The Life And Times Of Lou, The Smiling Tortoise: Zion National Park

"The Blog Almost Too Boring To Be The Most Boring Blog in America ... for Over 5 Years!"

until it got too many red cards from Wounded Duck and the Boredom Enforcement Committee ... now the tortoise's goal is to get to 10 red cards so he can get Big Dog to drive down and take a good long walk with the tortoise

P. S. This blog listens to its readers. We have the Benjamin Category Override for 5+ mile walks and now, it humbles Tortoise to say he has been named "Lou", by Doug Jr, in memory of Mr. Consistency himself, Lou Gehrig. Tortoise can hardly type the words to think he is in any way comparable to the noble Iron Horse. Thank you!

Showing posts with label Zion National Park. Show all posts

Saturday, July 4, 2015

15-185

Mile 529. Happy Independence Day, America! Tortoise celebrated by getting up early and heading to the end of the Zion National Park shuttle at the Temple of Shinawava with Josh, Benjamin, Ethan, and Riley. We headed up the Riverside Walk from there, and then walked the river upstream for another half mile. For many more exciting pictures and other details from this walk and the rest of Tortoise's walking week, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

14-200 3/4

Somewhere around 6 pm, or three-quarters of the way through the day, Tortoise headed out with Chloe, Abigail, Nathan, and Sarah to ride the Zion Shuttle to the end of the line at the Temple of Sinawava and enjoy the Riverside Waik. We went 2.00 miles round trip with 57 feet climbed in 46:00 minutes. Tortoise rating: 5.2; calories burned: 320. Please click below for more pictures and a map ...

Cheerio!

13-190

3 smiling ladies start their way up Walters Wiggles to finish today's climb

Special treat today for the tortoise, he took the Zion Park Shuttle to the Grotto and then walked with all three of his daughters, Becca, Rachel, and Sarah, to Scout Lookout. 4.0 miles with 1000 feet climbed in 2 hours 15 minutes. This path is rated 1.0 tortoises ... Yes, they all walked faster than me ... I am the tortoise, and they have each been preparing. We pretty much stayed together the whole way and it was great fun ... thank you!

Footnote: Total miles since June 28 - 16.75.

Friday, October 26, 2012

3-178

Welcome to this 34 second panoramic view of the top of today's walk with Joshua and Benjamin to Observation Point on the East Rim of Zion Canyon. This walk is one of the reasons I enjoy having Angels Landing on my unbucket list ... this requires no chains to get to the top, and while it is longer and more strenuous than Angels Landing, the reward is a view so spectacular that it includes looking down on Angels Landing from above. :-)

Stats: 6.92 miles round trip, with a climb of 2336 feet to the top (elevation 6680). Tortoise rating: -1.0. (HumanaFit notes two sections at their category 1, the tortoise rating is based on average grade of 12.8% the whole way up at average elevation of 5512. There are some areas with 19% grade on this trail.)

Please click here for a map and several more pictures.

Cheerio!

3-126

I got to enjoy walking with Doug Jr, Josh and Ethan, Benjamin, and Ryan Despain in Zion Park today (Labor Day, September 3). My GPS went haywire and recorded a much longer walk than we actually did (if you look at the map closely, you will see it has us walking in the air more than once)

Please click on the line below for that map, lots more pictures, and other goodies:

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Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) Segments Hiked

Total lifetime PCT miles hiked: 205.0 out of the 2,650 total.

From 1966 to 1969 segment Tortoise hiked the portion of the PCT shared by the John Muir Trail, covering PCT miles 767.0 to 942.5 (175.5 miles). (While hiking the full 211 miles of the Muir Trail from Happy Isles in Yosemite Valley to the summit of Mt. Whitney)

Tortoise then embarked on a long career at a desk, interrupted momentarily for a day hike in 1988 up Mt. Baden-Powell as a Varsity Boy Scout coach with his team. That took him from PCT miles 374.0 to 377.9, roundtrip. (There was also a second trip from Onion Valley to Mt. Whitney with the Varsity Boy Scouts in 1989. He barely made it, crying with joy and appreciation when he did. That is a story all of its own).

He returned many years later with these walks. Please click on the date for a link to that day's blog post:

June 14, 2012, hiked PCT miles 565.0 to 566.6 (1.6 miles) on both sides of California Highway 58 at the Cameron Road exit.

October 20, 2012, hiked PCT miles 341 to 342 (1 miles) mostly on the east side of Interstate 15 but also under the storm runoff tunnel just south of the exit to California Highway 138 near Cajon Pass.

February 2013, continued in two segments to do miles 342 to 347 (5 miles).

August 13, 2013, hiked miles 374.2 to 376.6 roundtrip from Vincent Gap trailhead at milepost 74.7 on California highway 2.

February 17, 2015, hiked miles 452.9 to 450.4 roundtrip from Vasquez Rocks Picnic Area.

March 16, 2015, hiked miles 341.9 to 340.2 southbound from Cajon Pass Road, then returned. Partial redo of October 20, 2012 walk ... plus a little more.

April 3, 2015, hiked miles 1089.8 to 1091.9 roundtrip from Echo Summit trailhead to near Echo Lake.

May 12, 2016, hiked miles 206.8 to 204.3 southbound from the Snow Canyon Road gate at the bottom of Mt. San Jacinto, then returned.

August 17, 2016, hiked miles 209.5 to 206.8 southbound from the underpass at Interstate 10 Exit 110 to Snow Creek, then returned.

May 26, 2017, hiked miles 369.4 to 364.4 southbound from the Inspiration Point trailhead on California Highway 2, then returned.

The tortoise may eventually set some kind of record for the longest time to complete the PCT in microsegments. You never know, but we're already at 51 years and counting since his first segment from Onion Valley to Taboose Pass in July 1966 :-)

The Life And Times Of Lou, The Smiling Tortoise