Press "Enter" to skip to content

Tag: glen canyon style

Willow Gulch & Fortymile GulchWillow Gulch & Fortymile Gulch

Willow Gulch & Fortymile Gulch

Canyons of the Escalante | Friday, October 16, 2026

After hiking into Fiftymile Creek on Thursday we planned to return to Willow Gulch on Friday since we hadn’t been back there since our 2010 trip and I was interested in returning. Originally, I was thinking about doing a loop with Willow Gulch and Fortymile Gulch, but I know there can be some deep water in Fortymile Gulch and figured with all the recent rain that that might not be the best idea at this time, so we decided to hike each of them separately instead. That turned out to be a good choice since the recent storms had flooded the canyons which made the hiking a bit more challenging, plus we would have had a difficult time finding our way out for Fortymile Gulch near the end of the loop. So after another good night of sleep we were up just before the sunrise on Friday morning and then headed over to the nearby trailhead for Willow Gulch shortly after.

CONTINUE READINGWillow Gulch & Fortymile Gulch
Leave a Comment
Cave Point to Fiftymile CreekCave Point to Fiftymile Creek

Cave Point to Fiftymile Creek

Canyons of the Escalante | Thursday, October 15, 2026

After a very wet start to the week, we finally made it out the Hole-in-the-Rock Road to the Sooner Rocks late on Wednesday afternoon, ate our dinners and then went to bed after dark. I got a great night of sleep and we both woke up shortly before sunrise on Thursday morning so we could spend the day hiking into Fiftymile Creek. We had been planning to hike into Fiftymile Creek back in 2022 after our hike into Davis Gulch, but I got sick on that day and headed home early instead, so I was really looking forward to getting back and finally getting to go on this hike!

CONTINUE READINGCave Point to Fiftymile Creek
Leave a Comment
Below the Bears Ears: Thanksgiving Weekend 2024Below the Bears Ears: Thanksgiving Weekend 2024

Below the Bears Ears: Thanksgiving Weekend 2024

Cedar Mesa Chronicles: Chapter 13 | Thursday – Sunday, November 28 – December 1, 2024

This year for the extended Thanksgiving holiday weekend Diane and I returned to the landscape surrounding the Bears Ears and spent all four days wandering a selection of canyons and rims carved into Cedar Mesa and beyond. Our time was split between searching for new sites and revisiting sites that I hadn’t been back to in over a decade but were mostly new to Diane. We saw quite a bit more rock art this time around with only a few ruins scattered throughout our hikes. In the end we had another great weekend exploring one of our favorite places together and look forward to returning again and again. These are some photos of what we saw.

CONTINUE READINGBelow the Bears Ears: Thanksgiving Weekend 2024
1 Comment
Borderlands of the Bears Ears Country IIBorderlands of the Bears Ears Country II

Borderlands of the Bears Ears Country II

Friday – Sunday, November 22-24, 2024

This weekend I met up with a friend so we could explore some new places surrounding Bears Ears National Monument, although we did end up making our way up onto the edges of Cedar Mesa for a couple of short hikes, too. I left from work on Friday afternoon, grabbed dinner at Milt’s in Moab before they close for the winter, and then continued on towards Blanding where I stopped for an evening photo over Recapture Reservoir before finding a campsite just outside of town and getting to bed early. Then early on Saturday morning I met up with my friend in Blanding and we headed out into the Borderlands of the Bears Ears Country for the rest of the weekend. These are some photos of what we saw.

CONTINUE READINGBorderlands of the Bears Ears Country II
Leave a Comment
Petroglyphs of the Painted DesertPetroglyphs of the Painted Desert

Petroglyphs of the Painted Desert

Petrified Forest National Park | Alternate Plans: Back on the Four Corners Circuit
Tuesday – Wednesday, May 24-25, 2022

After our half-day Jeep tour in Canyon del Muerto on Monday, it was time to spend a pair of days hiking in the backcountry of Petrified Forest National Park, which has quickly become one of our favorite places to explore over the past couple of years. Since the park does not open until 8:00am, we were able to sleep in a little later this morning before leaving Holbrook and driving over to the entrance. Once we arrived, the first thing we did was stop in at the temporary Painted Desert Visitor Center and grabbed a backpacking wilderness permit, since it’s a great place to spend the night. Then we headed off in search of petroglyphs for the rest of the morning and early afternoon, and we found a lot!

CONTINUE READINGPetroglyphs of the Painted Desert
Leave a Comment