The Adventures Of Suze (2025)

11/07/2025

One of my favorite places in 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 was 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞! I wanted to get there before the sun fully rose - so I could capture the colors before they got too washed out. To get there, we took Badwater Road, then took the one-way road called 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐒𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐩. The road was fun to drive, with big dips and tight turns. There were lots of beautfiul sights and multiple areas where you could pull off to explore. The colors are incredible and honestly are as beautiful as they look in pictures! The colors are caused by volcanic deposits with compounds like iron oxides and chlorite.

There is a decent sized parking lot with pit toilets when you arrive at the overlook of 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞. Once you’re done viewing the overlook, you can also wander around through the colorful hills. I could’ve spent so much time there, but we had a hike planned and needed to start that before it got too hot out. If you are in the park, I definitely recommend going to 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞 early in the morning. I have heard it’s really nice at sunset as well, so I’d like to go back to check it out then.

Stay tuned for next week’s installment of “𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲” and if you aren’t already, follow for more National Park, hiking and travel content.

📍Newe Sogobia land

Have you ever been to this beautiful spot?

09/07/2025

The last hike of our 3 day trek (hike 26/52) started at the Galehead Hut after a big ol’ breakfast. We had to summit South Twin again, this time however, we were socked in, no 360° views! From there, we crossed over to North Twin (another of NH’s 48 4,000 footers, 11/48 for me) which was honestly such a a beautiful hike - it was so green and lush with so many pretty flowers. The descent from North Twin seemed to never end though and there was a lot of loose rocks and wash outs. We were so happy to get back to the car!

📍N’dakina and Wabanaki land

07/07/2025

Hike 25/52 was a quick little jaunt from Galehead Hut to the summit of Mt. Galehead, another of NH’s 48 4,000 footers (10/48 for me!). Just a half mile each way, only 250 ft elevation gain. It was a wooded summit but there was a nice overlook nearby where you could take in views of the valley and the hut below. I only took a couple pics of the hike so I’ve included some pictures of the Galehead hut, which was beautiful!!

📍N’dakina and Wabanaki land

05/07/2025

Part 2 of hike 24/52 took us across Twinway from Mount Zealand to Mt Guyot where we had lunch. Then we continued on to South Twin (another 4,000 footer, 9/48 for me). The 360° views from South Twin were incredible!!! However, the descent down to the Galehead hut was rough - 1,100 ft elevation loss in 3/4 of a mile 🫣our knees were not pleased! This portion of the hike was just under 4 mi, 1,115 ft elevation gain.

📍N’dakina and Wabanaki land

04/07/2025

As to be expected, the temperatures in 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 are outrageous during the day most parts of the year. Becasue of this, we started our explorations around 5:30 AM every morning. Our second morning in the park, we went to 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐭 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐮𝐧𝐞𝐬 for sunrise. The lighting was spectacular, especially dancing through the cresote bushes.

The dunes were created by the wind eroding the mountains in the north. The mountains in the south provide a barrier to keep the dune field in place. While they aren’t as large in stature as the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado, they are still impressive in their own way. They are named for the mequite trees which are plentiful in the park. It’s a popular place to watch sunrise and sunset, plus to view the dark night skies. The dunes are home to many creatures, including rattlesnakes so watch where you step when exploring. The parking lot is quite large and there are pit toilets available. Please note - no pets are allowed here!

Stay tuned for next week’s installment of “𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲” and if you aren’t already, follow for more National Park, hiking and travel content.   📍Newe Sogobia land

03/07/2025

Hike 24/52 started after breakfast at Zealand Falls Hut. We took Twinway trail up to Zeacliff overlook, the views were stunning!! We continued on Twinway to the wooded summit of Zealand Mountain (another 4,000 footer, 8/48 for me). No views but some big fatty Gray Jays! Approx. 2.6 miles, 1,703 ft elevation gain.

Part 2 of this hike coming on Saturday!

📍Wabanaki and N’dakina land

02/07/2025

Peaceful summer evenings at the Zealand Falls Hut 🌲

- warm tea, reading and lounging
- cozy bunks
- family-style dinners
- Naturalist talks with Ted (aka Ted Talks)
- sleeping with the windows open listening to the waterfall at night

📍Wabanaki and N’dakina land

01/07/2025

Oh hi! It’s been a little while…I was gone for a few days on an epic hiking adventure! But I’m back and am trying to get caught up so let’s recap!

Hike 23/52 was a 2ish mile hike up Hale Brook Trail (2,300ish feet elevation gain) to the wooded summit of Mt. Hale, one of NH’s 48 4,000 footers. The summit was super buggy so we quickly made the descent. We took Lend-A-Hand Trail down to the Zealand Falls hut. The trail was so fun, we saw so many fun plants and crossed lots of bog bridges and just generally squealed with excitement about everything!

📍Wabanaki and N’dakina land

25/06/2025

If nature had a Stairmaster, it would be the Dorr Mountain Ladder Trail. From the get-go, you’re ascending tall stone steps, which gets your heart pumping. After the stairs stop, around half a mile in, you get to a few ladders. They aren’t particularly scary but they are a little rickety. Trail is pretty pleasant the remainder of the way although there is one steep section up a rock slab that’s a calf burner!

I love the krummholz forest near the summit and low shrubbery. There are some beautiful views from the summit. The group I was with was running behind schedule and we still had to get to our campsite and set up our tents before dark so we didn’t have a lot of time to explore the summit area. You can make this a longer loop by including Schiff Path and Kane Path, which will take you along a body of water called The Tarn but again, since we were running behind, we opted to make this just an out and back hike.

I would definitely do this trail again though when I had more time and add on some extra milage. Would you hike this?

🥾 Approx. 2 miles round trip
⛰️Approx. elevation gain 1,135 ft.
🌲 Moderate to Hard (depends on fitness level)
💰$20-$35, or use the America the Beautiful annual pass
🦮 No dogs allowed
🚽 No bathrooms available

As always, please practice the 7 principles of Leave No Trace and stay on the trail.

📍N’dakina, Wabanaki, Passamaquoddy and Penobscot land

23/06/2025

Hike 22/52 was a toughie - Jarrett and tackled Franconia Ridge, arguably the most popular trail in the white mountains. It’s like a conga line going across the ridge 😅. This was my second time doing it and Jarr’s first. We camped out nearby Friday night so we could get to the trailhead early. We got there at 6:30 and by 7am the parking lot was already full!! It was a perfect day for a hike. Not super happy with my photos from the day, there were so many people on the trail so I felt rushed and wasn’t focusing on my settings enough.

Most importantly, we hiked a 4,000 footer as part of ‘s The Longest Day fundraiser, which raises funds for the Alzheimer’s Association. We hiked for Jarrett’s mom, who has ALZ. Between the two of us we raised $1,390, so a huge thank you to everyone who donated, it means so much 💜

📍N’dakina and Wabanaki land

20/06/2025

Something I really wanted to see at 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐤 was 𝐔𝐛𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐛𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫. The crater is about 2,000 years old, a half-mile across and about 500 feet deep. It’s one of many craters in the area but is the largest! It’s very culturally important to the Timbisha Shoshone (Newe) tribe, whose land the park is now on. The crater is known as 𝑪𝒐𝒚𝒐𝒕𝒆’𝒔 𝑩𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒕 to the tribe and is part of a story that explains how the tribe came to reside in the area.

The views of the crater are incredible and you can actually circumnavigate the rim of the crater, which is a 1.5 mile loop. We considered doing the hike, but because we got there around 10:30 am - the temperature was already in the high 90s and the trail is fully exposed - we opted to only go to the highest point near the parking lot to take pictures. It’s pretty far from other parts of the park, so make sure your gas tank is full before driving out that way. There isn’t a bathroom at the crater, but a few miles before the parking lot is a ranger station with restrooms available!
 Stay tuned for next week’s installment of ”𝐅𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐅𝐫𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲” and if you aren’t already, follow for more National Park, hiking and travel content.   📍Newe Sogobia and Nüümü land

18/06/2025

One of our favorite hikes from our Colorado vacation last May was the Petroglyphs Trail at Mesa Verde National Park. The trail itself was very pleasant and didn’t have a lot of incline, however it was very hot and a bit exposed.

The views along the trail were beautiful and you got to wander alongside the walls of the mesa. The trail was rocky and there are some areas where it’s important to watch your step. While we were here, an older gentleman fell and hit his head - he ended up needing to be airlifted out 😔 - so keep that in mind.

About halfway through the trail, you will come to a wall with a large section of petroglyphs carved into the rock. I love seeing history like this during our travels! Also important to note, at both the beginning and end of the hike, you get views of the Spruce House cliff dwelling from a distance.

The cliff dwellings and the petroglyphs are such important features in the park, both historically and culturally, so please treat them with respect!

🥾 Approx. 3 miles round trip
⛰️ Approx. elevation gain 420 ft.
🌲 Moderate to Hard (depends on fitness level)
💰$15-$30, or use the America the Beautiful annual pass
🦮 No dogs allowed
🚽 Bathrooms available

As always, please practice the 7 principles of Leave No Trace and stay on the trail.

📍Jicarilla Apache, Tséstho’e, Diné Bikéyah and Ute land

The Adventures Of Suze

11/07/2025

09/07/2025

07/07/2025

05/07/2025

04/07/2025

03/07/2025

02/07/2025

01/07/2025

25/06/2025

23/06/2025

20/06/2025

18/06/2025

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