Travel Itinerary

JULY 15 – AUGUST 3 2020
15
JULY Packing up everything they own, Christian and Austin left the city of Los Angeles to begin their journey traveling through California.
They pass through Angeles National Forest and travel up the coast to camp the first night in Pinnacles National Park where they encounter friendly visits by racoons, deer, and mice. 16
JULY Waking up at sunrise for the first morning of the journey, the duo takes an early hike to capture footage of a family of deer. They then pack up camp to continue heading north through California.

They pass through San Francisco along the historic Golden Gate Bridge to visit Point Reyes National Seashore. Staying for the sunset, the boys then traveled through the dark to stay in a hotel in Willits. 17
JULY They quickly make their way to Eureka, passing through Humboldt Redwoods State park for a few hikes. In the town of Eureka, they visit Sequoia Park Garden to have lunch and hike on their way to Boise Creek campground in Six Rivers National Forest. This was their first taste of the great giants that were to come.

They were in for quite a sight at night, though. Leaving the campground after sundown, the two made their way to a clearing on a nearby highway for their first viewing of the comet NEOWISE. 18
JULY They pack up camp early to head into Redwoods National Park from the southeastern entrance. They travel through highlands before crossing into the dense and silky forests where California’s giant Redwoods reside.

After viewing magnificent trees and big banana slugs, they arrive at the coast for a breathtaking overlook of the Pacific. After exiting the park, they continue up the 101, but take a mighty detour on the historic Newton B Drury Scenic parkway to get in some final views of some of the largest trees on earth. On this evening, they finally entered OREGON to stay in a hotel in Medford. 19
JULY The duo heads east through Klamath Falls where they are met with their first sighting of volcanic activity… they were headed to Crater Lake National Park.

They spent all day exploring their 3rd National Park in 5 days, completing the full drive around the edge of the crater where a volcanic mountain collapsed over 7,000 years ago to give way to the deepest lake in the USA. Christian even jumped into the freezing lake for a polar swim! They stay late to catch the comet NEOWISE behind a setting sun on the opposite side of the pristine lake.

Upon exiting the park they pass through a vast open pumice desert in the moonlight crossing through Umpaqua National Forest to reach Eugene. 20
JULY The boys head north to pass through Portland before heading east towards Mt. Hood. They set up camp in Mt Hood National Forest at Camp Creek Campground.

With views of the magnificent 11,249 foot stratovolcano, the boys were inspired to set up camp and immediately begin exploring. Slide 21
JULY Loving the Mt Hood national forest area, the two explore glacial lakes nearby for recreation and to see insane reflections of the beautiful volcano. Austin takes a dive this time into one of the lakes and refreshes before the two head to Mt. Hood Brewing Co for some local flavor for lunch.

After only 3 days in Oregon, the two leave Mt Hood to head towards the Olympic Peninsula in WASHINGTON. They arrive at COHO campground in Olympic National Forest. 22
JULY The two watch sunrise at 5:30 AM over Wynoochee Lake before heading into Olympic National Park for a full day of hiking and adventures. They enter near Lake Quinault and view the world’s largest Sitka Spruce before heading up to the North Fork Quinault River.

They leave from the North Fork Trailhead following along the large river through dense rainforest to make it up to the Wolf Bar backcountry campsite. Along the way Christian both jumps and falls into the river, setting the adventures back a bit before they return to their campsite for the night, with bright skies until around midnight. Slide 23
JULY Early in the morning, the two pack up camp and load everything back into the Chevy Volt, headed southeast now to MT Rainier National Park! They enter the park along the south side of the 14,409ft tall volcanic mountain to visit waterfalls, lush forests, and view the glaciers that cover and surround the park.

They meet a new friend during their visit who was a longtime ranger of Mt. Rainier who recounts stories and memories of working in such a wondrous place. This evening as the sun dies, they push on to Spokane, almost done with their time in Washington. 24
JULY Leaving Washington state, the two head east through Idaho, passing through the quaint Coeur D’Alene on their way to Montana!

Headed north towards the Canadian border, the two pass through Flathead National Forest to arrive at Big Creek campsite along the North Fork Flathead River. They prepare for the day ahead of them in, you guessed it, Glacier National Park. Slide 25
JULY The two enter Glacier National Park early through the West Glacier entrance, passing by the giant Lake McDonald to head up over Logan Pass sitting atop Going to the Sun Road at 6,647 feet in elevation.

They hike along the Continental Divide Trail to Virginia Falls, also viewing St. Mary’s falls and the uncompromising Saint Mary Lake. They see mule deer, elk, bighorn sheep, and mountain goats throughout the park, as well as plenty of the park’s namesake: glaciers. They even spotted a bear!

Quite an eventful day in Montana before returning to their campsite just outside the park. 26
JULY This morning they packed up their campsite from Glacier, swung back through the park to pay one last visit to the critters. They then pushed on out of Glacier territory headed south towards America’s first national park, Yellowstone.

They drive to the corner of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming to Cabin Creek Campground in Custer Gallatin National Forest just outside of West Yellowstone and set up camp for the next few nights. Slide 27
JULY Only 30 minutes from the park entrance, the duo got into Yellowstone bright and early, ready for a big day at the large park. Immediately they are greeted with a bison on the road and a herd of elk in the town of Mammoth Hot Springs.

The figure eight roads through the park provided a lot of ground to cover, so they started on the northern loop viewing mud pots, steam vents, and travertine terraces.

In the afternoon they head towards the southern end of the park, with intent to see some geyser action, including Old Faithful. After a few easy hikes, plenty of animal sightings, including more bison and two bears, and viewing Old Faithful go off at sunset, the boys headed back to camp from the long day. 28
JULY This morning they were headed back to Yellowstone, but only as a driving route. They enter Yellowstone again from the west, and head directly south along John D Rockefeller Highway to arrive in Yellowstone’s appendage, Grand Teton National Park.

The Grand Teton range, which spans about 40 miles of Rocky Mountains, appears to jet straight up from the land, towering over the valley of the park by 6,000 feet. This park sits on a direct fault line, and the Teton mountains were formed by natural uplift over the tectonic plate that the valley sits upon.

These magnificent mountains did not disappoint, as Austin and Christian had a field day of hikes around Leigh Lake and Jenny Lake, as well as critter sightings of everything as small as a chipmunk to as big as moose. They traveled all through the Jackson valley, taking in all the sights of the mystical mountains before heading back through Yellowstone to their same campsite. Slide 29
JULY After a few very eventful days in Glacier, Yellowstone, and Tetons, and having camped for six nights straight, the boys took this day to easily meander through Yellowstone and Grand Teton National parks for one last visit before exiting south towards Salt Lake City, the first bigger city they’d passed through since San Francisco.

They crossed through the Wyoming parks taking in their last views before passing through Jackson for lunch and pushing on towards Utah! 30
JULY The two head out of the city and continue back south headed towards south central Utah, crossing through Manti-La Sal and Fishlake National Forests to arrive in Capitol Reef National Park. Leaving the mountains, forests, and glaciers behind, they entered into red rock country and stayed in the park right in the center of the waterpocket fold. They set up camp in Fruita campground in the heart of the park. Slide 31
JULY They wake up in Capitol Reef, surrounded by an orchard in the lush valley of a red rock canyon formed by a petrified reef. They encounter deer natively living and loving the small green oasis in the middle of the Utah desert before going on hikes to explore the strange rock formations left behind by an inland sea.

These formations in the park are left behind by Lake Bonneville, the large salt water sea that once stood over the center of the Colorado Plateau until about 16,800 years ago. This region is so unique that you can find triassic tracks from ages ago right alongside biological crust made up of living organisms in the soil!

After an exciting day and night exploring this unique land, the two camp for another night in this unique park to watch the night sky light up with stars. 01
AUG They pack up out of Capitol Reef and finally begin to head west back towards Austin’s home in Los Angeles, but not without a few stops on the way. Out of Utah’s mighty 5 national parks, the duo heads to knock out two more, Bryce Canyon and Zion!

On this day they drive through Dixie National Forest to arrive in Bryce Canyon National Park. Viewing bright colored hoodoos all shades of red, orange, and pink, they drive through the park to look out over the canyon. Bryce’s highest point sits atop 8,800 feet in elevation and looks out over the Grand Escalante Staircase stretching out so far that you can view the Grand Canyon in Arizona on the horizon.

After a few hikes, the two stay in Bryce for the night to view a magnificent show of stars in their second Dark Sky Park in a row. Slide 02
AUG On the final leg of the journey, the two make their way from Bryce to the nearby Zion National Park.

Entering from the east, they are greeted with petrified sand dunes before crossing through a tunnel and into the main Zion Canyon. The Virgin River carved out a magnificent red rock canyon with walls over 3,000 feet tall on both sides of the valley floor.

After a trek across multiple climate zones, new lands, and many unique ecosystems, Austin and Christian enjoy their final day in a majestic park going on a few hikes including the famous Angels Landing. They spend the night in the town of Springdale as they prepare for their last push back to California. 03
AUG On the final day of their trip, the two exit Utah to pass through Arizona and Nevada on their way to California.

As they cross through vast, hot deserts and over some lower Sierra Nevada mountains, they reflect on the trek they made over the past 3 weeks.

Looking back on all the adventurous days, star-lit and peaceful nights, dozens of wild animals and unique flora, as well as the vast largeness of the land they covered, they learned how everything has its place in the world.

Closing Thoughts

Each ecosystem, much different than the last, are all interconnected even though they seem disparate.

The deserts in southern Utah are connected to the glaciers and mountains in Montana, and while the volcanoes in Oregon and Washington are unique to themselves, they are intertwined with the volcanic activity in Yellowstone.

While Pinnacles in California offers unique rock formations, they appear similar to the hoodoos of Bryce Canyon even though they’re a thousand miles apart, with different types of stone forming them, and being shaped by different forces.

Each separate state contains large ecosystems that have within them small, independent circles of life feeding back into the earth where they came from, while being cosmically intertwined with the larger scope of the land that physically connects all of them across the continent.

What we do affects each of these spaces, and how we treat and respect these spaces feeds into their very survival.

We must protect these lands and ensure the biodiversity of these parks stays intact because when these seemingly far natural spaces can thrive, so can humanity.

Native Lands

Micqanaqa’n               Los Angeles
Yokuts                       Pinnacles
Me-Wuk                     Point Reyes
Pomo, Yuki, Nomiki      Redwoods
Hoopa, Yurok,              Northern California
Karuk, and Shasta
Klamath and Molalla    Crater Lake
Wasco and Wishram     Mt Hood
Quinault, S’Klallam,      Olympic
and Chehalis
Yakima                        Mt Rainier
Ktunaxa (Blackfoot),     Glacier
Kalispell, Salish, Kootenai
Shoshone, Cheyenne     Yellowstone and Teton
Ute, Goshute,               Utah
Nuwuvi (Southern Paiute),
Pueblos
Mojave and                   Southeastern California
Newe (Western Cheyenne)

For more info, please visit www.native-land.ca

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