Exploring Southern Utah by Airplane

[hatchcanyon]

This is an older story!

We started flying over southeastern Utah in the late 1990ies. It was my wife´s idea to get a better picture about the features and where these are located.

In 2001 we met Tim Martin from LaSal aka "The Flying Cowboy" and had a first flight with him. Inpressive! He knows everything about flying over the area and how to approach points of interest. In 2006 we planned something larger. A flight from Moab Canyonlands Airfield along the Colorado River down to the northern Arizona and back again. Tim calculated between 3 and a half and 4 hours. That sets the price tag.

At first we didn't know that TIm was the guy who flew through a number of arches. As he told us some time later he also said "Don't ask for that, I'll risk my license doing it with paying customers!" We didn't!

Starting at the Canyonlands Airfield we reached the river not far away from Deadhorse Point, followed it more or less down to Page turned around over Coyote Butte flying eastward over the north shore of Lake Powell. At the Dirty Devil River we took a more northern direction to go over Buckacre Point and from there back to Cataract Canyon. Again along the River we returned to the Moab Canyonlands Airfield.

I will not write much text about the flight. The pictures are self-explanatory. Pictures were taken with two cameras, a digital one and an analog one on slide film. Some pics are technically limited (reflections, not always 100% focussed, sometimes shifting colors througt tinted Windows.)

More about flying over Canyon Country: Cross Country Flying written in German. Due to the number of pictures the story will come in several "chapters".

Tim Martin and his plane - Moab Canyonlands Airfield

Waiting for the pilot - notice the limited space.

Determination Towers - sorry something missed!

Another analog picture

Bull Canyon System

Approaching White Rim - so called Airport Tower middle left

Lathrop and Buck Canyon

The Loop

Colorado River - Green River Confluence

Confluence again

Canyonlands Maze District: The Doll House

Waterhole Flat and Gunsight Butte

UT 95 and Colorado River Bridge near Hite

North Wash

White Canyon

White Canyon

Glen Canyon

Castle Butte

Ticaboo Canyon

Good Hope Mesa

Tapestry Wall

Forgotten Canyon

Moqui Canyon

The Rincon

The Rincon

To be continued.....

 

[Nick]

Very cool. Awesome views. Those are some cool features on top of the rincon. Anyone know if there is a way up there?

 

[hatchcanyon]

There is a tough jeep trail to the rincon but I never heart of a trail on top. One might need a chopper.

 

[Nick]

It looks like there might be a way on the north end. I'm down that way a fair amount on my boat. I'll have to scout it out next time. That would be a fun hike.

 

[hatchcanyon]

Interesting!

May we get a report?

 

[Nick]

Of course!

 

[Vegan.Hiker]

Whoa this is really cool. I want to see more.

 

[Nick]

I found a photo from the boat that shoes that possible route. Looks like it could be one spicy meatball, but definitely worth checking out. The view from the boat:

 

[hatchcanyon]

Chapter 2:

Hole in the Rock

Nearly half of the way down is now covered by water.

Reflection Canyon

North of Navajo Mountain. The trail leading to Rainbow bridge is visible even in the picture is technically mediocre.

Several views of Rainbow Bridge.

Tim circled three times with the plane.

Forbidding Canyon

Navajo Point and Driftwood Canyon

Teddys Horse Pasture and Dangling Rope Marina

Propeller killers

Wetherill Canyon

Drowned Goosenecks of the Colorado River

Last Chance Bay

Dominguez and Padre Buttes

The Channel - Castle Rock Cutoff is dry and impassable

Too much window reflechtions - Upper Antelope Canyon

Glen Canyon Dam

No hit of Bulls Eye: Horseshoe Bend

Paria River Canyon

Vermilion Cliffs

Marble Canyon

Approaching Coyote Butte

More to come....

 

[Tres Westbrook]

Spectacular. Please keep them coming.

 

[Aldaron]

Thanks for the pix! We did the same flight with Tim a few years ago. It wasn't until I got home and did some research that I realized he used to fly through arches. It was a great experience.

 

[hatchcanyon]

FLying with Tim is always fun. He shows us things, we shoh him things that we know better from ground. Seems to me this is a win-win situation. Hope he will fly some more years.

 

[hatchcanyon]

Chapter 3:

Coyote Butte is a very special feature located at the Arizona - Utahb oder Line. One of these where looking down from a plane gives not necessarely the better view - it's a different one.

Coyote Butte North

This is where the Wave is located. Even if the Wave itself is not easy visible the colorful structures are awesome.

Buckskin Gulch and Paria River Canyon. Some kind of a slot confluence.

Nipple Bench north of Big Water

Stud Horse Point

Lone Rock and Wahweep Marina

Wiregrass Canyon. The Cliffs are Called Mustard Cliffs. Must be due to the color.

Alstrom Point

Little Alstrom Point

Gooseneck Point

Rock Creek

Dry Rock Creek

Little Arch Canyon

Balanced Rock Canyon below Navajo Point

Reflection Canyon

Mouth of San Juan River

Mouth of Llewellyn Gulch (more to the rigt on the left side of the River) and Cottonwood Canyon opposite to Hole in the Rock

Llewellyn Gulch

More to come....

 

[Artemus]

I found a photo from the boat that shoes that possible route. Looks like it could be one spicy meatball, but definitely worth checking out. The view from the boat:

View attachment 40194

Might be easy. You never know until you are on it. Take @slc_dan he likes heights!

 

[Nick]

Might be easy. You never know until you are on it. Take @slc_dan he likes heights!

And he'd probably run to the top 'scouting it' before I even had to change out of my flip flops.

 

[slc_dan]

So, when are we going?

 

[Artemus]

So, when are we going?

April 2?

 

[hatchcanyon]

Chapter 4:

Again Hole in the Rock

On the other side Cottonwood Canyon where the Mormons carried on. The Chute was the next obstacle.

Escalante River

Stevens Arch from the South

Stevens Arch from the North

East of Stevens Arch

Stevens Canyon

Waterpocket Fold

Moqui Canyon

Crystal Springs Canyon

Easy to see how much sediments the water contains!

Forgotten Canyon

Cedar Canyon

Ticaboo Canyon

Castle Butte and Blue Notch Canyon

Scorup Canyon

Farley Canyon

Hite

Cataract Canyon, mouth of the Dity Devil River and the UT 95 bridge

Red Benches

Fiddler Cove Canyon

Hatch Canyon

Hatch Canyon and Dirty Devil River

Hatch Canyon and Gunsight Butte

Tim Martin flew through the right gap so deep that we had cliffs on both sides of the airplane.

To be continued......

 

[Nick]

This is such an awesome set of photos and an incredible resource! I'm bookmarking this one.

 

[hatchcanyon]

Chapter 5:

Colorado/Green River Confluence

Colorado River: The Loop

near Horsethief Canyon

Buck Canyon and White Rim

Gooseneck and Deadhorse Point

The Gooseneck and "Thelma and Louise - Point"

The end!