// Adventures and Photography from the Colorado Plateau, Rocky Mountains & Beyond
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
After taking a long loop hike through Coyote Buttes North on Monday we decided to try and make today an easier day. I had never been to Cobra Arch before and thought it might make for a nice easy hike to an interesting arch. We made it to the Middle Trail trailhead on the West Clark Bench shortly after sunrise and were soon descending The Dive on our cross-country hike to Cobra Arch.
1 CommentSunday, December 28, 2014
On Sunday morning we drove over to the Wire Pass trailhead from our hotel in Page and arrived shortly after the sunrise. Our plan for today was to hike through Wire Pass and then down Buckskin Gulch for a few miles. Unfortunately, we would not be unable to go down Buckskin Gulch from the confluence with Wire Pass because of some large pools of water blocking our way, and we weren’t prepared to get wet on this cold December day. I had hoped that any water in the canyon might be frozen so we could walk right over it, but that was not the case. Instead, we turned around and hiked up Buckskin Gulch until we exited the narrows. When the canyon opened up I noticed a playground of sandstone above the wash and below the West Clark Bench, so we climbed up into that area and explored the colors and shapes of the sandstone for a while. We made a big loop and ended up back down in Buckskin Gulch again. As we hiked back down towards Wire Pass, the light in the canyon was much nicer than on our way up, and I stopped to take many photos along the way.
2 CommentsFriday – Sunday, January 31 – February 2, 2014
I had another permit to Coyote Buttes North this Saturday, so I decided to spend the weekend down around the Paria. The weather looked like it was going to be pretty nice so I was looking forward to getting in my first camping trip of the year. I only worked a half-day on Friday and then started driving through a snowstorm as I headed south through Utah. I finally got out of the snow shortly after passing through Monticello. I stopped for a quick dinner in Page and then hurried to make it up to the Paria Canyon Overlook in time for sunset. Unfortunately, I didn’t leave myself enough time and made it to the overlook just after the sun had set. I was a little disappointed at first, but soon realized that the canyon looked pretty good in the early twilight. I had originally planned on camping up at the overlook for the night, but it was much windier and colder up here than I had anticipated, so I decided to drive back down to the Stateline Campground for the night. That way I would also be much closer to the Wire Pass trailhead for an early start in the morning.
1 CommentSaturday & Sunday, November 10-11, 2012
For a little over a year now I’ve been pretty obsessed with exploring and photographing the unusual and spectacular sandstone formations of The Paria Plateau. I’ve been to Coyote Buttes North five times, Coyote Buttes South two times, and the White Pocket three times and have come back with some nice images and had a lot of fun. There is just so much to see up there I could probably spend a lifetime exploring the area and not see it all. Unfortunately, I feel it’s time for me to take a little break from this area so I can concentrate on exploring some other areas on the Colorado Plateau for a while. This will probably be my last trip report from The Paria Plateau for a little while. Don’t get me wrong, I might head back down there once or twice next year, but I certainly won’t be driving down six or seven times like I’ve done this past year.
2 CommentsArizona Strip & Southern Utah Wanderings | Day 4
Tuesday, October 9, 2012
Since there weren’t really any good places nearby to photograph sunrise, we slept in a little later on Tuesday morning. After a little breakfast we packed up camp and took the rough Jeep road to it’s end where we would start our hike. Our destination for today would be to the top of Flag Point in the Vermilion Cliffs of the Grand Staircase. Jared and I had wanted to try this hike last year, but were unable to squeeze it in. From what I understand, most people that have made this trek hike up from the base of the cliff and are able to find a way up, however we thought that we would try to hike from the backside. It was probably a longer hike, but it involved less steep climbing.
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