Waihou Springs Trail

I was in upland Maui and I found myself with an hour or so to kill before sunset. It was the perfect amount of time to do a short hike. I head out to Waihou Springs trail just uphill from Makawao. It is a loop trail that has a spur off to an overlook and a spring. If you do it all you can get in about 1.8 miles. It is perfect for a little jaunt. It is a forest reserve with pines and native trees such as koa.

https://hawaiitrails.ehawaii.gov/trail.php?TrailID=MA+06+003

Andrew Molera State Park

The Ventana Wildlife Society has opened a new Discovery Center at Andrew Molera State Park near Carmel, CA. The Ventana Wildlife Society has been doing amazing things to help the recovery of the California Condor. At the Discovery Center you can learn about these efforts and the work they are doing with songbirds. While you are down there take the opportunity to hike around the Big Sur area. Andrew Molera SP is a great place to camp while you discover all the different trails in the area.

Great Basin National Park

I would have never thought just miles off of America’s loneliest highway, in the middle of dry scrub I would find a location as wonderful as Great Basin National Park. In the middle of Nevada’s Great Basin sits the 13,063-foot Wheeler Peak. It is home to the only glacier in Nevada (Yes I did say “glacier in Nevada”) and some of the oldest trees on earth.

To see both Bristlecones pines and a rock glacier with just a 4.6 mile hike, head up into the groves on the Bristlecone trail. These trees are the oldest known living trees on earth, some as old as the ancient pyramids. Whether or not the Bristlecones are the oldest living life (a hotly debated subject in the botany community) the beautiful shaped trees gnarled from thousands of year being sculpted by the elements is a sight to see. If you continue up the Glacier Trail you can explore the rock glacier below Wheeler Peak.

A great hike that includes mountain lakes and spectacular vistas try the Baker Lake and Johnson Lake loop. It is a 13 mile trip with a 3,290 feet elevation change that is good for either a day trip or an overnight at one of the lakes. It is backcountry camping. The park would like you to register at the visitor center before you head out on a backcountry trip. At Baker and Johnson there are no campfires allowed due to being above 10,000 feet. Make sure you have a campstove if you want your nightly hot cocoa. Check out http://www.nps.gov/grba/planyourvisit/maps.htm to see some hiking maps of the area.

I think one of the most fantastic things about Great Basin is the night skies. Great Basin is one of the last refuges from the ever increasing light pollution. Scientist believe that at the current rate of light pollution, no truly dark skies will remain in the continental United States by 2025. We are losing our historical link to the stars and the stories we have passed on for generations have little meaning to young people growing up today in the cities. On a clear night in Great Basin (and there are a lot of them) the universe is spread out overhead. The swath the Milky Way makes across the sky is like a river of light.

Coming up on June 27^th the National Parks Conservation Associations is hosting an event that celebrates the night skies of Great Basin. Astronomers from the Las Vegas Astronomical Society, Clark Planetarium, Fleishmann Planetarium, Tahoe Star Tours, International Dark Sky Association, and several others will make their way to Great Basin National Park to share their knowledge, love of night skies and state-of-the-art astronomy technology with the public. If you have the weekend free it is worth the trip to see the skies in their natural glory and get a chance to have a closer look with gigantic telescopes. Then you will also be able to spend the days exploring the trails and caves of Great Basin. To RSVP see flyer below.

http://www.npca.org/take_action/upcoming_events/stargazing-event-great-basin.html

STARGAZING EVENT IN AMERICA’S DARKEST SKIES

WHAT:

Great Basin National Park Stargazing Event

WHO:

Hosted by the National Parks Conservation Association and Great Basin National Park with presentations by professional and amateur astronomers

WHEN:

June 27, 2009, 8 PM

WHERE:

Great Basin National Park Visitor Center in Baker, Nevada

Great Basin National Park and the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) will host a special stargazing event, Saturday June 27^th at 8 pm at the Great Basin Visitor Center. The event is free of charge.

For the first time in history, dark night skies are becoming an extinct phenomenon. Researchers predict that, at the current rate of light pollution, no truly dark skies will remain in the continental United States by 2025. The National Park Service Night Sky Team has declared Great Basin's night skies to be the darkest in the lower 48 states, providing exceptional star gazing that must be experienced – and protected.

On Saturday, June 27, astronomers from the Las Vegas Astronomical Society, Clark Planetarium, Fleishmann Planetarium, Tahoe Star Tours, International Dark Sky Association, and several others will make their way to Great Basin National Park to share their knowledge, love of night skies and state-of-the-art astronomy technology with the public.

Free campsites will be available in the park at Grey Cliffs Group Campground for the first 40 people to register (contact Kristen Leonard, kleonard@npca.org). Additional campsites are available in the park on a first come first serve basis and alternative lodging can be found in nearby Baker and Ely, Nevada.

Participants are encouraged to experience many other attractions in and around Great Basin National Park. In the park, don’t miss a tour of Lehman Caves or take your pick of over 60 miles of hiking trails including Lexington Arch and Wheeler Peak. In nearby Ely Nevada, historical and cultural attractions include Ely Renaissance Village and Nevada Northern Railway. Learn more about Great Basin at www.nps.gov.GRBA or at www.npca.org, search Great Basin State of Parks Report. For event information, call Lynn Davis (702.318.6524) at NPCA, or Great Basin National Park (775.234.7331).