The photos below are what we saw.
We found a visitor in
Kathleen's clothes bag, compliments of Rick and Kim.
Kathleen did not get bitten.
Once the
group broke camp, we headed north on Smoky Mountain
road. There were many interesting buttes along the trail.
This
formation was particularly spectacular.
Thor led the
way and when we got to the top of one of the switchbacks, we got a view of the
balance of the group working their way
below the cliffs.
Another of
many awesome formations.
Eventually,
we reached a small creek and stopped to inspect things.
The group
caught up and dismounted to look around.
Close to our stop was another nice
cactus in bloom.
We traveled
on the rim of Mustang
Canyon and one of the roadside stops provided a great view
of this side canyon
head-wall.
Beautiful
wispy clouds punctuated an otherwise blue sky.
Near the
start of the Left Hand Collet trail we spotted the interesting
wind erosion patterns in the rocks.
The erosion
patterns were intricate and seemingly
random.
Deeper into
Left Hand Collet Canyon the holes turned into drapes.
At one point
we had to pass a handing rock that one day will block the trail.
A flash
flood or two and this portion of the canyon will be blocked
off from the balance of the world.
At the
canyon exit were some dinosaur tracks
embedded in the canyon walls. Above, the group fans
out in an attempt to find the tracks.
We found several
sets of tracks, the one above clearly showing 3 toes.
These
tracks, a bit harder to distinguish, are from a dinosaur that
had round feet.
Close to the
tracks were some yucca in bloom.
The bedding
in the rock showed clear evidence of multiple episodes of dune
building. Note the (nearly) horizontal junction in the center of the cliff.
The old west is alive and well in southern
Utah. Horses are still the
preferred method of transport for remote
back-country areas.
The group
decided to camp at Early Weed Bench. The trail was rough
and eroded in many spots resulting in some
slow going. But, it did provide some great views of
the eroded bluffs.
We lost
traction at one point on the trail and slid backwards into a deep rut bending my
right rear tool box.
Early Weed
Bench provided some great views of the Escalante Canyon
region. The Henry Mountains are in
the distance and still have a touch of snow.
This region of
slickrock sandstone is
cut with deep, narrow canyons.
When the
bedding of the sandstone is exposed to weathering it
produces interesting patterns.
An uplift
followed by erosion produces natural art.
Since we were
leading, we arrived at the camp first
which provided a view of the
approaching group.
While nosing around the
rocks, I found this fellow. Note the spots.
The group arrives at our slickrock site at Early Weed Bench.
After dinner, we gathered
around a small fire to share lies.
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Photos and Text
Copyright Bill Caid 2013,
all rights reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.