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Category: Four-Wheeling

Return to the UnexpectedReturn to the Unexpected

Return to the Unexpected

San Rafael Swell Rock Art XI | Saturday, February 7, 2015

Yes, I am aware that the title of this trip report doesn’t make much sense, but that’s OK since I liked the sound of it. Way back in June of 2011 I was hiking with my friend Philippe at the edge of the San Rafael Swell when we came across a Barrier Canyon Style pictograph panel that no one seemed to have seen before. When I wrote up the trip report for that day I decided to call it the Unexpected Panel since we were looking for something else and the find was very unexpected. That name seems to have stuck a bit, but I have also seen it referred to as the New Panel. Whatever you want to call it, I have wanted to get back and visit this amazing pictograph panel again, but sadly had not been back since our initial visit. Diane has also been interested in seeing this panel after seeing my photos of it and I had promised a while ago to take my friend Marty here sometime, so a trip was in the planning for sometime this spring. With the warm temperatures we’ve been having lately I decided to move the trip up and visit it this weekend. We couldn’t have had better weather for this hike. The temperature was in the mid-sixties and there were some nice clouds moving through the sky all day. It sure felt more like March or April than the beginning of February.

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Little Hole to Westwater CanyonLittle Hole

Little Hole to Westwater Canyon

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Late this afternoon, Diane and I drove west into Utah so that we could search for some petroglyphs that are located somewhere in Little Hole, which is a short side canyon along the Colorado River in Westwater Canyon. We took the Westwater exit off of I-70 and drove south towards the boat ramp, but turned off to follow the Kokopelli Trail after crossing under the railroad tracks. After a few miles of the Kokopelli, we reached the intersection that would take us to the rim of Little Hole. While I had seen these roads in Google Earth while quickly planning this hike, I never did check to see if they were still open to travel and just hoped for the best. Luckily, most of the roads I planned to take were still open. About a half-mile from the rim of the canyon there was a fence across the old road that marked the beginning of the Westwater Wilderness Study Area. We would be hiking from here.

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Wave Winter WonderlandWave Winter Wonderland

Wave Winter Wonderland

New Year’s Day | Thursday, January 1, 2015

Welcome to my first trip report of 2015, and what an adventure it was! This was a fun trip report to write, not because the photos are necessarily great, but because it was a fun day in unique conditions. This may have been my tenth visit to Coyote Buttes North, but all the snow on the ground made this familiar area feel new and exciting. It’s amazing what difference a couple of days can make. Plus, we were the very first visitors to The Wave in 2015!

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Winter Camp RidgeWinter Camp Ridge

Winter Camp Ridge

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Winter Camp Ridge is an obscure place located north of Arches National Park near The Highlands. Most people bypass this area as they are heading elsewhere in the region, but I always seem to be drawn back to this location every so often. My first time here was when I was out exploring the backroads of the Yellow Cat area and took the sandy two-track onto Winter Camp Ridge to see where it went. The road ended up bringing me to the Arches National Park boundary not too far from Delicate Arch. Since that first trip I have always wanted to try and hike to Delicate Arch from this road. That’s what Diane and I planned to attempt this weekend.

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