Palo Duro Canyon - The Lighthouse

I did a day hike with my mom in Palo Duro Canyon State Park south of Amarillo, TX on Saturday 4/21.  As crazy as it sounds, she actually climbed above 13,000 feet on Pikes Peak the day before, but had to turn back due to deep snow.

We decided to do the Lighthouse Trail, which is an easy 3 mile stroll that leads to the most popular canyon formation in the park (called the "Lighthouse").  Unfortunately, we made an erroneous left turn during the early stages of our hike, which added an additional four miles to our trip.  This trail eventually led to a dead end, which is when we realized we made an error, so we turned around, and eventually regained the correct trail.  Luckily, the high temperature was only around 80F, so our mistake wasn't too physically draining.  As we approached the Lighthouse, a steep 100-200 foot cliff must be gained.  The combination of loose dirt on a 50-degree slope almost made me wish I had crampons.  After this crux section is finished, you are able to scramble up on top of a flat table like area of mudstone, and then scramble another 50 feet to the top of a buttress, which is adjacent to the Lighthouse.

On the way home, I decided to find out how many times I could listen to Frank Black's album Teenager of the Year between Amarillo and Oklahoma City.  Averaging 70-75 mph, the answer is 3 times.