Rainy weather over the Needles District, Canyonlands National Park, Utah.
In mid May we met up with family from Germany in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park in Utah for a couple days of camping and hiking. Our timing wasn’t great, as it rained more than I’ve ever seen in the desert! But we did get one somewhat dry-enough day for my brother-in-law and I to do the ultra-classic hike to Chesler Park and Druid Arch. See more photos >>
Ancient Puebloan pictographs from around 1,000-1,300 AD. It’s hard to see in this photo, but underneath these pictographs are older reddish figures dating from 1,000-3,000 BC!
In early November a friend and I backpacked about 30 miles through Salt Creek and the Peakaboo Trail in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, Utah. This canyon is renowned for its numerous Ancient Puebloan ruins and pictographs; in fact I’ve never seen so many ruins outside of the Cedar Mesa area!
False Kiva illuminated on a February night, Canyonlands National Park, Utah.
With no new snow in the mountains we headed out for a quick trip to Canyonlands earlier this week to enjoy the freakishly spring-like February weather. We spent a few days camping up on the Island in the Sky and doing hikes around there.
The shot above is a stitched long-exposure panorama of False Kiva, illuminated by a single headlamp placed in the kiva. This kiva is of unknown origin; it’s not clear whether it’s an authentic native site or of later construction.
An awesome sunset over Chesler Park in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, Utah. (Sony A7R + Contax/Zeiss 35-70mm)
As winter drags on, there are times when no matter how good the snow is, all I can think about is getting out to the desert for some warm weather backpacking. Such was the case last week when Claudia and I drove over to Utah for four days of backpacking in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park south of Moab. And what a refreshing trip it was, with exciting weather and some fantastic light to photograph.
The trip also provided ample opportunity for me to test out my new Sony A7R 36mp camera matched up with my favorite Canon lenses. Since this is a popular new camera, and my first new professional camera in over four years, I’ll write a brief mini-review at the end of this post.
See LOTS more photos below! Continue reading “Escape to the Canyonlands”
After two months of being more or less glued to the computer, I was thrilled to head out into the desert and finally get outside again! Our destination: the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, south of Moab, Utah. Above you can see the La Sal Mountains towering over the canyons in the distance.
Walking to the glow, in the narrow slots of the Joint Trail.
More photos below! Continue reading “Dayhike in the Needles District”
[+] On my way home today from Midway, Utah (near Park City), I made a detour from Moab and drove up to the Island in the Sky, in Canyonlands National Park. There was still lots of snow on the ground, even two days after the Christmas dump, and the roads up there were sheets of ice! After a slippery drive to the Grandview Point overlook, I donned my down jacket and snowboard boots, and hiked a mile along the rim to take photos of the evening light and sunset.
More photos below.
5.13.08: UPDATED WITH 4X5 PHOTOS
This last weekend I went backpacking in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park in Utah. After shelling out 25 bucks for entrance and permit fees, I set off into the “wild”. Is it just me or do national parks feel like nature amusement parks? All the regulations and designated trails and campspots definitely spoil the notion of being out in the wilderness. But these areas are national parks for a reason – they are undeniably spectacular!
Here are some DP1 digital photos from the trip, as well as a few 4×5 film ones.
