Blue Mesa, the Best Trail in Petrified Forest NP

Petrified Forest National Park is packed full of a lot of great and very short hikes. One of the ones that we really enjoyed on our last trip was the Blue Mesa Trail. This neat little hike has a overall distance of just one mile but it does have an elevation gain of 111 feet. The vast majority of the elevation change happens over the course of one short but very steep section so this one might be a little bit tricky for wheelchairs and strollers. Even though this trail does not feature as much petrified wood as some of the other trails, it does give you the opportunity to get up close and personal to some bluish and purple bentonite clay. If you can manage to go on a cloudier day the colors will appear to be more rich and vibrant. The trail starts off by working its way across this ridgeline with beautiful panoramic views on both sides. After one-tenth of a mile you will find yourself at the hill that I mentioned earlier. It is paved so traction will hopefully not be an issue but it is very steep. One of the hardest things about making these videos is that sometimes it is just so tough to do these beautiful locations justice. It almost felt like we were being transported to some other planet as the trail dove down into the Purple Valley below. The only downside to this trail is that V said it was making her hungry because she said she felt like she was walking through a magical land of ube cakes. We have been to places with colorful hills before like Utah's Pariah Town site or Death Valley's Artist's Palette but the colors here seemed even more vivid. If you've never seen striped hills like these before these are what are known as Chinle Formations. At right around three-tenths of a mile you should see some trees off in the distance. These trees mark the end of another trail that we love in the park known as the Blue Forest Trail. We will have that video out next week so be sure to stay tuned. Once you are down in the valley the trail will be super easy and it will just consist of small rolling hills. That is until it's time to go back up the big one. As you wander through the valley you're probably gonna be wondering just how these hills got their perfectly defined stripes. Well what you're looking at is mother nature's handiwork that dates back over 200 million years. The white stripes that you see besides the ones that are made in the snow are made out of pure bentonite clay while the other colors are the result of a mineral presence in the water levels at the time that the sediment was deposited. The gray green blue and purple colors resulted in high water levels that deprived carbon and iron minerals of oxygen. On the other hand reddish hues were formed when the water level fluctuated letting iron minerals oxidize or rust. One thing that is super important here is that you need to stay on the trail. One reason is because this area is home to sensitive finds such as fossilized plants and fish and the other reason is because the Chinle Formation is extremely fragile. Walking on it would probably leave big deep footprints and it would take away from the untouched beauty of this area. So if you decide to visit please do your part to help keep this area pristine for future generations to come. Once you leave the valley it is time to climb back up that steep hill. It's not really that bad. You might be breathing a little heavy at the top but you should be through it pretty quick. On our way up the hill the Sun popped out of the clouds and you can see how it muted the colors of the Chinle Formation but at least it stayed in the clouds for the most colorful parts of this hike. If you are only going to be spending a short amount of time in the park, V and I think that this is one of the hikes that should definitely be on your to-do list. The amount of beautiful things that you get to see in such a short distance give this hike a ton of bang for the buck. If you enjoyed this video be sure to like, comment, and subscribe because those are the best things that you can do to support this channel. Check us out on Instagram at thatadventurelife underscore official and for all the information about this hike as well as other awesome things to do in Petrified Forest National Park head on over to thatadventurelife.com