Utah

Zion National Park Kolob Canyons (above) is drive up scenery at it’s best! There is a 1-mile trail called Timber Creek Overlook at the end of the road if you wish to explore further. Follow the streambed of the Left Fork of North Creek to reach The Subway (above). 9 miles RT, permits are required and often subject to a lottery system.  Be prepared to possibly wade or swim sections of this trail.   The main park corridor is canyon carved out by the Virgin River. The upper canyon is a 2000ft slot and makes a mighty fine hike provided you aren't there in spring when the water levels are  at their peak. However the spring is the only time you will get to see the seasonal waterfalls like the ones that feed the Emerald Pools.    Angels's Landing (left) - 5 miles 1488ft, follows the crest of a fin to a summit in the center of the valley.  The trail is really well constructed with measured switchbacks and a fixed cable along the ridge.  It had a nice mix of safety and excitement as the drop offs were severe but you are never really in any danger. Observation Point - 8 miles 2148ft, provides a bird's eye view of Angel's Landing (above) and is a marvel in trail engineering in itself.

Bryce Canyon National Park The famous hoodoos  can be viewed right from the parking lot making it ideal for buses and the windshield tourists crowd.  With names 'Sunrise Point' (above) and 'Sunset Point' photographers have it pretty easy too.  You can walk among these rock formations on a 3 mile trail (below) which loops between these two vistas. Just outside the park is a hotel/campground called Ruby's Inn. With water scarce and cold desert nights the norm, the hot showers & swimming pool provided by this fine establishment are a welcome respite on these long road trips. Buckskin Gulch   Inside the Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness Area, this canyon is quite possibly the longest, narrowest slot canyon in the world.  The 20 backpack from Wire Pass to Paria Canyon (White House trailhead) is a classic and just an out & back through the first couple miles to the confluence with Buckskin Gulch would make a spectacular day hike.   Top Row: (Wire Pass) Bottom Row: (Buckskin Confluence, expect to wade through several ice cold pools in Buckskin Gulch)

Arches National Park   This was our first real experience hiking in a desert and we made several mistakes right away.  Right near the campground at Devil's Garden (above) is a short trail that leads to a whole slew of arches.  Although the trail was a relatively modest loop all the short side trails to the various arches add up and in the end it is quite a lenghthy hike - 7.5 miles 300ft.  We compounded this mistake by bringing no food and little water.  Another thing that surprised us was the weather, it was extremely hot out when we started the hike but that changed quickly and we were bombarded with snow and rain and didn't have any extra clothes.  The arches themselves were fascinating but quickly became monotoneous.   That being said there are some really unique features like the Double Arch (right) and the star attraction in the park: Delicate Arch (no photo!).  An attempt to capture this famous Utah landmark at sunset prooved fruitless when we underestimated the time it would take to hike the 3 miles to the arch and arrived after nightfall. Partial Utah Wish List: Calf Creek Falls (Escalante) Cathedral Valley (Capital Reef NP) Muley Twist (Capital Reef NP) Chesler Park (Canyonlands NP) Islands in the Sky (Canyonlands NP) Fisher Towers (Moab) Skiing (Park City etc.)