Prominence, isolation, and the detours in between.
A 13-day road trip from Wisconsin to Colorado linked state high points, four Ultras, Yellowstone and Utah desert parks, from Michigan’s 12-centimetre summit dispute to a 4,302 m finish on Pikes Peak.
United States | Utah
Four spare hours after Mount Peale became a fast Arches circuit through 43°C heat, dark storm clouds, Balanced Rock, the Windows and enough roadside geology to justify the detour immediately.
United States | Southern Wasatch
An Ultra-prominence hike through deer and wildflowers became a judgement call under distant thunder, then ended with a parking ticket that finally explained the trailhead’s nearly useless permit system.