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03.2014 BACKPACKER 55 READY, SET, GO! UTAH’S HOUSE RANGE is so forbiddingly hot and dry in summer, it’s practically off- limits to hikers. March and April offer a rare chance to explore these desert peaks in the relative comfort of the Great Basin’s most temperate season. Long before Wasatch skiers have shed their puffies, you can scale 9,000-foot peaks and savor sun- shine on bare shoulders. Pinions and juni- pers dot the limestone crags and ancient bristlecones grip the ridgelines. The dazz- lingly vertical cliff on Notch Peak’s north face measures nearly 3,000 feet tall, rank- ing it among the nation’s biggest—and most spectacular—precipices. Bring all the water you’ll need for this two-day, 10.5- mile retreat, and start hiking at Sawtooth Canyon trailhead (12 miles north of US 50, west of Delta). Slip through a 20-foot- wide, high-walled canyon for a mile, arriv- ing at a fork (marked with a cairn). Bear right and follow Sawtooth Canyon’s broad bottom on a snaking, 1.5-mile course beneath sun-bleached, 8,000-foot peaks. Look carefully at the rocks: The House Range’s Wheeler Shale layer sometimes holds trilobite fossils. Pitch your tent at the head of the canyon for a silent night beneath rhinestone stars. Retrace your steps next morning to the cairn; ditch your pack, hang a right, and follow the dry wash up the canyon to a saddle above Notch’s famous cliffs. Follow the rim for a half-mile east to a stand of bristlecones, then backtrack and hike west for a class 2 scramble to the summit. Gaze across the mountains’ coxcombs and barren valleys, then reverse course to your car. YOUR TOWN SALT LAKE CITY, UT NOTCH PEAK YOUR TRIP Discover an unknown wild range. PLAN YOUR SEASON. Brainstorm a life list (use maga- zines, websites, or Pinterest for ideas), then narrow to what’s achiev- able this year. Block out at least one weekend per month, from April to October, for hik- ing. Put it on your calendar now, and don’t cancel it. Ditto for a weeklong trek in the summer. If needed, reserve transportation and arrival-night camp- sites and secure reservations. Get a detailed calendar of key permit dead- lines nationwide at backpacker.com/ permits. RESTOCK YOUR FIRST-AID KIT. Check all drugs and creams to make sure they’re not expired. Re-up your supply of disposables, such as Band-aids, moleskin, and duct tape. LOS ANGELES, CA In March and April, the Carrizo Plain National Monument’s desert grassland explodes with wild- flowers. Best overnight: A 14-mile out-and-back to Caliente Ridge. bit.ly/ carrizo; 3 hours drive CHARLOTTE, NC Snag summit views before trees leaf out along a 12-mile loop on the Uwharrie and Dutchman’s Creek Trails. bit.ly/Dutchmans; 1 hour drive pines and dunes bearded with beach grasses. Keep an eye out for terrapin hatchlings: In spring and summer, these quarter-size babies trek across the dunes to the marsh, leaving tracks like parallel strings of beads. After 3 miles, turn left and hike .3 mile north on Trail 4 to a cluster of pine-shaded tent sites located 500 yards from the surf ($20 permit required). Scan the ocean’s edge for piping plovers, which breed here in early April. Next day, return to the Marsh Trail and hike east 3 more miles to Beach Point and its poster-worthy view of Sandy Neck Lighthouse (a three-story tower marking the entrance to Barnstable Harbor) before returning to the Gatehouse. PREPARE FOR YOUR BEST HIK- ING YEAR EVER. YOUR TOWN, YOUR TRIP INFO TOWN.BARNSTABLE .MA.US/SANDYNECKPARK DRIVE TIME FROM BOSTON 1 HOUR, 20 MINUTES INFO BIT.LY/NOTCHPEAK DRIVE TIME FROM SALT LAKE CITY 3 HOURS P H O T O B Y C H U C K G R A H A M