October 31, 2007

Desolate Solitude

After dinner we pass through a region of the wildest desolation. The canyon is very tortuous, the river very rapid, and many lateral canyons enter on either side…piles of broken rock lie against these walls; crags and tower shaped peaks are seen everywhere, and away above them, long lines of broken cliffs; and above and beyond the cliffs are pine forests, of which we obtain occasional glimpses as we look up through a vista of rocks. The walls are almost without vegetation; a few dwarf bushes are seen here and there clinging to the rocks, and cedars grow from the crevices - not like the cedars of a land refreshed with rains…but ugly clumps, like war clubs beset with spines.  
We are minded to call this the Canyon of Desolation.  
          -John Wesley Powell, 7-8-1869

 

March 28, 2007

Dirty Devil River

Following is a post I made to Utahrafters after a trip that Anja and I made in inflatable kayaks. This picture shows the silt banks in the Dirty Devil Arm, from when Lake Powell was at full pool.

Entering the old Lake Powell silt banks ( ~100cfs)

February 23, 2007

Grand Canyon

In the early spring of 2006 my friend Todd (pic'd below) came to Ogden for a couple days of backcountry skiing. He invited me to be part of a private group doing a 27 day river trip through the Grand Canyon the following Feb./Mar. I of course accepted without even thinking about it.