Slickrock and Shadow

Spectacular Druid Arch in Needles, Canyonlands This is the trail report of my hike from Chesler Park to Druid arch deep in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park.  I slept at Chesler Park Campground number 4 and enjoy the beautiful sunrise in the park.  I then began hiking toward Druid arch.  The trail is well marked the entire way. This trail goes directly east from Chesler Park through a crack in the surrounding sandstone towers.  On the other side of this passage is Elephant Canyon.  When I first saw Elephant Canyon, I was very high above the canyon floor.  It is not direct or intuitive to reach the canyon floor.  Nevertheless, that is where you must go in order to continue hiking. Following the cairns, I traveled north over sandstone boulders for about 15 minutes before the trail dropped into another fissure in the rocks.  Following this down, the trail gradually works its way down a moderate cliff.  The hiking is not ...

Unexpected Beauty:  Wildflowers find a Home in a Sliver of Sand Planning for a specific shot in Chesler Park, I wandered all around the sandstone towers at dawn and sunrise.  After I had done a a lot of photography, I took a break for breakfast with my daughter.  We climbed on top of a boulder to enjoy the view.  Between our boulder and another boulder, a sliver of sand allowed yellow wildflowers to grow.  This was unexpected yet so beautiful, I had to stop and try to capture this.  This unexpected moment is now one of my favorite memories from that morning. Another view from my breakfast boulder

Rounded boulders of Devils Kitchen The Devils kitchen is an enchanting place to spend the night.  The scenery from Camp is breathtaking.  I have another post regarding that.  I wanted to share some other photographs from the surrounding area.  From the campground it is easy to climb to the east and south onto a plateau.  This plateau is filled with towers and potholes.  I spent one memorable sunrise hopping around here and enjoying the views.  I hope you enjoy them too. Sandstone Tower in Needles District Potholes photographed early dawn

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...

Devil's Kitchen Sunrise at 105mm There is no quicker way to change a picture then to change the focal length.  If you have a zoom lens, simply twisting it back and forth can remarkably bring distant objects closer.  Twisting the opposite direction, a very wide angle can be obtained in which the whole universe seems to come into the lens. I thought it might be interesting and educational to show 3 different views of the Devils Kitchen, but a remote section of Canyonlands Needles District.  I traveled in there by car without any weight restrictions.  I brought my 300 mm lens and several other heavy photographic tools.  The first shot was taken at a focal length of 105 mm.  This is actually zoomed in quite a bit.  It helps bring the flowers and the spire is a little bit closer together in the photograph.  Nevertheless, the flowers are very small. Devil's Kitchen and Wildflowers at 50mm There is no quicker way to change a picture then to ch...

Stone Steps into the Joint Trail from Chesler Park Hiking sometimes is pure drudgery.  Other times it is a magical experience.  The joint trail is one of those magical trails in which the destination is not the only aim.  The journey to the destination can be just as much fun along a wonderful trail like this.  The narrow canyon walls, fun and silly "cairn room" are the destination among themselves along the way to the beautiful Chesler Park.  It is also very cool and pleasant deep in these slots, a nice break from the sun and heat.. Hiker on the Joint Trail in Needles District Cairns along Joint Trail

Chesler Park at Sunset:  The grassy meadow surround the sandstone towers is gorgeous. Chesler Park is a very special place.  Of all the locations I have visited, this is one of the most difficult to reach.  That difficulty is part of the reason it is so special.  If you are here as the sun sets, you basically have this wonderful meadow and collection of spires to yourself.  The "park" is never crowded because there is no easy access to Chesler Park.  Several miles hiking is required. Armed with a precious camping permit at Chesler Park campsite #4, my daughter and I hiked in from the Joint Trail.  We set up our tent and camp between 2 wonderful round boulders and I started to wander around the meadow preparing for sunset. The golden hour can be prolonged more than one hour in the right conditions with clouds and changing weather patterns.  The golden hour can also be shortened to 10 minutes when the skies are empty of clouds.  Such w...

Paria Windows are just one fascinating find on the hike from Paria Canyon to the Buckskin Confluence Hiking from the White House trailhead near the Paria ranger station all the way to the confluence with Buckskin Gulch is a wonderful adventure.  This is a very easy, level hike.  There is virtually no change in elevation at all.  The challenge to this hike is its length.  From the White House trailhead to buckskin Gulch is 7 miles . . .  one way.  To hike further up Buckskin Gulch adds more time to your hike. I ended up hiking 2.5 miles into Buckskin Gulch making my one-way total mileage of 9.5 miles.  My return trip increased the total up to 19 miles in one day.   I want to describe my experience so that others can benefit from it as they plan to explore this amazing slot canyon. I started hiking at 5:30 AM.  It was very dark and I used headlamp for about one hour.  I wanted to be deep into the Paria Canyon by sunrise that ...

Paria Windows:  Cracked Windows of Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument Several beautiful sections of Paria Canyon give different photographic rewards.  The easiest one to reach is the Paria Windows.  These formations are scooped out from the cliff.  Wind and water erode them.  They are bleached white by the floodwaters which occasionally traveled down.  Higher up, the deep red canyon walls give a wonderful colorful contrast to the whitewashed windows below. If it hasn't rained recently, deep cracks in the mud are usually present in front of the windows.  When I visited, it had one week earlier.  Much of the water was dried up but not very many people had visited this area since the last rain.  Consequently there were no footprints and these cracked mud surfaces were undisturbed. Curiously while I was there, water did start to flow down.  It did not reach the windows photographed above.  It did reach some of the wind...

Slide Rock Arch in Paria Canyon:  Massive and Beautiful Slide rock arch is a spectacular destination deep inside Paria Canyon.  It is neither easy to reach nor easy to photograph.  The massive size as well as the restrictions of a slot canyon present challenges.  The mixed lighting (some direct, some reflected, some indirect) is also a challenge.   To deal with the lighting difficulties that often arise at mid day, I hiked very early so that I would reach this before light was shining directly into the canyon.  To deal with the massive size, I also used my tilt shift 17 mm lens.  Taking several different shots, I was able to stitch them together to create the photograph above.  This is what the eye can see.  This is what is too wide for a standard camera to include.   Several other views of slide rock arch are included here so that you can get a good idea of what this special place is really like. Slide Rock Arch photo...

Curve and Glow:  Buckskin Gulch Buckskin gulch is famous for the deep and extremely long narrows.  I think it is possible the hike  through these narrows without ever having the sunlight directly strike you.  These narrows are so deep.  The light which you see is primarily reflected off the canyon walls much higher up.  This creates a beautiful blowing color on the walls.  As a landscape photographer, this type of life is so unique and wonderful to me.  There are a few examples of that light and what it can do in a beautiful canyon. Sculpted wall of Buckskin Gulch Deep Glowing Wall far into Buckskin Gulch High canyon wall and light reflected everywhere in Buckskin Gulch

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.

The Baths of Virgin Gorda The Baths are a national park of the British Virgin Islands.  Boulders as large as houses are stacked up on the beach, sometimes sitting atop one another.  An amphibious trail snakes under, around and over these boulders from the main beach to Devil's Bay on the southern tip of Virgin Gorda island.  This is a wonderful place to enjoy a unique natural beauty.  I took plenty of photos here but I spent more time swimming, snorkeling and lazily watching the water.  Remember to enjoy the moment. Devil's Bay, Virgin Gorda Fantastic snorkel awaits at the Baths Dawn at the Baths