Hiking the Rift Zone Trail at Point Reyes National Seashore

A fence separates a hiking trail from a cow pasture.
The Rift Zone Trail at Point Reyes National Seashore follows pastures along forested areas.

The hike on the Rift Zone Trail at Point Reyes National Seashore is a hiker’s minefield.

The trail was loaded with cow pies, steaming horse apples, two hives of bees that swarmed next to the trail, swarms of flies on fresh cow patties, a lavish supply of spider webs that crossed the trail in more places that could be counted but could not be seen as you walked through them. There was overgrowth that reached out to touch you. Most of it was blackberries that looked like poison oak, but then there was actual poison oak that had to be dodged. Then there was mud – both sticky mud and mud that caused your feet to slide out from under you when you stepped on it. And then there was the heavy humidity.

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Hiking Desolation Canyon at Death Valley National Park

From the high point of the Desolation Canyon Trail at Death Valley National Park, you can see the Panamint Mountain Range, Telescope Peak, portions of Cottonball Basin, Middle Basin and Badwater Basin.
From the high point of the Desolation Canyon Trail at Death Valley National Park, you can see the Panamint Mountain Range, Telescope Peak, portions of Cottonball Basin, Middle Basin and Badwater Basin.

If you love dirt and sand, Desolation Canyon at Death Valley National Park is for you. If you don’t, the view at the end and colors in the canyon walls is may be worth the hike, but getting there can be a chore.

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