Feb 27 2024
Barnes Butte Barnes Butte is a low but prominent desert summit in Phoenix, Arizona, rising immediately north of the better-known formations of Papago Park. Although surrounded by one of the largest metropolitan areas in the Southwest, the butte preserves a striking piece of the Salt River Valley’s complicated geologic history. The summit is particularly unusual …
Jan 29 2024
Rising abruptly from the Chihuahuan Desert of West Texas, Guadalupe Mountains National Park contains some of the most dramatic hiking terrain in the state. More than 80 miles of trails cross desert foothills, narrow canyons, wooded springs, fossil-reef cliffs, and high-elevation forests before reaching some of Texas’s loftiest summits. The park is best known for …
Jan 21 2024
Bold Peak Bold Peak is one of the most recognizable mountains surrounding Eklutna Lake in Alaska’s western Chugach Mountains. Rising to 7,522 feet (2,293 meters) within Chugach State Park, the mountain towers dramatically above the Eklutna Valley and forms one of the area’s defining landmarks. Its steep, dark profile gives Bold Peak an imposing presence …
Jan 21 2024
Castor 🏔️ Overview Castor is a striking 4,223-meter (13,855-foot) mountain in the Pennine Alps, rising along the high Alpine frontier between Switzerland’s canton of Valais and Italy’s Aosta Valley. Together with nearby Pollux, it forms the famous pair of summits known as the “Twins,” named for Castor and Pollux of classical mythology. Of the two …
Jan 12 2024
Minya Konka, also known as Gongga Shan or Mount Gongga, rises above western Sichuan as one of China’s most spectacular mountain massifs. The main summit reaches an officially measured 7,508.9 meters (24,635 feet), making it the highest mountain in Sichuan and the highest summit of the Hengduan Mountains. For most visitors, however, Minya Konka is …
Jan 12 2024
The Southern Presidential Traverse is one of the finest high-elevation hikes in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, linking a succession of exposed summits along the southern half of the Presidential Range. Unlike the much longer full Presidential Traverse, which typically begins around Mount Madison and crosses the entire Presidential ridge, the Southern Presidential Traverse focuses primarily …
Jan 08 2024
Just minutes from downtown Juneau, Perseverance Trail follows Gold Creek into a spectacular mountain valley filled with waterfalls, historic mining ruins, dense temperate rainforest, wildflowers, and towering alpine slopes. The trail is one of Juneau’s best-known hikes, but its importance goes far beyond recreation. The route developed into what is generally recognized as Alaska’s first …
Jan 08 2024
Rising directly above downtown Juneau, Mount Roberts Trail offers one of the most accessible ways to climb from the streets of Alaska’s capital into genuine alpine country. The trail begins near sea level and climbs relentlessly through dense Southeast Alaska rainforest before emerging above treeline near the upper station of the Goldbelt Tram. Hikers can …
Jan 07 2024
Ulu Point Ulu Point is a remote 13,654-foot summit in Alaska’s spectacular Wrangell Mountains. Rising within Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve, the peak occupies a heavily glaciated landscape near the much larger Mount Sanford and ranks among Alaska’s relatively small group of mountains exceeding 13,000 feet. Despite its impressive elevation, Ulu Point is little …
Jan 07 2024
The Boreal Forest Loop and Valdez Trail Trailhead near Copper Center offers one of the easiest ways to experience the landscapes and history associated with Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve. The official Boreal Forest Trail is a short, mostly level half-mile loop beginning at the Wrangell–St. Elias Visitor Center complex. Despite its modest length, …
