The Wonders of Hiking and Exploring our National Parks

Blissful Hiking Adventures Podcast Show Notes - Episode 3

The Wonders of Hiking and Exploring our National Parks

Backpacking Yellowstone in the Shoshone Geyser Basin

The national parks are the people's parks - created to protect the wide diversity of scenic beauty, flora and fauna as well as preserving these unique splendors for generations to enjoy. Established in the 1800's with the creation of Yellowstone National Park in Montana, the parks yield a great playground of opportunity for the outdoor enthusiast. From the volcanoes of Hawaii to lofty mountains of Denali and Rainier to the Everglades of Florida and the rocky seashore of Acadia in Maine, the parks offer a wide variety of opportunities in exploration and enjoyment. 

I grew up with yearly family adventures to our national parks like Glacier in Montana and Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, extending that enjoyment to my adult years where I spent part of our honeymoon watching lava flow into the ocean at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and later on, working along the Appalachian Trail in Shenandoah National Park as a ridgerunner.

Before you venture to the parks, check out the official park website and their Things to Do section that offers park highlights. Once at the park, head to the visitor center where friendly rangers and park volunteers can help you decide on the best adventure in the time you have. 

Mt Rainier

Some of my favorites include

Yosemite

Yellowstone

The Giant Sequoias of California

Great Sand Dunes in Colorado

Mt Rainier of Washington State

Glacier in Montana

Arches and Bryce Canyon in Utah

Acadia of Maine

Shenandoah in Virginia

If you plan to venture into the backcountry of a national park for hiking and camping, check out the park's regulations. Most parks require a backcountry permit. In some the permits are free, in others a fee is required. Some parks require you to watch a safety video. Some parks require that you reserve a specific camp area or site. Check out also on bear proof technique for your food in each park as some have different regulations. And be sure you have the appropriate gear and footwear for the terrain and seasons in which you are hiking and camping. 

Exploring Bryce Canyon, Utah

With a bit of planning the national parks offer a wide variety of fun and exciting opportunities to enjoy the splendor of these unique places in the United States. 

Check out Blissful Hiking Adventures to listen to this and other episodes on our podcast and the Hiking Adventure Series on our National Scenic Trails in print and e-book!

On Lassen Peak!

Alternate Summer Trail Adventure - Part 2 - Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Into the woods

Along a portion of the Continental Divide Trail

Yellowstone National Park  adventures abound. On a rainy day at the Mammoth Hot Springs Visitor Center, my husband asks if I wanted to check out the backcountry camping office. I was surprised as I figured we would not be doing any further hikes after the Sangre de Cristo trip. But the park ranger offered us something we could not refuse – a hike along part of the CDT (Continental Divide Trail) to a geyser basin that can only be reached in the backcountry. And I said, “Yes!”

So off we went to experience another part of Yellowstone in the backcountry, minus the crowds we had to contend with. In fact, no hikers were around whatsoever. And yes, this is a mere week after a mama grizzly mauled a park visitor while on a backcountry trail (the first time in over 20 years). So we are equipped with bear spray and loud voices, some bad singing, etc to alert any wild animals of our presence. We hiked past Lone Star Geyser to see the geyser hiccupping with some steam for a small show, which was interesting. We continued hiking out to the CDT and headed up and over the Continental Divide. And in no time met snow along the way and lots of water from the melting and mud. Even though the snow was in spots, I was still glad we had not done the JMT earlier that month. For there to be snow in Yellowstone in late July, that’s a big snow year.

Skipper stands behind a huge snow drift on the CDT

Another horrendous issue was the mosquitoes. Man-eating, flying meanies they were, and it took every ounce of DEET and bug netting and anything else to keep them at bay. They were ravenous -biting knuckles, the back of earlobes, my upper lip, anything (sure, put DEET on a lip, yuck!)

But we did arrive at the Shoshone geyser basin to see our own assortment of thermal activity and geysers going off, one of which we affectionately called “Bliss Geyser.” 

 

With storm clouds building, we headed to our designated campsite for the night, all the while trying to outwit the hungry hordes of whining and buzzing blood-sucking beasts. The meal was quick as I dove into my tent just before the rain hit. 

But the next day we were out early before revelry sounded the mosquito horde, and we calmly ate our breakfast and packed up the site without any mosquito trouble. We hiked quickly back down the CDT, making good time to Lone Star Geyser, and what to our wandering eye did appear but a FULL geyser eruption! And even a rainbow to boot.

Blissful in front of Lone Star Geyser

 Yellowstone at its finest all the way around.