For the past eight years, ever since my sister-in-law S and my friend L posted photographs on social media of their visits to slot canyons in southern Utah and northern Arizona, I have coveted seeing those places: the striations, the undulations, the hues, the other-worldliness.
This spring, S is on a long overdue sabbatical. I've taken a leave of absence from my teaching gigs, and we're taking some time to travel.
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| We were there: Salt Lake City, walking to pick up a rental car. Aaron T. Stephan's "Point of View" (2016) |
We planned a Utah itinerary to include some slot canyons, filling in the rest of our two weeks with an abundance of other geological and archeological wonders. We consulted with the friends who inspired this trip; then, because I'm an acrophobe, I poured over online trail reviews to find acrophobe-vetted slot canyons and hiking trails. (We're now one week in, and I've only had one adrenaline-pumping episode, scrambling up what was probably only a 30-degree incline but that felt like way more, because that's what acrophobia does to perception--but more about that later.)
Our usual travel mode is "let's figure it out when we get there," but because much of this trip is in remote areas, it's our most carefully planned trip since, well, ever.
Day 1: RDU to SLC
Toto, we're not in North Carolina anymore. Salt Lake City has light rail (TRAX). Hop on at the airport, hop off downtown. Easy peasy. Free in February, even. It's like local government is encouraging folks to use mass transit or something.
Day 2: SLC to Torrey
Meeks Mesa Trail, a few miles east of Torrey:
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| Cassidy Arch, from as close as I was willing to get to the edge of the cliff. |
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| Cassidy Arch from afar |
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| Bighorn sheep! |
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| View from up high in Dixie National Forest |
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| Aspens! |
We started the seven-mile Lower Calf Creek Falls hike two hours before sunset and got to the end and back with time to spare because we walked FAST.
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