dNally

Western Grand Canyoneering (Oct '11)

2011-11-05T20:55:00.000-06:00

The weather this October has been eerily silent, sunny, warm, and pleasant. Rich planned a week long trip for 6 of us to go explore some new canyons in Western Grand Canyon. We descended 4 new canyons, hiked through 2 other canyons, and pack rafted 5 miles. Each canyon had some unique features that made us say, 'Wow!'

Here's Dan coming down a big drop.

Paradise

Shangri La!

We hiked through some brilliant Fall colors.

A double stage rap with Todd continuing to the bottom.

Staying dry in some incredibly narrow and beautiful Muav narrows.

I love being on the river, even if it's in a pool toy!

Rich admiring the light reflecting in a pool.

Fall Colors on Cedar Mtn (Oct '11)

2011-11-01T20:32:00.005-06:00

Nice! These photos speak for themselves.

Obsession (Sep '11)

2011-10-01T16:52:00.000-06:00

Rich has eyed this canyon at river mile 162L for years now, and he got the chance to put a trip together that would allow filming, packrafting, and a rim-to-rim from the south side to the north side using these remote canyons. The biggest headache was the vehicle shuttle logistics, which required two vehicles and two drivers who would drive an extra 14 hours so that we didn't have to. So off to Havasu land, where we camped on some flats before heading off to the rim across miles of sage and black brush.

Here we are wondering how we're going to get down there. The 90 minute Coconino ledge traverse was scary scary:

Bill taking a picture of Sinyella at sunset from our camp area on the Esplanade.

Dan's camera set up for one of the most beautiful rooms in the Redwall.

Guy warming up in the sun between raps and swims.

Beautiful Redwall.

A big series of drops in the Temple Butte before we can get safely down to the river.

This drop was nearly 300'. Notice the river in the distance, as daylight is running out.

The sun setting while we packraft several miles to Tuckup beach for camp.

Rich & Co. hiking up through friendly Muav narrows and patios.

Rich hiking the last leg along the Esplanade, with The Dome in the background. What a fantastic trip!

A New Canyon in Zion (Sep '11)

2011-09-21T16:47:00.000-06:00

Some photos with some friends from a new canyon in Zion that will eventually be published. There were about a dozen raps, and some nice water flowing down some of the pouroffs.

Left Fork and Das Boot via Hammerhead (Sep '11)

2011-09-18T16:39:00.011-06:00

A beautiful Fall day, very long day--14+ hours of hiking the West Rim trail, canyoneering down Hammerhead, then crossing over to Left Fork, which also includes Das Boot and Subway. There were seven of us, and we all had a great time. The photos below are with the group and these beautiful canyons.

Wind Rivers (Aug '11)

2011-08-30T22:58:00.011-06:00

Guy and I made a last minute plan to head up to Wyoming's Wind River Wilderness area. This is a first time for me into this spectacular area, which is filled with rugged glacier covered granite peaks, pristine alpine lakes, forests, and meadows. We drove up in 8 hours and did a 2 hour hike to Big Sandy Lake for our first night. The next day we hiked into the Cirque of the Towers, spent most of the day hanging around some lakes, streams, and waterfalls, as we marveled at the unique cliffs that beckon one to climb. The next day we hiked up and over Lizard Head Pass to Washikai Valley. As we entered the valley we got dumped on, but managed to find a house sized boulder to sleep under out of the rain and cold without even needing a tent to stay dry. The next day the clouds were low, and I wondered if we would hike through a blizzard, but the sky gradually cleared and we had a great hike up and over Washikai, down the other side, and back to the vehicle for a long day of hiking. All in all we probably hiked over 40 miles, with most of it in the 10K to 12K elevation. Then it was a long drive home that evening to get back around midnight.

Cirque

Photos below:

Warrior Peak with great clouds, but signalling a storm coming?!

Gloaming light with the Cirque in the background.

Sunrise on the Cirque.

Lizard Head Peak.

Washikai Glacier and me crossing a snow field.

Grand Canyon Rafting (Aug '11)

2011-08-11T14:05:00.007-06:00

Owl's Eyes!

Another call came last minute from Bev to come hike down to Phantom to join the crew on an AzRA trip in progress for another 9 days of rafting and working down the Grand Canyon. Since it is August, I thought there might be some rainy monsoon days to help cool things off and create some waterfalls, but no luck--every day was sunny and nights were fairly toasty too. But we saw most of the usual good sites like Elves, Thunder River, Deer Creek, Olo, Havasu, etc. I have never seen the river this high--27K--but most of the rapids were washed out or easier despite the faster and higher moving water...with the exception of Lava. Lava was very big and scary looking, with only one possible navigable route down the left center right next to the ledge hole. All of our boats did fine.

Full moon with interesting clouds!

There were many fun and interesting folks in this group. I've posted some of the best pictures, so click on the photo below to open the album:

Rafting GC Aug 11

and the full album here:

GC Raft Aug 2011

Heaps (Jul 2011)

2011-07-11T20:17:00.013-06:00

Heaps is probably the toughest and longest canyon in Zion. A three hour hike up the West Rim is the approach, before you have to descend cliffs and slabs down into Phantom Valley, From there the canyon narrows up into several extremely long, narrow, dark, deep, swimming slots. Lots of down and up climbing, raps, and obstacles make it challenging. The day we did it we had some heavy rains at time, which made it unnerving. Luckily the slots did not flash flood. The final drop is 500' into Upper Emerald Pool, requiring two straight-down, overhanging rappels. Our group of five finally got back to the grotto 13 hours after starting the hike. What a great way to spend a day! Pictures below are sunrise on the West Rim, Phantom Valley, a keeper pothole, several narrow spots, and two shots of Upper Emerald Pool from the last rappel station. Notice the tourists sitting around the pool.

Keeper

Zion Narrows Packraft (Jun 2011)

2011-06-21T20:09:00.006-06:00

First day of summer, and the Virgin River through the Narrows is still high enough to kayak down. Guy, JJ, and I hiked in to a spot on Deep Creek, and floated 5 miles down to the confluence with the Virgin. Then it was another 7 miles down through the Narrows--such a beautiful canyon to the Temple of Sinawava. There were no other kaykers or hikers that we saw all day. There were several portages in Deep Creek, and we had to stay on our toes constantly, since it drops about 170' per mile. The Narrows was a little more relaxed, but still moved pretty quickly.

Guy and JJ at put-in . Guy has his new Alpacka.

150 Matkat Olo (Apr '11)

2011-04-25T15:19:00.001-06:00

Rich invited some of us back to the middle of the Grand Canyon where some of the most spectacular canyons stay tucked and hidden away from hikers and river runners. We first had to descend down 150 to the river. This was a beautiful, narrow route, with a a handful of short rappels. Once to the river we crossed on packrafts and walked up river to Matkat Hotel, where I have now slept 5 nights in the past year. The next day we hiked all the way up Matkat to the Esplanade, then over to Olo and down Olo. We slept another night in Olo, which is probably my favorite canyon, then we finished it the next day to the river, where we got back in our packrafts and floated 5 miles back down to 150. We climbed most of the way out of 150 to the top of the Redwall by dark, where we camped our last night.

Double rainbow at the top of 150

30 Canyons in 30 Days (Feb/Mar '11)

2011-03-07T19:45:00.016-07:00

This might be the trip of the lifetime, and it definitely was. 17 of us rowed and floated 280 miles down the Grand Canyon in 30 days. Along the way we hiked, climbed, and rappelled through 30 side canyons. A handful of these canyons were first descents, meaning nobody has ever been down them. We had an incredible time with a fantastic group.

North Canyon

Silver Grotto

Eminence Break

Hilltop Ruin

Blacktail

Conquistador Aisle

Deer Creek Falls

Click to see full album

Winter Zion Land (Jan '11)

2011-01-11T21:54:00.007-07:00

Sasha and I enjoyed hiking in Zion on MLK Day. There was still some snow and ice and waterfalls coming down, leftover from a few weeks ago when we had all the storms.

Great White Throne all lit up.

Happy New Year! (1/1/11) !

2011-01-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

From the top of the Red Mountain, where there is a half foot of snow!

Merry Christmas! (12/25/2010)

2010-12-25T13:37:00.004-07:00

A break in the storm at sunrise, gave us a 10 minute double rainbow out our back windows.

Kolob Creek Halloween Adventure (Nov '10)

2010-11-01T11:08:00.011-06:00

No KOoks or spooks on this KOld Halloween day, when we decided to do Bo's favorite canyon in Zion--KOlob Creek--and what a KOol canyon it is! Using my new KOlob backpack made things easy, and my new KOkatat drysuit kept me very warm and dry, despite the frigid air and water temp. Bo, Dave, and Guy and I descended Kolob Creek with its dozen or so rappels--some of them almost 200' down through beautifully fluted and narrow slots with clean water showering on us as we descended, and deep, cold swims at the bottom of most raps. Sunrise to sunset, we spent pretty much the whole day down there. After finishing the raps, there is a couple of miles of stunningly beautiful river walking--the best of the Narrows. Then we climbed nearly straight up and out a couple of thousand feet to the MIA exit and road-walk back to the vehicle.

First big long rap.

Many swimming holes at the bottom of each rap like this one.

The second big long rap. See Guy at the top?

During the walk down canyon, this spring pours over the wall from the rim up above.

Miles of this beautiful stuff!

Wide angle picture of Kolob Narrows.

Cataract Canyon (Oct '10)

2010-10-12T13:19:00.016-06:00

After getting off the Grand, I drove straight from Flag to Hite, where I met Bo and Rich at the takeout for setting up our shuttle to do Cataract. Back-to-back river trips without a break! Oh well, at least I'm already wet from my first trip. This trip was more relaxing though, and had picture perfect sunny weather without a wisp of a breeze all week. We drove up the next morning to Moab and met Mike and Rocky at Potash, where we loaded up coolers and gear in canoes and in Rich's cataraft. After five days of easy paddling the Colorado River through a beautiful meandering canyon, we got to the confluence with the Green, and camped across from Spanish Bottom. We spent most of a day hiking up to the Doll House in the Maze, all the way out to a nice overlook above the confluence. The next day we said goodbye to Rocky and Mike (since they were getting a jet boat ride upriver to Moab), and the three of us continued down through the rapids of Cataract. Bo and I rode our little packrafts, with Rich rowing the cataraft. We had a blast spending two days running 28 rapids (class 3s and 4s), and portaged around the three Big Drops. Rich nearly flipped in Big Drop 3 (a class 5), and Bo and I both swam a couple of rapids in the packrafts, but all was well. Once the current died, Rich broke out his little motor and it took us about 9 hours to cruise out to Hite.

First night camp

Bowknot overlook

Doll House hike

Near the Confluence Overlook

Cataract Canyon

Big Drop 3

No current here as we motor out

Helmet cam video of the packraft going through one of the longer rapids

Phantom to Diamond Grand Canyon Row Trip (Oct '10)

2010-10-02T08:34:00.027-06:00

Boat Beach near Phantom Ranch

At the last minute, Bev calls me from the AZRA warehouse and says they need an assistant on a lower half trip she was doing. I almost declined, because it meant I would need to drive straight from Flag to Moab at the end of the trip for my next Cataract trip with the guys, but I decided it would be worth it to do both trips back to back. I scrambled to get a reservation at a Phantom Ranch dorm, then drove to Flag, left my truck at the Radisson, caught a shuttle to the South Rim, then hiked down to Phantom in the dark, where come to find out they gave away my bunk. The Phantom people were nice, and they found a generous guy from Colorado who had a cabin all to himself, and he let me and a guy from Germany bunk with him. The next morning the AZRA group came by, picked me up, and I was in the paddle boat for Horn, Granite, and Hermit. We had a great group of guides and clients, most who really enjoyed paddling, so for the rest of the week I rotated around oar boats and rowed for the guides, giving them a break. I think I rowed over 100 miles, which was great.

The highlight of the trip was several days of extreme rain, which caused hundreds of waterfalls, flash floods in side canyons, rainbows, and an epic hike up Tapeats, over Surprise, and down Deer Creek--all of which were flashing and flooding. Luckily we got the group across and the creek and around the patio with ropes, and made it back to camp just before dark. The next day clear waterfalls continued to pour thousands of feet off the top of the redwall in the Muav Gorge, even with sunny skies, so the Esplanade must have been a river. I tested a new Sony waterproof camera, which has some neat panorama stitching, as can be seen by many of the photos below. For some reason the larger panorama photos mess up photo labeling. Most of them are obvious, such as South Rim, Granite Rapids lunch, Shinumo Creek waterfall, heavy rain rowing, Blacktail flashing, rainbow at camp below Blacktail, then the Deer Creek patio flooding and hand line use, and the bottom photo is at Spring Canyon (mile 204).

Muav Gorge waterfalls

Imlay Canyon (Sep '10)

2010-09-12T15:51:00.008-06:00

What a fine day to do one of Zion's most difficult canyons. We had blue skies and warm temps in the 90s. Despite the warmth, Imlay Canyon starts up at around 7000', and most of the canyon is so narrow, twisted, deep, and dark, that it seldom sees the sun, which means cold temps--especially in the countless dozens of swimming potholes & scumholes that require multiple problem-solving, down & up-climbing, rope work, swimming, rappelling, etc. The final rappel is a fun free-hanging rap 140' straight down into the bowels of the Narrows, where a handful of tourists photographed and gawked at these stealthy but grungy guys who came floating down from the heavens. Bo led the hike with me, Shawn and Deanpaul. We left the Grotto at 6AM in the dark for the climb up the West Rim, and didn't get back until 6PM, so it was a long, challenging, and very rewarding happy day!

After hiking over 3 hours, we got to the beginning of Imlay Canyon here where we took a break in this little alcove before the canyon slotted up.

One of the first of dozens of rappels.

Deanpaul took the pictures of me. Here I am climbing over a barrier that separates two pools.

Swimming in scum. Even with full wetsuits, I got a little chilled by the end.

The final rap down into the Narrows.

Fat Man's Misery (Aug '10)

2010-08-30T17:38:00.007-06:00

A group of 12 of us spent a beautiful day from sunrise to sunset hiking and canyoneering down Fat Man's Misery canyon over in the east part of Zion. Due to recent rains, there were probably about 40 holes we had to wade or swim through. Most of them were full of debris and organic material, and the smell alone made some of the group members nauseous. In the afternoon we were able to get to the East Fork of the Virgin River, aka Parunaweap, where the water was clear and helped us to clean off. The hike out is always memorable as you climb over 2,000' up a lot of sand and beautiful sandstone for over 3 miles.

Here are some of the group down in Parunaweap.

An HDR type photo of the East Fork Virgin River in Parunaweap.

We walked under this log jammed above our heads in Fat Man's Misery.

A shot looking straight up in the narrows.

Grand Canyon Raft Trip with Sasha (June '10)

2010-06-04T18:15:00.033-06:00

The time has finally come for Sasha to have her turn down the Grand Canyon. This time we opted for a two-week oar trip for 280 miles to the very end of the canyon at the take-out at Pearce Ferry. We spent a week getting ready and packed up. I arranged for the shuttle to pick us up in St George, where we joined 10 other guests on an incredible adventure. We spent a night and a long hot shuttle at the Marble Canyon Lodge before getting on the boats at Lee's Ferry. My friend Mike, from New Mexico, and his 12 year old daughter, Lauren, joined us; thus allowing Sasha to have someone nearer her age to hang out with.

A view from Navajo Bridge at the beginning of the Grand Canyon.

The first day we rode with the Moki Mac trip leader--Matt. Here we are approaching the bridge.

On the calmer stretches of the river, the girls got to paddle in this "shredder"--a cataraft style ducky.

Looking out of Redwall Cavern.

We slept under the stars each night on sandy spots similar to this great beach spot out on an island below the Triple Alcoves.

The canyon nicely reflects the water as we paddle down the still waters above Nankoweap.

At the Little Colorado, the girls swam this little rapid a couple of dozen times.

Boats and girls lounging at our camp at Carbon Canyon.

Four of us taking a break on a hike.

Sasha under Clear Creek Falls.

Our camp at Zoroaster.

The Ross Wheeler boat and camp.

Shinumo Falls.

A view of the middle granite gorge.

Sasha's hands span a one billion year gap of rock that is missing!

Me trying out the oars.

We ran into Bev several times on the trip. She is the first river guide we met on Stephanie's trip. Here she and Sasha relax in front of Stone Creek Waterfall.

Sasha in front of Deer Creek Waterfall. Imagine if the Grand Canyon did not have any side waterfalls!

Sasha and Matt sitting on thrones of rock.

A hike and wet scramble up into Matkat was everybody's favorite.

Sasha and Lauren sliding down Matkat.

Our biggest hike was two hours up to Beaver Falls, one of my favorites up in Havasu Canyon.

The four of us and our guide taking a lunch siesta break.

Sasha's shirt color matches the water of Havasu Creek!

Nice cool temps in the lower canyon gave us relief from the heat, and these beautiful puffy clouds below Whitmore.

Shoving off from our camp at Parashant.

A womb-sized rock that Sasha fit in, and her pony tail dangled out the back.

Below Diamond Creek in the lower granite gorge, this waterfall at Travertine Falls was incredible!

Lunch in the shade at the mouth of Surprise Canyon. We ran into very few groups during the entire two weeks on this trip.

Sasha rowing the boat on the last day.

Our guides at take-out at Pearce Ferry: Mark, Doug, Matt, and Jay. The two weeks flew by and it was so sad to say goodbye.

San Juan River (May '10)

2010-05-14T16:17:00.008-06:00

What a great way to spend a week in the Spring--six of us guys from Ivins (Mike, Bo, Rocky, Rich, and Charlie) spending 5 days floating down the San Juan River! A few months back I applied on a whim for the San Juan River, never really thinking I would get the lottery pick. Somehow I got picked with a May 14 launch date out of Mexican Hat, taking out around 50 river miles later at Clay Hills Crossing. Using 3 vehicles to shuttle, we launched a small flotilla for our bunch--a 16' avon, a cataraft, and two inflatable kayaks.

Within a minute of launching, Bo flipped his IK in the first rapid (on purpose maybe, so that nobody else would want to get a chance for the fun IK). We endured a little wind on that first and last day, but other than that had really great weather, camps, and day hikes. My camera broke, so all but the last two photos below were taken by Bo.

Our hike up Slickhorn Canyon had many wonderful deep swimming holes.

Like this one too.

Second morning on the river. We got some pretty darn early starts.

Bo relaxing in the Alpacka packraft. He had the time of his life running the rapids in this.

Bo, Rocky, and Rich chowing down at our second night's camp. Thanks to Rich bringing his big boats, we had plenty of hot food and cold drinks.

Zion and the number 21 (May '10)

2010-05-05T15:56:00.003-06:00

We're up to lucky number 21--that being the number of years we've been married--as well as the number of switchbacks on the Walter's Wiggles part of Angels Landing hike. This year it was Kim's idea to go stay at the Cliffrose Inn in Springdale, and spend a couple of days hiking in Zion National Park. Despite recovering from a mild concussion, Kim felt well enough to do the 8 mile round trip hike up to Observation Point.

Here are some narrows on the hike up, in middle Echo Canyon.

On top of Observation Point

Escalante River Packraft (Apr '10)

2010-04-11T20:55:00.002-06:00

Mike and I planned a five day float trip from Egypt Trailhead down to Coyote Gulch, using our packrafts to float the 45 miles in the Escalante River. It didn't quite turn out as planned. After our first day of floating 6 miles, we decided that the river was too low for us to continue the rest of the way in a timely manner. We were scraping a lot of rocks and sticks, and taking much longer than we had planned. So we ended up exploring up 25 Mile Wash for an exit route, before realizing that it was too muddy and full of water and brush for us to make a good exit that way. We ended up hiking the six river miles back up to Neon Canyon, where we camped a night before hiking back up and out the 3 miles of slickrock up to Egypt. We will attempt this again some other year a little later, when the river is flowing higher.

A classic juniper tree growing in the middle of red rock near Egypt.

The Golden Cathedral, one mile up in Neon Canyon, was definitely one of the highlights of this trip. What a beautiful and unusual hole that formed in the top of the sandstone.

Packraft taking a break on the Escalante River.

Mike chilling in the sun up in Ringtail Canyon, just before entering the tight slot.

Salt Trail to the Little Colorado (Apr '10)

2010-04-02T20:40:00.005-06:00

Mike and I almost got lost out on the Navajo Reservation, as we were driving around trying to find the Eminence Break route down to the river in Marble Canyon. Thanks to GPS technology, we were able to take the correct roads. We also drove to the top of the Salt Trail, which was a grueling hike down the the Little Colorado River.

Here is the eminence view from the break. Notice all the snow up on Saddle Mountain.

The LCR was flowing unusually high due to spring runoff. Unfortunately, we were not treated to the normal turquoise blue. It was so deep and swift, that we dared not cross it.

This huge pothole is very very deep in the Redwall limestone. Luckily the trail did not go through it.

Red Mountain Lakes on top? (Mar '10)

2010-03-22T20:28:00.003-06:00

Beautiful views in wilderness!

Snake shaped stick is growing out of the yucca.

After recent storms, the slickrock on top of the Red Mountain would make you think there are nice lakes and ponds up on top.

Desert Hike Photos from Red Cliffs Desert Reserve (Winter 10)

2010-02-22T12:07:00.001-07:00

Here are some photos (not necessarily the best quality) from my new Droid phone's camera.

The Donut Arch up on the north end of Red Mountain.

The Santa Clara River, from the Sidewinder Trail.

Rising cobra snake coming out of an agave plant!

Snow Canyon and Pine Valley Mountain, from the top of the Red Mountain.

Slickrock formations above Tuacahn.

The "Vortex" (aka: the "toilet bowl") had water in it. The Camelback Peaks in the distance.

Camelback and a desert tank.

A slickrock dome in Washington Hollow.

Wave action on the stone in Yellow Knolls area.

Pools after a rain storm in Black Gulch.

Cathedral to Soap Float (Feb 10)

2010-02-10T11:38:00.045-07:00

For a fun day trip, Mike and I drove our vehicles out to Marble Canyon, where we did a nice little hike down Cathedral Canyon to the river. Here is a shot of us inflating our little tiny packrafts, as we get ready to float 8 relatively calm river miles down the Grand Canyon until we reach a side canyon called Soap Creek.

This is the narrows of Cathedral Canyon.

A view of the Colorado River of Soap Creek Rapids.

Snowshoeing up to Zion's Angels Landing (Jan '10)

2010-01-23T17:45:00.013-07:00

Our state got hammered by some big blizzards that dumped multiple feet of snow in the mountains. This storm prevented Mike and I from doing a cross country ski trip with some other guys over to Yosemite's Glacier Point. We were disappointed to say the least. The high country of Zion was not spared from the storms either, and so we took advantage of an early morning departure to be the first ones up the Angels Landing trail to Scout Lookout, and even higher up on the West Rim Trail.

A view of Angels Landing from the trail below.

Multiple 'waterfalls' of snow (avalanches), crashed down around us as we hiked through Refrigerator Canyon.

A view of the river below, from the railing at Scout Lookout. The chains higher up to Angels Landing required some major digging in order to find them.

This footprint sign seems so out of place.

A view of the main canyon from the West Rim Trail. There was at least 3 feet of snow up here.

Mike and I agreed that this incredible snow with the views in Zion is probably not even beatable by what we could have experienced in Yosemite.

Video of Avalanche in Zion

Land Hill Petroglyphs (Jan '10)

2010-01-15T11:42:00.003-07:00

Evidence of bighorn sheep that once lived in the area.

Sasha, Kim and I had a nice stroll one winter day down on the south end of Ivins, up a mesa named Land Hill. The edge of the mesa drops off to the south several hundred feet down a cliff to the Santa Clara River, where you can see signs of prehistoric farm land where the Anasazi raised crops like corn. During their free time, the natives would climb up the cliff to the top, where they would carve hundreds of pictures into the rocks. These petroglyphs cover the hill top side, and are quite interesting to walk around, look at, and attempt to guess what they mean.

Sasha near some rocks where some experts say was a birthing area for the women of old.

Red Mountain Cross Country Skiing (Dec 09)

2009-12-11T08:33:00.000-07:00

We finally got some precipitation here--the first time this Fall--and it came down pretty heavy. We got a few inches of snow in our backyard, but up on top of the Red Mountain, there was over a foot of fresh powder. I drove up Highway 18 and cross country skied several miles out to the Snow Canyon overlook. Notice my tracks on the left side of the photo below. The pinion and junipers are nicely flocked. This is looking north towards Pine Valley Mountain.

Looking south from the Snow Canyon overlook.

Zion Subway Hike and Photos (Nov 09)

2009-11-01T13:45:00.016-07:00

Zion's canyons have some of the best Fall colors anywhere this time of year. I organized a group of 12 of us friends and family members to go hike up to the Subway to enjoy the beauty. Due to sickness, only 9 of us made it, but we had perfect weather conditions, and I was able to get some great photos.

Here is an attempt to make a semi- abstract HDR-style photo of the beautiful cascades.

We left the day after daylight savings ended, so we at least had an extra hour of sleep after our Halloween fun.

Brooke resting by one of many beautiful cascades.

Here's CJ, Brooke, Sean and Ryan entering the Subway tunnel.

Swirling pools of autumn leaves, slots of light, cool water--a cathedral in the desert!

The famous North Pole log still after so many years has never been washed down by a flash flood.

A heart shaped pool.

Another great shot.

A close up of a trough of running water.

Here's the group warming up in the sun for lunch.

Cool blue!

Labyrinth Canyon Canoe Trip on the Green River (Oct 09)

2009-10-18T12:20:00.012-06:00

View of La Sals and Canyonlands from one of five arches at the rim above Labyrinth Canyon.

October is a great month for Fall colors and floating in canoes down the gentle Green River near Moab. Mike B, Mike G, Bo and I completed the trip this year 45 miles down Labyrinth Canyon in canoes. Here we are at Ruby Ranch packing for 4 nights.

Silhouette of the other canoe floating past beautiful cottonwoods and red cliffs.

Another similar one.

Mike standing on the saddle atop of Bowknot Bend, where the Green River does an 8 mile loop back to where it practically started from.

Our third night camp on an island was not cold or wet, unless you account for a thick layer of dew covering everything by morning.

Our hike up 2 Mile Canyon had a great trail to the rim, and five different arches up on top.

The 2 Mikes paddling from our last night's camp on a nice sandy island.

Finally, we found the elusive Julien inscription dating from 1836.

Circumambulation of Powell Plateau via a Packraft (Oct 09)

2009-10-04T12:57:00.026-06:00

Above our Blacktail camp site.

I had been anxiously awaiting the time to do this trip down in the Grand Canyon, where Mike and I hike down the North Bass trail 14 miles to the river, then float, hike and portage our way downriver about 25 miles in a remote and wild section where the Colorado River does a near circle as it winds its way (circumambulates) around the massive mile-high Powell Plateau, which is named after John Wesley Powell, the first human to float the entire canyon. To get out of the canyon, we must hike 12 miles up and out via Tapeats Creek and the Thunder River trail, and then shuttle back to our original trailhead.

The weather was beautiful on the river. The first and last days of hiking were a little windy, and the only major trouble we had was driving back to get Mike's cars. Due to the wind storm, the road was blocked and requires a chainsaw to clear the downed trees. We had an incredible adventure, met lots of neat river runners, worked really hard (especially portaging), and had lots of fun.

Our first campsite is below Dox Castle, next to Shinumo Creek (bottom part of photo).

Sunset from Shinumo Creek camp site.

The second day we finally hit the Colorado River, just below Bass Rapids here in the photo.

Our second camp at Toltec Beach here has beautiful white sand.

The next day we visit probably the most incredible side canyon of all--Elves Chasm. Here I am next to the lower falls.

See the elf sitting high on the rock?

Upper Elves chockstone, and waterfall behind it.

Cascade and pool above Upper Elves.

Upper Upper Elves pool.

Upper Upper Upper Elves--the most beautiful! It took a lot of crawling and rock scrambling to reach all of the upper pools--an enchanted place that few people get a chance to see.

Our third night camp spot is here at Blacktail Canyon beach, looking downriver at Conquistador Aisle and the Great Thumb Mesa off in the distance.

A short afternoon and moonlight hike up Blacktail Canyon, where you can touch a missing gap of 1 billion years between the Tapeats and Vishnu rock layers.

The next morning this was our view as we got in our tiny packrafts to float 12 river miles.

We portaged about a dozen times, around some difficult rapids like Specter here. The packraft weighs only 4 lbs, the paddle, lifejacket and wetsuit each weigh 2 lbs.

This was in the beautiful Middle Granite Gorge section. A part of Powell Plateau can be seen in the distance.

Our last night at Stone Creek beach, none other than my neighbor in Ivins--Bev--from Steph's AZRA trip with me 5 years ago shows up with her group. What a reunion! We offer to share our beach in exchange for an incredible dinner and breakfast.

Stone Creek waterfall is a 5 minute hike from the beach.

Halfway up our hike out Tapeats Creek the last day, we take a nice relaxing break at Thunder River waterfall.

Our last night is up on the Esplanade, with incredible views of Powell Plateau in the distance, our Stone Creek beach (the small speck), Surprise Valley below, and the sunset light hitting the redwall.

On this trip, we each hiked with a total of 40 lbs. The hiking was very long, steep, windy, and hot. The paddling on the river was pleasant, but portaging numerous rapids is extremely exhausting. The most difficult portage was below Bedrock Rapid. We portaged okay past the huge boulder to put in at the lower part of the rapid, but had to deal with crossing two or three super strong cross currents and eddies that nearly slammed us into a wall, a rock, and a dead-end room-sized pocket. The river portion was surely beautiful though. And we met some great people.

Video of Mike jumping in Elves.

Fall Color Mountain Biking (Sep 09)

2009-09-21T12:36:00.007-06:00

It's still hot in St George for most of September, but getting up to 11,000' above Cedar City near Brian Head has its advantages, due to the cool (sometimes cold) temps and the beautiful fall colors.

The drive up has beautiful trees and red Bryce-like rocks.

Near Navajo Lake at 10,000', this grove of aspen was breathtaking.

View looking up along the Bunker trail.

I wish my bike could pedal for me. I really get winded in high altitudes when riding uphill.

Red oak leaves.

Northgate Peaks of Zion (Sep 09)

2009-09-15T21:04:00.001-06:00

Today felt like the first day of Fall, as temps this morning at home were only 59 degrees. I decided to drive to Zion's high country to do a little hiking up on the two Northgate Peaks, which are around 7200' above sea level. I have hiked both peaks two different times before. Most recently I went up the North Guardian Angel two weeks ago.

On the drive up this is a view of North and South Guardian Angels. Notice the deep canyon (Subway) that separates the two.

From the easterly Northgate Peak, here is a view south looking at some of the most impressive peaks anywhere--from left to right: West Temple, Kinesava, Mt Trumble (very faint distant center), then South and North Guardian Angels. The Subway's canyon can be seen down and left in the photo.

This interesting tree, shaped like a sickle, was growing on the summit.

Mystery Canyon in Zion (Aug 09)

2009-08-03T12:42:00.001-06:00

Mystery Canyon in Zion has been high on my list to visit. It's a great place to escape the summer heat, due to its coolness. Bo and two of his friends met up, and we hiked the five mile and 2000' up the East Rim Trail, then descended the steep scree down into the depths of Mystery Canyon where it starts to slot up. There are about 10 rappels, most of them 30 to 50 feet into dry beds. The last two raps are over 100 feet each, and they involve landing in a deep pool and the Narrows river.

Here's Bo halfway down the second to the last rappel into the spring.

Bo rigging the ropes for the last rap down into the river below where hikers are coming up the Narrows.

Looking up from the Narrows, this is the last rap, which is slippery due to moss and the waterfall pouring on your head.

Zion Narrows with Sasha (July 09)

2009-07-25T17:29:00.006-06:00

After last summer's dayhike of the Narrows with Sasha, she wanted to go back again this year, but this time we wanted to see the entire length of the 16 miles of Narrows from the top to the bottom, with one night sleeping in the middle! So we packed up our overnight gear (Sasha carried 11 pounds and I carried 22 lbs), and took a shuttle to the top. Both days were long days of hiking about 6 hours each day, with dozens of river crossings. But we took our time and enjoyed the coolness and the beauty. Sasha is a fast hiker, even with a pack.

Here she is in the upper Narrows, touching both walls with her trecking poles.

We spotted some poison ivy high above us on a small cliff.

Sasha sitting in front of Big Springs--her favorite place to relax in the Narrows.

Another part of Big Spring.

Swamp Point to Dutton Point (July 09)

2009-07-12T12:20:00.005-06:00

We've had a relatively mild summer so far, but this week the temps finally got up to 105, which is the point for me when I finally say that it's hot! One of the best places to escape is only a 3 hour drive, half of it on a fairly decent dirt road out to a place in the Grand Canyon's remote north rim, name "Swamp Point" of all things. I'm not sure about the name, because there is definitely not a swamp nor any kind of water out on this skinny peninsula of forested rim at 7500' elevation, with high temps in the 70s and plenty of big ponderosa pines providing shade. This one-night backpack trip was Mike's idea--we actually came out here 9 years ago--but this time we wanted to get all the way to Dutton Point to set up camp.

After descending 1000' to Muav Saddle, you climb back up to Powell Plateau and follow the rim for 7 miles. This is the kind of sneak peak of the canyon that you get along the way through the trees.

Finally, after bushwhacking for several hours through big thorny bushes, you get to Dutton Point, with this great view of the river and virga raining down in the canyon.

It sprinkled on us for a couple of hours around sunset, but the skies cleared, the moon came out, and the next morning we were treated with this incredible sunrise.

London, Stonehenge, Bath, Stratford-Avon, & Oxford (May/Jun 09)

2009-06-04T10:21:00.021-06:00

To celebrate Stephanie's graduation, we took a family trip to her number one dream place to visit--England. We spent four days in London, and thoroughly enjoyed using the Underground Tube and double-decker buses in order to get around, visiting museums, parks, palaces, and cathedrals. We also enjoyed a variety of foods and seeing a multitude of people. We were lucky to have only one day of light rain, and we used it to go see Wicked, which was a hit with everyone. The rest of the week was sunny. We also spent four days using a rental car and driving west to see Stonehenge, staying in Bath and Stratford upon Avon, seeing where Shakespeare was born, and visiting Oxford. There are a lot of photos here, which only show a portion of everything.

London's Museum of Natural History.

Big Ben of course.

The changing of the guard at the Buckingham Palace.

Skeletal mummy remains in the British Museum.

The Tower of London.

Windsor Castle.

A royal guard at Windsor Castle.

Windsor Castle.

Stonehenge.

Stratford upon Avon.

Stained Glass motif.

Hallway in Gloucester Cathedral, used in filming Harry Potter.

Dining Hall in Oxford, also used in Harry Potter films.

Interesting stained glass story.

One of many interesting buildings at Oxford.

Music playing in St Paul's Cathedral.

Better than a Disneyland ride--taking a ride in the top front of a London double-decker bus!

Cinco de Mayo, Cabo Wabo, & 20 Years (May 09)

2009-05-13T15:59:00.013-06:00

Lobby view from Pueblo Bonito Pacifica
Kim and I were married on Cinco de Mayo 20 years ago way back in '89, but we had never been to Mexico for any of our anniversaries. So we knew it was finally time to do it! I researched some of the resorts down there, and found a really nice adult-only, holistic resort spa that was located on a 3 mile stretch of uninhabited beach. Despite recent news of the swine flu, we decided to go for it anyway, and we flew from St George through LAX and on to Los Cabos by early afternoon. The taxi ride to our hotel was nearly an hour, but it was scenic and well worth it once we arrived at the Pueblo Bonito Pacifica. Due to the swine flu scare, our plane and hotel was probably not even 1/4 full, so we felt like we were the only ones there at the pools, restaurants, and beach. Kim and I had an incredible time together. Kim did yoga on the beach, we swam, walked on the beach, and took a day trip into town, where we rented sea kayaks and paddled out to the arch which is at the very tip where the Pacific Ocean crosses over to the Sea of Cortez.
Here is the view from our room balcony. We kept the sliding door open all night and listened to the waves from the Pacific Ocean crashing on the beach. Notice the beds on the beach. Nobody used them, although we were tempted to!

Another view from our room--what beauty! Oh and I guess the desert landscaping is beautiful too.

Tempting to go in, but unfortunately, these constant monster waves and the rip tide made it impossible to go in the ocean here by the resort.

So instead we walked for miles up and down the uninhabited beach, and Kim did yoga every day. Lands End can be seen off in the distance--right side.

Notice the interesting rock formations at Lands End. Sea of Cortez on the left and the Pacific on the right. We had a lot of fun kayaking. We would definitely return.

Packraft adventure from Kanab Creek to Lava Falls (Apr 09)

2009-04-17T16:27:00.010-06:00

Upset Rapids

Most of the month of April has brought unusual cold showers to the Southwest, but I had hopes that it would warm up for my next adventure with Mike down in the depths of the Grand Canyon to combine backpacking, exploring, and rafting in our Alpacka packrafts. We had to delay leaving a day later due to strong rains and winds, so we had a lot of miles to make up in 6 days. We each drove out to the top of the Lava Falls trail near Toroweap, left one vehicle there, and then drove back up to Hack Canyon. The road down Hack is usually rough, but the BLM must have done recent work to make it passable for most vehicles. We easily cruised with packs down Hack to Kanab Creek, then continued down Kanab to the confluence of Jumpup Canyon. This part of the canyon was very pleasant, beautiful, and easy for hiking, although I developed a nasty blister on my pinky toe that slowed me down the rest of the week. We continued a couple of miles farther to a nice quiet camp site for a total of 16 miles the first day. The next day we hiked for more than 12 miles of slow boulder hopping down beautiful lower Kanab Creek, past Showerbath Spring, Scotty's Hollow, and Whispering Falls, all the way to the confluence with the Colorado River, where we spent our second night.

From there we started the second phase of our adventure--exploring the Grand Canyon via our packrafts, which allowed us to move down river, stop, visit and/or explore up a number of side canyons, including Olo, Matkat, Canyon of a Thousand Names (where we spent our third night under ledges out of the wind), Havasu, Tuckup, National, Fern Glen, Mohawk, Stairway and Cove canyons. Some of the most scenic hiking was up to the Muav ledges, patios, and pools, that usually have water flowing down through these side canyons. One of the biggest highlights was going up Havasu (aka "Have-A-Zoo" due to the swarms of people)--it was so unusual, because there was absolutely nobody there at all, and also because the water was running so high and so incredibly cloudy/milky blue, instead of the normal turquoise blue. The fourth night was spent at Tuckup, which we explored; and our last night at Cove Canyon, where we could see Toroweap Point downstream--the point where we climb out of the canyon. The last morning we made our way down to the base of the Lava Falls Trail, where we packed everything up, and climbed practically straight up 3,000' in 3 hours, and back to our vehicle for the ride home.

Our total mileage was 30 miles of hiking, and another 35 miles along the river, not including untold miles around the side canyons and camps. I flipped my packraft twice within the first hour of being on the river, in a couple of different medium sized riffles. I then noticed my backpack was loaded off-center, and this was causing me to list to the port side. After fixing the balance, I never flipped again. Mike only flipped on the last day at the next-to-the-last riffle, because his pack was not tied down tight (I forgot to check the knots before launching), and his backpack shifted weight mid-stream, causing him to be off-balance too. These little rafts are pretty incredible in how they handle in big waves. We wore wetsuits on the river, so the cold water was not a factor during out swims or paddling. We also portaged around any nasty looking rapids and riffles whenever possible, like Upset Rapids, which would have swallowed our little rafts in its numerous holes, and maybe never spit them back out. Some rapids like Matkat were un-portageable, so we had to run them anyway, but did fine. The camp sites and weather was mostly beautiful, clear, cool, with only a little bit of clouds and light rain spatterings. All in all, it was a very tough, challenging, and highly rewarding trip that will go down in the memory banks!

A view up Hack Canyon.

Showerbath Springs

A pool near Whispering Falls

Havasu Canyon pools and cascades.

Me next to Havasu.

A photo near the mouth of Havasu. Notice the water color!

Mike and our packrafts next to the mouth of Havasu.

Tuckup Canyon

Sunset light hitting cliffs during our last night at Cove Canyon.

Getting ready to push off from Cove Canyon on our last morning. We climbed out just past Toroweap Overlook, which can be seen in the upper left background with the sunlight hitting the top there.

Mr Boucher the Hermit (Mar 09)

2009-03-31T15:41:00.023-06:00

A few days after getting home from Hawaii, I had a trip scheduled for months to go down solo to the bottom of the Grand Canyon where the famous hermit Louis Boucher lived over 100 years ago. This is a rugged, difficult trail off the south rim for 11 miles to Boucher rapids, then 7 miles over to Hermit Camp, then 7 miles to Salt Camp, and then 12 miles along the Tonto Trail to Indian Gardens and up the Bright Angel for nearly 40 miles total in 4 days. The weather was mostly beautiful--only a few hours of light rain and wind on the second day. I often wonder what I'm doing out there all alone, but after a few days I really enjoy bonding with nature. I didn't see any people for the first day and half the second day, and then again no people for pretty much most of the third day and half the last day. Yuma Point is the red area left of center in the sun...

A view from the rim toward Boucher Rapids (slightly up and left of center). I had to get down there the first day! The Boucher trail is the most difficult of south rim trails.

Me resting at Yuma Point. See the river under my left cheek. Someday I will stop here and spend the night.

My first night's camp spot in the sand next to Boucher Rapids.

The neat thing about Boucher Rapids is that you can see my two all-time favorite rim viewpoints--here is Pima Point at sunset on the south rim...

...and here is Sublime Point on the north rim with the sun hitting it at sunrise.

Redbuds were in bloom in all the side canyons.

Second day along the Tonto heading to Hermit Camp--the trail swings out above the river here.

A series of waterfalls above Hermit Camp.

The third day I hiked past Monument Creek, and took a break here in the Vishnu narrows before heading over to my final camp spot at Salt Creek.

The "Fiery Furnace" in Salt Creek.

Can you see the bighorn standing on the rock? They blend into the canyon well.

My last night's camp along the Tonto...

...had a sunset view of a long stretch of river, where you can see Granite and Hermit Rapids.

My last morning hike--looking up at the south rim's Powell and Hopi Points.

Hawaii Spring Break (Mar 09)

2009-03-21T20:45:00.012-06:00

Here is a sampling of some of the best and funnest photos from our family Hawaii spring break trip. We enjoyed spending time with Heather and Kivalu and cousins Valu and Keenan. We spent every day at a beach some where, and really enjoyed time with family.

Brooke and Kim at sunrise!

Keenan doing a sommersalt in the sand.

Me posing with the 3 girls.

Family photo in front of Heather and Ki's home, where they may not be living in a year, since they are considering moving closer to town and schools.

Me and Kim at Turtle Bay for a wonderful evening out.

Kim and I walked along the beach and Kim did yoga every early morning. Each day's sunrise was different, but wonderful in its own way.

Burning sunrise!

Another sunrise photo!

A different perspective of sand, ocean, water, and footprints.

I enjoyed this photo of Sasha jumping over a wave coming in at Sunset Beach on the North Shore.

Clear Creek in the Grand Canyon (Feb 09)

2009-02-22T15:45:00.006-07:00

A Postcard From The Edge

Once again it's that time of year to get out of town and escape from all the lost people driving around trying to find Parade of Homes. I talked Mike into going back to the Grand Canyon so that we could try a new area for us--the Clear Creek drainage. We would spend four nights and five days hiking over 50 miles and 10,000' of uphill vertical, all while down in the depths among the deepest and oldest rocks in the canyon--the Vishnu schist. The first day we dropped down the Bright Angel trail, crossed the bridge, passed Phantom Ranch, and climbed over 1000' up on the Tonto to spend our first night. The weather had been rainy for weeks, but we lucked out with five days of sun and 60 degree days. However, I forgot my sleeping bag somehow, and ended up having to wear everything I owned in order to stay warm in my tent. I did have a small fleece liner, which helped a little. The first night was 27 degrees, and each night thereafter was warmer by about 6 degrees. We spent two nights in the Clear Creek drainage, allowing us time to explore down and upcreek, seeing various waterfalls and Anasazi ruins. The last night was next to Phantom Ranch, where we were able to eat their stew meal, which was a real treat, before climbing out the South Kaibab trail the last morning.

Cold temps in the low 20s as we began our hike down the Bright Angel with crampons. Snow and ice covered the trail for the first hour.

The black bridge and some of the buildings near Phantom Ranch. We still had to climb over 1000' up on the Tonto below Zoroaster (the pyramid shaped peak).

A view of the Colorado River and the Vishnu schist, as well as the South Rim.

Our first night's camp near Sumner Wash on the Tonto trail, below Zoroaster. Despite the sunny skies, the first night temp was 27, and I had no sleeping bag!

View of the inner gorge while hiking the Tonto toward Clear Creek.

After setting up camp in Clear Creek, we hiked four miles down toward the Colorado. This is the 'sideway's' waterfall, and is the same place Brooke and I hiked up to during our June '06 float trip.

This is as far as Mike dared go out on the ledge next to the waterfall. I ended up down climbing the 15' to get photos from below.

Our next day we hiked up Clear Creek to Ariel Creek. These ruins and grinding tools were along the way.

Abstract photo of Ariel Creek with hardened gravel sides that look like they should break off, because they are only an inch thick, and the water flows underneath. Width of the creek is only 2 feet, to give you some perspective.

Looking back at our Clear Creek camp spot (center and down a little) during our hike out.

I'm ready to get in the sun to hike along the Tonto. The South Kaibab trail goes up the ridgeline to the rim (behind me up to the left).

Colorado River view of the black and silver bridges.

Me near the top on the last day. The sun and clouds cast neat shadows.

Almost to the top of the South Kaibab, with Vishnu Temple above my left shoulder, Wotan's Throne above my right shoulder, and Crystal Creak drainage in the far left edge of the photo.

Shivwits Arch in Virgin River Gorge (Jan 09)

2009-01-28T21:51:00.001-07:00

A nice area for winter hiking is in the Virgin River Gorge. There is a thousand foot scramble up some cliffs to Shivwits Arch, which overlooks the Virgin River and Cedar Pockets in the gorge.

Shivwits Arch

Virgin River and the freeway.

More Unique Winter Images (Jan 09)

2009-01-22T11:19:00.001-07:00

Here are some more random, nearby images from my camera. We have had a lot of cold, snow, and fog this winter, which makes for beautiful days.

Backyard shot of a weird band of clouds wrapping midway around the Red Mountain.

Blue tinted day up in Snow Canyon after heavy snow.

A sunny day in Snow Canyon.

The full moon rolling down the Red Mountain!

SAR (Jan 09)

2009-01-08T21:47:00.001-07:00

An Ivins woman went missing on New Year's Day, and was not found for over a week. I helped lead a dog team up a snowy slickrock ramp to the top of the Red Mountain. Unfortunately, we did not find her in any of the areas we were in.

This ramp had over 6 inches of snow and ice.

The dog is an American Shepherd.

The top of the Red Mountain had snow and ponds.

A photo of the Great White Throne in West Canyon.

Winter Scenes (Dec 08)

2008-12-28T21:32:00.001-07:00

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)

2008-11-15T11:43:00.001-07:00

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)

2008-11-02T11:36:00.002-07:00

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)

2008-10-27T15:43:00.007-06:00

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)

2008-10-15T17:47:00.007-06:00

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)

2008-09-23T14:24:00.007-06:00

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)

2008-09-15T14:12:00.007-06:00

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)

2008-09-09T14:06:00.002-06:00

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)

2008-08-08T20:36:00.008-06:00

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)

2008-07-04T19:34:00.000-06:00

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)

2008-06-25T09:28:00.013-06:00

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

2008-05-28T21:26:00.001-06:00

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.

Rainbow Bridge Hike (May 2008)

2008-05-11T21:45:00.008-06:00

In a last minute, I was able to join Mike on his three day backpack trip around Navajo Mountain, through a maze of canyons and slickrock, to one of the last discovered natural wonders of the world--Rainbow Bridge. After obtaining a permit from Effie Yazzie in Page, we went on a long road up to Navajo Mountain. The last five miles were very rough, but we finally found the trailhead, and hiked 6+ miles to our campsite at the bottom of Nasjah Canyon. The second day we dayhiked to the bridge and back to our original campsite--over 16 miles of up and down through beautiful slickrock canyons.

Almost to our campsite.

These colorful sandstone peaks were surrounding us in Nasjah Canyon.

Me up above our campite, where we spent two nights.

If you look close I am almost near the bottom of the bridge, which is 300 some odd feet high and 200 some odd feet wide.

There were no other tourists at the bridge while we spent an hour or two eating lunch, so we enjoyed it to ourselves. Lake Powell is so low that it is a two mile hike for most boat tourists to come see the bridge.

Cinco de Mayo 19 times (May 2008)

2008-05-05T21:34:00.005-06:00

It's our 19th anniversary, and we spent two days and a night in a cozy cabin inside Zion National Park. We did a nice hike up to Observation Point on the East Rim, as shown in the next two pictures.

Beautiful Indian Paintbrush flowers adorn Kim's head along the trail up.

Sowats the Point? (Apr 2008)

2008-04-19T19:37:00.019-06:00

View from trail near Sowats Point, where we hiked out, looking down into Kwagunt (center) and Kanab Creek (deep far left).

Yes that is the question I often get asked. So what is the point of going back to the Grand Canyon over and over again? It's extremely hard for me to explain the allure, the mystery, the spirit, the challenge, and the rewards I get while being there, but it's what I really look forward to doing over and over again, especially since I will never come close to seeing the entire canyon and all 100 or more of its side canyons in my lifetime.

The trip here was one I planned over 4 months ago. Mike agreed to accompany me on 45 miles of difficult terrain (half of it unknown to either of us) to some of the most remote, but best areas of the canyon. We drove two vehicles, and placed one at Sowats Point, then drove the other to Monument Point, where we started the 10 mile hike (but also dropping one vertical mile) down to the river to one of my all-time favorite spots--Deer Creek Falls. After resting up there and seeing only a handful of hikers (the only ones we would see all week), we continued two miles or so down river on a non-existent route to the mouth of Cranberry Canyon, where we set up for our first night.

The next day was another difficult five miles of route finding and boulder hopping along the river down to the mouth of Kanab Creek above the rapids (shown here). While there we were treated to a tasty lunch by a passing private boat trip, several whom we met near Deer Creek the day before. They couldn't believe we hiked so fast, although it surely felt slow to us. After lunch we hiked an hour up Kanab Creek to a nice, quiet camp spot. Then the next morning we hiked up Kanab Creek another hour to Whispering Falls, which is indescribably beautiful. Later that afternoon we hiked up into Scotty's Hollow, another incredibly beautiful side canyon of Kanab Creek. Scotty's has many waterfalls, plunge pools, smooth walls, narrows, and hanging gardens. Finally, that evening we pulled in to Showerbath Spring, where we spent our third and last night.

Our last morning we hiked up Kanab Creek more to the confluence of Jumpup Canyon. We turned right to go up Jumpup, and explored the lower reaches of Indian Hollow Canyon and Kwagunt Canyon. Several years ago the water was flowing nicely down the lower parts of these canyons. This year is drier, so the water was not flowing as good. We ended up continuing all the way up Kwagunt to the Esplanade, where we found an old stock trail that took us all the way back up to the rim to our first vehicle, which was waiting for us at Sowats Point. So what is the point? I'm afraid my words and pictures will not do any justice. However, it was a wonderful trip.

Flying saucer rock on the Esplanade below Monument Point (upper right corner).

Beautiful desert marigolds on our descent to Deer Creek. Unfortunately, I had terrible allergies the first day due to all the pollen.

Deer Creek Falls was coming down with much force due to spring runoff.

Red hot chili peppers growing like two eyes on a cactus?

Lower Kanab Creek has beautiful Muav ledges that were like walking on sidewalks.

This is the lower part of 200' tall Whispering Falls comes down into a deep plunge pool nestled next to a small cavern.

Me, swimming in some frigid, but refreshing water.

More waterfalls due to house-sized chokestones in Kanab Creek.

One of dozens of waterfall up in Scotty's Hollow.

Reflecting pools in Scotty's, and smooth redwall limestone make it an enchanting hike.

Showerbath Spring filling up my water bottle.

Video of Whispering Falls

South Guardian Angel Peak (Apr 2008)

2008-04-12T19:16:00.012-06:00

Last time I tried climbing the South Guardian was in the Fall, late in the day, and I ran out of daylight in order to complete the climb (from the spot in the first picture below here). Bo invited me to go with his hiking companion, Tanya, on a long day. According to the registry, we were the first people to summit it this year. It was a long, hot, grueling day, but the reward of the views up there were out of the world.

The summit beckons us up the ramp. Luckily, we did not have to cross any snow fields.

Me on top with views to the southeast behind me. Dozens of hoodoos, canyons, and peaks in the background.

Nice view of the West Temple in the distance.

South Guardian from the distance. This is not too far from where we started the hike. What is hard to see is the 1000' drop straight down into a canyon we have to cross (the Subway canyon) in order to begin climbing the peak.

Tanner Beamer Escalante New Hance Loop in Grand Canyon (Mar-Apr 2008)

2008-04-01T12:10:00.012-06:00

Postcard from the Edge (of Lipan Pt)

This was a tough, 50 mile loop hike that I have dreamed about doing for a year or two. It starts on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon near Desert View, and descends 9.5 miles for 4500' down the Tanner Trail to the Colorado River. From there it is 18 miles round trip up and back to the Little Colorado River; then 11 miles down river along the Escalante Route to Hance Rapids; and finally 8.5 miles up through Red Canyon on the New Hance Trail back to the rim (where it's a hitchhike of 8 miles back to the car). All of these trails were new to me, and I knew that some of them had tough spots with ledges and exposure and route-finding required.

I woke up at 3AM after getting only three hours of sleep, and drove to Lipan Point where I parked the truck and started (solo) off the rim with a 30 lb pack, with 35 mph south winds howling. Not too soon thereafter I was forced to put on crampons and carefully walk across 2 foot deep snowdrifts that sloped down right to the edge of the cliff. Luckily the snow ended after the first half mile and it was dry all the way to the river. I met only four people during the day, and finally got to the river after 4 hours. I took a nice long break at Tanner Rapids under a shady ledge before venturing north along the river's Beamer Trail for three miles to my first (and second night's) camp at Palisades, next to Lava Canyon Rapids (where Stephanie and I spent one night across the river during our river trip). The wind was so strong that I thought I might get blown off the 300' high ledge down into the river while hiking the Beamer. My poles helped stabilize me, and I found a high bypass in one spot that was much safer. At camp, I quickly set up the tent, ate dinner, and collapsed from being so sleepy. The winds and light rains continued until about 11PM, but I was fast asleep for most of 12 hours.

The next morning I awoke and dayhiked 6 miles each way along the Beamer Trail to the Little Colorado River. Luckily there was no wind, and the weather remained beautiful the rest of the trip. The Beamer is a beautiful hike on some ledges (not so scary) high above the river. I was a little disappointed to see the LCR flowing all muddy, but what can you expect during spring runoff. That night I returned and enjoyed some of the big, clean sandy beaches at Palisades, as well as Tanner's old cabin ruins and his mine.

The next morning I hiked back to Tanner Rapids, rested under my nice ledge, and then continued downriver about 3 miles to Cardenas Creek. Cardenas is a nice area. I dayhiked that evening up to some old Anasazi ruins on the hilltop, where there were some spectacular panoramic 360 degree views. The next morning I continued down the Escalante route, enjoying the views way up high before returning down Escalante Canyon back to the river. From there you are forced to climb back up and down into 75 Mile Canyon. This is a really scenic part of the canyon, as you can look upriver and see the regular rock layers, and then you turn and look downriver to see the supergroup layers and the Vishnu come up out of the ground. I took a nice long break in 75 Mile Canyon narrows before venturing past Nevills Rapids (where Brooke and I spent one night during our river trip) down to Papago Canyon and the challenging 300' high Papago rock slide. Descending the rock slide was not as bad as some of the things I read, and before I knew it I was downriver a half mile to my final camp spot at Hance Rapids.

There were only a few people camping here at Hance, and I ended up finding a nice camp spot high above the river with views of the rapids. The next morning I hiked up and out of the canyon in about 5 hours. I was able to get a hitch back to the truck within 15 minutes from a nice couple. I was really amazed at how beautiful, diverse, and remote this area of the canyon was. I didn't see any people at all on the Beamer, Escalante, or New Hance Trails. Luckily I did not need crampons at the top of the New Hance. My pack weight was down to about 24 lbs at the end.

The weather and drive both ways was great. The trails were through some beautiful parts of the canyon. I enjoyed my meals, and even drinking the silty Colorado River water. Hiking alone was a little nerve racking at first, but by the second day I was fine. I noticed how strong my senses became (smell, hearing, taste, etc), and my dreams each night were so vivid and lasted for so long! Finishing the hike was rewarded with a great sense of accomplishment.

A view of the trail and beyond, halfway down Tanner.

A football field sized beach at Palisades--look at how clean and pristine!

The Little Colorado (bottom right, and muddy) and Colorado Rivers' confluence.

The Hilltop Ruin above Cardenas Beach along the Escalante route.

My pack on cliff edge 600' above Unkar Rapids.

Me during sunrise on Cardenas beach.

Last night's camp spot above Hance Rapids.

Halfway up Red Canyon, looking back down.

Oh what an incredible feeling to top out!

Panoramic video along the high point of the Escalante Route

Maui & Oahu for Spring Break (Mar 2008)

2008-03-11T18:32:00.001-06:00

On Sasha's 11th birthday we drove to Vegas to catch a direct flight to Oahu. We all had a wonderful time at different beaches each day. The three girls even took surfing lessons from the North Shore's most famous woman surfer and we swam in a cage being surrounded by sharks (see my cell phone blog for photos). After a week staying at Heather's on the North Shore, we flew to Maui for 3 days, where we really enjoyed seeing whales right out the back window of the cottage where we stayed.

The first sunrise, taken 100 yards from Heather's house.

Famous Lanikai Beach with the pyramid shaped islands.

The sand is so fine at Lanikai, I like making sand sculptures.

Brooke and Sasha swinging at the beach.

The three girls at the Polynesian Culture Center.

All of us posing.

America's largest banyan tree in the cute village of Lahaina, on Maui.

One of dozens of whales we saw on Maui.

Our last sunset before returning home.

PCC Samoan Drum Dancers

East Zion (Mar 2008)

2008-03-06T18:06:00.004-07:00

This was a hike up Petroglyph Canyon and a scramble up and over some steep slickrock ramps and a saddle down to Keyhole slot canyon. The snow was still visible on the north facing slopes, and Mike and I were able to hike up to the base of Jughandle Arch.

Cookie Jar has snow on it!

Keyhole Canyon--wetsuit and ropes needed to get all the way through.

Soap Creek and the experimental flood (Feb 2008)

2008-03-05T11:48:00.004-07:00

The dam people at Lake Powell wanted to experiment flooding the Grand Canyon with 4 or 5 times the normal water in order to see if sand would be redeposited in back eddies and up high on sand banks. So for several days they opened up the dam floodgates and let a lot of water out. I decided to hike 4.5 miles down the relatively easy canyon to Soap Creek Rapids, which is the first major rapid in the river. There was definitely much more water than normal, and the rapids were bigger and faster, as can be seen by this picture:

Soap Creek Rapids Video

Fern Gully (Feb 2008)

2008-02-28T18:14:00.006-07:00

One of Kim and my favorite hikes is up above Tuacahn through the maze, then down into Padre Canyon, where Fern Gully flows with water from 1500' above after a nice rains storm.

Kim on top of Intersection Peak, looking out over Snow Canyon and across to her far left, to this next photo--

You can see about 7 cascading waterfalls that start at the top and eventually feed the bottom fall--where Fern Gully is. That area straight across is the AC/DC ramp systems that we climbed earlier in another post.

A '7' forms from the light hitting the water! This is looking straight up from Fern Gully.

The bottom of Fern Gully--notice the resurrection moss glowing and growing bright green on the walls!

Granite/Hermit Loop (Feb 2008)

2008-02-18T17:12:00.009-07:00

Well, it was President's Day weekend again, and I guess I've started a new tradition of going to do a major backpack trip down in the Grand Canyon. The snowy and windy weather cleared out, and the forecast was for 40 at night and 60s during the day down by the river. I invited Mike to come along with me for a three day 25+ mile loop hike off the south rim--going down 4500'+ on the Hermit trail to Granite Rapids for one night (10 miles), then across the Tonto over to Hermit Rapids (6 miles) the next night, and then hiking out (9 miles) the third day. There was about 6 inches of snow and ice on the rim, but it was pretty much gone once we descended one thousand feet. At night the nearly full moon lit up the eerie inner gorge of black Vishnu Schist with an interesting hue and glow, along with making curious and even scary shapes in the rocks! The weather cooperated and we both had a great three day trip.

Me next to Granite Rapids. The dark inner gorge is just upstream from here.

A shot of the moon lighting the Vishnu Schist of the inner gorge. The rock here is nearly 2 billion years old!

Me on the Tonto hiking between Monument and Hermit Creek.

The Monument pictured here, with snowy Pima Point almost a mile above .

The Tapeats narrows of Hermit Creek had interesting rock formations and waterfalls and cascades.

Cool view of the inner gorge while hiking out.

After the hike on the rim, we drove out to Pima Point in order to look down on the trails, campsites, and rapids that we visited. I have to say this is my favorite view from the south rim.

Videos of kayakers going through Granite Rapids, and of a waterfall cascading down Hermit Creek.

So Much Snow! (Feb 2008)

2008-02-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

Some crazy snowstorms--two of them a week apart--came through and dumped a lot of snow, even down low here in the valley. We were gone to Cancun during the first one. Kim's parents were helping to watch the kids, and they told us how intense the storm was. After we got back, the second storm dumped so much to make our world look like this:

Patterns form with snow covering parts of the slickrock in Snow Canyon.

Pools and ponds forming.

White on red and white, looking up canyon.

Looking down canyon.

Kim's dad with me on a hike in Kayenta to the waterfalls in 'Hellhole'.

Only 1000' straight down--for the water that is.

Video of the Hellhole waterfalls.

Cancun Mexico (Jan 2008)

2008-01-26T08:17:00.000-07:00

Our good friends, the Perry's, were so kind to invite us to go with them to stay in a two bedroom villa on the beach of Cancun for a week. The villas were a part of a resort that had two restaurants and a big outdoor pool. Our balcony was 30 feet above the beach and looked over the ocean. We had a great time doing great things, eating great food with great friends.

This was the sunrise we saw each morning from our balcony.

A scene of the Mexican revolution in a fun restaurant called Perico's in the old part of Cancun.

Kelly and Brandy

Kim wading out in the coast off of Isle de Mujeres, where we rented golf carts to tour the island.

Kim and I above the beach next to the neat pyramid ruins of Tulum.

Winter Fun via Winter Quarters (Jan 2008)

2008-01-05T14:58:00.000-07:00

Winter Quarters is an area north of Snow Canyon where maybe some pioneers or cowboys wintered. Rumor has it that Kit Carson carved his name in a rock, but I haven't been able to find it (yet). There are lots of pine trees and small canyons and washes. If you loop around to the south you can get views down West Canyon overlooking the upper ends of Snow Canyon, such as this one below.

When you turn around and walk across the slickrock after recent rains and ice cold temps, you can find neat ponds to ice skate on!

"Bell Arch" is what I call this shot. The arch is about 5 feet tall and goes straight through the white sandstone.

Spa Guides Tuacahn Split Hike (Jan 2008)

2008-01-03T09:03:00.001-07:00

About a dozen of us spa guides went on one of our favorite hikes up above Tuacahn to a maze of slickrock ramps, slots, hoodoos, gullies, and cliffs. It was fun to see everybody relaxed, without the pressure of taking care of guests!

Kim posing on a very steep slickrock ramp as the others scramble up. Tuacahn parking lot straight below.

Joseph doing an excellent job stemming straight up a 12 foot deep slot.

The group milling around the summit above the maze.

Top o' The Red Mountain (Dec 2007)

2007-12-10T19:17:00.000-07:00

The following photos were taken during the last week from two separate hikes up to the top of the Red Mountain. The first hike took place with Mike in between some big rain storms from Mike's house on the Kayenta side near "Hellhole," up the "Notch". Once on top we traversed over slickrock to the area up above Hellhole that feeds all the beautiful waterfalls. The clouds were threatening snow, but for moments in between there was no wind and patches of sun. I decided to take a December dunk, and briefly submerge myself in one of these pools.

The second hike was two days later with Kim from our side of the mountain (Padre Canyon) up what I call "AC/DC"--a super steep, zigzagging, puzzling, traversing slickrock ledge & ramp system all the way to the top. We traversed across and Red Mountain, and came down the Gunsight, safely back home.

Looking down the Notch at Kayenta. Mike's house is out there somewhere.

The Shangri-La waters on top made swimming here inviting and beautiful, but the 45 degree air and water temps made it unbearable!

Me on top. This photo does zero justice with the true depth and perception. The 'puddles' you see behind me are big pools and ponds.

Sheer walls, cracks, ledges, chimneys, and zigzagging slickrock ramps make up the AC/DC climb of 1500' above the floor of Snow Canyon. And the views of Kim and beyond are out of this world!