Click here to go to our GPS routes made while hiking four hikes in The Needles District of Canyonlands. The routes will appear on a Google map with a USGS topo background. click on each route name, and you will see where it is on the map. Use the "+" sign (left of page) to change the map scale.

      First, here's the view we enjoyed on our way into the state of industrial propagation (utah). A place wildly pro-birth but disappointingly anti-life (poor funding for education, a right to work for less state, anti-enviroment and where the anti-future legislature and the a, a the church demand over population and races toward greater climate change, etc.). To see the whole pano, click to enlarge the image to full size, then scroll left-right.
      Following the pano, is a series of images from Needles Nirvana. Enjoy.

Bears Ears to Abajo Mountains - Elk Ridge (373k; full-size panorama is 2619 pixels wide; Bears Ears left, Abajo Mtns right) (Click the image for the full-size panorama)

Squaw Flat View (Click the image for a full-size view) Needles Groupo (Click the image for a full-size view) Flower along the trail (Click the image for a full-size view) Hidden Hand Prints - Elephant Can. (Click the image for a full-size view) In the Joint Trail (Click the image for a full-size view) In the Joint Trail (Click the image for a full-size view) Stepping out - the Joint Trail (Click the image for a full-size view) Rootage (Click the image for a full-size view) Mountain View - arch (Click the image for a full-size view) Fall colors (Click the image for a full-size view) Fall colors (Click the image for a full-size view) Fall colors (Click the image for a full-size view)       Trip 13 Continues: (Needles Nirvana).       Day 4. Needles View Slot Arch. CG to junction with trail from Elephant Hill (7.5 miles; 11.5 ERM). The horizontal slot arch frames the Neapolitan spires of The Needles. We're muffin-strolling the various arms of Big Creek on our way to the junction we passed yesterday, choosing an out-and-back hike rather than a grueling lope to Druid Arch or the loop through Lost Canyon or Squaw Canyon.       In contrast to previous days, we donned shirts for lunch and part of the hike. Returning in time for a luxurious sun shower, we watched the orange-tinged nuthatches, pygmy nuthatches, titmice, and Hairy Woodpecker ply their craft in campsite 7, a very good camp.       Hints of rain fell weakly, and that was it. We camped in the tent because of this, but really did not need the tent after all.       Day 5. Lost Canyon Lumberbus (6 miles; 7 ERM). Lumberbus! we cried, as the huge terrorist-supporting winnehogo lumbered around the corner, listlessly lilting outward in the turn. Lumberbus! we note, folks probably in support of pro-birth but not pro-life policies resulting in dramatic overpopulation, folks uninterested in climate change or wars for oil. We edged out of the way as the bushco vehicle lurched past, happy to get off the road and onto the trail.       We hiked out toward Lost Canyon, over the SS divide and down the ladder, swirling through the slickrock bowl, and finally through Lost Canyon for lunch. With a palpable sadness, we returned to the TH and back to so-called civilization. As Zig has cautioned, we are not going back to reality. This (the backcountry) is reality, that other stuff is not. Needles View through arch (Click the image) Rabbit Brush paintbrush (Click the image for a full-size view) six shooter view (Click the image for a full-size view) Backcountry oxymoria continued: Full-time hobby And, another buscho t-shirt: Which God Do You Kill For?       Trip 14: Tonto Time in the GC, early November (15 miles, 29 ERM, Energy Required Miles).       The rich reds of the Redwall Limestone glow background to the saturated yellows of late Fall Cottonwood leaves at Burro Spring. Kathleen and I are wandering on Tonto Time, across the Tonto Platform in The Grand Canyon. This section of the Tonto connects the South Kaibab and the Bright Angel Trails.       We started in the dark, driving to the backcountry office to catch the hiker's express bus shuttle to the South Kaibab TH. It's climate change warm as we head down the poofing dust of the Kaibab, and I'm wearing wool gloves for only the first 500' or so. Soon, we head West onto the Tonto near the Tip-Off and eat a snack away from the Kaibab crowds. The platform seems suspended in space at times - surround views and surround natural quiet. Well, except for the terrorist-supporting air tours, that is.       We contoured into Indian Gardens and plopped down with the uber-fat ground squirrels for lunch and to allow our feet to regain a semblance of their normal shape. Then, up the Bright Angel, occasionally boxed in by dude-toating mules swirling in the poofing dust.       It has been a long venture, 15 miles, 29 ERM, Energy Required Miles, as determined by the 7,000' of elevation loss and gain. My calf muscles would be howling the next day. Whew, it really did feel like a 29 mile day. Some of the gorgeous views can be seen below, along with our route. Click here to go to our GPS route made while enjoying Tonto Time in the GC. It will appear on a Google map with a USGS topo background. Use the "+" sign (left of page) to change the map scale. Panorama - O'Neil Butte (145kb); full-size panorama is 840 pixels tall; (North Rim at top) (Click the image for the full-size panorama) Panorama - GC from S. Kaibab (217kb); full-size panorama is 2517 pixels wide; (O'Neil Butte in lower center) (Click the image for the full-size panorama) Tonto morning rays (Click the image for a full-size view) K and Redwall spotlight (Click the image for a full-size view) Tonto time colors (Click the image for a full-size view) Tonto time colors (Click the image for a full-size view) Tonto fat boy (Click the image for a full-size view) Oregon Grape colors (Click the image for a full-size view) Backcountry oxymoria continued: Near miss And, another buscho t-shirt: We Need a President Who's Fluent In At Least One Language.       Trip 15: Mescal Mountain and the Secret Mountain Wilderness 330 degree panorama, mid November (5 miles, 7 ERM, Energy Required Miles). Click here to go to our GPS route made while hiking to the top of Mescal Mountain. The route will appear on a Google map with a USGS topo background. Use the "+" sign (left of page) to change the map scale.       For the first time in many weeks, clouds bloom over the high plateaus of Northern Arizona. It's time for a pano attempt, this time from Mescal Mountain in the Secret Mountain Wilderness, alongside the more popular route up Long Canyon. I tried to keep the camera level and adjusted for polarizing effect from shot to shot.       Left-to-right, the pano shows Bear Mountain to the Boynton Canyon spires, to Maroon Mtn. and the features near Sedona.       Twenty-seven images later, and (back home) much fussing with attempting to align and stitch together these images, and you see the result below. Sorry - the axis was uneven from photo to photo. Perhaps my friend Steve LA Jarbidge can work some magic on these photos.       Note that you will have to scroll left-right to see the whole image, which is 4288 pixels wide. Panorama - from Mescal Mtn. - about 330 degrees of Secret Mountain Wilderness (448kb); full-size panorama is 4288 pixels wide (Click the image for the full-size panorama) And, another buscho t-shirt: Life begins at conception and ends at birth, gw bush.       Trip 16: Long Canyon, once again in the Secret Mountain Wilderness - Long Canyon Keyhole Arch, late November (6 miles, 9 ERM, Energy Required Miles). Click here to go to our GPS route made while hiking up Long Canyon. The route will appear on a Google map with a USGS topo background. Use the "+" sign (left of page) to change the map scale.       After the Mescal Mountain adventure, we wanted to see what treasures are contained in Long Canyon. This hike starts at the same trailhead as the hike up Mescal Mtn. The trail dalys along the offensive monoculture of a golf course, then lapses into a wonderful forest of smooth-skinned Arizona Cypress.       Along the way, we see Long Canyon Keyhole Arch in a canyon red spire beneath a massive white cliff band. We'll be shipping off these photos to The Archman soon. Long Canyon Keyhole (Click the image) praise the lard (Click the image for a full-size view) Long Canyon Keyhole (Click the image for a full-size view) And, another buscho t-shirt: 1/20/09: End of an Error.       Trip 17: Turkey Creek to House Mountain, early December (8 miles, 12 ERM, Energy Required Miles). Click here to go to our GPS route made while hiking Turkey Creek to House Mountain. The route is shown in magenta, and it will appear on a Google map with a USGS topo background. Use the "+" sign (left of page) to change the map scale.       After some weekend snow flurries, we roll on down to Sedona for a warm hike. We pass the scenic Twin Pillars on our way to Turkey Creek Tank, which is full of reddish-chocolate water. Frozen mud crunches under our boots in the shady portions of the trail, yet we are wearing t-shirts as we puff up the lip of the caldera. At the lip of the broken and erroded crater, we opt to head to the top of the higher aspect of House Mountain.       The ground is saturated enough that many of the small basalt lumps we step on sink slightly into the hillside. We enjoy a slightly hazey view of the distant San Francisco Peaks, salted with a dusting of white. They seem to float over the red rocks of the Sedona area.       Above, there is a track and map of our hike. A few photos are included below. Enjoy. Twin Pillars (Click the image) view N from House Mtn. (Click the image for a full-size view) Twin Pillars (Click the image for a full-size view) And, another buscho t-shirt: Let's Fix Democracy in This Country First.       Trip 18: Wet Beaver Wilderness - to Bell's Crossing, mid-December (8 miles, 10 ERM, Energy Required Miles). Click here to go to our GPS route made while hiking the Wet Beaver Wilderness to Bell's Crossing. The route is shown in magenta, and it will appear on a Google map with a USGS topo background. Use the "+" sign (left of page) to change the map scale.       Escaping nearly two feet of snow in the highlands, we ease on down to Sedona for a warmish hike. Not far off I-17, we find the TH for the Wet Beaver Wilderness (love that name!).       The trail is gradual and well-developed as we stroll near Wet Beaver Creek, which contains a surprising amount of water for this desert area. Before long, we encounter a petro boulder. Reds of Supai Sandstone are crowned by dark basalt. Occasionally, we encounter pale walkways of shale. We hike about 4 miles to Bell's Crossing, then explore awhile in the cold shadows of the crossing before climbing back into the sun, to eat lunch on the red slickrock near The Crack. A dainty diving board overlooks one of the frigid swimming holes found here.       The trail continues from Bell's Crossing to the Mogollon Rim, over a thousand feet above. One can loop back on the Long Canyon Trail, making a foot-bruising preparatory trip for a Grand Canyon adventure. Something to do when the days grow longer and the flesh is more willing. To see this route, use the "hand" on the above map and drag the map to where you see the junction of the Bells and the Long Canyon trails, near Roundup Basin Tank. This would be a tremendously long loop. Wet Beaver TH (Click the image for a full-size view) petro rock (Click the image for a full-size view) basalt over pillows (Click the image for a full-size view) Bell's Crossing (Click the image for a full-size view) Dainty diving - The Crack (Click the image for a full-size view) Cliff area (Click the image for a full-size view) And, another buscho t-shirt: Iraq is Arabic for Vietnam.       Trip 19: Wet Beaver Wilderness - to Casner Butte, mid-December (9.5 miles, 15 ERM, Energy Required Miles). Click here to go to our GPS route made while hiking the Wet Beaver Wilderness to Casner Butte. The route will appear on a Google map with a USGS topo background. Use the "+" sign (left of page) to change the map scale.       Yes, I'm again back in the Wet Beaver Wilderness (I really love that name!). This time I'm going to scout up toward Casner Butte. It's warm enough for a t-shirt as I switch-back gently up toward Casner from the main Bell Trail. There are old foot prints but no hikers up here today. I see what I believe are Cougar scat, all twisted and wrapped with fur, some sort of furry dinner, I surmise.       I continue past Casner and hike farther on this, the Apache Maid Trail, toward Apache Maid Mountain. The soil on top is well-saturated, and I call off my hike not too long after passing the sign that warns "trail difficult to follow." The trail does not seem difficult to follow, but the mud turns me around after a half a mile of rambling across this open plateau.       Back down to the saddle I slog, then I go off-route to Casner Butte, finding lots of clutching nasties (Mesquite and friends) and no real route. A storm front is blowing in and the temperature drops. Soon I am wearing wool gloves.       On the way off the butte, I stumble almost on a piece of pottery (see photo). I wonder how it got here, with no good place to camp or live nearby. A bit farther and I see an interesting tangle of cactus skeletons (see photo). It's very gray by now, but I take a photo over cactus and into Wet Beaver. Pot shard on Casner (Click the image) view from Casner Butte (Click the image for a full-size view) cactus skeleton (Click the image for a full-size view) And, another buscho t-shirt: We're Making Enemies Faster Than We Can Kill Them.       Trip 20: Little Horse to Chicken Point & Submarine Rock, late-December (8.5 miles, 12 ERM, Energy Required Miles). Click here to go to our GPS route made while hiking the Little Horse Trail to Chicken Point & Submarine Rock. The route will appear on a Google map with a USGS topo background. Use the "+" sign (left of page) to change the map scale.       We go rolling down the switchbacks into Oak Creek amidst cold temperatures, as the cold air drains off the Northern Arizona rim. On a quest for warmer hikes, we are.       We set out on the Little Horse Trail and wander in t-shirts part of the way to Chicken Point. Ahhh. We are besieged by oddly-colored jeeps and low-flying copters - terrorist-supporting vehicles of the land and air - out to waste as much oil as possible and contribute as quickly as possible to obesity and health care costs. Certainly, we muse, the cost of the bushco illegal and immoral war has surpassed the cost of providing education and health coverage for all Americans. Yet, this, among many other sad facts, seems lost on those that call for war and an economy based on the death-based military-industrial complex rather than an economy which values life.       Briefly escaping this onslaught, we continue to Submarine Rock, where we enjoy a delightful lunch in the low-angle Solstice sunlight. A chilling breeze disrupts our lounging, and we wander back, extending our roaming via the Llama Trail (see the gps route above). Chicken Point (Click the image) Submarine Rock (Click the image for a full-size view) Chicken Point (Click the image for a full-size view)       Psychologist know that individuals who become obsessed with themselves, with their own concerns and problems, are following a hazardous path to neurosis and other pathologists. What is true for the individual is true for the species. As a species, we have through history tended single-mindedly to our own desires and aspirations with little concern for how our actions affect the many species that sustain us. We can see where this is headed – we can see the grasslands turning to desert, the polluted waters, the fallen forests. Like a self-absorbed individual, we as a species have become dysfunctional, and we have moved toward collapse. By learning about the workings of the nonhuman world – by learning what a plant really is, and what it needs to survive, and how we help or hinder it – we can better understand and more wisely use the natural systems that support us, and we can build for ourselves a healthier, more enduring future. Roger DiSilvestro in The Beatles, a Yogi, and the Search for Plants, Aububon Engagement Calendar, 1995. And - Click here to see a pdf map of the Grand Canyon (180kb). And - Click here to see The Archman's site on Utah and area arches. Click here to see Ben's Scenic USA - Picture of the Day. Click here to see Steve's excellent photos - birds in flight, panoramas, etc. Click here to see the NOAA forecast for the high country. Wild Vagabond Main   Trip Report Index   Caveat