Cathedral Valley

Capitol Reef,Cathedral Valley,Utah
Cathedral Beacons : Prints Available

Light painting amongst the spires of Cathedral Valley.

Our recent dirt-road route around the San Rafael Swell in Utah took us briefly through the Cathedral Valley on the far north end of Capitol Reef National Park. We spent an evening in Lower Cathedral Valley, having fun experimenting with some large-scale light painting (thank you Claudia!) and catching the sunrise light on the Temple of the Sun, a pointy spire that pokes improbably out of the surrounding flat valley.

Capitol Reef,Cathedral Valley,Utah
Temple of the Sun : Prints Available

Sunrise light in Lower Cathedral Valley.

8 Dayhikes in the Utah Canyons

Metate Arch, Devil's Garden, Escalante National Monument, Utah, April

Metate Arch in the Devil’s Garden – April.

On our way back to Colorado from California, we spent about 10 days in the canyons of Utah car camping and doing some fantastic day hikes. We started in Escalante National Monument, probably my favorite canyon region in all of Utah.

Red Breaks, slot, Escalante, Utah, hiking

Hiking in a narrow slot canyon.

Our first hike was through a seldom visited slot canyon called Red Breaks. Although the guides I read called this a “non technical” canyon, it ended up being a very challenging slot canyon, with numerous puzzling chokestones that had to be climbed over. Some of these chokestones required sketchy exposed moves or chimney maneuvers to pass, and we became a bit worried after we had climbed over enough of these that turning back would not have been a safe option, yet each successive chokestone became more and more difficult.

Red Breaks, slot, Escalante, Utah, hiking

Hiking in a deep and narrow slot canyon.

Not only were the chokestones challenging in Red Breaks, but in some areas the slot was so narrow that we could barely squeeze through while pulling our backpacks behind us. A wider person or anyone with claustrophobia should not attempt this slot canyon! I would classify this slot as “non technical” only for very proficient canyoneers and comfortable climbers; for anyone else I would stress that this is an extremely challenging slot canyon. In fact it was the first slot that I was happy to finally exit!

cosmic ashtray, escalante, utah

A bizarre and fascinating sandstone formation, filled with orange sand.

From Red Breaks we hiked cross country over slickrock slabs and valleys to a fascinating sandstone formation called “The Cosmic Ashtray”. This is one of the more curious and mystifying geologic formations I’ve seen, and I have no idea how such a thing could have formed. It’s difficult to comprehend the scale in the photo above, but suffice it say, it’s enormous! We stayed until sunset and hiked back to the truck in the dark… all in all, a 12 hour day of hiking! Not too shabby for the first of eight days in a row of hiking!

slot canyon, Zebra, Escalante National Monument, Utah

The famous Zebra Slot.

Our second hike was to the famous Zebra slot. The slot itself is actually very short and not very deep, but it has these beautiful striations and embedded moki ball stones which make it very photogenic. Photogenic, that is, if you don’t care about taking the same photograph that every other photographer takes, more or less. Claudia was kind enough to pose in there for me, which adds some scale and reality to the otherwise surreal formations.

Little Death Hollow, Escalante National Monument, Utah

Hiking through deep narrows in Little Death Hollow Canyon.

After Zebra, we drove around to the other side of the Escalante River drainage via the incredible Burr Trail Road which leads east from the town of Boulder through jaw-dropping canyon scenery. I’m not sure if I’ve ever driven a more scenic drive in the desert! Our destination was Little Death Hollow canyon, another slot canyon off the Escalante.

Little Death Hollow, Escalante National Monument, Utah

Hiking through the narrows of Little Death Hollow Canyon.

Little Death Hollow is not an especially deep slot canyon, but it goes on for quite a long way and makes for a great hike – especially around midday when the sunlight is bouncing around between the canyon walls.

More photos below! Continue reading “8 Dayhikes in the Utah Canyons”

Road Trip Through the Desert

Cedar Breaks National Monument, Utah

We just got back home to Colorado after a quick road trip to San Diego to visit my relatives and friends. Instead of doing the drive in one grueling day like I used to do, we took our time and broke up the drive into three days each way, giving us the opportunity to see some of the sights in the desert along the way. Here are a few photos from the trip! Above is Cedar Breaks National Monument, where we camped the first night.

Angels Landing, Zion, Utah, hiking

On our way back we drove through Zion National Park, stopping to hike up to Angels Landing. This was a questionable decision for a September Saturday, as the [paved!] trail was clogged with people and felt like a Disneyland attraction. But regardless of the crowds, it is always a spectacular hike with killer views of Zion canyon!

Chimney Rock Canyon, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

We continued to Capitol Reef National Park and the next day we did a wonderful hike down Chimney Rock Canyon, where sheer sandstone walls tower overhead.

Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

Two Weeks in the Canyons

Happy Canyon slot

I just posted a bunch of photos from my trip in Utah! Though I was only out there for two weeks total, it truly felt like a full month. It always amazes me how time slows down when I travel. I think that is the secret of living longer… to travel a lot! In that regard, I suppose it’s not all about how long you live, but how well you spend your time while you’re here. (I say that after having the last three days fly by while working on the computer again).

Anyhow, now I’m back home in Ouray, Colorado. It feels great to finally be back home. I’m really looking forward to summer.

>> Check out my new Utah photos here.