mile segment between Wolfsville Road and US 40, typifies this characterization; its miles of flat and easy walking are punctuated only by a short …
Tibbet Knob (2,920’) is the slightly lower, less crowded cousin of nearby Big Schloss, situated along the Virginia-West Virginia border in George Washington National Forest. The summit offers sweeping views of Trout Run Valley in the heart of the Great North Mountain range, while a lower viewpoint ½ mile from the trailhead looks out across …
Continue reading Tibbet Knob (George Washington National Forest, VA/WV)
Big Schloss, George Washington National Forest, October 2017 At 2,964 feet, Big Schloss is not the highest peak on Great North Mountain—which stretches for 50 miles along the Virginia-West Virginia border—but it is arguably the grandest. Named for the German word for palace or castle, Big Schloss offers panoramic views of some of the most …
Continue reading Big Schloss (George Washington National Forest, VA/WV)
Maryland Section 2 is almost certainly the least interesting of Maryland’s seven Appalachian Trail (AT) sections. (Note: As delineated by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club’s Appalachian Trail Guide to Maryland and Northern Virginia.) It does offer variety, however, as it weaves through dense deciduous forest and open fields in a quiet and peaceful section of …
Unlike limestone caves, lava tubes are usually characterized by their drab, colorless interior. Not so with Golden Dome Cave, which sports shiny ceilings, made possible by tiny bacteria that give the lava tube a golden sheen. Golden Dome Cave is found along the Cave Loop Road in California’s Lava Beds National Monument, a volcanic paradise …
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Plunging 129 feet over a moss-laden cliff, Burney Falls is arguably California’s most impressive waterfall north of Yosemite—so beautiful and picturesque that President Teddy Roosevelt reportedly dubbed it the “eighth wonder of the world.” The falls are now the centerpiece of 910-acre McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park—11 miles north of Burney, California—and can be accessed …
Continue reading Falls Loop Trail (McArthur-Burney Falls Memorial State Park, CA)
At 75 feet, Mill Creek Falls is the highest waterfall in northern California’s Lassen Volcanic National Park. Situated just 1.7 miles from the Kohm Yah-mah-nee Visitor Center, the Mill Creek Falls Trail is a popular half-day hike on the park’s southern side. Hugging the slopes of a broad valley, the trail winds up and down …
Continue reading Mill Creek Falls Trail (Lassen Volcanic National Park, CA)
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