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Easter Weekend Around the Paria Plateau

Easter Weekend | Saturday & Sunday, March 26-27, 2016

Wahweap Hoodoos
The unique Wahweap Hoodoos at sunrise on Easter Sunday.

After spending Friday wandering around Coyote Buttes North, I returned to my camp near the Utah-Arizona state line in Coyote Valley to spend another night there. I slept in a little later on Saturday morning and didn’t crawl out of my tent until the sun came up. I would be spending the rest of the weekend circumnavigating the Paria Plateau and exploring some new areas along the way. After packing up camp, I returned north to the Buckskin Gulch Trailhead and hiked down the wash to explore the edge of the West Clark Bench (The Dive). Diane and I had explored part of this area on a hike from Wire Pass at the end of 2014 and I wanted to check out some more of the area this morning.

Buckskin Gulch cuts through The Cockscomb at this narrow gap.

Buckskin Gap

A small and old petroglyph panel I came across.

Passage Panel

Exploring more colorful sandstone.

Sand in the Middle

A beautiful area to explore.

Sand-Stone

These ribs in the sandstone were everywhere!

Ribbed

Panoramic view from above.

Twin Peaks

Hiking back down to the wash.

Down the Wash

My footprints in the sandy wash.

Sandy Wash

Another very interesting petroglyph panel I found while exploring the area.

Billboard Panel

After returning to my Jeep at the trailhead, I continued south on House Rock Valley Road and explored a few new roads in the Sand Hills to test out my new Jeep. I didn’t really take any photos in this area except when I stopped to check out what’s left of the West Bench Pueblo.

West Bench Pueblo

Next I visited the Vermilion Cliffs that make up the edge of the Paria Plateau and climbed up to a few petroglyph panels.

My Jeep below the Vermilion Cliffs.

Vermilion Cliffs Jeep

I had to climb up through this narrow crack to make it up to the rock art.

Crack in the Ledge

This guy only has one arm.

One Arm

Another nice petroglyph panel.

Vermilion Petroglyphs

View from the Navajo Bridges over Marble Canyon as I drove back to Page.

Marble Canyon

After a quick dinner in Page I decided to head over to Big Water to check out the trailhead for Wahweap Wash since I was planning on hiking to the Wahweap Hoodoos on Sunday morning. I was also hoping to find somewhere nearby to setup camp for the night.

Exploring a new road in the Grand Staircase – Escalante National Monument.

ADVENTR Jeep II

Badlands

Getting closer to sunset along the Nipple Creek Road.

Nipple Creek Road

Unfortunately, I was unable to find a decent place to camp near the Wahweap Trailhead, so I headed back across the highway and found a nice spot above Big Water near Jacobs Tanks Draw. After a good night of sleep I was up well before sunrise and drove back over to the trailhead in the dark. The hike to the Wahweap Hoodoos was about 4.5 miles (one way), but the wash was flat and easy to walk in, so I made good time and arrived in about an hour. Just in time to catch the sunrise.

Wahweap Wash at dawn as I neared the hoodoos.

Wahweap Dawn

The sun getting closer to rising behind me.

Wahweap Sunrise

The Tower of Silence is an impressive sight.

Tower of Silence Sunrise

View from the other side.

Hoodoo Cove

Underneath another nearby hoodoo.

Underneath

White Sand

On the End

The Tower

After catching the sunrise and photographing the hoodoos for a while it was time to head back down the wash to my Jeep and start my drive back home. It was a good long weekend!

>> Around the Paria Plateau Photo Gallery

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