One objective of this particular journey to Moab was to bypass the iconic locations visited by the bulk of visitors to this area
and instead, visit those areas of beauty known mostly to the locals. The
two nearby national parks would just have to wait until the end of our trip
(which we extended specifically for that purpose). Our “special places”
itinerary included Negro Bill Trail, Hunter Canyon Trail, Corona Arch Trail,
and Porcupine Rim/Castle Valley Overlook. These were indeed special
places and offered many unique opportunities for photographic
possibilities. Negro Bill Canyon was named after an early settler in the
area, William Granstaff, who came in 1877 as was one of the first non-native-American
inhabitants of the region.
Just
the drive alone to get to the trail head was worth the trip. The road
snaked along the Colorado River, taking us past a beautiful pedestrian/bicycle
bridge and numerous steep rock cliffs. The Negro Bill trail is
approximately two miles long and leads along a perennial stream (a rarity in
the desert environment) to Morning Glory Bridge, the sixth largest rock span in
the U.S. Unfortunately our late arrival in Moab prevented us from hiking
to the trail’s end before needing to meet up with the group at the local
brewery...bad luck, huh?
A
couple days later we headed to Hunter Canyon Trail, which begins at Kelly
Spring and leads up a canyon surrounded by steep sheer rock cliffs.
Ponderosa pines, junipers and oaks are abundant and feed off of a running creek
that offered us several opportunities to photograph “water falls”. The
springtime visit highlighted the brilliantly green new foliage against the deep
red cliff faces. The Hunter Canyon is also known for its abundant camping
opportunities. Campsites are nestled up against trees, along the creek,
and even tucked into a roadside cave! It became quickly obvious why this
destination was chosen and why it's such a favorite among the locals.
One
of the more interesting scenes to photograph was this 3-foot waterfall.
It wasn't visible from the trail, but was audible. Noisier than smaller
falls, it called out for attention so we scrambled down to a spot with a great
view of it...
Several
miles away, and another destination worth visiting was Corona Arch, a partly
freestanding arch with a 110-foot by 110-foot opening located 1-1/2 miles up
Bootlegger Canyon. The Corona Arch Trail is outside the national park and
is not difficult and can be completed by any healthy adult or child—provided
that you don’t wait until late afternoon to start, which was again was the only
available time we had--hence we didn’t make it all the way to the this arch
either (I mentioned that brewery, right?). A large campground, sufficient
for multiple RVs was not too far away, and with the smell of campfires and
cooking, this hike had plenty of ambiance. In addition, numerous hikers
were out on the trail with their dogs simply to enjoy the late afternoon walk.
This trail is definitely worth a return visit, particularly since we missed out
on the climaxing view of the arch.
The
world famous Porcupine Rim is a must-do on any mountain bike bucket list and is
a classic Moab ride. The route takes you along the most spectacular overlook
vistas of Castle Valley. So guess what—it’s GREAT for photographers
too! If you've ever heard of the Slickrock trail (and every
mountain biker has), this is the road you take to get there. But our
destination is well past this as our early morning destination and included a
bit of a drive, uphill the entire way. We drove across some frozen dirt
roads that had ice and snow on them (and which would have been very muddy had
the temperature been lower). The combination of cold, morning sun, and
the smell of high desert scrub gave great celebration for being alive.
This
was an incredible destination, well worth the effort getting to it. The
vistas of Castle Valley were spectacular and breath-taking. Photographers
vied for outcroppings to compose their images, and patiently took turns waiting
for clear views, or in my case, utilizing them to help convey a sense of
scale. Just off the trail, the snow-covered ground treated us to that
unmistakable crunching sound of walking on frozen snow as we sought out
additional details to photograph in that beautifully warm low-angle morning
light.
To see my entire Moab, Utah collection of images, visit my website gallery at: http://www.costamesaphotography.com/The-Southwest/Utah/Moab/
