Cathedral Gorge State Park in Panaca, NV is a hidden gem in the heart of the Great Basin Desert. The Great Basin Desert is the largest US desert, which covers an arid expanse of about 190,000 square miles and is bordered by the Sierra Nevada Range to the West, and Rocky Mountains to the East. At the South East corner of Nevada sits Cathedral Gorge State Park, which exposes erosion that has carved unique patterns in the soft bentonite clay.
I've upgraded from my selfie stick, to a selfie tripod, and I am SO excited to have found the RIF6 Mini Tripod! I was on the hunt for something lightweight (for backpacking & day hiking), something rugged, and that would actually fit my iPhone 6s.
From its name Nine Mile Canyon, you'd imagine that it would literally be nine miles. In reality, Nine Mile Canyon is actually a 70 mile long Backcountry Byway. The BLM believes it derived its name from, when in 1869, John Wesley Powell was exploring the Green River. The expeditions cartographer used a nine mile transect for mapping and the canyon retained that name.
Broads Fork Twin Peaks in Big Cottonwood Canyon via Robinson's Variation is not for the weak nor beginner hiker. It's a tough, long day. If you've done any research on this peak, you've seen several routes that will lead you to the top. My friend who lead us on this hike, had done it other the ways, but wanted to try this route out. I was up for anything! He had heard it was do-able, but steep. Robinson's Variation was also appealing to us because it could be done as a loop hike - up Robinson's, summit, then down the traditional Broad's Fork route.
"Every now and then I come across an Instagram account that really catches my attention. Usually because the pictures all have the same filter, or their food pics look extra delicious. But this account was different. Alicia Baker, the owner of @GirlOnAHike,
Lisa Falls is another super easy waterfall to reach, and is great for kids. This seemed to be the "week of waterfalls" for me. I also visited the Left Fork of Mill Creek and Faux Falls in Moab which are also both great for dogs and kids. Every time I drive up Little Cottonwood Canyon, I say "there's a waterfall over there - we should check it out!" But I never did...
Faux Falls in Moab is a very short walk, that the whole family will enjoy. "Faux" is French for "false" or "fake", hence the name. Faux Falls was built in 1981 along with Ken's Lake, when a drought in the early 1970s pressed for the need of more water for Moab and surrounding areas. Ken's Lake is named for the then District Chairman, Ken McDonald, and the lake was dedicated for irrigation purposes in the upper Spanish Valley - long known as "Poverty Flats" because of its lack of water. It cost $4 million dollars to build the 96 ft high dam to hold an estimated 2,750 acres of water that allows for the cultivation of roughly 900 acres of land.
Hiking the North Fork of Mill Creek in Moab has been on my hiking "to do" list every time I'm in town, but it always got put on the back burner for other trails. This time, since we had 5 dogs with us, we made it happen! Us and the dogs had done a dry hike the day before at The Fisher Towers, and really needed to cool off. We all had big dogs, and they tend to overheat quickly. Hiking along a stream seemed like the perfect way to cool off. However, I wasn't looking forward to Charlie riding home 4 hours in the car home soaking wet and sandy. Sometimes you just need to let the dogs have fun and not care about keeping things clean.