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#21
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Zion or Bryce?
"Exiled Canuck" wrote in message om... As a fellow Haligonian now living in San Diego, I couldn't resist chiming in with my 2 cents (US). There are two things to keep in mind in MHO. First, the extraordinary senery at each of the locations you are planning to visit will blow you away. San Diego is breathtaking, the Grand Canyon is out of this world, and Zion & Bryce are each worth days of exploration on their own. Second, Distance and driving. The driving bewteen Las Vegas, Grand Canyon, and Utah is all long and mostly boring. The drive from the Grand Canyon up to Zion and Bryce is very long and although it contains some amazing sites, is still draining. Bryce Canyon is a few additional hours north of Zion and also requires that you climb to over 9000 ft, which for Bluenosers like us is usually very exhausting. My adice is to limit the number of locations and enjoy the ones you choose. I would cut out the North Rim, Monument Valley, and Bryce, leaving only the South Rim and Zion. I know this seems too drastic, but I think you will be shocked at the incredible beauty of these two locations and realize that the American Southwest is place to return to again and again. If I was to pick two, it would be Bryce and Zion. Two of the most beautiful places on earth. |
#22
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Zion or Bryce?
adjgiulio wrote:
"MadHatter" wrote in message om... Thanks. I'd really like to go back now that I've got a better camera. I guess that it depends on what part of Oregon you'd be visiting, how convenient a hike you're looking for and what type of falls intersts you the most. There are some places where you could see quite a few in a day. I'm only familiar with the Cascades region, but if you know where you'll be, I could come up with some suggestions. Well, I just settled down in Seattle after a life in Rome, Italy. I'm planning a 20 days trip in July. I'm basically thinking to drive from Seattle to Mt. St. Helens and then reach the coast and drive south till the Redwood NP, CA. Then east to Lassen Volcanic NP, north to Lava Beds NM and Crater Lake. From there I'd like to explore some of the beautiful Oregon's scenic byways driving east till the Hells Canyon NRA and come back west to Portland. Then again north to Seattle. Up to now I've highlighted some spot I'd like to see as Oregon Cave NM, Toketee falls, Smith Rock SP, John Day fossils beds, Silver Falls SP, Columbia River Gorge plus all the best State Parks along the Pacif coast. Well, which kind of waterfalls I'm interest the most in? Mmmm...I would say the most scenic. It would be also great if the waterfall wasn't in those kind of places directly reachable by car with thousands screaming tourists taking photos and making noise. I'd prefere a some miles long hike and a peaceful place (anyway as peaceful as a beautiful well know waterfall can be...). Thanks for help Giulio Remember that in the mountains the level of water in the waterfalls often depends on the timing of the snow melt. FFM |
#23
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Zion or Bryce?
Are you sure that you want to include Mount Saint Helens in your trip?
The reason that I ask is because it seems that you could take a day trip there on a weekend. Much the same would apply to Mount Ranier and waterfalls such as Snoqualamie and Nooksack. Granted, twenty days is a long time so you very well might have enough time to see all that you want. We drove up from San Diego last summer and spent the balance of three weeks exploring the Cascades. It was a very hot summer and as Frank Matthews mentioned, many of the falls were running a bit low. Normally I like to see a lot of water in the falls, but some actually have more character with a lower flow. Altogether we ended up visiting seventy waterfalls. We liked that trip so much that we returned for a couple of weeks in December. We spent about half the time in Silver Falls State Park and the Columbia River Gorge. After that, we headed over to the northern coast. I think that the most crowded falls that we saw were along the Historic Columbia River Gorge Highway. Of course Multnomah Falls was the most crowded. Even the hike up to the top of the falls is very well travelled. If you do end up hiking up there, don't simply stop at the upper falls viewpoint, which is what the majority of the people do. Backtrack a short distance to the fork in the trail and then hike a ways up the Larch Mountain Trail. The hike is gorgeous and you'll see several very nice falls. Also in that region and very accessible are Latourell Falls, Shepperd's Dell Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Wahkeena Falls, and Horsetail Falls. There are other falls which require a bit of a hike to get to. One that you shouldn't miss is Ponytail Falls, which is above Horsetail. There are many other waterfalls in the Gorge. As I mentioned in an earlier post, Elowah is one that I'd love to see again. In the summer, McCord Creek was running low and the falls blew over to the side. In the winter, the creek was a lot more full and I was also treated to a whispy seasonal fall to the side. I don't know how many days you have in this area, but it's easy to fill up the days with great hikes to waterfalls. You mentioned Silver Falls State Park. There are a bunch of falls there, but don't plan to have solitude in the summertime. During the winter, we were practically the only ones there and some of the falls had a different character. There are also a couple of seasonal falls there. Winter Falls and Frenchy Falls won't be flowing during the summer. But there are still a lot of great falls and you won't be disappointed. There are several falls here that you can walk behind. If you're headed to Toketee Falls (which is an absolutely stunning sight) you'll find that there are many falls along highway 138. Whitehorse and Clearwater would be very easy to fit into your schedule since they have very short paths. Watson is situated in a very scenic alcove which reminded me of a natural cathedral. The water was very low when we were there, but I still felt that it was worth seeing. If you have more time, you might consider a hike to either Fall Creek Falls or Susan Creek Falls. They're both approximately one mile hikes. I take it that you'll probably be headed this way from Crater Lake. But if I'm wrong and you're coming from Roseburg, make sure to stop at the Colliding Rivers visitor center. You can pick up a good booklet called Thundring Waters, which describes the falls in the region. By the way, highway 138 is a very beautiful drive. There are a bunch of falls both to the north and the south of highway 138, but I won't go into detail since it didn't sound like you'd likely have time for them. If I'm wrong, let me know and I can fill you in on some of them. Two resources that you might want to look into a A Waterfall Lover's Guide to the Pacific Northwest by Gregory A. Plumb. The list price is $15 and I feel that it's well worth the money. The other one is Bryan Swan's website http://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/ He's done a great job. There's a ton of great information as well as great pictures. Look at the Regions section. The falls that he's been to are the ones highlighted in bold type. Click on some of them to get a preview of the falls that you'll be visiting. I hope that this has helped. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Robert |
#24
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Zion or Bryce?
"MadHatter" wrote in message
om... Are you sure that you want to include Mount Saint Helens in your trip? Not really. As you saw, I didn't include in my trip Olympic NP, North Cascades NP and Mt. Rainier NP...the three major Washington State's national parks. This is because I think I can plan special visits to those parks all the year around. Mt. St. Helens "comes" on the way heading south from Seattle, before reaching the Pacific Coast. The reason that I ask is because it seems that you could take a day trip there on a weekend. Much the same would apply to Mount Ranier and waterfalls such as Snoqualamie and Nooksack. Granted, twenty days is a long time so you very well might have enough time to see all that you want. We drove up from San Diego last summer and spent the balance of three weeks exploring the Cascades. It was a very hot summer and as Frank Matthews mentioned, many of the falls were running a bit low. [CUT] Thanks for all the huge amount of information. I need to assimilate all :-) Just one naive question, also referring to Frank Matthews' advice: so, what's the best period for a trip like the one I was planning? I wouldn't have difficulties to move it a bit later in fall or a bit earlier in end of spring/beginning of summer. Thanks a lot Giulio |
#25
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Zion or Bryce?
Zion is a truely magnificent place. Enjoy your trip. =) And if
possible, upload and share some of your pictures. |
#26
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Zion or Bryce?
Mt. St. Helens "comes" on the way heading south from Seattle, before
reaching the Pacific Coast. If you do go to Mount Saint Helens, check out the movie at the Johnson Ridge Observatory (at least that's what I think it was called). It's the last of the vistor centers along the road. We didn't have time to see the others so I don't know what they're like. Thanks for all the huge amount of information. I need to assimilate all :-) Just one naive question, also referring to Frank Matthews' advice: so, what's the best period for a trip like the one I was planning? I wouldn't have difficulties to move it a bit later in fall or a bit earlier in end of spring/beginning of summer. I think that the water levels would probably be lower later in the fall. Spring should have good water levels, but the trails might not be in the best shape at that time. When we were there during the winter, I noticed that the water was a lot higher in lots of the falls (but I can only compare it to our summer visits). I forgot to mention something in my previous post. You said that you'd like to have some solitude around the falls. If you go to some of the lesser known and more out of the way ones, there's a good chance that you can have them to yourselves for a bit. (Though the crowds weren't really oppressive at the majority of the other places we visited). |
#27
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Zion or Bryce?
Bryce
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#28
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Zion or Bryce?
Zion
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#29
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Zion or Bryce?
ttt
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#30
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Zion or Bryce?
Bryce
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