A few weeks ago I had five days to explore southern Utah. My main objective was exploring the Canyons of the Escalante, but I would have to drive through Capitol Reef National Park to get there. On the way I had photo shoot in mind in the Moab area so I spent one night in Moab to shoot that scene and pick up a pano shot along Park Avenue in Arches the next morning. Later that day I headed to Capitol Reef. I was so impressed with Capitol Reef I just spent the next three days there shooting just a fraction of what’s there. Capitol Reef is huge. There’s a clearly defined northern and southern area and I spent all of my time in the northern piece, where the awesome lower and upper Cathedral Valley resides.
I spent two days back in there and saw nobody the entire time. The sandy road was clean of tracks, and it was obvious I was the first to drive to Cathedral Valley in at least a week, maybe two. Exciting, sure, but overall I felt a bit uncomfortable out there with zero communication possibilities. I didn't take any chances.
I was able to drive all the way to upper Cathedral Valley which is about 26 miles, however the road became way too muddy for my Jeep so Upper Cathedral Valley Overlook was not going to happen. The road crosses a multitude of washes that had been running water all winter. Water levels were high at some point recently, thus there were many washes that had about a 1-ft drop down into the wash and a 1-ft climb out of the wash, thus high clearance is a must. Large sections of the road consist of a mix of dirt, sand and Bentonite, which is a clay-ish mineral that expands when wet. Driving and even hiking this stuff when wet is a bad idea because it’s incredibly slippery.
So, if interested in having all of Cathedral Valley to yourself in winter, have 4wd with high clearance, fill your gas tank up, don't go if snow is in the forecast. And don't go if it had snowed in the past 4-5 days, the road stays muddy until dry.
The following gallery will showcase places called Behind the Rocks, Green River Overlook, Park Avenue, Cainsville Badlands, Pectol Pyramid, Temple of the Sun & Moon, Upper Cathedral Valley.
Really sweet set, Kane. My favorites would be the Pure Alpen Glow and the Badland images. On the Badland images, what was the color of those shale hills? Don't ever remember seeing such a pronounced purplish coloration. Sometimes I see unique coloration in longer exposures.
I would like to echo your comments above driving in the northern section of the Park. But anytime of the year where water
might flow is problemmatic. I was in there last September after all those massive August thunderstorms. I barely made it out to the north. Many small drainages cut 3 foot crevices. I was able to drive around these obtacles. The major drainages really tested my Subaru and my will, but I did made it out. That all said, one can really feel some serious isolation if so desired.
Posted by Bill Pelzmann on March 11, 2014 at 2:12 AM
That's a great set of images for your five days! I really like your processing.
The Caineville badlands are always such a treat with the right light.
From your road description, I assume you drove the eastern portion of the Cathedral Valley loop and avoided the portion through the Bentonite Hills ? That would have been a LONG walk out. I haven't had the guts to attempt a solo drive in the winter.
Posted by Anne K. Rusk on March 11, 2014 at 1:59 PM
I can't pick a favorite. You have such awesome images here; such a productive trip! We have only visited Capitol Reef once in the summer...it rained for 4 days straight so we didn't see much of the valley! Beautiful work.
Posted by Grant Collier on March 11, 2014 at 7:10 PM
Great series of shots...especially impressive that you did it all in five days!
Great gallery with flawless processing, as usual. Stimulating me to make a return visit! Great job!
I was back there alone as well and would have felt more comfortable about the isolation had I seen at least one other vehicle, and that was in October. Maybe getting an InReach DeLorme unit would be the way to go in case of mechanical failure.
Ken, the magenta and blues you are seeing in the Mancos shale are more related to the lighting first, then processing. I have image called "Mancos Shale" on my first page that was shot around 12:00pm when the light was pretty harsh; and not a lot of the purple hues present. I had to rely on processing to control the highlights with that shot. I shot most of the other images mid morning, with softer light. I also used "selective color" to enhance the natural available colors.
Bill, I'm very interested in going back to check out the other half of the loop trip that I missed. I'm also interested in picking up new shots of some of the existing compositions I have submitted to the gallery, but with better light and clouds. Lastly, I'm curious about a sunset panoramic shot after a clearing thunderstorm up on Strike Valley Overlook. Have you been to Strike Valley Overlook?
Ann, thanks for the nice words.
Grant, I went 7 for 8 with sunsets and sunrises. My last night I took the Green River Overlook image and the next morning, right before my drive home I had a look at Dead Horse Point, which turned out to be a dud. I felt very blessed to have such a productive trip.
Thanks Don, I do use a Spot transceiver, which really comes in handy with the family. If I'm not mistaken, that unit you are talking about allows you to text? I should check out the reviews on that thing some day.
Thanks for the tips on Cathedral Valley - I'm considering going there this weekend. Fantastic photo gallery from your trip!
Posted by Bill Pelzmann on March 12, 2014 at 1:38 AM
On the other half of the loop, the overlook into the Upper South Desert is great for sunrise and sunset. Be sure to hike down into the Lower South Desert & around Jailhouse Rock. Of course, the Bentonite Hills will keep you happy for quite some time. That's at least another two days of shooting.
The Strike Valley Overlook is certainly worth the LONG drive. The hike is short if you make it all the way to the TH on the 4WD road. I've only been there once, early November. FYI - At that time of year, the Waterpocket ridge casts a shadow early into the valley, starting at about 4:30 PM - long before any color in the sky. I didn't stick around until twilight.
I'd responded in the "congratulations" thread, and I'll echo the sentiment that your sunrise shot of the Temples of the Sun and Moon is one of the best I've seen of the area. I'm still thinking that it was pre-dawn lighting?
If you (and others) are interested, I got some shots from the area last July and could post them. Nothing pretty, but they might be of interest just for people to see it. Let me know if that's okay with you before I go posting in your thread. I'll look for some work from Strike Valley Overlook, too.
Mark, please do post. Very interested in your Capitol reef work. Yes, pre dawn lighting.
Posted by Jared Warren on March 12, 2014 at 1:53 PM
Kane, those are fantastic images. Quite a productive trip I'd say. I particularly like Shale Mancos, Big Brother, and Pure Alpen Glow. I'm not too far from Capitol Reef but regrettably haven't made it there yet. I just got a 4Runner with good ground clearance and hope to make it up in there this year. Interesting comments too on Spot and DeLorme units. I've been hoping to get more info on procedures/precautions others take on backcountry solo trips. I may initiate a thread on that soon and hope to take advantage of your experience and insights. Anyway, fantastic set of images!
[2] Upper South Desert Overlook, also from the viewpoint
Both shot on the same afternoon as I was looking around. No great light; sunlight fizzled out from here since there were thick clouds to the west. Too bad...
This was in July of 2013 in a '96 Subaru Outback that I don't mind taking places most "regular" cars would rather not go. The washboard was bad, but I let a bunch of air out of the tires (I also carry a compressor to reinflate those tires, though). No deep ruts at that point.
Also never got the great light at this location, but I hope it helps with some basic visualization.
July of 2012, also with the Subaru. Really slow and careful driving those last two miles to the parking lot for the overlook. If you get back there, don't miss the hike for the Upper Muley Twist (as long as you're good at cross-country navigation). You hike south in the wash/canyon, then return along the rim. A great hike.
Posted by Doug Koepsel on March 16, 2014 at 11:43 AM
Quite the haul, Kane! I particularly like the Badlands images and Pure Alpen Glow
Posted by Scott Fricke on March 17, 2014 at 12:18 PM
Incredible images Kane, a very successful trip! While it's hard to even pick favorites I'd have to say the collection of images from Capitol Reef shows great creativity and originality in compositions and I liked viewing those the most.
Another beautiful portfolio of images...as expected! Looks like you had a wonderful and productive trip, Kane.
Conditions were near perfect and your tasteful compositions and 'development' show this area at it's very best.
It's been several years since I was in that area. I need to rectify that soon, and your work has inspired me to do so.
Posted by Kurt Bowman on March 17, 2014 at 10:30 PM
Wow Kane....very nice collection of images. I would be thrilled with just one or two of them. Hard to choose a favorite amount them really.
Great haul of images, Kane. I have spent very little time in Capitol Reef, and none in the north. It's been on my to do list as well, and your shots are inspiring me to go take a look.
Regarding the Spot Connect, I can't say that I had much luck with it. I got one shortly after its release, and had problems with it losing it's "sync" with my smart phone. Once that's lost, and you are already away from cell service or wifi, you aren't getting it back. I did not renew my service after the first year. Perhaps they have improved the firmware and/or app. I'll sell it for cheap.
Discussion
23 repliesA few weeks ago I had five days to explore southern Utah. My main objective was exploring the Canyons of the Escalante, but I would have to drive through Capitol Reef National Park to get there. On the way I had photo shoot in mind in the Moab area so I spent one night in Moab to shoot that scene and pick up a pano shot along Park Avenue in Arches the next morning. Later that day I headed to Capitol Reef. I was so impressed with Capitol Reef I just spent the next three days there shooting just a fraction of what’s there. Capitol Reef is huge. There’s a clearly defined northern and southern area and I spent all of my time in the northern piece, where the awesome lower and upper Cathedral Valley resides.
I spent two days back in there and saw nobody the entire time. The sandy road was clean of tracks, and it was obvious I was the first to drive to Cathedral Valley in at least a week, maybe two. Exciting, sure, but overall I felt a bit uncomfortable out there with zero communication possibilities. I didn't take any chances.
I was able to drive all the way to upper Cathedral Valley which is about 26 miles, however the road became way too muddy for my Jeep so Upper Cathedral Valley Overlook was not going to happen. The road crosses a multitude of washes that had been running water all winter. Water levels were high at some point recently, thus there were many washes that had about a 1-ft drop down into the wash and a 1-ft climb out of the wash, thus high clearance is a must. Large sections of the road consist of a mix of dirt, sand and Bentonite, which is a clay-ish mineral that expands when wet. Driving and even hiking this stuff when wet is a bad idea because it’s incredibly slippery.
So, if interested in having all of Cathedral Valley to yourself in winter, have 4wd with high clearance, fill your gas tank up, don't go if snow is in the forecast. And don't go if it had snowed in the past 4-5 days, the road stays muddy until dry.
The following gallery will showcase places called Behind the Rocks, Green River Overlook, Park Avenue, Cainsville Badlands, Pectol Pyramid, Temple of the Sun & Moon, Upper Cathedral Valley.
Comments and Critique welcome.
I would like to echo your comments above driving in the northern section of the Park. But anytime of the year where water
might flow is problemmatic. I was in there last September after all those massive August thunderstorms. I barely made it out to the north. Many small drainages cut 3 foot crevices. I was able to drive around these obtacles. The major drainages really tested my Subaru and my will, but I did made it out. That all said, one can really feel some serious isolation if so desired.
The Caineville badlands are always such a treat with the right light.
From your road description, I assume you drove the eastern portion of the Cathedral Valley loop and avoided the portion through the Bentonite Hills ? That would have been a LONG walk out. I haven't had the guts to attempt a solo drive in the winter.
I was back there alone as well and would have felt more comfortable about the isolation had I seen at least one other vehicle, and that was in October. Maybe getting an InReach DeLorme unit would be the way to go in case of mechanical failure.
Bill, I'm very interested in going back to check out the other half of the loop trip that I missed. I'm also interested in picking up new shots of some of the existing compositions I have submitted to the gallery, but with better light and clouds. Lastly, I'm curious about a sunset panoramic shot after a clearing thunderstorm up on Strike Valley Overlook. Have you been to Strike Valley Overlook?
Ann, thanks for the nice words.
Grant, I went 7 for 8 with sunsets and sunrises. My last night I took the Green River Overlook image and the next morning, right before my drive home I had a look at Dead Horse Point, which turned out to be a dud. I felt very blessed to have such a productive trip.
Thanks Don, I do use a Spot transceiver, which really comes in handy with the family. If I'm not mistaken, that unit you are talking about allows you to text? I should check out the reviews on that thing some day.
The Strike Valley Overlook is certainly worth the LONG drive. The hike is short if you make it all the way to the TH on the 4WD road. I've only been there once, early November. FYI - At that time of year, the Waterpocket ridge casts a shadow early into the valley, starting at about 4:30 PM - long before any color in the sky. I didn't stick around until twilight.
I'd responded in the "congratulations" thread, and I'll echo the sentiment that your sunrise shot of the Temples of the Sun and Moon is one of the best I've seen of the area. I'm still thinking that it was pre-dawn lighting?
If you (and others) are interested, I got some shots from the area last July and could post them. Nothing pretty, but they might be of interest just for people to see it. Let me know if that's okay with you before I go posting in your thread. I'll look for some work from Strike Valley Overlook, too.
Cheers,
Mark.
Both shot on the same afternoon as I was looking around. No great light; sunlight fizzled out from here since there were thick clouds to the west. Too bad...
This was in July of 2013 in a '96 Subaru Outback that I don't mind taking places most "regular" cars would rather not go. The washboard was bad, but I let a bunch of air out of the tires (I also carry a compressor to reinflate those tires, though). No deep ruts at that point.
Also never got the great light at this location, but I hope it helps with some basic visualization.
July of 2012, also with the Subaru. Really slow and careful driving those last two miles to the parking lot for the overlook. If you get back there, don't miss the hike for the Upper Muley Twist (as long as you're good at cross-country navigation). You hike south in the wash/canyon, then return along the rim. A great hike.
Conditions were near perfect and your tasteful compositions and 'development' show this area at it's very best.
It's been several years since I was in that area. I need to rectify that soon, and your work has inspired me to do so.
Regarding the Spot Connect, I can't say that I had much luck with it. I got one shortly after its release, and had problems with it losing it's "sync" with my smart phone. Once that's lost, and you are already away from cell service or wifi, you aren't getting it back. I did not renew my service after the first year. Perhaps they have improved the firmware and/or app. I'll sell it for cheap.