Photo Journal & Trip Reports (Utah)

Please enjoy these photo journals and trip reports from some of my outdoor photography adventures, starting with the most recent. You can subscribe to follow my latest blog posts (and any other blogs as well) by using a feed reader such as Inoreader, Feedly, or a Mac app like NetNewsWire.

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Ring of Fire over the Valley of the Gods
October 2023  |  Valley of the Gods, Utah

A few days ago we made the last minute decision to drive over to southern Utah to witness the annular totality of the October 14, 2023 solar eclipse. I had seen on the eclipse maps that the path of totality would pass right through Cedar Mesa and the Valley of the Gods, and I figured it would be worth it to make the 4 hour drive to see the "Ring of Fire" (versus just staying home in the San Juans where I could have still seen a nice 85% "Crescent of Fire")...

Exploring in the Needles District
April 2023  |  Canyonlands National Park, Utah

With its fantastic red and pink spires, the Needles District is a spectacular and popular part of the Canyonlands National Park in Utah. In the busy spring and fall seasons, most backcountry campsites are completely reserved months in advance...

Desert Freeze Fest
November 2022  |  Southeast Utah

Despite a 20º weather forecast I drove out towards Moab to do an exploratory backpack trip up an obscure canyon all the way to a high rim overlooking the Fisher Towers, camping two nights along the way. Between the frigid temperature, fresh snow, rugged terrain, and torturous bushwhacking, the trek ended up being one of the more physically and mentally challenging backpack trips I've done.

A Week at Capitol Reef
October 2022  |  Capitol Reef National Park, Utah

Having had my fill of autumn colors in Colorado by mid-October this year, we headed out to the desert for a week of car camping, hiking and exploring in Capitol Reef National Park in southern Utah (with one little backpack trip to cap it off at the end)...

A Semi-Traverse of La Sals
June 2022  |  La Sal Mountains, Utah

At the end of May/beginning of June, we headed over to La Sal Mountains above Moab, Utah, for our first mountain backpack adventure of this summer. The route I had in mind more or less traced the same route I did as a ski traverse of the northern La Sals back in 2008 with my friends Ann and Seth - except this time we were walking instead of skiing, we did a loop trek instead of a one-way shuttle, we stuck to the ridges instead of dropping into various basins, and we camped two nights along the way instead of powering through in one day...

Sandstone & Ponderosas
May 2022  |  Bears Ears National Monument, Utah

In mid-May we drove west to Bears Ears National Monument in southern Utah for a quick 3-day backpack trip into a unique canyon full of giant ponderosa pines amongst giant sandstone spires. A spring-fed creek provided a pleasant base camp location to relax and spend a day exploring some fascinating and seldom-visited ancient cliff dwellings...

Southern Utah Getaway
April 2021  |  Southern Utah

Usually in the wintertime my driving force is to ride my snowboard/splitboard as much as possible whenever I'm not riding my office chair. But every year by about March or April cabin fever sets in and my powder lust wanes as I start to dream about warm weather and dry ground backpacking...

2 Weeks in Grand Staircase Escalante
September 2019  |  Escalante, Utah

In the second half of September Claudia, her father Gundolf, and I spent two weeks in one of our favorite canyon areas of southern Utah - Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument*...

Mosquito Warfare in the High Uintas
July 2019  |  High Uintas Wilderness, Utah

In late July we backpacked into the High Uintas Wilderness in Utah, to a couple high basins at the head of the Stillwater Fork of the Bear River. These lakes form the headwaters of the Bear River which flows north out of the Uintas, through Wyoming and Idaho, then back around south into Utah and the Great Salt Lake, making it the largest river in the North America that doesn't eventually reach the ocean...

Rainy Day Hike in the Needles District
May 2019  |  Canyonlands National Park, Utah

In mid May we met up with family from Germany in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park in Utah for a couple days of camping and hiking. Our timing wasn't great, as it rained more than I've ever seen in the desert! But we did get one somewhat dry-enough day for my brother-in-law and I to do the ultra-classic hike to Chesler Park and Druid Arch...

Roaming Around Southeast Utah
October/November 2018  |  Utah

In late October and early November we spent a dozen days camping and backpacking around in the deserts and canyonlands of southern Utah, including the San Rafael Swell, Robbers Roost/Dirty Devil area, and Cedar Mesa...

Buckskin Gulch/Paria River Backpack
April 2018  |  Utah/Arizona

With 15 miles of continuous narrows, Buckskin Gulch in southern Utah is renowned as the longest slot canyon in the world. Buckskin flows into the even longer Paria Canyon and hiking through both these canyons forms a famous backpacking trip requiring permits reserved months in advance...

Narrowing Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah
April 2018

In mid April we hit the road again for more desert time, and spent a week camping and hiking through various narrows and slot canyons in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in central southern Utah...

Backpacking through Salt Creek
November 2017  |  Canyonlands National Park, Utah

In early November a friend and I backpacked about 30 miles through Salt Creek and the Peakaboo Trail in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, Utah. This canyon is renowned for its numerous Ancient Puebloan ruins and pictographs; in fact I've never seen so many ruins outside of the Cedar Mesa area!

An Evening at Lake Blanche
July 2017  |  Wasatch Range, Utah

In early June we did a quick overnight backpack hike from Big Cottonwood Canyon to Lake Blanche and Sundial Peak, in the Twin Peaks Wilderness of the Wasatch Range in Utah. Though the wind was relentless during our stay, we had fun exploring this lovely basin and enjoyed a gorgeous sunset and moonrise above the lake...

Backpacking in Grand Gulch
May 2017  |  Cedar Mesa, Utah

At the end of May we spent three days hiking through the upper portion of Grand Gulch, in Cedar Mesa, Utah. This was the third time I’ve backpacked in Grand Gulch, but the first since the area was designated as part of Bears Ears National Monument by President Obama in 2016...

In, On, and Around the San Rafael Reef
April 2017  |  Utah

The San Rafael Reef is the jagged uplifted eastern edge of the greater San Rafael Swell, a giant dome-shaped anticline rising to the west of the Green River in central Utah. People who have driven Interstate 70 west of Green River will likely remember the incredible highway route that cuts right through the vertical red walls of the San Rafael Reef...

Autumn in the Wasatch
September 2016  |  Wasatch Range, Utah

Here are some photos from yesterday up near Guardsman Pass at the head of the Big Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch Range of Utah. With a fresh snowfall smothering the golden aspens, along with a mystical foggy atmosphere, the photography conditions were just about as dreamy as can be!

Two Weeks in the Utah Desert
October/November 2015  |  Utah

In late October/early November we headed out to Utah for a two-week road trip of car camping, hiking, and backpacking in the deserts of southern Utah. We basically drove a big counter-clockwise loop starting from Green River, heading southwards to Capitol Reef, southeast to Dark Canyon kind of near the north end of Lake Powell, to Natural Bridges National Monument, and finally to Cedar Mesa...

Death Hollow Canyon
April 2014  |  Escalante, Utah

The morning after returning from our previous Escalante backpack, we embarked on another even more adventurous trek – this time into the slickrock country just east of the town of Escalante, Utah...

Two Weeks in the Canyons of Utah
April 2014  |  Utah

Photos from two weeks of travel and hiking in the deserts and canyons of southern Utah, including the San Rafael Swell, Capitol Reef, Escalante, and Bryce Canyon.

Backpacking in the Needles District
March 2014  |  Canyonlands National Park, Utah

As winter drags on, there are times when no matter how good the snow is, all I can think about is getting out to the desert for some warm weather backpacking. Such was the case last week when Claudia and I drove over to Utah for four days of backpacking in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park south of Moab...

8 Dayhikes in the Canyons of Utah - Escalante & Capitol Reef
April 2013  |  Utah

In mid-April we spent about 10 days car camping and doing some fantastic day hikes in the canyons of Utah - Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument and Capitol Reef National Park in particular...

3 Week Desert Road Trip
October/November 2012  |  CA, AZ, UT, CO

In late October and early November, we spent 3 weeks on a road trip through the deserts and canyons between California and Colorado. Highlights included camping in Death Valley in California, a backpack trek into the Grand Canyon, hiking through a slot canyon in Page Arizona, visiting the cliff dwelling of Mesa Verde in Colorado, and more!

Coyote Gulch
April 2012  |  Escalante, Utah

In early April, we headed to Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument in southern Utah for another backpacking trip into one of my favorite canyons of all – Coyote Gulch. It’s been about 12 years or so since I’ve been here, but I still remembered how awesome it was...

Two Weeks in the Canyons of Utah
April 2010  |  Utah

In April I spent two weeks hiking, camping, and photographing in and around the canyons of southern Utah. I visited a lot of new places I haven't seen before, including Goblin Valley State Park, San Rafael Swell, Robbers Roost area, Capitol Reef National Park, Bryce Canyon, and Zion National Park...

Grand Gulch Loop Hike
October 2009  |  Cedar Mesa, Utah

Over three days and two nights this October I went on a ~25 mile loop hike through a portion of Grand Gulch in Cedar Mesa in southeastern Utah. The hike passes through dramatic canyon scenery with vertical cliffs and dramatic rock formations...

Sunset on Timpanogos
September 2008  |  Wasatch Range, Utah

This last weekend I was up in Utah and took advantage of a full moon to hike Mount Timpanogos and watch the sunset from the 11,749 foot summit.

Timpanogos, or "Timp" for short, is one of Utah's most famous and beloved mountains, towering 7,000 feet over the city of Provo...

Skiing La Sals, Utah
April 2008  |  La Sal Mountains, Utah

This weekend I met up with Ann Driggers and Seth Anderson, some new ski buddies I met through SummitPost.org, to ski some lines in La Sal Mountains, the prominent range that rises a whopping 8,700 vertical feet above the town of Moab and the surrounding canyonlands of southeast Utah...