Hiking Team: Dave Miller, Rosie Miller, Justin Eller, Holly Eller
Date: May 25, 2024
The Lighthouse Rock formation is the iconic symbol of Palo Duro Canyon State Park, so we had to hike to it. A volunteer hiking trail maintenance club had a tent at the trailhead passing out free water and going over safety procedures since it was going to be a hot, long hike. They said most deaths and heat-related injuries occur on this trail. A wonderful thought. It was 2.8 miles to the Lighthouse, so I carried lots of water for this 5.6-mile hike. The ground temperature was 115 degrees when we began. Justin was very energetic so after a mile he asked if he could go on ahead at a faster pace. The trail was dirt and mostly flat with tall grasses, sage, wildflowers, cactus, yucca and other desert brush on each side. The trail rounded several large rock formations many of which were multicolored as we proceeded down the long canyon. During water breaks we talked to other hikers. One many from Minnesota had shoes on his dog to protect the paw pads from getting cut on cactus. Rounding the trail we finally saw the lighthouse rock in the distance. When we got to the base, Justin met us as he had already been up and back.
For the final steep ascent to the summit, Rosie and I went up the easier trail and later on came down the rocky trail (Photo#7) with Justin and Holly. At the top of the trail, we carefully climbed up the final 20 feet. There was about fifty yards of flat land between the Lighthouse Rock and a second large rock formation on this summit of land. We took lots of photos of this beautiful view.
After climbing back down from our perch, we began the long 2.6-mile trek back. The ground temperature had now reached 144 degrees and the air temperature was 85 degrees. We took frequent water breaks and saw lots of lizards. I was surprised at all of the greenery that grew along the trail. Many prickly pear cactus had beautiful yellow blooms. A family of six (four were kids) passed us on mountain bikes.
Did you know: The final scene in “Indiana Jones and the Lost Crusade” showing Indy and his father riding off into the sunset was filmed at Palo Duro canyon.
