IntrepidXJ's Adventure Blog

Veterans Day | Monday, November 12, 2012

After spending a great weekend exploring The Paria Plateau it was time to start our drive back home. Before we left I thought it might be a good idea to finally check out Upper Antelope Canyon. I’ve seen plenty of photos from this well-known location but have always avoided it because of the large crowds of people that visit. I was hoping that since this was the “off season” it wouldn’t be too busy. Was I wrong! There were quite a few different groups of people in there. I was expecting there to be other people in the slot canyon, so I had prepared myself for it and wasn’t too bothered by it. I just planned to take most of my photos looking up out of the slot where other people wouldn’t get in the shot. However, what really frustrated the hell out of me was that many of these people were taking pictures with their point and shoot cameras that used a red focus-assist light that ruined most of my shots. Upper Antelope Canyon may be one of the most beautiful slot canyons in the world, but I highly doubt that I will ever be returning. It’s just not worth it to me.

Here’s a few of the photos I was able to get while I was in the slot canyon.

Enter by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Light Stripe by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Upper Antelope by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Saturday & Sunday, November 10-11, 2012

For a little over a year now I’ve been pretty obsessed with exploring and photographing the unusual and spectacular sandstone formations of The Paria Plateau. I’ve been to Coyote Buttes North five times, Coyote Buttes South two times, and the White Pocket three times and have come back with some nice images and had a lot of fun. There is just so much to see up there I could probably spend a lifetime exploring the area and not see it all. Unfortunately, I feel it’s time for me to take a little break from this area so I can concentrate on exploring some other areas on the Colorado Plateau for a while. This will probably be my last trip report from The Paria Plateau for a little while. Don’t get me wrong, I might head back down there once or twice next year, but I certainly won’t be driving down six or seven times like I’ve done this past year.

After work on Friday, Amanda and I started our drive south down to Page once again. There were some pretty good storms moving through the area which slowed us down a little and gave us some very strong winds to drive through. We eventually made it to our hotel, just a little later than I had anticipated. We quickly got to bed so I could be up bright and early for the sunrise on Saturday morning.

Since I had no plans to get up super early and hike into Coyote Buttes North before sunrise, I decided to head over to Horseshoe Bend for the sunrise while Amanda slept in a little later at the hotel. I had the place to myself for the sunrise which was a pleasant experience. About 20 minutes before the actual sunrise there was a nice glow that lit up the sandstone.

Horseshoe Bend Dawn by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

My shadow on the golden sandstone as the sun rises behind me.

Long Shadow by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

I just love warm morning light on sandstone, which there is no shortage of here.

Sandstone Sunrise by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Thursday – Sunday, November 1-4, 2012

After work on Thursday evening I got in my Jeep and drove into Utah again. I had taken Friday off from work and was planning on meeting a group of friends in Beef Basin for a long weekend of camping and exploring the area. A few months earlier my friend Rob had tipped me off about a large petroglyph panel in the area he knew I would be interested in finding, and that was the beginning of planning for this trip. I arrived at our predetermined campsite in the dark and found Marty already there with his tent setup and a campfire already going. I was surprised to only be the second person there but knew the others would arrive shortly. Twenty minutes later Alex, Rob and his companions showed up. We sat around the fire for a little while waiting for the others, but headed to bed before anyone else arrived since we planned an early start for the following day. As soon as we were in our sleeping bags Jared and his brother Brian showed up. Later that night I heard Dave and his son pull up in their Jeep. We had all made it.

Friday morning I was up early and it looked like there might be a good sunrise, so I got in my Jeep to find a place to take some photos and ended up at a nearby ruin. I was hoping the sky would light up with color, but only the horizon turned a little pink.

Open Window by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

After returning to camp and waiting for everyone else to finish getting ready we got in our vehicles and drove over to the Fable Valley Trailhead. We were planning on exploring Gypsum Canyon following a route that Rob had planned out.

We started out hiking along an old closed road that followed the rim of the canyon. This is looking back at the confluence of the two upper forks of Gypsum Canyon.

Gypsum Fork by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Once the old road ended we were left scrambling and route-finding our way along the rim of the canyon and then across a small side canyon.

Looking down the canyon towards the confluence with Fable Valley from the rock we stopped at for a lunch break.

Down Canyon by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Sunday, October 28, 2012

It was one of those days that I just needed to get out hiking and exploring by myself, so that’s what I set out to do. Last year around Christmas I had planned to hike along the Dolores River near Bedrock but got a severe headache on the drive there and had to turn around and head back home. I hadn’t made it back that way yet, so I thought it would be a good time to try again. After leaving home and driving through Unaweep Canyon to Gateway, I then followed the Dolores River to Paradox Valley and turned off at the dead-end road by the Bedrock store to the boat ramp. One day soon I want to float the Dolores River from the Big Gypsum Valley to Bedrock and wanted to check out the takeout. After leaving the boat ramp the road I was on got a bit rougher, but I managed to drive a little ways further until I reached and area that was completely washed out. I parked my Jeep there and continued along the river on foot. The hike was easy and for the most part since it followed an old road that hadn’t been drivable in quite some time. After a few miles I reached a few boulders with petroglyphs on them that I had hoped to find.

On the back of the main boulder there were a few faint bear paw petroglyphs next to some nice lichen.

Bear Paws by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

The front of the main boulder had a bunch of faded petroglyphs that have been vandalized over the years.

Petroglyphs & Graffiti by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Triangle body with big hands.

Long Arms by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

Two more paw prints.

Prints by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr
 

Sunday & Monday, October 21-22, 2012

Very, very early on Sunday morning Amanda and I headed up to Glade Park to watch the Orionid Meteor Shower from Miracle Rock. Even though we both saw plenty of meteors, I didn’t end up catching any with my camera like I had hoped. Since this was my first real attempt at photographing a meteor shower it’s not a surprise that I came away empty handed, but I’m hopeful that I will do better next time. We both still had a nice time laying on the sandstone watching the sky for meteors until the sun came up. Once the sun came up, I stuck around for a few photos.

Miracle Rock in the dawn light as the sky behind briefly turned pink.

Miracle Rock Dawn by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

I waited around until Miracle Rock was all in direct sunlight, which took quite a bit longer to happen than I thought it would. I also caught the only tiny cloud in the sky that I saw all morning.

Miracle Rock Sunrise by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr

After work on Monday I noticed that there were some nice clouds in the sky which could lead to a nice sunset. I decided to head back up to Miracle Rock and try my luck at sunset that evening.

On my way up to Glade Park I stopped for this photo in the Colorado National Monument looking back towards the Grand Mesa.

Serpent View by IntrepidXJ, on Flickr