Winter is typically a time to rest and consider what to do when the warm days return. Not at Petrified Forest National Park! Winter is a time to join some volunteers for a guided hike into the backcountry. With an eye to safety and health, the park’s guided hikes have resumed this month. The program was started by Gary Grube (Friends of Petrified Forest Board Member) and his wife Connie. They developed longer hikes for visitors into places most of the public doesn’t go, working with the Interpretive and Resource Management departments. As the program became more popular, the Grubes trained another couple, Dorenda and Matt Walters, to join in and continue the hikes. The winter of 2021—after a pandemic dearth of programs—begins a new season of these wonderful adventures. The hikes are all off-trail, across uneven ground, and into the often-demanding environment of the region. Be prepared with appropriate footwear and layered clothing, with protection for the park’s year-round sun. A snack and plenty of water are also needed, as well as lunch for the longer hikes. The Walters are very good at making sure that everyone is prepared and to keep track of folks along the hike. There are hikes from several hours to most of the day that are scattered through the entire park; a great way to get a feeling for the diversity of Petrified Forest. The amazing landscape is the main attraction, but geological details, cultural treats such as petroglyphs and perhaps even early wildflowers contribute to rich adventures. The hikes include the Wilderness Loop hike, which begins at the top of a basalt-capped escarpment, following switchbacks down to the red hills of the Painted Desert. The way passes through these ruddy badlands and beneath sculptured spires of white volcanic tuff. Large dark brown petrified logs are explored in several “forests”: Black, Lithodendron, and Chalcedony, all remnants of log jams that formed on the Late Triassic rivers. Signs of humans appear as petroglyphs, remains of bridges and a road grader that seems very out of place. This hike is eight miles round trip with an elevation change of 700 feet and is considered strenuous. Titanic refers to a formation called the sinking ship, the layers having an obvious slant compared to the surrounding landscape. Why? Well, that is one reason to take this moderate hike with the Walters through the blue, purple, and gray badlands around Blue Mesa. This is about 5.5 miles round-trip with an elevation change of about 425 feet. The Blue Mesa area is one of the most dramatically surreal and beautiful parts of the park. Ruddy petrified wood stands out against the cool hues of the banded badlands. In places, a cinnamon crumble tops of the hills, a strange layer called silcrete. There are other hikes in this central section of the park, but this is a treat with lots of fascinating details that the Walters will share in the field. Entrance fees to the park are $25 for a seven-day pass for a vehicle and the people within; $15 for a seven-day pass for a bicyclist or a walker; and $20 for a seven-day pass for motorcycles with riders. For more information on joining one of the guided hikes including times and dates, visit the park’s official website where they are listed on the calendar at https://www.nps.gov/pefo/planyourvisit/guidedtours.htm.
