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 or Feedly.

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Winter Heat in the Needles — Winter Heat in the Needles

March 2026 | Canyonlands National Park, Utah

The beginning of March brought the first of an unrelenting series of unseasonable heatwaves this month to the southwest. With less than stellar skiing conditions in the mountains this season (Colorado's lowest winter of snowfall on record), we instead took advantage of the unseasonable heat to do a two-night backpack trip in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park in southern Utah...

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Between the Canyonlands — Between the Canyonlands

November 2025 | Southern Utah

After nearly 8 weeks of being mostly housebound with my busted toe, we finally got out into the great outdoors this last week for a couple nights of truck camping in the no-man's land between the north and south districts of Canyonlands National Park in southern Utah...

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Summer Above Moab — Summer Above Moab

June 2025 | La Sal Mountains, Utah

Last weekend I drove out towards Moab, Utah again for the fourth time this year. This time, though, instead of a canyon trip, I ventured up into La Sal Mountains which rise over 8,000 vertical feet above Moab like an alpine island towering over the surrounding desert and canyons...

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A Weekend in the Canyonlands — A Weekend in the Canyonlands

May 2025 | Canyonlands, Utah

Over Memorial Day weekend, Claudia and I headed out to Utah for three days of car camping and day hiking in and around the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. Along the way we enjoyed camping at some awesome remote campsites along mesa rims with broad vistas overlooking the canyonlands...

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Back to the Canyonlands! — Back to the Canyonlands!

February 2025 | Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Last week's backpacking trip near Moab whetted my appetite for more of this kind of stuff, so on Monday I drove out to Utah again for another quick trip - this time a solo one-nighter to a seldom-visited corner of Island in the Sky in Canyonlands National Park...

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Colorful Moab — Colorful Moab

February 2025 | Moab, Utah

With an unseasonably warm weather forecast at the beginning of February, we headed out to the Utah desert for three days of backpacking and camping on slickrock in a wonderful canyon and sandstone landscape near Moab. We were treated to some wonderful sunsets and sunrises, making for a collection of very colorful photos!

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Escalante Escapades — Escalante Escapades

October 2024 | Escalante, Utah

In mid-October Claudia and I headed out to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah for a week of car camping and hiking. We've had our fair share of mountain time this summer and autumn in Colorado and were excited to hang out in the desert for a change, especially in Escalante which is one of our favorite areas of southern Utah!

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Ring of Fire over the Valley of the Gods — 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")...

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Exploring in the Needles District — 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...

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Desert Freeze Fest — 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.

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A Week at Capitol Reef — 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)...

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A Semi-Traverse of La Sals — 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...

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Sandstone & Ponderosas — 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...

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Southern Utah Getaway — 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...

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2 Weeks in Grand Staircase Escalante — 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*...

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Mosquito Warfare in the High Uintas — 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...

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Rainy Day Hike in the Needles District — 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...

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Roaming Around Southeast Utah — 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...

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Buckskin Gulch/Paria River Backpack — 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...

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Narrowing Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah — Narrowing Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah

April 2018 | Escalante, Utah

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...

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Backpacking through Salt Creek — 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!

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An Evening at Lake Blanche — 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...

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Backpacking in Grand Gulch — 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...

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In, On, and Around the San Rafael Reef — 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...

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Autumn in the Wasatch — 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!

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Two Weeks in the Utah Desert — 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...

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Death Hollow Canyon — 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...

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Two Weeks in the Canyons of 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.

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Backpacking in the Needles District — 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...

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8 Dayhikes in the Canyons of Utah - Escalante & Capitol Reef — 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...

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