Showing posts with label hiking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hiking. Show all posts
Monday, October 26, 2009
Fall Colors
This weekend I went hiking close to Smithville Lake, Missouri and got a few pictures of the fall leaves. I also took some pictures of the stunning fall colors in North Kansas City, MO.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Cooley Lake
This morning me and some guys from church went hiking at Cooley Lake, Missouri. Ryan works for the state conservation department so gave some good insight on tree names and ecology.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
Hiking in Arkansas
A couple weekends ago, I drove down to Arkansas (about a 5 hour trip from Kansas City) to go hiking and check out the fall colors. Once crossing the border of Arkansas, there was a marked increase in the quantity of roadkill as well as encountering a church about every 2 miles. It felt a lot like home. ;-) This was my first venture into Arkansas and it reminded me a lot of North Georgia, East Tennessee, and North Carolina with the mountains, winding roads, and beautiful scenery.
Thankfully, I stopped at a national forest ranger station to get a couple maps and better directions to the trailhead. I would never have found it without their help. The first trail I went on was titled Hawksbill Crag and to get there, one had to take an unmarked dirt road with an incline and terrain making 4x4 capabilities highly desirable. The Altima persevered though and after about 6 miles of dirt road, I arrived at the trailhead. Interestingly, people actually live up there in houses. It's very beautiful but seems like traveling the bumpy road would get tiresome after a while.
When I arrived it was about 4:45 in the afternoon so I quickly hit the trail while there was still daylight. Hawksbill Crag is about 1.5 miles from the trailhead and juts out over an incredible view of which description and pictures can't accurately depict the breath taking view's majesty. I spent some time just admiring the view, taking pictures, and praying a bit.
With rapidly fading sunlight, I headed back towards the trailhead to grab my tent and set up camp. I didn't budget quite enough time to get out of the woods in the light and had accidentally forgotten a flashlight. This was cause for consternation and I became a bit anxious when momentarily losing the trail. I said a quick prayer, backtracked and found the trail again. Thankfully, God allowed a cloudless night with bright moonlight which helped in lighting the way back.
Setting up camp in the dark can be a bit challenging but I eventually got everything set up. The temperature was very moderate so I took my sleeping bag outside and watched the stars for a while. Living in the city limits the view of stars so I always appreciate getting out in the quiet and checking out the majestic view God created. It was a good time of talking with him about life and just enjoying His creation.
The next morning, I hopped back in the car and drove to a spot called Hemmed In Hollow where the major attraction was a 180 foot waterfall. On the way down, I stopped to check out Wild Vic's cabin about a mile down the trail. It amazes me that people were ever able to find or decide to setup housing arrangements that far back into the woods. The scenery was once again terrific with the occasional glimpse of a bluff or the valley leading down to the Buffalo River.
After around a 3 mile hike down, I arrived at the "Waterfall." Unfortunately, due to the dryness in the area the falls were much more along the lines of a trickle than a booming waterfall. Interestingly though, was that since the trickle had to fall about 180 feet and the wind was blowing, it had a bit of an effect like a sprinkler moving water from one side of the bottom to the other.
I then went and checked out the Buffalo River which was also way down in water flow. A local person I met there indicated that normally around this time, people are able to canoe down the river. I'm sure this area would be even more beautiful in the spring time when rain has been more frequent and the waterfall, streams, and river are flowing more freely. Incidentally, there was a fair number of people riding horses either on the trail or in the surrounding area. All told, total hiking distance was about 10 miles.
On the drive back to KC before leaving Arkansas, I let out a big Arkansas soouueeeie coming down a hill. It's just one of those joie de vivre things that you have to do sometimes after experiencing such magnificent scenery and mountain air. In the song "Indescribable," Chris Tomlin sings "from the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring" The colors were on great display.
There was a few random cacti on the trail as well. Who knew a cactus would grow in Arkansas?
Thankfully, I stopped at a national forest ranger station to get a couple maps and better directions to the trailhead. I would never have found it without their help. The first trail I went on was titled Hawksbill Crag and to get there, one had to take an unmarked dirt road with an incline and terrain making 4x4 capabilities highly desirable. The Altima persevered though and after about 6 miles of dirt road, I arrived at the trailhead. Interestingly, people actually live up there in houses. It's very beautiful but seems like traveling the bumpy road would get tiresome after a while.
When I arrived it was about 4:45 in the afternoon so I quickly hit the trail while there was still daylight. Hawksbill Crag is about 1.5 miles from the trailhead and juts out over an incredible view of which description and pictures can't accurately depict the breath taking view's majesty. I spent some time just admiring the view, taking pictures, and praying a bit.
With rapidly fading sunlight, I headed back towards the trailhead to grab my tent and set up camp. I didn't budget quite enough time to get out of the woods in the light and had accidentally forgotten a flashlight. This was cause for consternation and I became a bit anxious when momentarily losing the trail. I said a quick prayer, backtracked and found the trail again. Thankfully, God allowed a cloudless night with bright moonlight which helped in lighting the way back.
Setting up camp in the dark can be a bit challenging but I eventually got everything set up. The temperature was very moderate so I took my sleeping bag outside and watched the stars for a while. Living in the city limits the view of stars so I always appreciate getting out in the quiet and checking out the majestic view God created. It was a good time of talking with him about life and just enjoying His creation.
The next morning, I hopped back in the car and drove to a spot called Hemmed In Hollow where the major attraction was a 180 foot waterfall. On the way down, I stopped to check out Wild Vic's cabin about a mile down the trail. It amazes me that people were ever able to find or decide to setup housing arrangements that far back into the woods. The scenery was once again terrific with the occasional glimpse of a bluff or the valley leading down to the Buffalo River.
After around a 3 mile hike down, I arrived at the "Waterfall." Unfortunately, due to the dryness in the area the falls were much more along the lines of a trickle than a booming waterfall. Interestingly though, was that since the trickle had to fall about 180 feet and the wind was blowing, it had a bit of an effect like a sprinkler moving water from one side of the bottom to the other.
I then went and checked out the Buffalo River which was also way down in water flow. A local person I met there indicated that normally around this time, people are able to canoe down the river. I'm sure this area would be even more beautiful in the spring time when rain has been more frequent and the waterfall, streams, and river are flowing more freely. Incidentally, there was a fair number of people riding horses either on the trail or in the surrounding area. All told, total hiking distance was about 10 miles.
On the drive back to KC before leaving Arkansas, I let out a big Arkansas soouueeeie coming down a hill. It's just one of those joie de vivre things that you have to do sometimes after experiencing such magnificent scenery and mountain air. In the song "Indescribable," Chris Tomlin sings "from the colors of fall to the fragrance of spring" The colors were on great display.
There was a few random cacti on the trail as well. Who knew a cactus would grow in Arkansas?
Monday, July 23, 2007
Rocky Mountain Hiking
This past week I went on a hiking trip with Kevin, his dad, and their friend Kurt. We had loads of fun experiencing the great outdoors and enjoying God's beautiful creation as well as doing general manly things. In all the trip was 4 days and 3 nights. 21 miles round trip.
The altitude change (from 800 ft in KC to 10,000 ft the first campsite) on the first day was fairly brutal to all of us with a consequence that we had to help one of the guys carrying his pack about half the way. The second day we re-evaluated our plans and did a bit of backtracking.
Our packs weighed in varying amounts from upwards of 50 pounds to the mid 30s. On the trail, you feel every single pound and promise yourself that next time you'll cut off every spare ounce available.
The views all along the trail were splendid with varying amounts of wildlife including squirrels, chipmunks, birds, flowers, streams, mountains, marmots, ducks, and elk. There was no confirmed sighting of large game such as bears or mountain lions but much discussion and action was taken to try to avoid any unpleasant encounters with these hungry denizens of the forest.
On the second day, we got to experience the continental divide at 12,005 feet which is the determining spot for where rivers/streams flow towards the Atlantic or Pacific ocean. In fact, there are a couple streams which start within a few feet of each other yet ultimately wind up in opposite oceans.
Some of the highlight spots in the trip were the various lakes along the way. My very favorite was Odessa Lake which was at our campsite the first evening.
Vicious mosquitoes were ever present throughout the trip and natural lemon scented bug spray was much used and appreciated.
Meals consisted of a variety of things such as Ramen noodles, rice and beans with chicken, bagels with peanut butter for lunch, oatmeal for breakfast, trail mix, and some of the guys brought freeze dried foods which were of differing edibleness.
Sleeping arrangements consisted of tent dwelling which turned out reasonably well. Sleeping pads are essential on the trail and help provide a bit of cushion from the ground. I think the majority of us got increasing amounts of sleep as the trip went on whether from familiarity with surroundings or pure exhaustion.
Our experiences with the park rangers were sundry. Some were helpful and some seemed very intent on keeping the legalistic rules of the road. One such individual whom we'll call Ranger Rex instructed Phil that he couldn't talk to him because he wasn't in the car. Phil got back in the car, we pulled forward 10 feet and Ranger Rex was satisfied that communications could commence. "Safety regulations, you know."
Once above and beyond the day hiker reach, there was not a large quantity of people. Those that we did meet seemed fairly friendly. It was nice to be out in the back country with few people around. One can really feel at peace and relax in the beautiful creation and worshiper the Maker.
Group Picture Before Hitting the Trail
Odessa Lake
Fern Lake
Bierstadt Lake
Looking at Bierstadt Lake
Rapids
Trail
Rocky Trail
Path to Campsite
Camp Site
Cooking
On the Bridge
Kevin on the Trail
Andrew and Kevin on the Continental Divide
Mountain Flowers
Flowers by Mountain Stream
Duck
For more pictures go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/aallen30605/sets/72157600971841920/
The altitude change (from 800 ft in KC to 10,000 ft the first campsite) on the first day was fairly brutal to all of us with a consequence that we had to help one of the guys carrying his pack about half the way. The second day we re-evaluated our plans and did a bit of backtracking.
Our packs weighed in varying amounts from upwards of 50 pounds to the mid 30s. On the trail, you feel every single pound and promise yourself that next time you'll cut off every spare ounce available.
The views all along the trail were splendid with varying amounts of wildlife including squirrels, chipmunks, birds, flowers, streams, mountains, marmots, ducks, and elk. There was no confirmed sighting of large game such as bears or mountain lions but much discussion and action was taken to try to avoid any unpleasant encounters with these hungry denizens of the forest.
On the second day, we got to experience the continental divide at 12,005 feet which is the determining spot for where rivers/streams flow towards the Atlantic or Pacific ocean. In fact, there are a couple streams which start within a few feet of each other yet ultimately wind up in opposite oceans.
Some of the highlight spots in the trip were the various lakes along the way. My very favorite was Odessa Lake which was at our campsite the first evening.
Vicious mosquitoes were ever present throughout the trip and natural lemon scented bug spray was much used and appreciated.
Meals consisted of a variety of things such as Ramen noodles, rice and beans with chicken, bagels with peanut butter for lunch, oatmeal for breakfast, trail mix, and some of the guys brought freeze dried foods which were of differing edibleness.
Sleeping arrangements consisted of tent dwelling which turned out reasonably well. Sleeping pads are essential on the trail and help provide a bit of cushion from the ground. I think the majority of us got increasing amounts of sleep as the trip went on whether from familiarity with surroundings or pure exhaustion.
Our experiences with the park rangers were sundry. Some were helpful and some seemed very intent on keeping the legalistic rules of the road. One such individual whom we'll call Ranger Rex instructed Phil that he couldn't talk to him because he wasn't in the car. Phil got back in the car, we pulled forward 10 feet and Ranger Rex was satisfied that communications could commence. "Safety regulations, you know."
Once above and beyond the day hiker reach, there was not a large quantity of people. Those that we did meet seemed fairly friendly. It was nice to be out in the back country with few people around. One can really feel at peace and relax in the beautiful creation and worshiper the Maker.
Andrew and Kevin on the Continental Divide
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