Covid had impacted all our lives, and living in close confines with my partner for an entire year without the relief of social life and travel was proving to be tough. The cold and gloomy winter of Seattle didn't help either: it had multiplied the stresses of being together. This park, and the islands where the Park was nestled in, was meant to be an escape from reality from the bleak weather. Thankfully, it lived up to its expectations.
Virgin islands are not a hard place to get to as there are plenty of flights that ply to these Caribbean US territories. A short cab and ferry ride from the island of St Thomas lands you in St John, where the Park is actually located. But getting around the Park, especially to the remote reaches on the eastern side of the island, necessitated renting one of the colorful Jeeps available by the ferry terminal. And that gave me the freedom to explore various trails and relax by the white sand beaches normally not visited by day trippers from St Thomas, the commercial hub of Virgin Islands.
And while sailing remains the best way to explore these territories, staying in and exploring the island of St John by road works was a welcome substitute for the solo traveler.
Virgin Islands National Park
USVI
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 - Saguaro National Park
The winter was proving to be depressing, and in a bid to escape to a sunnier climate, we chose to explore deserts of Arizona and White Sands. Saguaro National Park, in South-Central Arizona, made for a quick day trip from the neighboring town of Tuscon. The Park, so named for its spectacular forests of the nation's cacti, offers plenty of hikes where trails explore the diverse Sonoran desert ecosystem.
The park is divided into two parts - the Tuscon Mountain District and the Rincon Mountian District. We chose to spend the day exploring the former due to its proximity to the city of Tuscon. The latter, on the other hand, offers plenty of wilderness opportunities, including backcountry camping. If we were to come back, the Rincon would be the place to explore.
Here is one of the spiky Saguaros under a moody grey sky of the Sonoran desert.
Saguaro national Park
AZ 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 - Acadia National Park
Having been established in 1916, this 100+ year old park was one of the older parks that I had visited in my National Parks Journey. Due to its age, I had envisioned a Park that captured rustic New England culture in a region that faced long harsh winters and lush summers. I also knew that, similar to other parks in the North East of the country, the area the Park preserved was not a place to escape away from civilization to nature, but to protect a region where the the two coexisted and even when humanity encroached on nature. And just like those other Parks, Acadia was replete with beautiful parkways that wound their way through the island offering plenty of turnouts to stop and enjoy the scenery. But in addition, Acadia also featured carriage trails preserved from the age of romanticism, along with hiking trails that wound through the forests and around lakes.
I had timed my visit for the autumn, hoping to capture some of the fall color magic that permeates this Park during this season. However, neither the colors nor the weather was cooperative. Nevertheless I still managed to find moments of zen in the crowded season in this small park.
Acadia National Park
ME USA
A National Parks Journey - Mesa Verde National Park
Mesa Verde, the third in the trio of National Parks I visited on a trip to Colorado in 2019, is not a traditional National Park that protects places of outstanding natural beauty. Instead it has the best preserved ancestral peublo villages that were carved into sheer cliff faces in the American Southwest. Strategically located away from the bright sunlight where the Puebloans could find water natural seeping between the clefts, these villages are not often visible from above, and accessing it required climbing down narrow footsteps on slippery sandstone walls and shaky ladders. Thankfully, the conveniences of modern technology means that sturdy iron ladders and walkways now provide access for the guided National Park tours that now visit these villages.
Arriving late in the evening after exploring the Rocky mountains along the San Juan Skyway, I was not expecting to find any tickets to the timed tours. But once again, luck was on my side as I managed to snag the last of the tour tickets for the next day. Planning for getting tickets for the tours, which have now re-opened, is highly recommended, as you get to understand the culture of the Pueblo dwellers, and grasp the harsh realities of their everyday life.
Mesa Verde National Park
CO 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
A National Parks Journey - Capitol Reef National Park
I did not think I could be surprised and delighted any more when I visited Capitol Reef National Park in Utah. After all, I had already been to the state's star redrock attractions: Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce and Zion, and had hiked extensively through them. And yet, Capitol Reef more than measured up to its expectations, and showered me with spectacular panoramas of red rock country, hikes through stunning slot canyons, vistas of red Navajo sandstone formations, and the star of the show, the nearly 100 mile long water-pocket fold, a wrinkle in the earths crust that stretched along the rugged terrain of the park.
While most of the park is easily accessible, the features of the the centerpiece, the water-pocket fold, are mostly in the back-country, and requires braving miles of traveling on dusty gravel roads that wind through the parks hinterlands. However, the rewards that await the tenacious bac-kcountry explorer are many, and even the single day I had spent exploring the washes and slot canyons in the fold left me wanting for more. Hopefully I will get to return back and explore more of this spectacular park once the crowds thronging the park this summer subsides.
Capitol Reef National Park
UT USA
A National Parks Journey - Big Bend National Park
The second of the two National Parks in Texas, Big Bend is more than just about a big bend in the Rio grande river as it winds towards the Gulf of Mexico. Remarkable montane terrain, a rugged canyon carved through red desert rock, and spectacularly clear night skies await anyone who makes the long drive out to this isolated park. It is certainly worth visiting for the diverse ecosystems that are found in this high desert corner of the state, along the remote section of the border with Mexico.
Beyond these, what captivated me was the small stretch of the Rio Grande river as it wound sound through the tight Santa Elena Canyon, with one face of the towering canyon wall in Big Bend, and the other side in Cañón de Santa Elena in Mexico. In this small stretch, the river serves as the border between two large economies with different culture and history, and all that was separating these two nations was a river a few yards wide easily traversed by any mode of watercraft. It left me wondering as to how such a small body of water could ever serve as a barrier between people and economies wanting to come together.
Big Bend National Park
TX USA