I've been making a few trips up to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (About 200-300 miles round trip - depending on what dirt road you end up on. lol)
My first trip up was to the Hole in the Rock on the western rim of Glen Canyon overlooking Lake Powell. In 1879 the Mormon San Juan Expedition was seeking a route from south-central Utah to their proposed colony in the far southeastern corner of the state. They chose the more direct path that led them to the 1200-foot sandstone cliffs that surround Glen Canyon... and decided that the narrow, steep and rocky crevice, now known as the "Hole in the Rock" was their best bet. They worked for months to prepare the road and then 250 people, 83 full-sized wagons, and over 1000 head of livestock began their descent to the river below... and I thought I was crazy.
My next visit was to Little Death Hollow, a slot canyon, that's 7 miles long. I didn't follow the whole thing, I stopped about 1/2 mile from where it met Horse Canyon - but I was worried it was going to get more difficult. It was pretty scary to do on my own... I definitely wouldn't do it again... at least not without a dozen strong, handsome, half-naked men. ;)
None of my pictures turned out particularly well but you can see the general idea.
