On our way back to Colorado from California, we spent about 10 days in the canyons of Utah car camping and doing some fantastic day hikes. We started in Escalante National Monument, probably my favorite canyon region in all of Utah. Our first hike was through a seldom visited slot canyon called Red Breaks. Although the guides I read called this a “non technical” canyon, it ended up being a very challenging slot canyon, with numerous puzzling chokestones that had to be climbed over. Some of these chokestones required sketchy exposed moves or chimney maneuvers to pass, and we became a bit worried after we had climbed over enough of these that turning back would not have been a safe option, yet each successive chokestone became more and more difficult. Not only were the chokestones challenging in Red Breaks, but in some areas the slot was so narrow that we could barely squeeze through while pulling our backpacks behind us. A wider person or anyone with claustrophobia should not attempt this slot canyon!

I would classify this slot as “non technical” only for very proficient canyoneers and comfortable climbers; indispensable jazz backpackfor anyone else I would stress that this is an extremely challenging slot canyon. soma s1600 backpackIn fact it was the first slot that I was happy to finally exit!tumi ducati backpack price From Red Breaks we hiked cross country over slickrock slabs and valleys to a fascinating sandstone formation called “The Cosmic Ashtray”. eibenstock backpackThis is one of the more curious and mystifying geologic formations I’ve seen, and I have no idea how such a thing could have formed. sprayground rython backpack

It’s difficult to comprehend the scale in the photo above, but suffice it say, it’s enormous! zeikos backpackWe stayed until sunset and hiked back to the truck in the dark… all in all, a 12 hour day of hiking! maong backpackNot too shabby for the first of eight days in a row of hiking! Our second hike was to the famous Zebra slot. The slot itself is actually very short and not very deep, but it has these beautiful striations and embedded moki ball stones which make it very photogenic. Photogenic, that is, if you don’t care about taking the same photograph that every other photographer takes, more or less. Claudia was kind enough to pose in there for me, which adds some scale and reality to the otherwise surreal formations. After Zebra, we drove around to the other side of the Escalante River drainage via the incredible Burr Trail Road which leads east from the town of Boulder through jaw-dropping canyon scenery.

I’m not sure if I’ve ever driven a more scenic drive in the desert! Our destination was Little Death Hollow canyon, another slot canyon off the Escalante. Little Death Hollow is not an especially deep slot canyon, but it goes on for quite a long way and makes for a great hike – especially around midday when the sunlight is bouncing around between the canyon walls. Robbers Roost Sunset : Last week we went back out to Utah for a couple backpacking trips – the first was a two nighter in Robbers Roost Canyon in the Robbers Roost country along the Dirty Devil River east of the town of Hanksville. This little known and seldom visited area is full of wonderful sandstone canyons reminiscent of the Escalante area further southwest. See more photos below! I just posted a bunch of photos from my trip in Utah! Though I was only out there for two weeks total, it truly felt like a full month. It always amazes me how time slows down when I travel. I think that is the secret of living longer… to travel a lot!

In that regard, I suppose it’s not all about how long you live, but how well you spend your time while you’re here. (I say that after having the last three days fly by while working on the computer again). Anyhow, now I’m back home in Ouray, Colorado. It feels great to finally be back home. I’m really looking forward to summer. >> Check out my new Utah photos here.So what does someone who canyoneers for a job day in and day out do when they get time off?  Well, they go canyoneering.  I often get asked that question, and I tell people my days off look a lot like my days on, only I really try to seek out somewhere new so it’s more of an adventure. This last ‘weekend’ Jon (another Zion Adventure Company guide), my girlfriend Julie, and I went on an ‘adventure’ to the “Robber’s Roost” area of Southern Utah.  /maps/@38.2947151,-110.32026,12z on a map.  In fact, it’s about as ‘out there’ as one can get to in Utah by any sort of somewhat conventional transportation. 

By ‘conventional’ transportation, one really needs a reliable high clearance four wheel drive vehicle to navigate the 50 something miles of rocky dirt roads. The nice thing about a Toyota Land Cruiser is that they’re rugged yet reliable The other nice thing about Land Cruisers is that they’re pretty easy to fix when they break down… even with whatever you happen to have in your canyoneering backpack. The day we arrived, we went into a canyon called High Spur.  If it were less technical and more accessible to the masses of photographers who can fairly easily google their way into Antelope canyon, I’m sure pictures of High Spur would come standard as your default desktop background.  Since it’s not, and since Seth Hamel was otherwise occupied photographing Coyote Gulch, you’ll have to settle for a couple of pictures of a place way too beautiful for our little point and shoot camera to capture.  It’s worth seeing for yourself anyhow. Quite possibly, it was prettier around every corner

Unlike Antelope Canyon, you don’t need a guide to tell you when and where to take a picture.  Even having never been there, that part seemed pretty self-evident. High Spur even made Jon look good (by backlighting him). There have been a few times when it’s been funny that my name happens to be “B.J.”.  This so happened to be one of those times. Our second day we went into Blue John.  Yeah, the one from the movie (and the one every canyoneering guide has gotten asked about nearly everyday since).   However, the ‘one’ pictured in the movie, though technically still in Utah, was a little closer to Hollywood.  That said, it wasn’t the sensationalizing of this canyon that made it…sensational. If it were easy, everyone would do it… without having to cut their own arm off. Seen here is the last known picture of John Ritze’s left arm.  He recently told me he’d give his right arm for a movie/book deal. Even for someone who goes into canyons most days, this certainly wasn’t my everyday.

After a good long physical day, it sure is nice to have a cozy tent awaiting us back at camp… oh wait…sandstorm. Before the long drive back to Zion, we wanted to get one more canyon in on our last morning.  With a relatively brief hike in and out, and a shorter but concentrated technical section, we found Smallcatraz a great ‘one more for the road’ objective. Jon and Julie squeezing one more canyon into the trip.For those looking for more info… Day 1: High Spur Canyon 3A II PG. In addition, of all the roads along the way, we found the last ten or so miles into High Spur the most rugged (high clearance 4WD only).  In addition, we purchased USGS topo maps for this and our other canyons at the Hans Flat ranger station en route. Day 2: Blue John Canyon (“Squeeze Fork into East Fork) 3A/B III. We referred to Tom’s information from his website found here: We thought the Squeeze fork start was certainly a highlight, but as the sign in the above photo indicated, it’s not recommended for everybody.