Wild Horse Window/Eyes of Sinbad

The Trail
This moderate trail is only a mile long with about a 290 foot elevation change. Keep in mind however that there is a little bit of going up and down along the trail, so you will be climbing a bit more than that.

Topographical Map

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

This trail goes in nearly a straight line from the parking area to Wild Horse Window. From the trailhead, your destination looks like a cave up in the rocks to the west, so by continuing in that direction you should be able to find it even if the cairns marking the way get sparse. The trail starts by dropping down into a wash and then climbing back out. From there the trail follows rock cairns across slick rock for a ways until it hits a steep drop off to a pool of water below about half way along the route. (Though it is possible that this pool is not always there.)

After this point, the trail heads up around this drop off and back down into another wash. For the most part, the trail continues following this wash to the window. As hikers near the window, the trail narrows as it heads back into an alcove area. We started to see a number of little pools here, which were full of tadpoles.

A tadpole in one of the pools

We found that to continue to the arch, we needed to either wade through one of these pools or climb down a short ledge to get around the water. These pools may be drier during parts of the year, but it is not unlikely you will find some water. There were a lot of frogs in the area, making us suspect it was generally a moist place.

Approaching Wild Horse Window

Wild Horse Window

Looking down the canyon from Wild Horse Window

 Along one of the walls of this wind cave there are even some petroglyphs.

Petroglyphs in cave

Be aware that this trail offers little shade, so it can be quite hot during the summer. The closest water available is at nearby Goblin Valley, but there is no water here. There are also no restrooms here, though there are a number of primitive campsites around this area.

Directions
This trail is located in Emery Count, UT just outside Goblin Valley State Park. The closest town is Hanksville, followed by Green River. To get there from I-70, turn south onto UT-24. Next, turn west onto Temple Mt Road. Continue to Goblin Valley Rd. and turn left onto it. Take the third dirt road to your right, and drive to the small parking area across from what looks like a cave in the rocks to the west. There is nothing to mark the road, and there are no signs to indicate the trail, but you can see the trail's destination from the trailhead.

Goblin's Lair/Chamber of the Basilisk

The Trail
This 1.3 mile long trail (one-way) is mostly easy with only a 166 foot elevation change. The trail is fairly flat until the very end when it reaches the "lair," at which point there is a short steep climb up to an opening and then some rock scrambling to get down into the chamber.

Topographical Map

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

The trail starts just north of the first Valley of Goblins. It circles around to the back/east side of the mountains and other rock formations that create a backdrop to Goblin Valley.

At the very end of the trail, the path curves back into the mountains. To reach the chamber, hikers must climb up a steep rock-strewn path.

Path into Goblin's Lair

Once at the top of this path, one may peer down into the chamber below, and scramble down the rocks here at the entrance to get inside.

At entrance of chamber from the top of trail

Cave Opening

Once inside, the walls of the chamber tower up over you, and the temperature makes a palpable drop. A couple holes from up on top let some light in. Some people rappel down these openings, but be aware that a payed permit from the visitor's center is required for this. We also found a small short cave just to the side of the rocks at the opening. We explored it with a flashlight, but found it soon got to narrow to continue without danger of getting stuck.

Popcorn on the walls

From the back of the chamber looking toward
the rocky entrance

Be aware that this trail has little shade and can be very hot, particularly during the middle of the day in the summer. There are chamber toilets available at the parking lot, but there isn't any water unless you are go to the campgrounds or the station at the park entrance.

Directions
This trail is located in Goblin Valley State Park, which is in Emery County, Utah. The closest town is Hanksville, followed by Green River. To get there from I-70, turn south onto UT-24. Next, turn west onto Temple Mt Road. Continue to Goblin Valley Rd. and turn left. You will have to pay to enter the park at the station. From there, continue along Goblin Valley Rd. to the parking lot. The trail starts at the north side of this parking area.

Skyline Trail and Fourth Crossing Loop

The Trail
This easy trail is about 2.2 miles long (round trip) with about a 405 foot elevation change. This trail starts at the Paradise Visitor Center, heads uphill to Myrtle Falls, heads along the side of Mount Rainer, goes back down on the Fourth Crossing Trail, and then follows the one way scenic drive back down to the Visitor Center.

Topographical Map

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

The first part of this trail is paved and generally crowded as it goes up to the 72 foot high Myrtle Falls. This waterfall is about a half mile up the trail. A steep path goes down to a nice viewpoint of the falls, and the main trail continues up and over a bridge above the falls.

Myrtle Falls

Looking down at Myrtle Falls from the bridge

 

The trail starts to descend after Myrtle Falls and quickly becomes less crowded.  There are some terrific views of the Tatoosh Range from along the trail.

Nice view of the Tatoosh Range

Peaks from left to right: The Castle, Pinnacle Peak, Plummer Peak

About 0.9 miles from the trailhead, the trail crosses a creek. There isn't a bridge here, and there aren't well placed stepping stones either. That was apparently enough to deter most other hikers while we were there; we didn't see anyone else after crossing until we reached the road.

Creek across the trail

0.2 miles later (1.1 miles from the Visitor Center) the Skyline Trail intersects with the Fourth Crossing Trail. We turned down this trail and followed it down to the road below. This 0.3 mile section of trail follows another creek to the road. It was covered with snow in places and quite muddy in many other spots, but it was also incredibly beautiful! There were little rapids and waterfalls along the creek all the way down.

The walk along the road back to the Visitor Center was about 0.8 mile long, and it also offered us beautiful views and waterfalls along the way.

Directions
This trail is located in Mount Rainier National Park in the Paradise Area. To get there from the west side of the park, take WA-107 to the Paradise Area. If you are coming from the east side, take US-12 to WA-123, or take WA-410 into the park.

Hoh Rain Forest Trail to Tom's Creek

The Trail
This easy trail is about 2.9 miles long (one way) with only a 182 foot elevation change. This trail is the main trail out of the Hoh Rain Forest area, and actually runs 17.3 miles long. However, Tom's Creek is probably the first landmark along the trail and has a little waterfall along it. Unfortunately, we did not have time to go further than this.

Topographical Map

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

This trail dives into the Hoh Rain Forest and follows the Hoh River fairly closely. It is a lush green area in which the trees are draped with moss. In fact, their branches almost look like soft hairy green arms. They kind of reminded us of the limbs of orangutans.

This is a very wet area, and it rained on us nearly the whole time we were hiking. The trail can be quite muddy in places, or even have standing water on it depending on when you go, so having waterproof boots or shoes may be a real advantage. It is the home to a number of moisture loving creatures, including giant slugs.

The Hoh River possesses a milky blue color caused by glacial flour, which is made of tiny particles that form when a glacier grinds against the bedrock. The bedrock is ground into what looks like a flour, and that is then washed down into the river by melt-off. While this is not toxic, backpackers are advised to not take water for drinking from the Hoh because this glacial flour will clog filters. Hikers and backpackers can use water from tributaries flowing into the Hoh River instead.

I wasn't able go further than Tom's Creek. There is a narrow bridge that crosses the creek, and through the trees, you can see a waterfall. Some say there is a better view of the fall a little way up, but I didn't go up to it.

If you want to go up further, there are some other great destination points you can aim for, such as Five Miles Island (5.3 miles in), Lewis Meadow (about 10.5 miles in), Martin Creek (about 14.75 miles in), Elk Lake (about 15.1 miles in), Glacier Meadows (about 17.3 miles in), and Blue Glacier (about 18.5 miles in - and the end of the trail). A permit is required if you plan to camp along the trail.

Horses are permitted on this trail, but dogs are not.

Directions
This trail is located on the west side of the Olympic National Park in Washington. To get there from US-101, turn onto Upper Hoh Road and follow the road to the end where the visitor's center is. This will take you about 2 hours from Port Angeles, 2 hours 15 minutes from Aberdeen, or about 45 minutes from Forks.

Sol Duc Falls Trail

The Trail
This easy 0.9 mile (one way) trail only has a 117 foot elevation change. As with many other trails in this area, this path runs through beautiful old growth forest all the way to the waterfall.

Topographical Map

Graph of Elevation

Trail in Google Earth

The waterfall itself is found at a place where the Sol Duc River fans into three streams that crash 50 feet into a crevasse. (Though I have read that sometimes there can be up to four streams that the water channels into and falls from, depending on the volume of water.) The falls are best viewed from a bridge that extends across the crevasse. A rainbow often is visible in the mist from the falls too.

Sol Duc Falls from the bridge

Sol Duc Falls from east side looking toward bridge

This is a very popular trail is is usually crowded. Be aware that finding a parking spot can be challenging at times. Dogs are not permitted on this trail.

Directions
This trail is located in the Olympic National Park in Washington. It is at the north end of the park. To get there from US-101, turn off on on Sol Duc Hot Springs Road and continue to the parking area at the end of this road. This trail is about an hour from Port Angeles. Please note that a fee or pass is required to enter this area.