Winter Scenes (Dec 08)

We received so much snow, that I was able to cross country ski up West Canyon road in Snow Canyon.  It made for some beautiful skiing, hiking, and photography.

West Canyon road had nearly 1 foot.  I went 4 miles up to the end on skis.

Kolob Fingers in Zion during a day after a snow.  I cross country skied up here too.

A snowy saddle in East Zion

Me sitting in a "hot" tub in Zion.  This was actually a pothole filled with icy water.

South Canyon (Vasey's Paradise) dayhike (Nov 08)

Mike and I dayhiked from the rim to South Canyon and Vasey's Paradise, which is a beautiful spot down in the Grand Canyon. The first picture is of me straight up above this pristine sandy beach, which is in the second picture where Mike is standing.

360 video below Vasey's Paradise

Zion Fall Colors (Nov 08)

I rode my bike up the Zion Canyon the last day the shuttle ran. It's really nice because there is no traffic, and the fall colors are so brilliant!

Soap to Rider(Oct 08)

Perhaps the last great adventure of this year. Mike Burkley and I set out for a hike down Soap Creek to the Colorado River in Marble Canyon (in the Grand Canyon). We camped, then made our way down river to Rider Canyon, where we hiked up and out, and did a car shuttle. We still are experiencing a warm Indian Summer, so the nights and days were pleasantly warm.





Our camp spot at the mouth of Soap.








A kayaker from Australia makes his way past the infamous ledge hole and through one of the narrowest & feared rapids in the GC--House Rock Rapids. Two years earlier, Brooke and I witnessed a raft flip here during our rafting trip.









The raft in this video almost went in the hole backwards.

Phantom Canyon in GC (Oct 08)

Mike from New Mexico (the guy our family met on our Yampa trip) invited me to go backpacking for about a week with his long time Grand Canyon backpacking friends, who are also from NM. So the ten of us met at Phantom Ranch. I came down the North Kaibab 14 miles, and they descended the South Kaibab. After meeting, we hiked a couple of more miles up the steep climb to the Tonto to the west, up to Utah Flats, where we spent our first night. The next five days would be spent further back in upper Phantom Canyon, where we spent the days exploring lower Phantom Canyon with its neat waterfalls and slots, and also upper upper Phantom. In upper upper Phantom there is an old hippie camp where we stayed one night, and checked out the redwall ascent to the Shiva Saddle. The last night was back to Utah Flats, and then it was 16 miles of uphill for 6000' vertical back to my truck.




View of Phantom Ranch and Bright Angel Campground, from the route to Utah Flats.












Me next to the waterfall in Phantom Canyon.
















This rattlesnake was unseen by all of us for 24 hours, right next to our camp. I unknowingly sat and played cards with it just 3 feet above my head on this ledge. It did not move very much due to the cold.










Sunset from my last night on Utah Flats.

Green River's Stillwater Canyon canoe float trip (Sep 08)

Mike and two other buddies from his neighborhood invited me on a 5 day canoe trip down Stillwater Canyon on the Green River--52 miles of flatwater down to the confluence of the Colorado River. We enjoyed peace, solitude, good food and good company on this incredibly diverse stretch of the river, as it flows through the heart of Canyonlands National park.




Typical river scene.














Great panoramic vistas were on the upper stretch.






















The canyons narrow near the confluence, which is where we camped (here) the last night. Tex came the next morning on a jet boat and brought us back up river 50 miles back to Moab.

Muddy Creek SUWA roundup in the Swell (Sep 08)

I have always wanted to explore this remote part of the state below Utah's I-70 in the San Rafael Swell. Every year, the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance holds a roundup meeting out there at Muddy Creek. I met up with a couple of friends from the spa. We really enjoyed the scenery and the hiking. I went with a group who attempted Knotted Rope. Unfortunately, the potholes were too empty (for successfully swimming across), and so we could not safely get through and complete the entire hike. We backtracked instead, and enjoyed wonderful vistas from the top of the cliffs.



Me above the Muddy River drainage.















The dirt airstrip below is where all of us camped.












The Henry's in the distance, with Factory Butte in center, and a small window arch.















We had light rain one night before dinner, but were treated with this brilliant rainbow!











Sunrise over the swell as I was driving home.

West Canyon vs West Rim trail (Aug 08)

Quiz time--which photo is from West Canyon in Snow Canyon and which is from the West Rim trail in Zion?:






























Answer: first photo from Zion, second from Snow Canyon.

The Subway (Jul 2008)

A fall photo of the Subway tunnel stuck in here.














Last days of summer coming to a close...Stephanie's friend Sean had not ever hiked the Subway. I had already reserved a permit a couple of months earlier, and we asked if he wanted to come along. We've done this hike as a family on Autumn equinox twice before. This time we will do it on a nice hot summer day so that we really enjoy the swimming holes. Everything went great.



The classic log photo at the beginning of the Subway tunnel.



















Group photo at the top of the slickrock descent.

















Kim and I at the top of the steep cliff descent. The Subway is a mile down canyon. The South Guardian Angel peak is in the background.













Sasha and Brooke enjoying some of the potholes.












Mom and Dad by Sasha in the Subway.

Lake Powell (July 08)

This summer's Lake Powell trip with our friends, the Perry's, was over the week of the 4th of July. We found an awesome slickrock cove in Padre Bay and hung out there for the week. We all enjoyed jet skiing, the tube, the food, the company, and the fireworks show.



Kids coming back to the houseboat from tubing.














3 funny girls!














Cliff jumping was another favorite activity. That's Brooke.











A dNally on the rocks above Kelly on the jet ski? Right above a Walker name on the rocks--where's Taylor?










Matt holding Cleo while Sasha slides down the back of the boat.

Yampa / Green River Rafting (Jun 08)

Last summer we enjoyed our Green River rafting trip so much, that we scheduled a similar trip down the Yampa and Green, through parts of the Uintas and Dinosaur National Monument in northeastern Utah & Colorado. Two of our guides from last year returned--Randy and Erica. There were five rafts, five guides, and about 20 guests--half were under 18. We spent five days and four nights sleeping under the stars, experiencing a wide variety of terrain, geology, canyons, rapids, great food, people, and hikes. We enjoyed it so much that we almost did a back-to-back trip the very week we got off the river.




The family posing on top of cliff overlooking our second night's camp.










The Yampa River cuts through Weber Sandstone, and resembles parts of southern Utah.













Kim on the back of the raft.














Brooke free climbing a block next to our fourth day's lunch spot.











A hike on our fourth day from Jones Hole to some interesting pictographs.













The three girls next to Warm Springs Rapid--a long and big Class IV rapid. Our third night's camp was below the rapid on the right side.












Parking spot for the rafts at our camp spot below Warm Springs Rapid. Erica and her father pictured.











I helped the guides row in flat water. Behind me is the Tiger Wall. All the guides kiss the wall for good luck to get through Warm Springs Rapid.
















Another group that was behind us flipped in the first hole of Warm Springs Rapid. The boatman swam for about a mile until the rapids ended.










Kim taking her turn in the ducky. I had some great, fun rides through some long Class III rapids.








Video of group behind us in Warm Springs Rapid.

Havasupai

Havasu Falls is nearly 100' tall.
School is out for the summer. Brooke came to me all alone with the idea that she really wanted to go see the Havasupai waterfalls that I have pictured and framed in our home. She remembers the beautiful waters of lower Havasu Creek when we rafted the Grand Canyon, but she has not ever seen the big waterfalls in upper Havasu. I asked the other two girls if they wanted to go, and they were all excited, even though they have not done any major hikes lately. Kim really wanted to go too, but she is in the middle of a 4 week intensive yoga certification program, so this trip would actually give her some quiet study time. We left at 5 AM and drove the 6 hour drive to begin hiking around 11:15.

Sasha at the trailhead looking down, trying to imagine what it would be like hiking with a 7 pound pack down almost 3000' vertical and 10 miles to the campground.











After 8 miles, we come to Havasu Falls, an absolute oasis and paradise in the middle of the
Grand Canyon.











Brooke posing at the bottom of the travertine falls next to Havasu Falls.













Me posing with Sasha and Brooke at the top of 200' tall Mooney Falls.











Mooney Falls is taller than Niagara Falls. The water temp was in the high 60s, and the weather all week was sunny and high 80s.











A tree swing above a travertine pool was fun for the girls. The blue-green-turquoise water color is caused by lime and minerals that flow out of a spring and past the native Supai village above the first falls. We bought some groceries and ate some yummy fry bread from them.










Family photo posing above Mooney.











The girls swimming on the side of Havasu Falls. I was able to swim back behind the falls and climb up on a ledge where I could jump into the spray.













Three beautiful sisters in a beautiful canyon setting! They all wanted to stay for the whole week.











Sasha cliff jumping into a pool.

















The morning of the hike out. These girls never complained, and were some of the fastest hikers I've been with! We made it 10 miles uphill from the campground to the car in 5 hours, including all rest breaks!








A video of Mooney Falls. This was my second trip to Havasu, and this time Mooney Falls was my favorite.