Pic of the Week 1/27/23 "Palo Duro Rim to Rim"
Pic of the Week 1/27/23
"Palo Duro Rim to Rim"
Location: Palo Duro Canyon State Park, TX
Date taken: 3/17/19
This week’s Pic of the Week entry will be short and sweet. Recently, a few of my hiking friends embarked on a trek through Palo Duro Canyon is search for a trail that would take them from one rim of the canyon to the other. This was achieved through already established trails, which is unusual for this group of hikers, and it totaled just over 9 miles. This is a one-way trail, so if you attempt it yourself, be sure to have another vehicle at the finish to drive you back. They started from the CCC overlook and followed the CCC trail down to the canyon floor. From there, they hopped on the Kiowa Trail, following the river, before turning onto the Comanche Trail and then the Rock Garden Trail. The final hike led them to the top of Fortress Cliff and the other rim of the canyon. I have to say, their new route intrigued me, and as I researched, I became nostalgic of my past Palo Duro Canyon adventures. So, I decided to look through my archives, and there I found an image of the CCC overlook looking on to Fortress Cliff. In this photo, you can see almost the entire Rim to Rim hike they completed. There are also some hikers near the cliff edge in this photo to give it some scale. Palo Duro Canyon really is a wonderful place for exploring and getting outside, and with the park closing more than half of it, we no longer have access to some of our more interesting locations. You can find more info at www.openpaloduro.com. So I guess the only thing left to do now is schedule a Palo Duro trip and hike the Rim to Rim trail myself!
© Ben Jacobi