If people had lived thousands of years ago, they could have rested beneath the shade of these trees, but a change of weather patterns eventually capped the growth of this forest. Today people seek out Petrified Forest to marvel at the wood-turned-stone, which, when petrified, turns every shade of the rainbow. These stones are absolutely stunning—huge agates in violent purples and sea greens.

Unfortunately, this beautiful rock has lured looters for years, and people have dug the colorful chunks out as souvenirs. Even though the effects of this looting can be seen today—the number of petrified logs is pitifully small considering the size of the park—people continue to pocket pieces, and, on average, 2,000 pounds of petrified rock are lifted from the park every month.

As a result, there is one route through Petrified Forest National Park. You can drive north to south or south to north, but regardless, visitors need to go through a checkpoint going in and are subject to search on the way out.

It doesn’t matter which direction you travel through the park, but give yourself a good portion of the day to enjoy it. We traveled north to south, so we started our day with the film at the visitors center and then enjoyed the vistas over the Painted Desert—the badlands of the South. From there we wandered into the Painted Desert and then drove south into the heart of Petrified Forest National Park.

If you would also like to visit the park, here are my tips for making your trip easier and more enjoyable:

• Get an early start on the day, especially if you plan to do any hiking. This allows you to catch the coolest part of the day. Plus, the park is huge! If you want to spend time doing more than just checking out the overlooks, you’ll need at least four to six hours in the park.
• There is wilderness camping in the park but no standard campgrounds. The closest town with substantial accommodations is Holbrook, Arizona, about 15 minutes from the southern entrance of the park.
• If you’re into hiking, ask for directions to hike into the wilderness area. These trails aren’t publicly marked on the park brochure, but you’re welcome to use them without any special permits.
• Drink lots of water. It’s a desert out there!
• Wear lots of sunscreen. The sun is intense.
• The state of Arizona does not observe Daylight Savings Time. Be mindful of this when you enter Arizona from a bordering state.
• Finally, please, for the love of all that’s good and evil, don’t remove anything from Petrified Forest National Park. Just don’t do it.

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

• Tips for Visiting Navajo National Monument
• Tips for Visiting Canyon de Chelly National Monument
• Hiking in the Rain at Sunset Crater Volcano
  

In our short week-long road trip in northern Arizona, we’d become intimately familiar with cliff dwellings, many of which were inhabited and abandoned over the course of several hundred years by the Anasazi, Hopi, Navajo and others.

This variety of cliff dwellings includes small rooms that may have housed a single family and larger village-like structures of 80 or more rooms that are reminiscent of small cities. There are still pieces of broken pottery in the store rooms, and innovative ventilation systems were built into many of the living quarters.

At Walnut Canyon, visitors are welcome to walk right next to the dwellings, which sit on a ledge above the canyon floor. This differs from our experiences at other national parks. At Navajo National Monument, for example, we took a guided tour to Betatakin, a massive settlement where 150 people lived at any one time, and walked among the ruins whereas at Canyon de Chelly we hiked for hours just to get within several hundred feet from one of the many cliff dwellings located in the canyon. At Wupatki National Monument, we could freely poke in and out of rooms without a guide.

I know that many people live nomadic lifestyles today, but that is by choice. They live out of RVs or backpacks as they make their way from one unknown destination to the next. But as we walked among the cliff dwellings, I thought about the people that used to live there. I’d read the museum exhibits and literature we picked up on our trip, and those who called these cave dwellings home never did so for very long. If a community stuck around for 50 years before abandoning the buildings, it was considered a long time.

Those who lived in these dwellings were nomadic by necessity, not by choice. At Navajo National Monument, in fact, there were storage containers packed with kernels of corn, as if the inhabitants anticipated returning to the site again someday. I’m sure wandering among the canyons and wilderness looking for a place to plant and live is significantly different than coming to a fork in the road and turning the steering wheel in either direction. I wonder what the nomads of yesterday would think about those of today.

We rounded the final corner of our walk around Walnut Canyon and stopped to look out across the valley. A family walked by with a couple of kids in tow. “Where do you want to eat for lunch today?” the father asked.

“McDonald’s,” a young boy answered.

“Sounds good.” The family walked up the stairs, out of the canyon and up to the parking lot.

How times have changed.

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

• Tips for Visiting Navajo National Monument
• Tips for Visiting Canyon de Chelly National Monument
• Hiking in the Rain at Sunset Crater Volcano
  

In the summer of 2008, Peter hiked the John Muir Trail, but he didn’t just strap on a backpack and go. Instead, he hit the trail with nine other people … six of whom were boys in high school. Many of these boys were novices to backpacking, especially on something as intense as the John Muir Trail. In fact, even Peter had only ever backpacked for a couple nights at a time. Knowing what I know about high schoolers, this seems like quite the courageous endeavor and I give Peter huge kudos for introducing these kids to the California wilderness.

The other thing that made hiking the trail tougher than normal for Peter was the fact that he had to haul along video equipment. The purpose? To film the trip and create a documentary, which he has entered into the Sundance Film Festival, Mountain Film Festival and Wild and Scenic Film Festival. A trailer for the film is at the bottom of this post; I personally can’t wait to see the whole film!

Peter was kind enough to answer a few questions about his 2008 hike on the John Muir Trail. If you have other questions, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if you hit him up on Twitter.

1. What was the catalyst for hiking the John Muir Trail with this group of high school students?

I came up with the idea to film the John Muir Trail while hiking in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia in college. We made a really bad hiking and camping TV show for college credit. We were hiking along the Appalachian Trail and some dudes were like, “You have to see the JMT out West. It is pretty much the best and most amazingly scenic hiking trail ever.” I took their word for it.

2. Can you tell me a little bit about the hike? What did you have to do to prep for it?

It’s 220 miles, starting in Yosemite Valley in California. It goes northeast for 20 miles then turns south for 200 miles, culminating atop Mt. Whitney, the tallest peak in the lower 48. There are limited resupply points and it is pretty remote … but totally doable. I definitely began training (mostly running) in late March—four months prior to setting off on the trail for 17 days. I tore my MCL in my knee about a month before the trip. Some time I’ll tell you about how I healed up with less than a week to spare.

3. What surprised you about taking this particular hike with these students?

Not a lot. It was pretty much what you would expect from a couple of 15-17 year olds. Hilarious mostly. We jived really well as a group.

4. Why did you decide to make a documentary of this experience? What do you hope people will take away from watching the film?

Two things: First, I hope folks are inspired to protect and preserve all wilderness areas, and secondly, I hope they are inspired to truly believe in themselves and to follow their dreams. We are much more capable than we can ever imagine. That is real talk.

5. Did you encounter any challenges while filming on the trail?

Yes. It was hard as shit. I was constantly having to catch up with the group. They would walk on by and I would be 300 yards behind. I had to really push myself and commit to shooting everything. I nearly ran out of camera power but really lucked out. I had a friend deliver three fresh batteries to me three days from the end of the trail. That saved my ass!

6. What tips do you have for people who would like to hike the John Muir Trail?

Go as light as absolutely possible. Wearing hiking sneakers instead of boots was a great decision for me. Follow the Leave No Trace principles. Mail a resupply to Vermilion. There is no store at Muir Trail Ranch. Hike your own hike.