National Park – Page 4 – travellingzombie.com

Getting Lost Close To Home

Feet sinking into the snow, we realised that there was no path anymore and getting down off the hill was going to be a bit of a challenge.

We’d set off for a wander around Ullswater and Aira Force, following the A ira Force and Gowbarrow Trail. The promising views from the summit of Gowbarrow had tempted us out from warm spots by the fire into the snow and wind.

Aira Force is about 1 hour 45 minutes from where we live. We’d packed the car up and headed off to play tour guide for a couple of friends who hadn’t visited before. We were all feeling a bit restless, having been kept inside recently through the bad weather.

We started off towards the falls and even though it was really cold, the sprinklings of snow really highlighted the magic of the falls, making them seem otherworldly.

The Old Norse name of Aira Force translates to ‘the waterfall on the gravel bank river’.

Following the path, we headed towards the open hillside where the snow was much thicker. Due to the depth of the snow, we couldn’t see the path properly and we must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. A small fence led up the hillside and we navigated uneven ground as we walked, the snow sometimes giving way to reveal holes made by a hidden stream. We were all being very careful not to hit one of the drops wrong and twist an ankle as we ascended the steep hillside.

At the top of the hill, the view was stunning. It was hard to believe that we were less than 2 hours away from home. The snow-topped hills in the distance, surrounded by a shimmering lake were reminiscent of any trip to Canada or Europe or the USA.

After snapping a few photos. We quickly realised that the path down wasn’t clearly visible and that going down was going to be much harder than coming up. Although we were all feeling warmer following our trek up the incline, the snow was thicker and it was harder to determine where the drops in the landscape were hiding. After walking some distance towards the gleaming water of the lake, we came to an sharp edge, which would have certainly seen one or more of us loose our footing.

Leading the charge, one of my most confident and positive friends encouraged us all to shuffle-slide down the hill on our bums. It was one of the best parts of the walk and really sticks out as a highlight of the day- the four of us taking turns to help each other down the steep embankment, sliding through snow on our bums, soaking wet, but laughing and triumphant as we reached the bottom.

I love the pictures from this hike more than any others taken on local treks. They prove to me that beautiful scenery can be found close to home if you know where to look. They remind me that travel doesn’t always have to mean the other side of the world and they encapsulate a day that was filled with love, friendship and adventure – the best kind of days you can have.

Travel Tip: Get the Tent Out!

Travel tips from http://www.travellingzombie.com

When we first started to travel, I was not a camping fan. I dislike bugs, being cold and mud – so it was no surprise that I’d rather stay in a comfy, warm hotel. However, on our first trip to a National Park in the USA, I was persuaded to give it a go. I’m so glad that I did! It was the best part of our trip, with nights around the campfire firmly cemented in my memory.

One of the main reasons I was happy to give it a go was for the cost. Accommodation is one of the most expensive elements of travelling. Camping can help with that. With pitch costs of around $26 per night in Wawona, Yosemite, camping can cut your accommodation costs in half.

When we first travelled to Yosemite and Tahoe, we had no clue about what tent to get and we didn’t want to have to pay extra to fly the tent over to our destination. This meant that we visited Kmart on our first day in the USA and, after much deliberation, we ended up buying a tent that was probably more suited to a backyard sleep over than a week or so in a couple of National Parks. Our main selection criteria was that it was big enough for three of us and had a sewn-in ground sheet (I refused to camp of there was a chance that spiders could crawl into my bed – ugh). We also ended up with sleeping bags that were fairly thin, and in one person’s case – didn’t come up past their chest! To be fair, the tent and the sleeping bags did their job – they were cheep and cheerful (we were not going to pay to fly them back to England and so they would be given away at the end of our trip) and they kept us clean and dry, however, they weren’t really designed for the cold nights of Yosemite.

Learning from our first experience, the next time we camped, we purchased a huge four-man tent in the UK and counted this as one of our bags, splitting the rest of our gear between the baggage allowance for the remaining three people in our party. This actually worked out far cheaper and meant that we had a sturdy, well-made tent for our adventures. Although there was lots of room in this tent (we could fit in four large airbeds!), it took four people, a good thirty minutes and the tips of one of my fingers to put up.

The big tent is great, particularly for camping trips on the UK but it only works out cheaper to take abroad if there are a few of you with whom you can split the luggage. So what do we do if it’s just me and Wandering Beeb? We did a huge amount of research and purchased a much smaller tent. We ended up with a MSR Elixir 3 tent.

This little tent is a beauty! Firstly, it looks the business – it’s fairly low to the ground and has a curved design, giving you lots of head room whilst feeling really airy. The ground sheet is sewn-in and the two doors are well-sealed to prevent any unwanted visitors or rain getting in. Although there is a two-man version of the tent, we were sensible to go for the three-man option to get a little extra room as it’s a very snug inside. It’s small, geometric design made it really sturdy and it was unbelievably easy to put up. Usually there is a lot of swearing and sore fingers when we camp – not in this case as it’s easy enough for one person to put it up in about 10 minutes – winner!! Even better, as it’s so lightweight and can be split up into two small bags, we were able to fit it in with our usual luggage allowance, meaning that we didn’t incur any extra charges.

One of the best things about this tent had to be the option to remove the outer layer and look up through the mesh panels at the stars. The Yosemite night sky is one of the most beautiful sights we have ever seen and to be able to look up at the stars from the comfort of our sleeping bags was incredible – something you would absolutely miss out on in a hotel.

As well as incredible sights, camping brings you together as travellers like nothing else. There is something about a good campfire and nights huddled round a torch that bond you in a way nothing else can.

What tent do you use? Any good recommendations? Tell us in the comments!

We Found Water in a Deserted Place

The drive into Zion had been beauty of a different kind compared to our other stops. Twisting roads and reddish rock encased us as we wound our way into the canyon.

Our first stop in Zion was to the Watchman Campground to set up our gear. That was easier said than done. You’d think that as seasoned campers, we would know how it’s done and have everything we need. Nope! What we hadn’t realised was that the campsites in Zion are on a rocky surface, not flat forest ground. This is probably to try and deter critters and ants from seeing the tent as a new home, however it also meant that we had no place to secure our tent pegs. This was our first obstacle, but certainly not our last. Having secured the tent as best we could (think bags and rocks weighing down the corners), two of us set off for the local shop for supplies whilst two stayed behind to work on the tent.

Arriving at the shop, we found it mostly empty. The shopkeeper (almost certainly an extra from some B movie horror) told us ominously that a storm was coming and that we should make sure that we were safely under shelter when it hit. We were a little naive at this point – the skies were still blue and not a drop of rain in sight! We meandered around the shop, picking up supplies and slowly but surely the day started to darken. By the time we left the shop, we were sprinting to the car, soaked through as the rain ran in rivers down the road, filling the storm gulley to the brim.

Meanwhile, back in the tent, the rain was battering the sides, making our temporary home even more precariously weighted down than it was to start with! These floods and high winds hit sporadically throughout the time we were there, often in the middle of the night, leaving us holding on to the tent poles to make sure that we didn’t blow away! They often lasted little more than an hour or so and were in massive contrast to the scorching sunshine we experienced throughout the day. It was actually that hot that our air beds curved with the heat!

One of our day hikes took us out to the Emerald Pools and waterfalls. You’d think that somewhere like Zion, full of rock and dust, wouldn’t be the best place for waterfalls but you’d be wrong! Upper, Middle and Lower Emerald Pools are all accessible from near the Grotto Picnic area. It was a boiling hot day and although the hike was very warm, it was well worth it for the sights – although the water wasn’t very Emerald in colour on our visit, instead it was coloured a reddish brown from the rock.

The most exciting part of the hike for me was the trail around Lower Pools which actually lets you walk underneath the waterfall. We went in late summer and so the flow wasn’t too strong, more of a light mist pouring over the ledge above us, dusting us with cool water that was refreshing against the relentless hot sun. I’d imagine that in winter this would be a very different experience! We spent quite a bit of time here, taking in the sights and snapping photos under the waterfall in an awe-filled silence. The various colours of the rock provided an stunning backdrop and there was something otherworldly about being behind the fall of the waterfall.

The pathway past the lower falls curved back on itself, winding upwards towards the Middle Pools which provided a good view of the path of the water as it fell down to the ledge below. The source of the water, Upper Falls, opened out to a huge pool, surrounded by some shady spots – a beautiful place to stop for lunch! The views looking out over the valley are amazing, made all the more picturesque by the mix of colours in the red rock, deep water pools and patches of green trees.

This was a fairly easy hike. It’s always useful to have good sturdy shoes for hiking rocky pathways (particularly with good ankle support) to avoid twists and sprains. We also saw a couple of snakes and lizards on the pathways and so the extra height on my shoes made me feel a bit more able to avoid them as I walked!

Another one of our hikes took us out to the Narrows. This is the narrowest part of Zion Canyon and offers a few different options for hikers. The start of the Narrows is accessible from a fairly smooth hiking path – the Riverside Walk. This takes you as far as the river, which more adventurous hikers might want to follow to travel further into the Narrows, although permits are needed for progressing past certain parts of the route. If you want to walk further than the paved section of the hike, you need to wade through the flow of the river – so good sturdy shoes, hiking poles and some dry socks for the way down are a must. It’s also really important to be good at navigating and reading weather conditions to make sure you are safe in the Narrows – many people have found themselves in difficulties in this area after experiencing flash floods, strong currents or getting lost.

When we arrived at this point, the water was up to our shins and fairly fast moving. Given that there was a very high risk of flash floods that day (and we’d already seen first hand how quickly a huge amount of rain could come down) and that we weren’t really prepped for hiking in water, we decided to not go much further than this, content with seeing the start of the winding caverns of the Narrows.

Happiness Only Real When Shared: Reflections From The Top of Sulphur Mountain, Banff.

We look back at our favourite image from 2017

As we hurtle towards the end of the year, we thought that we would look back on the year until now. 2017 saw the launch of this blog and it’s great to have been able to share some of our adventures with you!

Helpfully, the daily post’s photo challenge this week was on the topic of favourite photos from this year. With this in mind, me and Wandering Beeb went digging through our photos to see what we would class as our favourites.

Some of the stand out ones from this year were our ‘walking the glacier‘ set – just because the experience was so surreal and so different to our usual trips.

The photos on Sulphur Mountain in Banff grabbed us and made sense for us to share on this theme, although probably not for the reasons you would think!

Sulphur Mountain was impressive, with stunning views on a near 360 degree viewing platform. We were lucky in that the haze from the forest fires had cleared a little, moving the view of the mountains from a fuzzy outline in the distance to 3D relief, affording us some stunning vistas. We made the short trundle from the observation deck to the now defunct Cosmic Ray Station, heading up inclines made manageable for most visitors by structured steps and under-foot decking. So much so that a small child was walking confidently the length of the observation deck, loudly proclaiming ‘Eeek’ to the surrounding mountains, blissfully unconcerned with the breath-taking drop below. Looking back at the photos, the views are clearly stunning, but this wasn’t the reason for singling them out.

One of the best things about travelling is speaking to other people from different cultures, countries and perspectives – even when it’s only briefly. Those snippets of conversation are what add flavour to the otherwise routine trawl through the sightseeing gambit and it was the connections we made on this part of the trip that we were reminded of by these photos.

Whizzing along on the upward gondola trip, we found ourselves sharing the four person gondola with two guys who were catching up on a trip out to Banff. They explained that they had been neighbours 10 years earlier, with one of the pair only being a kid at the time. Learning about two people and their stories in an 8 minute ride up the mountain can only give you a flavour of their history, but we had the sense that they were two really cool guys, enjoying their time catching up. There was an easy-going banter between the two of them which helped to reduce my anxiety at being suspended above the ground by a single cable.

The way down saw us sharing the space with a couple from Sweden who were clearly as freaked out by the height as I was (you can read more about my terrible relationship with gondolas here).

Despite the anxiety, we talked about their trip, starting with Reykjavik, heading on to Quebec and learning about their observations on Toronto (a smaller version of NYC). We shared our views on Vancouver (to which they were heading soon). They took a couple of snaps and asked us about our football preferences back home in the UK (Zatan was a favourite topic of conversation). As soon as people find out we are from Manchester, the first question is always ‘are you a red or a blue?’ By the time the gondola had reached the bottom and we wished each other happy travels, we had shared travel tips, made new acquaintances and had some ideas for our future travels. It’s those memories that have made these photos some of our favourites.

This is our favourite part of travelling and regardless of beautiful scenery and amazing experiences, it’s the people and the connections that makes the journey worthwhile.