Slickrock and Shadow

Infinite Sand Dunes with Zero Tracks  Sand dunes conjure an image of infinite rolling sand hills patterned with wind-swept ridges.  This can be your experience if you wander off in the right direction at White Sands.  The web-recommended and expert-recommended trail is the Alkali Flat Trail.  I took it.  I recommend it.  But everyone else also takes it.   So . . . unless you really want to wander a mile or two away from the parking lot, you'll never be free of human footprints.  They mark up the sand, the hills, the ridges and more.  I took that trail for my sunset pictures noted in previous posts but wandered for an hour in total darkness to get back to the car.   A MUCH EASIER way to enjoy footprint-free dunes is the go northeast from the northern tip of the road.  This is just as beautiful as the Alkali Flat trail but you'll be in virgin dunes after going over your first hill.  It's instant gratification.  Mos...

  Columbine Spring is the source of a clear Leeds Creek.  Water just emerges from under these rocks! The origin of Leeds Creek is Columbine Spring.  Columbine Spring emerges from the ground in the foothills of Pine Valley Mountain, the largest mountain in the St. George region.  From the spring, Leeds Creek rambles down the mountain to eventually drop into Harrisburg Creek and then Quail Creek Reservoir.  Leeds provides more water for the reservoir than any other source.   Recently on a training hike I saw "Columbine Spring" listed on a map near Oak Grove campground.  Knowing this is a beautiful region, I wanted to find this spring myself.  After hiking to Oak Grove, I set off in the direction of Columbine Spring.  Be warned that travel to this water is not easy.  Shoulder-height bushes prevent easy movement and travel is slow for the whole 1-2 miles.  It feels like torture.   Having committed myself to go, and gettin...

Nankoweap Granaries and Grand Canyon: iconic landscape photo of the Grand Canyon Nankoweap Granaries are a classic, iconic image of the Grand Canyon.  I knew we'd stop there on our 12-day river trip because it's a great hike and I signed up for the hiking trip.  Lots of camps dot the river at this location and this is the first place we found neighbors:  two other groups were camped here.  A fourth group came in late in the day. We hiked here in the afternoon.  We set up camp, ate lunch, got lots of water and took off.  Ascending steep steps, I was thankful it was April and 70 degrees instead of July at 112 degrees.  Our group came across a beautiful but very threatening rattlesnake. Rattlesnake on the trail. Do not disturb. As we ascended further, the ruins came in sight.  These are beautiful in such a spectacular setting.  I will let the photographs do the talking. The group enjoying the scenery. Wildflowers and Nankoweap...

Buck Farm Canyon narrows and chockstone My hiking book said Buck Farm Canyon had some pretty sections near the end but I'd seen no other pictures of trail reports of this canyon.  When our guide said Buck Farm was our hike, I wondered what we'd find.  Our camp was at the base of this canyon so we took off after a nice lunch at our beach. The going is pretty easy here.  Hiking further up Buck Farm Canyon, I noticed more ferns and then a cottonwood tree.  The temperature dropped a notch and everything felt nice.  Unlike Saddle Canyon and North Canyon, Buck Farm is pretty easy, short and quick.  We reached the end and had a little geology talk before heading back to camp.  Getting my feet a little wet, I walked up the narrows and found a chockstone wedged in the muav limestone.  A pretty fern grew where the water seeped out.  I started clicking. Geology talk about Muav Limestone in the Grand Canyon's Buck Farm Canyon Photography note...

Saddle Canyon Waterfall and Chockstone Saddle Canyon is one of the best river hikes of the Grand Canyon.  Period.  The curve in the Colorado River allows an easy pull in for rafts.  The hike begins with a steady climb up an excellent trail.  Blooming brittlebush flowers were everywhere.  The beauty of Grand Canyon spring was on full display this year. Brittlebush flowers blooming in the Spring Trail higher up towards Saddle Canyon Gordon Smith in the flat plat of Saddle Canyon After the initial assent, the trail levels off for an easy saunter through the redwall canyon.  Photographically I found a few submerged stepping stones to be a colorful subject. Stepping Stones of Saddle Canyon The hike ends with a serpentine waterfall.  The thin silver strand of falling water made for a pleasant and satisfying end to this wonderful hike! Waterfall at the end of Saddle Canyon Gordon's hike rating: Hike Difficulty:   ...

Yoga in the Inner Sanctum of North Canyon, a river hike from the Grand Canyon North Canyon is the first river hike for many Grand Canyon trips because of beauty and its' isolation.  In the upper Grand Canyon there are not as many canyons to explore as the lower section.  North Canyon is a great introduction into the beautiful canyons to come.  One must climb significant rock rubble on creek left.  Nothing technical is required to reach the end but I hiked a full 30-45 minutes before reaching the end. A steep hike up the creek wall allows one to explore further up canyon. The reward at the end is an inner sanctum of molten sandstone that forms a natural bowl near its' terminus.  A tree grows in a room just before the water-filled end. Layers of Sandstone and small tanks of water in North Canyon, Grand Canyon A single tree in a natural shallow pocket within North Canyon Many photograph this location emphasizing reflections on the water's surface...

Mud Cracks and a Glowing Canyon Wall in Rider Canyon Rider Canyon is a short but lovely narrow canyon.  Most river trips pass by this gem but our group stopped for a quick exploration.  We hiked through a little mud and along a ledge before coming to the natural ending point.  I found the mud, water and glowing canyon walls to be the most photogenic elements.  Inverting my tripod allowed me an extra low angle to get this shot.  

Rock Creek Canyon with Scenic Small Waterfalls Rock Creek Canyon pierces the Hurricane Cliffs just south of the town bearing the same name.  Water flowing in Fort Pearce Wash several weeks after any active rain made me question where this originated.  The main tributary to this was Rock Creek.  This canyon goes back about 2 miles before a pouroff.  From satellite images I figured I could explore back at least that far and then see about further exploration. Another big storm forecast on my hiking day gave me hope for some waterfalls.  Mud and slippery rocks would be hazards.  I parked my car above the wash, not liking the rocky slick mud section with a storm coming.  I didn't want to get stuck with no help nearby. The trail up-canyon has clearly been used by cattle.  Once past the canyon mouth, the scenery closed in around me and I did find flowing water.  Plenty of enormous boulders had rolled far into the canyon.  They rested...

Big Spring:  a difficult and beautiful destination in the Virgin Narrows I hiked (and swam) to Big Spring in the Zion Narrows.  I love the Virgin Narrows in Zion National Park and hoped to finally go all the way to a special spot 4 miles upstream where fresh water copiously pours out of solid rock.  I went in September.  Rain had fallen about a week earlier which muddied the river more than I expected.  I walked up in liquid that resembled chocolate milk.  At one point I even had to swim through a deep section! Big Spring is a lovely destination.  Three different flows come out of the rock with beautiful ferns and trees adjacent.  Photographing this beauty required a wide-angle lens and a polarizer.  The fast flow of water rattled my tripod when I shot in the river itself, making me keep a hand on it at all times.  I climbed up on the spring to shoot these ferns up close but it can be quite slippery (remember, this is called "slic...

Purple Blossoms of Spring as seen on the Hellhole (or Hell Hole) Trail in Red Cliffs Desert Reserve The Red Cliffs Desert Reserve is a vast area north of St. George.   The reserve was initially formed, in part, because of the desert tortoise.   These seldom-seen residents are a threatened local species.   The reserve status protects this land for recreational use and I’ve enjoyed several jaunts into various parts of the reserve.   Some have famous names like Yant Flat or the Vortex.   Others are unknown.   On this day I hiked into an unknown area named “Hell hole” because of the miserable heart in the summer.   My visit had clouds and rain and I felt it more like a desert garden than a pit of despair.   I know that a waterfall can appear from the high cliffs if it rains enough.   I hoped for a waterfall appearance . . . but got something different.   The trail heads up a wash on the west side of Red Mountain.   The san...

East Temple as seen from the West Rim Trail Background: The West Rim Trail is one of the top backpacking trips in all of Utah.  It is the best and most renown backpacking trail in Zion National Park.  For over a decade I've had it on my wish list and never seemed to get things started.  Finally I made a short bucket list of things to do, short enough that I could accomplish some of these things each year.  I have less than 10 things on this list.  West Rim Trail made the list and I finally stopped making excuses and instead took those days off work.  Time to stop planning and start doing. The Permit: I went as a walk-in to the ranger station at 6 AM, waited in line and got my lucky top-choice campsite:  # 5.  Why #5?  Campsite 5 is right in the middle of the hike, it's right on the edge of Phantom Valley, it's right where I wanted to be for sunset and sunrise.  And I got it.  Yes!  Campsites 4 and 6 are also on the pla...