Thursday, 26th of May 2011 at 07:55:23 AM

GSENM 2011 day 7: glowing Mesa Arch

Mesa Arch
Today I wanted to shot the sunrise at Canyonlands Mesa Arch. According my GPS the sunrise was at 6:02 Utah Mountain time. At 4.00 am my alarm clock waked me out of my dreams. At 4:17 I was on the road towards Canyonlands N.P., a 1h drive from my Motel.
Grandview Point
From the trailhead it was a 15 minutes walk to the Mesa arch. At 5.30 around 6 photographers were waiting for the sunrise.After this fascinating event I shot some photos at Canyonlands N.P. main Viewpoint and then I drove around 20 miles east to the Dead Horse State Park for some fotos of the Colorado River overlook.
Dead horse Point overview
I then decided to have some fun with my rental car and drive back to Moab via the Shafer Trail and Potash Road.This is a rough dirtroad with bumps, ruts, drop-offs and lot of dust.
Shafer Trail switchbacks
Instead of 1h along the regular roads this drive took me 3h but was good fun.Back in Moab I began my transfer to my next basecamp: Page, Arizona at the Lake Powell.
Monument Valley
Here I plan to stay four nights and continue to visit the Grand Staircase Escalante Nationalparks Southern Part. The drive itself was long and unspecacular. I liked the small town of Monticello and of course the Monument Valley were I stopped only short. I arrived in Page at around 6pm. It was not too easy to find a Motel, cause I learned this weekend is Memorial Day.

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Wednesday, 25th of May 2011 at 07:55:09 AM

GSENM 2011 day 6: Arches till you drop

A whole day in the Arches N.P. near Moab
morning:
-Devils Garden hike 5h. with Landscape Arch, Double O Arch, etc.
afternoon:
-Windows Section of Arches N.P.
evening:
– Delicate Arch Hike 1h
– 4h at Delicate Arch untill sunset

Landscape Arch
Northern Window
Delicate Arch

Will be updated after my return.

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Tuesday, 24th of May 2011 at 08:26:30 AM

GSENM 2011 day 5: Roadtripping Day

On the Burrtrail switchbacks
Today the rain probability had been forecasted to be 50% in Escalante region. At 7.30 when the BLM Ranger station opened I asked the Rangers advice and they recomended not to hike in the Slot Canyons due to high risk for flashfloods after rain. Therefor I had to cancel my planed Neon Canyon Hike and decided to start my transit to my next basecamp which is Moab (Utah) immediately.
Roadtrip Day
My plan was to drive via the Burr trail which is a scenic drive on a partially dirt road. I had enough time and prefered this route compared to the freeway. The weather forecast proved correct: when entering the dirt road part heavy rain began. I was little bit scared the road condition could degrade but luckily all went smooth, I liked especially the long switchbacks down to Long Canyon. The Burrtrail lead me towards Lake Powell and the small recreation area of the Bullfrog basin. I relaxed little bit in Lake Powell where the weather was sunny again. Then I continued my trip in North Eastern direction towards Hanksville with a short stop at the Little Egypt geological site. In my pevious USA trips the Roadtrip part had been always the dominating part. The fascination for the Hikes came later.
Goblins Valley S.P.
Therefore this day remembered me a lot to my previous USA trips where I passed a lot of time in the rental car. North of Hanksville another short stop to visit the Goblin Valley State Park. Another heavy storm in the afternoon when I was drivng the US24 towards Greenriver with amazing clouds and fantastic light allowed some nice shots.
Butte after the storm

I arrived in Moab at around 6pm and using the rest of the evening to inspect the foto locations for my next day visit of the Arches N.P. At last I checked out some Motels and ended up in a mini suite with two rooms and kitchen. I will stay two nights in Moab…. (to be continued)

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Monday, 23rd of May 2011 at 07:00:15 AM

GSENM 2011 day 4: Coyotte Gulch

morning:
-Hole in the Rock Dirt Road
-7.5 h hike @ Coyotte Gulch via Cracck in the wall
afternoon:
-2h hike to Broken Bow Arch Willow Creek
evening:
– Devils Garden @ Hole in the Rock Road
– Utah Beef special @ Circle D Eatery, Escalante

sunrise on the Hole in the Rock Road
view down into Coyotte Gulch
broken bow arch
Devils Garden @ Hole in the Rock Road

Will be updated after my return.

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Saturday, 21st of May 2011 at 10:05:20 PM

GSENM 2011 day 3: Moqui Marbles

morning:
-Old Shedfield Dirt Road
-3h hike @ Moqui Hill
-3h hike Lower Calf Creek Falls
afternoon:
-3h hike to Zebra Slot Canyon
evening:
-Burger @ Circle D Eatery, Escalante

moqui marbles
lower calf creek falls detail
zebra slot canyon with pools

Will be updated after my return.

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