Slickrock and Shadow

Sidewinder curves in the depths of Crack Canyon Crack Canyon in Utah's San Rafael region is another of Utah's less-known gems.  Down a dirt road in Central Utah, this trailhead is not even listed on maps.  The canyon makes for a pleasant stroll on a clear or cloudy day.  A short slot section resembles the "Subway" of Zion but I liked the impressive rust-colored walls and Swiss-cheese holes in the sandstone.  This place has more holes in rocks than any other location I've seen.  It's quite "holy".  Here are a few pics from this wonderful little location. Cave-like Crack Canyon with light at the end of the tunnel A glimpse of the amazing holes, cavities and caves in this canyon -- and the namesake "Crack".

Colonnade Arch shows 3 of its 5 holes Colonnade arch fascinated me from the moment I first saw it in a photograph.  I had never seen anything like it:  3 windows opening out over an infinite view of canyons and mazes.  It took a little while to figure out exactly where this arch is located.  It appeared promising enough to me that I decided to special detour into the San Rafael Desert on my way to Canyonlands' Needles District just to visit this spot. I began hiking early in the morning and was deceived by the landscape as well as other trails in the area.  I hiked down towards the edge of the cliff and did not find my destination.  Looking around in all directions, I found it high on a cliff above and to the east.  I hiked back up and up and up.  You must be above this arch and then descend to it.  This can only be reached by downclimbing from above.  The problem is that you can't see if you're in the right place.  As a resu...