AboutMike Expertise I can answer questions about backpacking a snowshoeing in the American West: Mountains, Canyons and Deserts.
Experience I've spent much of my life backpacking, hiking and snowshoeing in the Cascades, Rockies, high Sierras and the red rock canyons of the Southwest.
Publications Just letters to the editor in Backpacker and Outside and my Backpacking homepages
Question Hi, and thank you so much for this site. It's been a
nightmare trying to find some answers.
I'm planning a month long backpacking and camping trip from
late June to late July this year. I've camped many times
but never by myself and not much backcountry camping. I
live in Dallas and have a few places and quite a few states
I'd like to visit. I'm planning on Taos, up the east side
of the Rockies through CO, WY, and MT. I'd like to spend a
couple of days in each state and stay on the east side so
that I can take in the plains. Then cross over ID and into
WA to the rain forest. Leisurely drive home in motels!
All this said, I'd love some recommendations for national
parks where I can start out relatively close to a ranger
station and end up going further perhaps by MT and def in
WA. Can you suggest any quiet trails with good hiking (I
can easily handle moderate and haven't disgraced myself on
expert trails), great views, and campgrounds/accessible
backcountry sites?
Oh, and I'm a woman in my twenties going alone if that
makes any difference.
THANK YOU.
Answer Hi,
My familiarity with the areas you're going to is limited but I'll be happy to share what I know.
In New Mexico, I've not been to Taos for ages but not long ago was in NW NM to Chaco Canyon. It was very enjoyable. There's a nice campground there and some good hiking to and among Anasazi ruins. I don't think there's any backpacking however. It's remote, quiet and interesting.
The area around Durango was the most recent in CO but I hit it in the spring during some lousy weather and wasn't inspired to do much. Instead I headed over into sunnier SE Utah. By the time you'll be on your trip I'd not recommend that area in Utah since it'll be hot by then, or likely to be hot. (You live in heat. I don't and I don't like it.)
So...the last time I did any hiking in Colorado was a long time ago and I was in Rocky Mtn. Natl. Park and I really don't recall where we went.
I really can't recommend the Wind River Range in Wyoming enough. The mountains are magnificent and the wilderness is huge and there are loads of beautiful lakes, streams, meadows, ridges and so on. I'm not familiar with the east side other than where I've crossed the continental divide from the west side and I've done that at several passes along the range. From what I see the east side is as beautiful as the west. The central and northern part of the range are the highest and most attractive, except for the far north end, but not many trails are there.
A popular and worthwhile trail is to to to the Cirque of Towers. It is popular, especially with climbers, but it's beautiful. I think that the trail that comes in from the east is the North Fork trail. Horses are likely on that trail.
Possibly one of the finest hikes anywhere is to come in from the west side toward the Cirque of Towers. From Pinedale, WY you drive a long and somewhat rugged road to the Big Sandy trailhead and hike in towards Dad's lake. There are some nice camp spots here and a good first night's stopping point. From there you can hike in toward Texas Pass and Washakie Pass. Find a lake on the map that's off the trail and set up a camp or hike on up toward Texas Pass along that chain of lakes. Wonderful hike!
There's a lot of hiking and backpacking in the Grand Tetons as well as Yellowstone. In Yellowstone be prepared to deal with grizzlies. A bearproof container and a can of bear spray is not a bad idea. You're probably familiar with the needed precautions but inside parks you can be fined for not being careful and that's true from Yellowstone north into Glacier and into Canada.
Idaho is a just ok place for me. The Sawtooth range is criss-crossed with trails and probably worth seeing. Some people love it there but for whatever reason it doesn't excite me that much.
Across northern Washington you have the Okanogen area but I've only done a day hike there way back as part of a college field trip. But west of there is the incredible North Cascades National Park. On the west end of the park, accessed from highway 542, is a trailhead that leads first over Hannegan pass. As you descend from this pass and into the park there's a trail that leads off to the left/north up to Copper Ridge. Copper Ridge is amazing with views of glaciers and the most rugged mountains in the USA outside of Alaska. Silsea Camp, along the ridge, is a top ten campsite although you'll need to either melt snow or hoof it down to Egg Lake for water, but it's worth it.
From there you can wander the trail along the ridge and descend back down to (I think) the Chilliwak River among the deepest, most lush and untouched old growth in the lower-48. From there you head back to Hannegan Pass or deeper into the wilderness.
The North Cascades, due to their relatively low elevations and heavy load of greenery, appear to be an easy hike. They are not. They're steep, rugged, and at times it's easy enough to lose the trail due to the overgrowth of plants. The rivers are swift, cold and dangerous, but there are bridges or cable cars to use for crossings. At times you'll hear hanging glaciers crashing off cliffs and rumbling. There are more glaciers here than anywhere outside of Alaska. (You don't have to walk on any.) In warm weather the bugs are probably dense.
Over by the Hoh and the Olympics the classic hike is up the Hoh River Valley. Since I live in or near rain forests I have to admit that after a day or two of being buried in trees I get tired of it and prefer ridges and long views. But it is quite an experience.
The east side of the Olympics is far drier and there are places where you can ascend the ridges for long views. At the moment I'm blank on the names of those spots for some reason. I spent a couple of weeks around the Olympics for another field trip but it's been a long while.
Hiking high on Mt. Rainier, or visiting Mt. St. Helens is worthwhile also. The Enchantments are a very pretty range of the Cascades but crowded. The main headquarters REI in Seattle is fun too.
I'm not sure how you're headed home but there's a day hike, or backpack, on the NW corner of Mt. Hood that's really a beauty. The Topspur trailhead is the starting point and the vicinity of McNeil Point / Cairn Basin is the destination. Very pretty part of the world. The REI in Clackamas is a good one near Portland. (I work there.) And Portland itself is a great town for twentysomethings.
Do be careful. As a woman alone I think I'd carry bear spray all the time for protection from 4-legged and 2-legged problems. I'm a dad of a 28 year old woman so I worry. Camp safely. I'd love to hear how your trip goes. If you have other questions, as you can see, I love to talk about the wilderness. mentalfloss1@gmail.com
Almost forgot...some photos of some of these areas are at BackpackingAmericanWest.com
