Roadtrip West and Back

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Random Walker on May 27, 2009 at 11:39am

That is a lot of country!
Do not miss the Tetons (Wyoming) simply awe inspiring. If you have 3 or more days check into backpacking the Wind River Range (amazing alpine off trail mosey meanders once above 9000 feet)
Dead Horse Point, Utah. I do not really know why but I like this place. Great camping (and drive) along the Colorado River off SR-128 just north of Moab.

Yellowstone Visitor, "If you only had a few days here, where would you go?"
Yellowstone Ranger, "I would go over and sit on that bench and cry."

The longest loneliest strip of Route 66 left is from Kingman, Arizona, up through Peach Springs (Hike into Havasupai for sure!) and meets back up with I-40 around Seligman. I really really like this stretch of SR-66, again I do not know why... :-)

Your probably already on the road....

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ray Stallings on June 5, 2009 at 3:03pm

Hi! Random Walker. Just returned from my trip out West. Turned into App. 10 wks had some gear problems , but was tired and ready for my on bed (ground was getting Hard) Will fly into Jackson Hole on App. the 6th of August for a short 2wk. trip. Will do Yellowstone as well as the Tetons as best i can
with limited time frame. Got my permits to do a 3 day down in the Gr/ Canyon on the 24/25/26 of Sept. am looking forward to it. Will pst some pics as i can. Have not postes all the Hawaii pics yet. I know the area on 66 you refer to , have eaten at West end Lou-Lous place and stayes at Aztec Inn Clean & Cheap Just Right. Hike Safe Have Fun!!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Random Walker on June 6, 2009 at 1:41pm

Hey Ray!
Sounds like some great adventures of the finest kind, with more to come!
Heading to Yosemite myself (19 June) to mosey along the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne for 5 days or so. July will be at home in Olympic National Park, enter along the Dosewallips, exit along the Quinault River with lots of meandering the high country between the two. Probably be in North Cascades National Park in August / September.
Yup, know the Aztec Inn and have recouped at the Hualapai Lodge in Peach Springs after my Havasupai adventure.
Looking forward to your pictures and stories!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by SouthernHiker.com on May 27, 2009 at 3:46pm

thank you both for the excellent suggestions. I feel like sitting on a bench and crying b/c of the limited time in yellowstone, but hopefully i can at least see a few things, and a lot of wildlife. Thanks again for the suggestions. I look forward to it.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by James S on May 27, 2009 at 10:02pm

i agree with random walker, from yellowstone take a drive south and go thru teton national park. keep in mind at this time of the year there still might be lots of snow in the higher elevations in both the tetons and yellowstone. they both get tremendous amounts of snow !!! there's no way to recommend hikes in either without knowing snow depth info. what i would do is stop in any visitors center and talk to a ranger what you want to do. do you want to see bears, moose, wolves, bison etc. they keep sightings records if people report these to them. i would buy some bear spray and remember to take it with you, bear because they are just coming out of hibernation tend to be more aggressive at this time of the year. ask for bear reports before hiking any where. when driving thru the parks watch out for wildlife and for people stopping quickly. they are both large parks you could spend 3 days just driving thru yellowstone. in utah, check out the 5 peaks area in salt lake city area. have fun on your trip. the mountain west is a beautiful part of america, enjoy the scenery.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by James S on May 28, 2009 at 1:25pm

here is a link for hiking in salt lake city and all of utah, http://www.utah.com/saltlake/hiking.htm. there are a lot of trails.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by SouthernHiker.com on June 6, 2009 at 7:45pm

Thanks again for all of the tips. I'm having a great time out here. Seen a lot of wildlife, and some beautiful vistas, and still know that I have only started scratching the surface. Will be coming back to Tetons for some backcountry hikes. Good Luck in all of your travels as well.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Julie on July 6, 2009 at 10:05pm

Oh boy! I'm very familiar with your route, having moved to Wyoming from Tennessee! If you are planning on hitting Yellowstone, then you are going to hit Grand Teton National Park by default. Yellowstone has many of it's "highlights" (gysers, boiling mud pots, Old Faithful, thermal pools etc.) really close to the road. You'll be able to see much of this within' a days drive. Most of these features are roadside! Grand Teton National Park has many great day hikes. Try Amphitheater Lake (11miles, strenuous, approx 7 hrs) OR Death Canyon (8 miles, moderate, approx 5 hrs), and last, if you want super close up views of the Grand Teton-- hike to Table Mountain (12 miles- moderate OR 8 miles-strenuous via The Face Trail). You can go to Flickr.com and type any of the key words for these hikes to look at pictures people have posted.

Sinks Canyon in Lander Wyoming (a corridor to the Wind River Mountain Range) is a nice place to see some interesting geology!

Feel free to ask any questions!

For this and future road trips, I suggest the book "Road Trip USA." It covers EVERYTHING, and will make your route a little more interesting. Especially when traveling through Kansas or Nebraska.

Good luck!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Julie on July 6, 2009 at 10:08pm

Oops, I didn't even looks at the dates. I suppose you already went on your trip! HA!
Happy Travels anyway!

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by SouthernHiker.com on July 7, 2009 at 9:50am

You are dead on about the Road Trip USA book. I did use it while traveling, and its roadside attractions kept me from going mad while driving through Kansas and Nebraska.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kevin on July 12, 2009 at 10:18am

Sweet! Great question and some really good info so far. I can tell you right now there is not much to do in the kansas/missouri section of that trip. Take a rest and eat some steak while you are out there.

▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by SouthernHiker.com on September 22, 2009 at 9:37pm

I wanted to thank you all again for the advice on the roadtrip this summer. We had a blast. I'm starting to write about the trip on my site if any of your are interested. SouthernHiker.com

Thanks again.

▶ Reply to This