Twin Falls & Upper Two Medicine Lake (Glacier National Park, MT)

Upper Two Medicine Lake, Glacier National Park, August 2024 After a change of plans that required us to leave Glacier National Park a day early, we were left with only ½ day in the Two Medicine area, a lesser-visited alternative to very popular Many Glacier. Unlike in Many Glacier, we opted for the boat tour …

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Grinnell Glacier (Glacier National Park, MT)

Grinnell Glacier Trail, Glacier National Park, August 2024 Now on Day 9 of the cross-country excursion, we finally caught a break with the weather—a clear morning in the paradise of the Many Glacier section of Glacier National Park. It came with a catch, however—or two. For one, my hiking partner wasn’t feeling well enough to …

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Hidden Lake Overlook (Glacier National Park, MT)

Hidden Lake Overlook, Glacier National Park, August 2025 Fast-forwarding a couple of days in early August, we zipped across southeast Washington and northern Idaho to reach Montana’s Glacier National Park. For such a hard-to-reach destination, this place is teeming with visitors in summer, with trail crowds the likes of which I had never seen. Good …

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Wahclella Falls (Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, OR)

Wahclella Falls, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, August 2024 On the morning of day six of the cross-country trip, we were still in northern Oregon an popped in for a short hike in the Columbia River Gorge before tracking eastward… Not to be confused with nearby Wahkeena Falls, the stem-and-loop hike described here features …

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Wahkeena – Multnomah Falls Loop (Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, OR)

Wiesendanger Falls, Wahkeena - Multnomah Falls Loop, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, July 2024 After three days on the Oregon coast, day five of the cross-country adventure brought us to Portland, Oregon—where we happened upon the annual convention of the National Parks Travelers Club—and ventured out on some hikes in the nearby Columbia River …

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Humbug Mountain Trail (Humbug Mountain State Park, OR)

Humbug Mountain Trail, Humbug Mountain State Park, July 2024 This marks the first of a long series of posts from a cross-country haul in July-August from northern California to Washington, DC. Alas, after five years in California, it was time to return to the east coast. After heading north from the Bay Area, day two …

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Mount Saint Helena (Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, CA)

Mount Saint Helena, Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, February 2024 Long before the Napa area became renowned for wine-making, author Robert Louis Stevenson—of Treasure Island fame—spent an extended stay here on the slopes of Mt. St. Helena, one of the highest peaks in northern California’s Mayacamas Mountains. The trip in 1880 inspired The Silverado Squatters …

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Eagle Lake (Sequoia National Park, CA)

Eagle Lake Trail, Sequoia National Park, July 2024 West of the Great Western Divide, California’s Sequoia National Park is effectively bisected by three branches of the Kaweah River—the Marble, Middle, and East Forks—all of which carve deep canyons fed by snowmelt from the 12,000-foot mountain range. Most visitors remain in the vicinity of the first …

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Little Baldy Trail (Sequoia National Park, CA)

Little Baldy, Sequoia National Park, July 2024 A granite dome with a panoramic 360-degree view, Little Baldy in Sequoia National Park is a more satisfying destination than the higher but more pedestrian Big Baldy Ridge. Views extend from the Central Valley to the west to the Silliman Crest, Kings-Kaweah Divide, and Great Western Divide to …

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