Today’s Photo Of The Day comes from Flickr member RuthannOC and is of Yosemite National Park.
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Earlier this week a late season blizzard hit Yosemite National Park, burying the region in snow and leaving 37 skiers stranded in the backcountry. Fortunately they all escaped unharmed, but were given a healthy reminder of the dangers of traveling in the wilderness during the winter.
A group of 21 cross country skiers made their way to the Glacier Point region of the park along a trail that stretches 10.5 miles in length. That trail ends with a spectacular view of Half Dome, the most prominent attraction in the park, and Yosemite Valley some 3000 feet below. A winter hut stands nearby, and most skiers end up spending the night there before making their way back out the following day. A blizzard struck the area on Sunday, dumping six feet of snow on the park. The snow was accompanied by high winds, which made visibility and travel nearly impossible.
When the weather cleared a few days later, the group donned their skis and headed for the Badger Pass Ski Area for help. That journey took a number of hours to complete, with each of the group members taking turns breaking trail at the front of the pack.
Meanwhile, another 16 people were stranded throughout other areas of the park, but eventually made it out as well. The Park Service used snowmobiles to create tracks that allowed some skiers to make it out on their own, while others had to be rescued by Snowcat or snowmobile.
Late in the week, most of the roads into Yosemite were still closed due to the heavy snows. As of this writing, snow chains are still required while traveling along the few roads that are open and conditions are still in a state of flux. Travelers planning to visit the area are encouraged to call 209-372-0200 (then dial 1, 1) for the most recent road conditions before they set out.
Six feet of snow in one blast? Didn’t someone send Yosemite the memo that it’s spring now?
National Geographic has launched a new iPhone and iPad app that is sure to please travelers visiting America’s national parks. The app offers detailed maps of 15 parks, providing information on places to camp, trails to hike, locations of shops and visitors center, and other points of interests.
The program is apply named National Park Maps HD and it comes preloaded with digital versions of Nat Geo’s excellent Trails Illustrated Maps. The parks that are included are amongst the most popular and beautiful in the entire national park system, attracting millions of visitors on a yearly basis.
Upon launching the app you’ll be presented with a map of the U.S. with a photo representing each of the parks. Simply tap on the park you would like to explore and a detaied map will appear with an overview of the region. Double tapping the screen will allow you to zoom in even closer, showing you all the roads, campsites, and various other points of interest. And if the default maps don’t have the detail you need, HD versions of each of the maps are also available to download inside the app, bringing the zoom levels up even further.
National Parks Maps HD also offers the ability to use your device’s built in assisted GPS to triangulate your location and there is even an in-app compass to help you find your way. You’ll also find an option to place virtual pins on the map to mark your own favorite places and the built in search function allows you to locate anything you’re looking for in the park. The amount of information at your fingertips is fantastic and a real benefit for travelers.
The list of parks included in the app are Acadia, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Glacier/Waterton, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Great Smoky Mountains, Mount Rainier, Olympic, Rocky Mountain, Sequoia/Kings Canyon, Shenandoah, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion. If you were to buy each of those maps in paper form, it would cost over $300.
The National Park Maps HD app is available now for $4.99. The universal app is a one time download that will work on both your iPhone and iPad. If you’re planning a trip to one of the above parks in the near future, this would make an excellent travel companion for sure.
Back in early January we posted our suggestions for the best adventure travel destinations for 2011, with places like Ethiopia, Croatia, and Guyana all earning a nod. While we gave plenty of praise to those exotic locales, we also gave a big tip of the hat to the good ole’ U.S. of A. as well. We went on to espouse the virtues of adventure travel right here at home, which includes not only plenty of great destinations but also the ability to visit them without breaking the bank in the process.
So, whether you’re into climbing mountains, hiking trails, or paddling whitewater, here are five great domestic adventure destinations guaranteed to fill your need for an adrenaline rush and help you conquer that wanderlust in the process.
Michigan’s Upper Peninsula
It may be hard to believe, but the state of Michigan is actually home to a spectacular wilderness area that has a lot to offer the adventure traveler. The Upper Peninsula, or “U.P.” as it is known, is the perfect setting for outdoor enthusiasts year round. There are hundreds of miles of trails to be hiked or biked in the warmer months and during the winter they serve as excellent cross country skiing or dog sledding routes as well. Paddlers will enjoy the Lake Superior coastline, which offers an experience not unlike sea kayaking, while campers and backpackers will appreciate the dense, but beautiful, state and national forests that are found throughout the area. Wildlife is in abundance as well, with black bear, deer, wolves, coyotes, and many other creatures inhabiting the wilderness as well. Perhaps the best reason to visit the U.P. however is for the solitude. The peninsula makes up about 1/3 of the entire size of the state of Michigan, but only about 3% of the state’s total population actually lives there, which means there are plenty of wild spaces and few people to bump into on the trail.
Yosemite National Park, California
One of the most spectacular outdoor playgrounds in the entire world is located right in central California. Yosemite National Park is well known for its spectacular scenery that features towering granite cliffs, sparkling clear waterfalls and streams, and thick forests that include groves of Sequoia trees. The park has more than 750 miles of hiking trails alone and whitewater rafting along the Merced River is also a popular summer time activity. In the winter months skiing, both downhill and cross country, are permitted within the parks boundaries, and snowshoeing is a fantastic way to explore the wilderness as well. Yosemite also happens to be home to some of the best rock climbing in the world, with the legendary El Capitan drawing climbers from across the planet. That rock face isn’t for beginners however, and if you’d prefer an easier way to the top, you might want to consider hiking up Half Dome, another one of the parks major attractions, instead.
Grand Tetons National Park, Wyoming
Often overshadowed by other national parks in the area, Wyoming’s Grand Tetons National Park is a spectacular destination in its own right. With more than 200 miles of hiking trails, it is an ideal destination for backpackers. But less experienced hikers beware, due to its combination of remote backcountry and altitude, it can be a challenging place to explore. The park also happens to be bisected by the Snake River, which provides world-class fly fishing opportunities and easy kayaking as well. Mountaineers love the remote nature of the Teton Mountains, which afford them real opportunities to test their alpine skills on any number of challenging peaks, including the 13,770-foot Grand Teton itself. The park has plenty to offer wildlife spotters too. While visiting, keep your eyes peeled for moose, grizzly bear, wolves, coyotes and much much more.
Maine’s North Woods
For considerably easier, but no less satisfying, mountains to climb, look no further than Maine’s North Woods. The region is a dramatic, and mostly untouched, wilderness that is a fantastic destination for hikers and backwoods campers, offering thick forests and plenty of low altitude (read 2000-3000 feet) peaks to bag. As you can imagine, wildlife is in abundance here as well, with moose and black bear making regular appearances, along with otter, deer, and even bobcats. Paddlers can choose to enjoy a serene day in a canoe on one of the many lakes that dot the area or elect to head over to Maine’s Atlantic Coast for a decidedly different, and more challenging, experience in a sea kayak. With over 3.5 million acres of forest spread out across northern Maine, there is plenty of backcountry to explore.
Taos, New Mexico
Located in New Mexico’s Sangre de Cristo Mountain region, Taos is one of those towns that sits at the epicenter of an outdoor enthusiasts’ paradise. In the winter, it is one of the best ski and snowboard destinations in the entire country, and the miles of local trails are fantastic to explore while snowshoeing as well. During the summer, those same trails make Taos a world-class mountain biking destination and rock climbers will love the variety of challenges they find in the nearby mountains too. The warmer weather also brings excellent whitewater rafting, as well as fantastic opportunities for horseback riding, hiking, and trail running through a pristine wilderness that never fails to surprise visitors with its beauty and wonder. The village of Taos is a great destination in its own right, enchanting travelers with its down home charm, and it serves as a prefect base camp for those who come to play in the backcountry.
There you have it. Five great domestic destinations to that will give you plenty to see and do no matter what time of the year you visit. It’s still plenty early in 2011 to start planning your own escape to one of these outdoor paradises.
[Photo credit: Attila Nagy and chensiyuan via WikiMedia]
The National Park Service has announced that permits will now be required everyday of the week for the iconic Half Dome in Yosemite National Park during the 2011 summer season. The move is designed to prevent overcrowding on the trail that leads to the summit and is expected to make the steep hike safer for all involved.
Earlier this year, the park service announced that permits would be required on the weekends, but they found that that simply moved more of the crowd to weekdays. On average, about 400 people hike the trail on those weekdays, as opposed to about 800 on the weekends. With that in mind, the NPS capped the number of available permits to 400 per day.
To add another level of planning to the process, permits can not be obtained on site at the park. Instead, they’ll need to be purchased up to four months in advance through the National Parks Reservation System. The price of the permit is a mere $1.50, but you’ll now need to know exactly when you plan to make the hike and order your permit accordingly.
The “trail” to the summit of Half Dome can barely be called that. A set of cables run up the side of the rock face, which give hikers something to hold on to as they pull themselves up the granite slab, which has wooden beams spaced out along the way. On busy days, the lines can be slow and if someone slips, it is easy to take down others with them. The new permitting system will hopefully take away some of the crowding, and make the entire experience a safer and more rewarding one for all involved.
If you’re planning a trip to Yosemite in 2011, you’ll definitely want to ensure that you get your hands on a permit for Half Dome plenty early. It is one of the most popular things to do in the park, and definitely worth the trip.It would be a shame to go and not be allowed on the hike.
[Photo credit: Sjoplin via WikiMedia]
