Palo Duro Canyon

May 26, 2019
3 min read

Located in the Panhandle of Texas, about an hour from Amarillo, the Palo Duro Canyon is a beauty to be admired.

(~6 hours from DFW)

My friends Ray and Jen, with Find Apparel Co., invited me to go hiking and photograph their new apparel for their website and the Gram of Insta.

I love traveling, especially with them, because we typically always have adventures to remember.

This one, however, truly tested my mental ability to push through doubts, pain, and ultimately my determination to not give up.

The Lighthouse Trail was by far one of the hardest trails I've hiked in a hot minute.

Sure, it doesn't help that I've successfully put on a few extra pounds, haven't done any

cardio in a while, OR that I binge watched the entire season of American Horror Story: Cult, until 3 am the night before when we were to leave at 5:30 am.

REGARDLESS it was a hard trail that truly challenged me.

We first stopped by the visitor's center, where this incredible view was. Little did I know what was to come.

When we got to the parking lot, we carb'd up, filled our water bottles, and headed out.

They say things are bigger in Texas, and that's definitely a truth.

I didn't get pictures, but the ants could eat small children, and the bees could carry off cattle.

I was able capture a dung beetle, and a few Collared lizards.

Ray wanted to get a few snaps of the lizard, too.

HERE LOOK AT SOME NATURE

We (didn't) go off the trail and find a muddy area to explore...

Since we have been friends for a few years, it's fun photographing them because I can be sassy or jokingly rude to get great reactions.

(hence Ray's sassy face)

In case anyone wanted to see a bit of Ray's personality, here's his idea he wanted captured.

Part of the reason why the hike was hard, was because the tiny rocks were perfect for slipping and falling.

After Jen ate it, we trekked on.

"Oh, Jaclyn, that trail doesn't look that hard, quit being a baby."

Well, no technically the trail wasn't hard, but it got hard at THE END of the trail, when you want to get to the actual Lighthouse rock formation.

There, is where things got tricky.

This was about the halfway mark up the boulders and steep hill we had to climb. Much views. Such dehydration.

It got so dangerous (for my camera) I ended up putting it away so I could climb safely.

I had given up, or if you want to call it "taken a break" about 4 times by this point. I looked at the top of the rock, and seriously didn't think I could make it. I cooled down in the shade, and decided I didn't want to give up.

In order to get up to the very top, Ray had to literally lift me, feet dangling and all, up to the top. Talk about teamwork and being only 5 foot tall.

Here's a snapshot of my getting down.

I'm glad I didn't give up, I'm glad I pushed through my doubts, and I'm glad I overcame everything to be able to see these views and know that I made it to the top.