Tag: barrier canyon style

Views near Peekaboo Spring in the Needles District

A Change of Plans

Last autumn I made plans to return to Salt Creek Canyon, after visiting a few times in 2022. My adventures so far were limited to the lower end of the canyon, whose starting point is high on the northern flanks of the Abajo Mountains. I had completed a few out-and-back trips, going as far as Upper Jump – a waterfall situated at about the halfway point of full trail.

My goal this time was to see a rock formation called Angel Arch, and so I had reserved a few nights near this halfway point; close enough to make it to the arch during a day hike. Since I had always begun at Cathedral Butte in the past, my itinerary for this trip also had me starting here.

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Nine Mile Creek

A few weekends ago, I planned a short visit to Central Utah in search of new rock art sites. Being based in Colorado, most of my exploration has been limited to Southeast Utah near Moab, Canyonlands, and Cedar Mesa. My motivation for exploring this new area was seeing some interesting and unfamiliar pictographs in Polly Schaafsma’s The Rock Art of Utah. So I decided on making Green River, Utah a home base for the long weekend, and focusing my search beyond the reef in the San Rafael Swell region, starting in Nine Mile Canyon. My two big takeaways from this trip are that petroglyphs can be just as impressive and awe-inspiring as their pictograph counterparts, and that the rock art in Central Utah is abundant – well deserving of repeat visits.

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Holy Ghost Group, Great Gallery; Canyonlands

MotivatioN

I have admired Utah’s canyon country since first visiting Arches National Park with my brother almost six years ago. After moving to Colorado in 2017, this love deepened; I made annual trips to the Moab area for New Years, exploring new places in southern Utah, from Canyonlands to Capitol Reef. My first visit to the Needles District in Canyonlands left a big impression on me, placing the park as “number one” on my list of favorites. Something about its maze-like sandstone spires felt like an endless playground, and each time I return I am reminded of this feeling.

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