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| Hiking | 10.45 Miles |
1,091 AEG |
| | Hiking | 10.45 Miles | 5 Hrs 20 Mns | | 2.11 mph |
| 1,091 ft AEG | 23 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | On the second day of our Palo Duro Trip we hiked the Rock Garden Trail and the Rim Trail. This trail actually has some elevation gain as you climb the 600 feet to the rim. The Rock Garden Trail has some interesting rock formations but the real prize is the views of Palo Duro Canyon from the rim. We had planned to hike along the rim to "Fracture In the Rock" then find our own route down from the rim to the Lower Comanche Trail and back to our start point. I found a spot I thought might work but my boss nixed the idea. I think it was quite doable but may of been more Challenging for Ginny. We went back the way we came, I didn't want to break my bride of only 6 months. We can do the Lower Comanche Trail on another trip here.
The walk along the rim was quite interesting with views all along the way. Some sections of the rim had cracks back from the edge where eventually the cliff will give way, hopefully not while standing on it. At the end of the hike is what is called "Fracture in the Rock" and is an area where the rock long the cliff and the rocks below the cliff have a large fracture, quite impressive. I will have to check out the lower fracture next time I am here on the Lower Comanche Trail. The Palo Duro Map has a trail labeled as the Rylander Fortress Cliff Trail that goes to the Fracture in the Rock but this trail is actually an old 2 track and stays back from the rim. Doesn't look like many take this route. I recommend taking the trail that follows along the rim. We returned along the Rylander trail for a while but it was quite boring so we cut back over to the rim trail.
This was a great hike and a good workout if you don't stop every few minutes to get pictures of the views or rock formations. It's not like climbing Mount Humphrey but it is pretty good for being on the Texas Panhandle. The drive to Palo Duro is also quite interesting, It is flat, flat to the north, flat to the south, flat to the rear and flat to the front then all of a sudden there is something that isn't flat, a big hole that drops away indicating the end of flat. It is not Grand Canyon but it is Texas' version of the Grand Canyon. Maybe it is god's practice canyon before actually building his master piece. |
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