UTAH 2011-2012 TRIP
Another month in Utah this year, as has been our habit for near six years now. This time we started off will a nice snow storm in Zion NP that quickly melted. Not too much of a problem for us, since we have had record snow the last couple of years and we have a lot of film dedicated to snow. This year it was mostly warm with clear skies. We based for two weeks in Springdale, UT which gives us excellent access to Zion NP. Temperatures ranged from the teens to the mid fifties our entire stay. We drove through a pretty good snowstorm going into Utah and the East entrance to Zion NP, but by the time we reached the valley it was just rain. It rained the second day and that was the end of any precipitation for the next month in Utah.
The last two weeks we based out of Moab, UT. There was still some snow in the shaded areas, but for the most part the skies were dreary white and without interesting clouds except for three days. We spent most of our stay in Arches NP working details.
This trip we devoted time, both in Zion and Arches, to discovering new areas that we have not worked before. In Zion we discovered two new and unexplored areas which were absolutely beautiful. One area, which was not easy to access, we kept returning to for several days of shooting. We also found an really unusual, and remote area in Arches that took up two days of shooting. We are not into long, strenuous, overnight hikes. Most of our excursions into the wilderness to photograph are less than two miles round trip. But what needs to be understood is that we like to work where others dare not go. So that means, though our hikes are relatively short, they do require a lot of energy and planning since we are going into areas that are difficult to access. Most excursions are over very rough, rocky areas that are very steep and sometimes require crossing streams and areas of ice and snow. Though the places we work are not that difficult to reach, keep in mind we are carrying a lot of gear. We each carry a backpack that weighs from 35-45 pounds and one of two sizes of tripod that weigh either 12.5 or 14.5 pounds. A short hike into an area, 2-3 hours of shooting, and the hike out, leaves you pretty much done for the day.
We were gone for 30 days and we shot film 19 of those days. Here are a few snapshots of this trip. . . Enjoy!