Mount Rainier Hiking near Paradise

Paradise Trails at Mount Rainier Karen and I hiked the trails around Paradise area of Mount Rainier park. The meadows in this area were in peak bloom, which the hiking wonderful. Karen felt like she was always hiking up hill. We hiked half of the Skyline Trial to Panorama Point, which has bathrooms. On our return, we hiked Deadhorse Creek Trail and the Waterfall Trail back to the Jackson Visitor Center.

We snapped a lot of pictures during our hike, which can be seen at our photo site. The day was clear so we got pictures of the peak of Mount Rainier, too.

Heading over to hike Palmer Park

I want to get in some hiking while in Colorado Springs so I am heading over to Palmer Park. It is a great place to hike if you are ever in the Springs area.

Some of the trails allow dogs and horses. Some of the trail are flat area while others go up and down some great looking rock formations.

Temperature is great at 72°F and light to no wind.

Palmer ParkWind twisted TreePalmer ParkHigh Desert Flower

Mammoth Cave Discovery Tour

Mammoth CaveMammoth Cave was cool as in 54° F or 12° C, which is to be expected.  Karen and I were on limited schedule of time, because we were heading over to Lexington, Kentucky.  Due to our limited time, we decided to only go on the self guided tour of Mammoth Cave.  This tour enters through the historical entrance and takes you by the saltpeter artifacts and walks you through some of the largest trunk passages in Mammoth Cave.

The saltpeter artifacts are from the time period around the War of 1812.  Mammoth Cave became a valuable commercial property with the outbreak of the War of 1812 between the United States and England. Cave sediments with abundant quantities of nitrate, an essential ingredient of gunpowder, were mined by slaves during the war.

Helpful maps: Park Map & Detail Map.

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Hiking in the Huntsville Land Trust in the N&S Section

Karen and I got out and did some hiking today.  The weather was great with the temperature around 74º.

If you haven’t hiked the Land Trust trails, you are missing out on some great trails.  The trails are primarily located on Monte Sano Mountain in Huntsville, Alabama, but there are others located throughout Madison County and north Alabama.  The Land Trust has over 3,400 acres of land.  The trails include many levels of difficult from easy on up.

Land Trust Hike May 6th 2006We hiked all over the area between the Land Trust Parking lot and Cleermont Drive.  I highlighted our hike on the map.  It is a beautiful area with a creek running between the Fagan Spring Trail and Wildflower Trail.  We found a lot of wild life on the hike.  I saw a large black snake that was over three foot in length, but it move to quickly for Karen to catch up and see it.  Soon after the first snake, we saw smaller two foot long black snake similar to the first.  The snake did not move.  I guess warm of the sun was to good to leave.  The under growth was jumping with life, too.  We saw chipmunks, squirrels, and lizards frequently.  Karen spotted a pool of tadpoles.  They were too young to see any legs or arms.

If you are interested in hiking the area, I have provided a link here to the trails in PDF format.

Hiking in the Huntsville Land Trust in the N&S Section

Partial  map of the Huntsville Land Trust trails with our hike hi-lighted.

Karen and I got out and did some hiking today.  The weather was great with the temperature around 74º.

If you haven’t hiked the Land Trust trails, you are missing out on some great trails.  The trails are primarily located on Monte Sano Mountain in Huntsville, Alabama, but there are others located throughout Madison County and north Alabama.  The Land Trust has over 3,400 acres of land.  The trails include many levels of difficult from easy on up.

We hiked all over the area between the Land Trust Parking lot and Cleermont Drive.  I highlighted our hike on the map.  It is a beautiful area with a creek running between the Fagan Spring Trail and Wildflower Trail.  We found a lot of wild life on the hike.  I saw a large black snake that was over three foot in length, but it move to quickly for Karen to catch up and see it.  Soon after the first snake, we saw smaller two foot long black snake similar to the first.  The snake did not move.  I guess warm of the sun was to good to leave.  The under growth was jumping with life, too.  We saw chipmunks, squirrels, and lizards frequently.  Karen spotted a pool of tadpoles.  They were too young to see any legs or arms.

If you are interested in hiking the area, I have provided a link here to the trails in PDF format.

Palmer Park Hiking

Looking back down trailKaren and I started hiking the Edna Mae Bennet Nature Trail from the North Canyon trailhead. This trail is considered advanced, because it has a steep grade. We took this trail, because it put you on top of the Yucca Flats which have a great view as you can for these pictures.

We switched to the Templeton Trail after getting to the top of the hills. This trail runs around most of the park’s west side.Karen at Palmer Park After hiking on top of the hills, we returned to our car by hooking up with the Edna Mae Bennet Nature Trail, again.

You will need sun screen on this hike. Karen was pink and you can almost tell in this picture.

North Cheyenne Cañon Park & Stratton Open Space

Stratton Open SpaceKaren and I went hiking along the Wildflower Path and Upper Meadows Loop as he worked our way to the South Suburban Reservoir. Nchey-Pg1The reservoir looked very black due to overcast. We walked the Chamberlain Ridgeway Spur back to our car. This open space is a great area for mountain biking as the trails are wide and smooth. Many people walk their dogs in the open area, too. (So watch your step.)

After walking in Stratton Open Space, we drove over to the Helen Hunt Falls Visitor Center so that we could hike up to see Silver Cascade Fall. This hike is very short, but it raises quickly. Karen did well on the hike, but it was a hot day for a hike.

Waldo Canyon Trail

Waldo Canyon TrailheadWaldo CanyonKaren and I hiked part of the Waldo Canyon trail in the Colorado Spring area. It is located along Highway 24.

The trail is made up of two parts. The trail head and a 3 1/2 mile loop. We hiked the trail head for a total of 3.6 miles. We completed the hike around 4:07 PM today.

Garden of the Gods

Garden of the GodsKaren and I started hiking with an easy beautiful walk around the Garden of the Gods along the Perkins Central Garden trail. The trail wanders around the central area of the Garden of the Gods. It is a paved trail with the only issue being sun exposure. At the right time of the year, flowers will be in bloom. We experienced rich green vegetation due to all the rain in the area for the past weeks.