glen canyon

After two trips in a row of soggy wet weather, I was stoked to see the extended forecast showed nothing but sunshine and warm weather for our planned early June jaunt to Glen Canyon. This trip it was Audra and I along with our friend Jen and her friend Stefanie from Germany that she had met...

Here is a video of the amazing ice-filled flash flood we experienced this past weekend in Iceberg Canyon. This was our 3rd day of the trip. We had just finished hiking to the top of the canyon when this storm hit. The flood was so strong that about 300 yards of what had been the lake turned into...

I'm finally back to my computer and getting a chance to assemble some of my photos/video from my recent Zion to Capitol Reef Hike. The full trip report is still in process, but I went ahead and put together a stand-alone video for Day 18 -- the day I went through Halls Creek Narrows during an...

Over the winter I set some dates with my brother-in-law for a fishing trip out in Glen Canyon, just us and our wives. Weather is often hit and miss during the spring, but who would have thought it would end up being as wet and wild as it's been this year. In the days leading up to the trip, I...

I had to take most of April off from camping to deal with health issues, then toward the end of the month I learned I'd probably be getting a revision surgery done on my knee around mid-May. That left a small window to get out and do some much needed boat camping to keep me sane through all of...

A trip report followed by pictures Here is the story of the first descent and naming of Mumbai Canyon. Read it before. Or after. Or not at all, as you see fit. http://www.canyoneeringusa.com/rave/mumbai-canyon/ Below is the attempt to become the 4th known descent party I worship at the alter...

Last November 3 of us attempted to do the Rainbow Bridge North Trail as and out and back planning on 3 1/2 days. For various reasons we only made it to Nasja canyon. So this last week we went back to complete the full trail allotting 4 1/2 days. Well we made the 37 miles in our original plan...

I wasn't going to even post a trip report from this trip, but then I figured why the hell not? There wasn't much hiking or anything, but Glen Canyon is still a pretty amazing place whether on foot or by boat, flooded or not. So here we go... I planned this one out a month or so in advance...

03/22/15 This Sunday morn saw me taking the drive out towards Page. I always forget how long that drive is. My intention was to check out the odd hoodoos of the Paria rim. I first followed a set of Kelsey directions...to a closed road. "Administrative Use Only." Sighs and low volume curses...

Sometimes you just have to have something on the calendar to look forward to. On December 3, 2014, I sent Dan an email proposing a backpacking trip the first weekend in March. We'd done it the previous year on the same weekend and had a blast, but what made me want it so bad this time was the...

Hidden Valley is a tributary of Blue Notch Canyon south of Hite. Blue Notch and its road is mainly used for lake access on Lake Powell and the smaller Hidden Valley with its mining history often missed. The same happened to us on our first visit. Returning from Castle Butte on the bank of the...

Posted a few before, here is a collection from 2005, lowest year on record:

It's been a long, slow recovery from my knee replacement in November. Months of sitting on the couch popping pain pills can really take it's toll. So I decided I'd head south for a little boat camping. I was giddy to get out of the house, so I was up early and on my way before 6am. It was 27˚ at...

New Year's Eve | Wednesday, December 31, 2014 Yesterday was supposed to have been an easy day of hiking to Cobra Arch, but after adding another hike down the Paria River we ended up hiking another 11 mile day. I always seem have problems keeping my easy days short! Since we were planning on...

Purple Hills is a remote area within the Glen Canyon NRA. As the name says it is a colorful district. There is only one known trail, at least to me. From Burr Trail take the Wolverine Loop where its eastern end connects (12S 0490914 4190715) and travel south for approximately 8 miles. There is...

I originally posted on www.howellsoutdoors.com, but here is the wonderful canyon I was finally able to get a group together and scramble through: the amazing Neon Canyon of the Escalante. When I first started canyoneering a picture was shown to me of someone rappelling through these amazing...

During the week of Nov 3, three of us attempted to hike the North Rainbow Bridge trail. I say attempted as we did not complete the full trail as the trail was more difficult than we anticipated and other reasons. This trail is truly in the backcountry as it is a 6 hour drive from Phoenix with...

Over the first weekend in October, I went south once again to Glen Canyon. Our prime objective for this trip: a hike into West Canyon, one of the most remote and coveted canyons on the entire Colorado Plateau. Access is not easy unless you have access to a boat. It is roughly 40 miles by...

It's been a bit frustrating this spring watching all the great backpacking trip reports rolling in while I've been busy working. Granted, I've been doing a lot of hiking for work lately, so I can't complain too much, but it's not the kind of multi-day stuff I wish it was. So at the end of May, I...

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