Backpacker – August 2019

JULY/AUGUST 2019

BACKPACKER .COM 67

No. 6

LAUNCH INTO OAK CR EEK CAN YON.

Coconino National Forest, AZ

MAYBE IT’S A quirk of geolog y, or maybe it ’s Sedona’s

fa med spiritua l vor texes—but whatever the rea son,

this slice of slickrock country boasts some of the des-

er t ’s best backcountr y swimming. The water features

here can draw a crowd, so target midweek to visit the

mini-water fa lls, sa ndy beaches, a nd boulder-lined

pools in Oa k Creek Ca nyon. A n ea sy-access road pa r-

allels the creek, but the best way into the chasm is the

scenic approach on the Huckaby Trail, which deliv-

ers views of iconic Sedona sights like Stea mboat Rock

before reaching the stream at mile 1.5. A mile’s worth

of swimmable pockets line the water way from here, so

get sampling. Adrenaline add-on: Hike another .5 mile

on the adjoining A llen’s Bend Tra il to Gra sshopper

Point, where a popular azure swimming hole sits

below sandstone ledges that double as diving boards.

Swim season May to September Trailhead

Schnebly Hill (34.8667, -111.7487) Regs $5

parking fee or Red Rock Pass Contact http://www.fs

.usda.gov/coconino

ASK MY KIDS if they

wa nt to go back to the

classroom in summer,

and you’ll get a quick

and loud “no way.” And so, like

a ny good mom, I trick them. Last

June, we piled into the 4Runner

with our ca mping gea r a nd headed

nor th from Boulder, Colorado. I

told them we were going on a gra nd

adventure—every good adventure

teaches you something, right?

Eight hours later, we settled

into a campsite in Grand Teton

Nationa l Pa rk, stopping at the

visitor center to pick up Junior

Ra nger booklets. Their pages a re

chock-full of fun facts, quizzes,

nature-based scavenger hunts,

word sea rches, a r t projects—

basically, a curriculum.

Back at camp, my 6- and 10-year-

old boys immediately began

reading about a glacier’s ability to

carve out a lake, and writing about

the differences between black a nd

grizzly bea rs. The subterfuge was

working.

In Gra nd Teton, a nd then

Yellowstone and Glacier, we tapped

the friendly, knowledgeable park

ra ngers who had a n engaging

way of explaining things

like geothermal activity and

complicated ecosystems. Through

interpretive signs and movies at

the visitor centers, my kids lea rned

that bison a re the biggest la nd

ma mma ls in Nor th A merica a nd

that surface water seeps down

to magma-heated rocks before

erupting from Old Faithful 17

times every day.

After mornings spent hiking

or ca noeing (P.E.!), the kids

worked on their booklets. They

drew animal tracks (science) and

asked about the Native American

names and lack thereof in Glacier

(social studies). At night, we played

blackjack (math), then ended the

day strumming the ukulele a nd

singing (music). Who says you need

classroom wa lls to lea rn?

NO. 5

FEEL

THE

WIND

UNDER

YOUR

F E E T.

Summer + School
By Lisa J hung

Get big air at

Grasshopper Point.

Be smar t: Scout water depth

a nd check for ha za rds before

jumping, a nd don’t swim in or

across fast-moving rivers.