Reflection Canyon Utah

There's a lot more to Zion than The Narrows. If you're just looking for a quick photography trip coming out of California, it's a much better choice than something like the Golden Cathedral or any overnighter in the Escalante area, IMO.
 
If you do ever end up in the Golden Cathedral, mixed light makes it hard to shoot unless you hit it in the morning or at the very end of the day. The end of this coming down through it was in October in the mid afternoon.

 
That's your video @Nick ? I saw that several years ago and was so wanting to get to Golden Cathedral. Still haven't made it yet, but hoping for this year.
 
Nick said:
If you do ever end up in the Golden Cathedral, mixed light makes it hard to shoot unless you hit it in the morning or at the very end of the day. The end of this coming down through it was in October in the mid afternoon.

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I was going to try and sleep at the cathedral to maximize time there for good light

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Reef&Ruins said:
That's your video @Nick ? I saw that several years ago and was so wanting to get to Golden Cathedral. Still haven't made it yet, but hoping for this year.
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Yeah, that's mine. I'm surprised you've seen it. It's one of my least viewed clips although it is one of my favorites.

Mike Jones said:
I was going to try and sleep at the cathedral to maximize time there for good light
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Please don't camp at the cathedral. There's a nice site at the mouth of the canyon and more around there. Camping up in the canyon is a desecration of that place and it ruins the experience for others. It's a short walk from the mouth.
 
Nick said:
Yeah, that's mine. I'm surprised you've seen it. It's one of my least viewed clips although it is one of my favorites.



Please don't camp at the cathedral. There's a nice site at the mouth of the canyon and more around there. Camping up in the canyon is a desecration of that place and it ruins the experience for others. It's a short walk from the mouth.
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Got it, thanks for the heads up

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I know that the thread have moved away from Reflection Canyon, but I hiked out there for an overnighter on April 16 (lake level at 3599ft).
As far as I understand that In order to get the "right" pictures, the water level should ideally be down about 3580ft.
It was a long hike and I had to bring all my water since there are not any reliable water sources (I did find plenty of potholes with water).
There were 2 other groups there that night so it wasn't exactly solitude, but I did find a nice secluded camp site.
Anyway here is the pictures I posted of my campsite and the canyon.
https://backcountrypost.com/threads/campsites.1549/page-19#post-80491
 
Cool Danish said:
I know that the thread have moved away from Reflection Canyon, but I hiked out there for an overnighter on April 16 (lake level at 3599ft).
As far as I understand that In order to get the "right" pictures, the water level should ideally be down about 3580ft.
It was a long hike and I had to bring all my water since there are not any reliable water sources (I did find plenty of potholes with water).
There were 2 other groups there that night so it wasn't exactly solitude, but I did find a nice secluded camp site.
Anyway here is the pictures I posted of my campsite and the canyon.
https://backcountrypost.com/threads/campsites.1549/page-19#post-80491
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Thanks for keeping us on topic ;-)

Based on your pictures I may have a chance, your pictures looked great!

Is there a site where I can see the water levels? Are the levels usually going up or down during this time of year?

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Cool Danish said:
I know that the thread have moved away from Reflection Canyon, but I hiked out there for an overnighter on April 16 (lake level at 3599ft).
As far as I understand that In order to get the "right" pictures, the water level should ideally be down about 3580ft.
It was a long hike and I had to bring all my water since there are not any reliable water sources (I did find plenty of potholes with water).
There were 2 other groups there that night so it wasn't exactly solitude, but I did find a nice secluded camp site.
Anyway here is the pictures I posted of my campsite and the canyon.
https://backcountrypost.com/threads/campsites.1549/page-19#post-80491
Click to expand...

That blows me away that you didn't have it to yourself! I backpacked Llewellyn and Cottonwood in 2013 and it seemed almost crazy that you'd ever see someone else out there. And with a boat you could motor down and hike up to it from the lake in a fraction of the time and effort, although parking the boat is an issue if you don't have someone staying behind.

Mike Jones said:
Is there a site where I can see the water levels? Are the levels usually going up or down during this time of year?
Click to expand...

The BOR puts out data on a daily basis but this site is more useful for historical purposes. You kind of have to hack the URLs to get what you want though. By the end of May the water should be upwards of 3620' with the runoff coming in. It'll peak around 3640' this year. It's not worth the long, dry hike, IMO, but then again, it wouldn't be at 3580' in my opinion either.
 
Nick said:
The BOR puts out data on a daily basis but this site is more useful for historical purposes. You kind of have to hack the URLs to get what you want though. By the end of May the water should be upwards of 3620' with the runoff coming in. It'll peak around 3640' this year. It's not worth the long, dry hike, IMO, but then again, it wouldn't be at 3580' in my opinion either.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link for the water levels

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I did Reflection Canyon and it's a little bit of a rough hike. Long with on water and no shade. It's brutal if the temps are above 80, which it was when I did it. The view is amazing but honestly there are probably equivalent views you could find with a more enjoyable hike.
 
Also we saw probably 5-6 groups of people out there, so despite the long hike you most likely won't have solitude out there anymore. Most people going out there seem to be photographers.
 
andyjaggy said:
I did Reflection Canyon and it's a little bit of a rough hike. Long with on water and no shade. It's brutal if the temps are above 80, which it was when I did it. The view is amazing but honestly there are probably equivalent views you could find with a more enjoyable hike.
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I agree with Andy that the hike was pretty brutal with hauling water, no shade at all and lots of up/down across all gullies that feed Llewellyn & Cottonwood Gulch.
In hindsight I don't think the hike is worth it for just taking pictures, unless the water level is down to at least 3585ft.

Nick said:
That blows me away that you didn't have it to yourself! I backpacked Llewellyn and Cottonwood in 2013 and it seemed almost crazy that you'd ever see someone else out there. And with a boat you could motor down and hike up to it from the lake in a fraction of the time and effort, although parking the boat is an issue if you don't have someone staying behind.
Click to expand...
I was pretty surprise also to see 2 groups there. I saw some vehicles at the "trail head", but I just assumed it was people going to either Llewellyn & Cottonwood Gulch. On the way back to the Jeep I saw another 2 groups coming in.
 
Yeah, I agree that Reflection is a long way out there to take pics of a bathtub ring around a couple buttes. I was very impressed with Llewellyn and Cottonwood, though, my TR here. The bench camping was nice over Reflection as were the views of 50 Mile Mtn and Navaho Mtn enroute. It is big on solitude, too, if that is a motivation.
https://backcountrypost.com/threads...ellyn-canyons-backpack-april-25-28-2016.5815/

Heading up Stevens Canyon from the Crack route to lower Coyote is a beautiful adventure and way quieter than Coyote. Cap Reef: Spring Canyon, Both Muley Twists, Halls Narrows, , Silver Falls/Choprock/Harris/Fence, Boulder Mail Trail, Paria Hackberry that I just posted , Cross Zion Backpack, all wonderful backpacks.
 
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