Paria Canyon Narrows: Glowing Light and Mud

Paria Narrows:  hiking through mud and glowing light.

One of the best hikes in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument is the Paria canyon and Buckskin canyon combination.  This hike begins at the White House trail head, heading south down the Paria canyon.  Initially it is very wide and unremarkable.  After about 5 miles it becomes more narrow, wet and fascinating.  In this narrow section, lites seems to come around each corner, illuminating canyon walls beautifully and artistically.  In the shot above, I had to wade through that slippery pool of mud in the center of the picture.  Then I turned around and composed this photograph.  I was careful not to overexpose because this is a fairly dark environment.  I did not want to "blow" the highlights in the brightest sections.

Of course I used my tripod because of the relative dark.  A long shutter speed was required.