On the Grand Canyon’s North Rim, across gravel roads 39 miles from Jacob Lake, I arrive at Parissawampitts Point, a vista point just west of the National Park. The forecast calls for rain over several days. The rim cools down, devoid of people in its early October mien near the NPS closing point of the […]
Essays
Utah, Where Are You?
I live right on the doorstep of – to paraphrase Tony Hillerman – the endless canyon country of Utah that seems to drive its denizens mad with blue sky and trackless solitude. I’ve traversed enough of the state, most of which falls under the physiographic domain of the Colorado Plateau, to conclude that geology has […]
Winter Road
After camping out in the Pariah Plateau Wilderness north of the Grand Canyon, I decided to rush striking camp in anticipation of the next adventure. I’d chance the twenty-some mile trek down House Rock Valley Road before the rain got too bad and the bentonite road turned to toothpaste. I’d planned to explore the Vermillion […]
Before the Fall
What is that they say about most accidental deaths occurring in the home? About people drowning in a couple inches of bathtub water?
Here I was, fresh off of an 11 hour hiking adventure in backcountry where I wandered desert miles from the nearest humanoid. I was “training” for a solo backpacking adventure at Powell Plateau, […]
You’ll Never Know What You’ll Find When You Don’t Know Where You’re Going
Woke up this morning to a smattering of rain and autumnal, gunmetal skies, even though it was Memorial Day weekend in Arizona – Timp Point on the North Rim of Grand Canyon, to be specific and exact, which is redundant and repetitive.
Last night, I scoped the Bill Hall Trail and the North Bass Trail from […]
Clay Canyon
Clay Canyon remains unrediscovered by the larger proportion of ecoturista americana, an invasive species that makes multiple, loud trumpeting calls and exhibits strange mating behavior. We live in the Age of Rediscovery. Rediscovery is marked by high turnout. Think South Rim, Grand Canyon, and Yosemite.
Clay Canyon remains unrediscovered. It’s empty and raw, red and wide. […]
One Road Leads to Another
Every road must be connected to another road. A road not so connected, by definition, isn’t much use. So one road always leads to another.
My day’s lesson from A Course in Miracles was about roads. It told me to walk along the road to God.
I camped at Starr Springs, an oasis at the foot of Mount […]
Visions in a Rear View Mirror
I drove down onto the Reservation to find the crest of the Carrizo Mountains. This was Four Corners land, the Four Corners of AZ, UT, NM and CO, the Four Corners of the earth. When I’d spy them from the Mancos Valley, the Carrizo were a far off mist, a ghosted saddle between the cliffs […]
Just My Imagination
Camped out at Pleasant Creek, a NFS campground at the top of Boulder Mountain, on the Aquarius Plateau, the highest forested plateau on the continent. Empty and cool at 8,000 feet this Memorial Day weekend. The campground was deserted.
Scrambled some, took High Ranger Trail on the other side of Highway 12, but bearanoia beat me […]
Oh, I Owe Iowa
There seems to be an inevitability to this growth/human potential/evolutionary process. When I left work in Chicago today, I decided to get in my car and drive home, or else drive to Iowa. I went to Iowa.
I hopped on Interstate 88, and drove 88 miles per hour. When I-88 morphed […]