Landscapes

A National Parks Journey - Lake Clark National Park

Alaska is one of those places where the names of the National Parks don't ever reveal what the Park is actually about, except, perhaps for Denali National Park. And even though the main attraction of that Park (the 20th National Park I had visited) is Denali, the highest mountain peak in North America, the Park preserves an ecosystem and biome far more diverse than just the small area around the peak. However, unlike Denali, the Lake Clark of Lake Clark National Park is but a small piece of the large region preserved by the Park. And even though it occupies a vast swath of southwestern Alaska, it is only the 7th largest National Park.

With most of the park in the backcountry where access and logistics are challenging, I chose to go with an outfitter to explore the stunning wilderness in the heart of the Park. It is a rugged terrain where there are no hiking trails and no navigational landmarks, and where mosquitoes reign supreme. And yet, even in this harsh landscape, I found a slice of heaven in the interior where craggy mountains reflected in the shimmering surface of a turquoise lake. I found a pristine wildlife environment where Brown bears, Arctic foxes, Caribou roamed free in a roadless landscape.


Lake Clark was my 52nd National Park, and I still have 10 more remaining to visit. Will I get to them this year? Only time will tell.

Lake Clark National Park
Ancestral Homelands of the Dena'ina people
AK USA

,

A National Parks Journey - Voyageurs National Park

,
NP51 - Voyageurs.jpg

Visiting the Boundary waters between Canada and the US was something special: it was a vast ecosystem with acres of water as far as the eye could see, interspersed by lushly forested islands that floated like mats of green on an large aquatic biome. I only had the opportunity to visit these waters in Voyageurs National Park, but it was enough to give me a sample of what the rest of this place has in store. And in the couple of days I spent there, I garnered enough memories to treasure our visit for a lifetime

Far away from any major airports, getting to this Park in the northernmost reaches of Minnesota required a long and tiring drive from Minneapolis under a hot summer sky. But once I entered the Park, which is mostly water-based, the mood suddenly shifted. From the visitor center, I spied the boundless waters of Lake Kabetogama Lake in all directions, and under the mid-day sun, was refreshing to dip into.

Thereafter, we rented a canoe, and paddled into the waters of Rainy Lake, hoping to trace part of the route the ancient Voyageurs during the fur trade years of the 17th and 18th century. But being novice paddlers, we instead chose to stay by an isolated campsite on an island in the heart of Voyageurs. And this isolation made it the perfect escape from the chaos of civilization: from relaxing on a private beach to cool down under the hot sun, to watching colorful sunrises and sunsets from your doorstep, and to falling asleep under the twinkling fireflies and the scintillating stars. I could not hope to or ask for more.

This was one such sunset scene with unique cloud formations created by the heat wave spreading over the boundary waters.

Voyageurs National Park
MN USA

A National Parks Journey - Glacier Bay National Park

Theodore Roosevelt National Park was my 49th National Park that I had visited on my journey to the 63 parks. And my 50th had to be special. When I raised it to my partner, she recommended that we visit the spectacular Glacier Bay National Park. At first glance, the name just brought up imagery of vast mountain ranges getting slowly carved by glaciers, and long fjords bristling with tidewater glaciers descending down from the peaks. But after visiting there, I realized that it was so much more than that.

The park isn't easy to access - but it certainly isn't the hardest one to access in the 49th state. It required two flights to get to the lightly populated island of Gustavus, and the Park itself featured only one hotel and one campground, despite encapsulating a substantial area in Alaska. But it was its remoteness and lack of accessibility that made the experience so much better. Compared to the crowds in parks of Utah, this felt completely isolated. And yet, the Park had so much to offer, featuring rich history and culture that felt alive, and, of course, bountiful nature.

Colorful displays in the visitor center tell the story that led to the creation of the park, starting with the rapid advance of the Grand Pacific Glacier in the 18th century that pushed away the Tlingit settlements who had lived there for hundreds of years. In addition, tastefully done ranger programs tell the narrative of the lives of the Tlingit disrupted by the advance of the glacier, the creation of the Park and the subsequent conflict with the Tlingit, as well as the efforts taken now by the Park system to preserve, protect and enrich this rich cultural heritage. And finally, the day cruise into the tidewater basin, which I highly recommended, showcases the complex ecosystem in the nutrient rich waters of Glacier Bay which served as home for humpbacks which rear their calves, seals and sea lions who are year-round denizens, plethora of migratory seabird species, and the iconic grizzlies fishing along the undulating shoreline.

And to frame all this is the vast glacial landscape where tidewater glaciers descend down from the snow-capped peaks to meet the freezing waters of the Pacific. It is a landscape so challenging to explore except by water. And I hope to return one day to explore its rugged backcountry.

Glacier Bay National Park
AK USA

A National Parks Journey - Theodore Roosevelt National Park

For me, the Dakotas, especially North Dakota, was a long forgotten part of the country. I had always considered it as a flyover state, and far away from any other tourist attractions. But it did have one National Park, the Theodore Roosevelt National Park, tucked away in the western corner of the state. Its distance from major metropolitan areas (over 250mi from Billings), meant that visiting it required concerted effort, and couldn't have been just a short sidetrip on a cross country journey. Nevertheless, I ventured out to this National Park, without any expectations, as the name didn't reveal what was unique about this park.

There are two parts to this park, both of which encapsulated the Little Missouri river basin . I had planned on visiting only one. However, after spending half a day in this Park wandering around hiking trails around convoluted badlands, seeing wild horses and bison, and witnessing the big sky country, it left me wanting more. Hence, even though I didn't plan on this, I ventured out to the northern unit of the National Park, separated by miles and miles of grasslands and wheat fields.

And here, I was thoroughly taken away. I hiked through trails that wound around the beautiful country, admired colorful rock formations like this one above, and explored badlands rivaling Badlands National Park, played hide and seek with wild wildlife, and achieved a sense of peace, serenity and oneness with nature. I would have been thoroughly satisfied just spending my days under the warm summer sun in this park.

When I had first driven in to the campground, I was greeted by a friendly campground host. As we continued chatting, I asked why he choose to volunteer in this park coming all the way from Texas, his home state. He responded by just waving his arms and asked me to spend a night to understand why. I quite didn't grasp it initially. But after spending just a night there, I did.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park
ND USA

A National Parks Journey - Petrified Forests National Park

I had meant to combine a visit to Petrified Forests National Park, tucked away in the north-eastern corner of Arizona, along with Grand Canyon during the spring of 2020. But Covid had put a stop to those grandiose plans. Nevertheless I found myself at the entrance of this Park one year later. It is one of those Parks that you can only visit and explore during the daylight hours, unless you were the few who chose to spend the night under the stars in the vast backcountry wilderness. But on this trip, I hadn't carried any gear to do so, and I chose to remain one of the daytrippers.

I wasn't sure what to expect of Petrified forests, apart from actually seeing petrified wood which I did. But I also found colorful badlands made of layers of blue clay, a desert-like landscape with large swathes of red color painted over, and crystalline wood still resembling buried logs but in various shades of blue, white, green and other colors. After seeing all these, I had wished I could have spent the night to experience this vast desert landscape after dark.

This vista showcases the Painted Desert, one of the likely choices for backcountry camping in the park. With no freshwater available, you would have to haul everything in and out yourself - and that is not for the casual traveler.

Petrified Forests National Park
AZ USA

,

A National Parks Journey - Joshua Tree National Park

,

I was surprised that I had put off visiting the 8th National Park in the State of California for this long. Especially since I had lived in California for over 8 years. The Park itself was easy to access from the town of Palm Springs, which makes for a suitable base to visit the Park. And even though I hadn't expected to see much in this park except for its namesake - the Joshua Tree, I was pleasantly surprised to explore a thriving desert landscape with very unique rock formations.

Cacti of different species, including this forest of spiny chollas, called this rocky landscape home, as do the iconic boulder formations that have attracted boulderers from all over the continent. But framing all this are the namesake cacti - the Joshua tree, that is so emblematic of the Colorado Desert Region of Southern California. While heading out of the park on a colorful evening, I found this forest just as the sun dipped below the mountains and lit up the sky.

Joshua Tree National Park
CA USA

A National Parks Journey - Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Over the past decade, I had visited two of the three major National Parks that dominate the north east- Acadia and Shenandoah. The last one on that list was Smokies, one of the most visited National Parks in the country due to its popularity, ease of access and proximity to tourist centers. This made it a foolhardy decision to visit the park in fall, and yet I persisted with this task.

Despite visiting during the peak of Covid infections in the country, the crowds were far worse than I had anticipated. The tourists in the getaway towns of Gatlinburg and Cherokee, threw away any social distancing or sensible mask precautions to the wind. Driving in the long lines of traffic leading in and out of the park, and on its major thoroughfares, proved to be an exercise in patience. Nevertheless, we did find our moments of zen, both along trails that meandered along small creeks doused in blazing yellows, or at the top of Clingmans dome, watching the surreal colors of sunrise and dawn creep across the ranges of blue mountains to the east. In spite of the throngs of tourists, these are memories I would preserve for a while

Great Smoky Mountains National Park
TN USA

A National Parks Journey - Haleakala National Park

My primary reasoning to choose Maui over the other islands of Hawaii for a winter trip to the tropical islands was Haleakala National Park. It was November of 2019 and I hadn't visited a single new National Park in that year. Covid was barely in the news at that time, and travel concerns seemed far on the horizon. Thus, when we were choosing the islands, we ended up settling on Maui. Due to the throngs that visit Hawaii during the month of December, our Last minute planning meant that we couldn't stay the hotels we desired. However, I was willing to sacrifice all that for a chance to stay within the crater of the National Park.

We snagged the walk-up permits by being first in line at the Park HQ - thankfully very few others had ideas of backpacking while in Hawaii. Hiking into the core of a volcanic crater and viewing the desolate moonscape of volcanic ash mingled with dry vegetation made for a memorable backpack. The icing on the cake was waking up in the middle of the night to watch the star-studded night sky that denizens of the main towns of Maui would hardly be able to experience. This alone makes the National Park a worthwhile visit for any traveler to Maui.

This particular scene is a silhouette of the various tourists posing against the setting sun at the rim of Haleakala.

Haleakala National Park
HI USA

A National Parks Journey - Black Canyon of the Gunnison

From Great Sand Dunes, where I had spent the previous night, I took my time to get to the town of Gunnison, going over scenic byways that followed the headwaters of the Rio Grande (that I visited a few months prior in Big Bend National Park), eventually making it to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. This Park had mesmerized me for the longest time with its dramatic nomenclature - named for one the pitch black depths at the bottom of the steepest river canyons in the country. At over 2700 ft deep in places and barely 50 ft wide at the bottom, even pictures can't do justice to the raw jagged terrain of this narrow canyon.

I spent my time viewing the sheer scale of its steep walls from the many viewpoints on the south rim where thoughtfully placed displays explained the history and geology of this park. And even though the river was barely visible from the top, these displays explained how over the eons, the erosive power of water cut through hard schist rock formations, exposing the veins of iron that you see in the above image of the Painted Wall.

Despite its small size, the park is worth a visit, if only to observe and grasp the power of natural forces in carving out a deep scar in the earths crust.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
CO USA

A National Parks Journey - Great Sand Dunes National Park

I had visited five National Parks in 2018, with three in quick succession during a trip to Colorado. First on the stop was Great Sand Dunes National Park, one of the five National parks where you can find sand dunes, and the only one where the dry desert meets the Rocky mountains. Situated in rain shadow of the snow-capped peaks lay towering golden sand dunes more than 200ft high. From my past experiences spending the night in the dunes, I knew I that spending the night here would provide plenty of opportunities for photography, but first, I had to figure the logistics of doing that - including getting permits.

Having arrived late in the day leading up to the Memorial weekend, which was big for travel here, I was not particularly hopeful on getting a walk-in permit. Thankfully, the stars were on my side, and I had secured the last permit. After that, the next challenge was figuring out where to camp. So I saddled up my pack and walked towards the dunes, with no specific destination in mind. Climbing up sand isn't easy in the best of times, but climbing with a heavy pack with 4l of water and camera gear all under the dry desert heat was immeasurably worse. But once I settled in to an amicable spot, and enjoyed an afternoon siesta, my mood was certainly brighter.

Planning a night in the dunes is harder than a regular backpack, but all those troubles worth it for the serene sunset, beautiful night sky amidst the dunes, and the refreshing feeling of stepping into cold and soft sand.

Great Sand Dunes National Park
CO USA