As I often mention, the structure of the canyons creates many nooks and crannies. Places not as easily accessible or as well known. And years will sometimes pass before a person steps there again.
We live in a destination where many people want to spend the holiday weekend. That means we leave our desert town and seek out these lesser-known nooks and crannies within the canyons.
We left town and found a quiet campsite, and Joan’s keen observations spotted a cliff structure that mixed up our already loose plans for backpacking.
Our backpacking for the weekend indeed meant more structured rambling in both a figurative and literal sense.
We chose an area higher up, lush by Utah standards, with a flowing stream that extended throughout the area we hiked.
And during this weekend we saw one youth group and a ranger on patrol. Otherwise, no one was up the side canyons where we wandered, meandered, and rambled.
Though warm during the day, the cool nights still allowed us to enjoy our customary hot drinks in the evening.
From Joan.
On our second day, we walked off the main corridor and followed animals’ paths to find a canyon break.
Some scrambling down the levels brought us to one of the more amazing cliff-side structures I’ve seen.
The lack of footprints and cobwebs among the structures indicates light visitation.
The roof, in particular, caught my attention because of its preserved nature and the craft of its construction.
It’s a place to linger, take in the immensity, and again realize how much there is to see out here and how little we’ve seen of it overall.
We returned to our campsite and enjoyed later afternoon light playing among the mountains and canyons in view.
We had another day to roam around the canyons and went to a site that gets patroled but whose log indicates little visitation.
The number of pictographs and petroglyphs makes it stand out in this area compared to past places also this area we visited.
The images stretched along the back of the wall and along the cliffs revealed more wherever we looked.
Nearby alcoves also held other places where people called home.
We made our way out, climbed out of the canyon, and grateful for enjoying a stunning place perfect for late May.
And continuing to enjoy post-trip root beer float season!