Category: slot canyons

Benjamin Burner stumbled accidentally on to one of the best hikes in the world, Paria Canyon on the Arizona – Utah border. It’s the best slot canyon hike anywhere.

His photos are excellent. His trip report philosophic:

Advantages of Traveling Alone

Flexibility. This is a nice euphemism for selfishness. Going solo means you set your own pace, your own agenda, meal plan, lodging arrangements etc. In day to day life I find I constantly interact with people who I must accommodate. I need a vacation from this as much as anything.

Nature. With nature as my sole companion I am free from the distractions of society. I find I experience the beauty and purity of nature not as a spectator but as a participant.

Solitude. It is often only through solitude that I truly know myself. I find these times of solitude necessary for deep introspection.

Independence. I have been blessed with a few great friends who have always been there for me, but I believe it is important for me to survive on my own from time to time. As a man, I use this independence to take risks, test my strength, and assert my silly inner boy. However, regardless of your sex or what independence means to you, I believe the confidence gained from this independence is vital in shaping us and who we will be around others.

Spiritual Growth. Perhaps it is partly because I am religious, but I often feel the presence of god more keenly when I am alone in the wilderness. God speaks to me through the mountains and the trees, and sometimes I only hear it when I am alone and free from distractions.

Read the rest of the post on Burner Photography – Traveling Alone through the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument

Besthike information page – PARIA CANYON

Legendary alpinist Greg Child is a hiker too. Guided 5 days in a raft, 5 days on foot, his trip report posted by Backpacker magazine begins like this:

It’s a sunburned September day in southeast Utah, and I’m following 10 parched hikers through a jumble of burnished boulders and sparsely spaced cottonwood trees on the floor of a sinuous canyon called Grand Gulch. Amber-tinted sunbeams filter into the 700-foot-deep chasm and light up our lanky, long-haired, bird-legged backpacking guide, Vaughn Hadenfeldt. He’s hunting for potable water, but the only pools we’ve found so far are a speckled latte brown. “A flash flood ripped through here two weeks ago,” he tells us, “and these pools still aren’t settled. If we don’t find one that is, we’ll be pickin’ grit out of our teeth all night.” …

… read the rest of this article

See more gorgeous photos of Grand Gulch posted by Jack Brauer from his 4-day hike of Grand Gulch.

more photos

We’ve added Grand Gulch to our list of the best hikes in North America.