Paria Canyon Thousands of years of river water wearing away at faults in the rock have created this wondrous twisting “slot” canyon, running across the border between Utah and Arizona. As you enter it from White House, Utah, you vanish into a fantastical world, where sunlight seeping down from above creates unusual plays of light and dark on its high, sculpted red-rock walls. In places, the cliffs are only a few yards apart and rise up to 1,000 feet on either side. At—and often around—your feet, the Paria River (“muddy water” in the Paiute language) flows fast over sand and boulders. From time to time, you pass a tree sprouting from the rock with a mini Garden of Eden of greenery and wildflowers spreading out around it. As night falls, you find a ledge to camp on, and the next day it starts all over again.
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Climbing Mount Fiji Sacred and snow-capped, Fuji-san—rising 12,388 feet above sea level—is a dormant volcano, its image immortalized by the printmaker Hokusai in “Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji.” The most popular starting point is Kawaguchiko 5th Station, more than halfway up the mountain, where tourists and locals congregate, creating a sense of camaraderie as they get ready for the nighttime trek to watch the dawning of the day. The trail winds upward, with long sections of steep steps that take a toll on calf muscles. As you climb, the forest known as Aokigahara (Sea of Trees) falls away and you enter a moonscape of rocks and shrubs. Look up and you will see a pristine night sky dusted with the Milky Way. The temperature drops quickly, and the rest stops and huts become more frequent. A pinpoint of sun pierces the horizon, pauses, then explodes with light, and bathes the vast panorama of metropolitan Tokyo in its morning glow.
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The Tongariro Crossing Set in the heart of New Zealand’s North Island, Tongariro National Park is home to three active volcanoes: Ngauruhoe, Ruapehu, and Tongariro. It owes its existence to Te Heuheu, Chief of the Ngati Tuwharetoa Maori nation, who gifted the land to the New Zealand government in 1887 to protect it from farmers and loggers. The area is a paradise for hikers. From the Mangatepopo Valley, the trail climbs bare volcanic rock in steep zigzags to the rim of South Crater. To the south the towering mass of Ngauruhoe looms, its top venting steam and smoke in a steady stream. After crossing the flat expanse of South Crater, another steep climb leads along an exposed ridge to the Red Crater, where a hot upward draft reminds you that you are walking on a very active volcano.
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