Category Archives: Strenuous Hikes

Goldstrike Canyon Trail (Lake Mead National Recreation Area, NV)

Posted on March 13, 2023 by Andrew Wojtanik

Most visitors flock to Lake Mead National Recreation Area—straddling the Arizona–Nevada border, a short drive from Las Vegas—for water-related activities on the United States’ largest reservoir by volume. However, adventure-seekers of the land-bound sort are also treated to a fair … Continue reading →

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Chiricahua Big Loop (Chiricahua National Monument, AZ)

Posted on February 11, 2023 by Andrew Wojtanik

At first glance, the Chiricahua Mountains of southeast Arizona appear little different from the hundreds of other small ranges of the Basin and Range area, which spans from southern Oregon and Idaho down to Mexico: an abrupt north-south range rising … Continue reading →

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City of Rocks Loop (City of Rocks National Reserve, ID)

Posted on January 9, 2023 by Andrew Wojtanik

Idaho’s City of Rocks National Reserve—one of only two national reserves in the National Park system—protects a 14,000-acre tract that includes an extensive cluster of granitic formations known as the “Silent City of Rocks.” While the chalky white and grey … Continue reading →

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Top 10 Hikes in 2022

Posted on January 1, 2023 by Andrew Wojtanik

As 2022 draws to an end, it is—as per tradition—time to look back on the year at Live and Let Hike. This is the ninth year of the blog—the tenth anniversary coming in 2023—and there was no let-up in content, … Continue reading →

Posted in Arizona, Big Sur, California, Colorado, Dinosaur National Monument, Illinois, Moderate Hikes, Pinnacles National Park, Sinkyone Wilderness State Park, Starved Rock State Park, Strenuous Hikes, Utah, Wyoming, Yosemite National Park | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Medicine Bow Peak Loop, including Lakes Trail (Medicine Bow National Forest, WY)

Posted on December 28, 2022 by Andrew Wojtanik

At 12,013 feet, Medicine Bow Peak is the highest mountain in southern Wyoming’s Snowy Range, a small but exceptionally scenic slice of the broader Medicine Bow Mountains, which extend into northern Colorado. The peak is accessible via a relatively straightforward … Continue reading →

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Devil’s Lake Loop (Devil’s Lake State Park, WI)

Posted on October 2, 2022 by Andrew Wojtanik

It’s not too often that visitors are able to walk in a mountain range with rocky bluffs dating to 1.6 billion years ago, in addition to a rare freshwater endorheic lake—a body of water situated in a natural depression with … Continue reading →

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Lost Coast Trail – Wheeler Camp to Little Jackass (Sinkyone Wilderness State Park, CA)

Posted on June 4, 2022 by Andrew Wojtanik

Even as the northern half of the 53-mile Lost Coast Trail has become one of the hottest destinations for California backpacking, the stunning southern half—in Sinkyone Wilderness State Park—is much less visited. This is in part due to the difficulty … Continue reading →

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Lost Coast Trail – Needle Rock to Wheeler Camp (Sinkyone Wilderness State Park, CA)

Posted on June 4, 2022 by Andrew Wojtanik

Traversing one of the few stretches of the California coast without a paved road, the Lost Coast Trail has become an enormously popular backpacking destination known for its striking cliffs, black sand beaches, redwood groves, and frequent wildlife sightings (seals, … Continue reading →

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Chilnualna Falls Trail (Yosemite National Park, CA)

Posted on June 2, 2022 by Andrew Wojtanik

Yosemite National Park is the land of towering waterfalls—although seeing them often comes with a price: contending with throngs of other visitors for the best look at the majestic drops. Yet this is not the case everywhere: lesser-known waterfalls such … Continue reading →

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Juniper Canyon Trail to High Peaks Loop (Pinnacles National Park, CA)

Posted on May 24, 2022 by Andrew Wojtanik

So jagged, sharp, and forbidding are the towering spires of central California’s Pinnacles National Park that there is no road able to bisect it, leaving visitors to drive up to the base of the breccia wonderland—and then hike the rest. … Continue reading →

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