The HIKING VIKING used to make his camp in Greenehaven, Arizona, located 8 miles north of the Glen Canyon Dam and the town of Page, about a mile from the Wahweap Bay of Lake Powell. He has also lived in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado, exploring the Rocky Mountains. This website is mainly about hiking in he Page, AZ, area. If you scroll down to the bottom of this page you will find a link to a panorama of the Rocky Mountains as seen from Jones Mountain in the range of the Collegiate Peaks near Buena Vista, CO.

The Colorado Plateau is part of the Great Basin, the largest desert in the U.S. And what is the desert good for, you might ask. "Not to have known - as most men have not - either the mountain or the desert is not to have known one's self", says naturalist and writer Joseph Wood Krutch. I would add the ocean to that.

If nothing else, the desert is great for contemplation. The desert is timeless and wild like the ocean. I especially like its open and uncrowded nature. Lawrence of Arabia said he liked the desert because it is clean.

The desert is perfect for hiking, as you can go everywhere without having to rely on trails. Well, you might be stopped by canyons or mountains, but rarely by vegetation. In wet climates there is usually so much vegetation that you cannot go anywhere except where somebody has created a trail. And then you often walk in a tunnel with all kinds of vegetation crowding you and robbing you of the views. That may be interesting in itself but I prefer the big views. The Montana slogan of "Big Sky Country" applies perfectly to the desert Southwest.

If you like to hike in an area with breathtaking scenery there is a lot to choose from within a short distance from Greenehaven. Here are some examples:

Click thumbnails for a panorama of The Chains area at Lake Powell, AZ, the White Cliffs in Church Wells, UT, and the Rocky Mountains as seen from Jones Mountain, CO.

This page was last updated on 3 July 2002.
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