On May 9th, the Space Weather group with NASA recorded a G5 geomagnetic storm from the sun, which we have not had since 2003! This meant that we were going to have a chance to see the Northern Lights. Friday I was at home and unable to get out remote, but I was able to witness them from my backyard here in the Salt Lake Valley! It was an incredible display, and something that I was actually surprised was as brilliant as they were, and the visibility was something I have never seen this far south before! I soaked it in for almost an hour before it started to fade to the horizon.
Saturday night the Space Weather Center had forecasted from continuing Coronal Mass Ejections, that a G4 was likely and that we would see the northern lights once more! I headed to Stansbury Island in the Great Salt Lake. It was crowded, but I don't think the majority of the people out there even saw them. I got there early enough that right before sunset they started to show on the horizon. Right at twilight they were showing, and at the end of twilight, they only lasted for a short time. I timed it just right and was able to capture from first visible to peak before they went away for the night! It was really neat to knock this bucket list even off my list! Since I was staying till morning I decided to shoot a star trail. It turned out much better than expected. Of all the astronomic events I have photographed, the Aurora Borealis has become my new favorite! I have learned so much about them in such a short time, and when the chance comes to see them again, I won't pass it up! Enjoy the pics! More photography to come!
I thought my season was over. When I broke my finger in March, I was for sure I was done for the year. But winter had other ideas, and made a huge comeback the first week of May here in the Wasatch! 20-36" of snow fell over the range. On Cinco De Mayo, the Salt Lake Valley got accumulating snow! That is the latest I have ever seen accumulating snow in the valley. The mountains got hammered! I decided that I would get one more day out to close it out proper for the season!
I decided to climb the Millicent side of Brighton which was closed for the season, and just stay on safe low angle terrain. The climb up was fun, getting blasted by blizzard conditions! The snow was deep, but very thick which was going to present some challenges on the way out. I really got into the zone as I climbed on the skin track. My objective was the Twin Lakes Dam, and that is where I topped out.
I made the switch from tour to ride, then took it all in! Hard to tell if this was January 7th or May 7th. The winds started kicking up and I decided to just drop in to get out of it. It was thick, surfy in spots, but hard to turn in others. I weaved in and out of the track to keep my speed up as I made a few turns and sat on the tail to keep the tip up when needed! The final pitch was the best part, it was steep enough to rally some surfy pow turns in, and I rode the escalator on the tail to the bottom on the very last section. What a crazy spring storm! But a totally great day that does not come often this late into spring! Enjoy the pics and watch the YouTube video below to see the ride home! More adventures to come!
With the warm forecast continuing, and I now having the stoke lit for backpacking again, I figured I'd hit a local area and then move up into the national forest, and stay the night to watch the stars. It was a beautiful day. I stopped and fished the reservior on the way in, caught a couple of small trouts, then put the pack back on and made the big climb up to find a spot to pitch with the camera for the night.
The light on the way up the canyon was perfect and the temps just right. I made it to a spot near the snow line that was perfect and gave me somewhat of a view of the sky, but low enought to block most of the light pollution. I sat and had dinner while my camera was working. Eventually I gathered up my camera and hit the sleeping bag.
Morning came, and I had coffee with a duck in camp. I packed up camp and cleaned up the area to leave it better than I found it. I hit the trail and had a nice hike down to the lake. I tried some fishing, but alas, no repeat of the luck I had. Enjoy the pics! More adventures to come!
It was time to hit the trail for the adventure I came here for! My plan was Lower Muley Twist Canyon to Muley Tanks, stay overnight near the tanks, then finish the loop via Halls Creek to return to my Jeep. I got to the trailhead and I now know why they call it the Burr Trail. There were more sticker bushes than I could imagine. I got the boots on and threw on the pack and headed in.
The trail heads south for just a minute, then turns west and crossed Halls Creek. Then you start to head for the Water Pocket Fold. This is a geological feature in Capitol Reef, and it lived up to its reputation! The trail up is steep till you depart the red rock and meet the sandstone. Then there are carins you have to follow and a couple of spots you don't want to take a fall. But those are short lived. I would suggest a GPS or some sort of navigation for the Post Cutoff trail as a wrong turn could put you in a dangerous position. Once I crested the Water Pocket Fold it flattened out and puts you into a sandy wash. The trail then leaves the wash on a shelf where you get your first look into Lower Muley Twist Canyon.
Once you naviagte to the Post Cutoff Juction into Lower Muley Twist Canyon to going gets a lot easier. There was a lot of Tafoni to see and desert varnish on most of the canyon walls. About 2 miles in you see your first of many massive undercuts in this canyon which are mind blowing to walk through. This canyon recives massive flash floods in the monsoon season so be aware of afternoon thunderstorms July-Sept if you visit this place. Around 4 miles in there is one obstacle you have to down climb, but its is not difficult, I did not even take my pack off. About a mile after this you reach the First Cottonwoods and this is near where I found my first collectible water. It was actually a clear source and would be the best water I would see in this canyon. I drank what I carried in, then filled my two liters and a 28 oz that I put electrolytes in to drink as I walked. This canyon was a short cut for cowboys to go from the Burr Trail to San Juan County.
This whole time I have not seen another human being out here. I had the entire canyon on spring break in a national park all to myself! The third undercut was really large and had some boulders you had to navigate to stay in the main wash. The shade these provided for the above normal temps was so nice! Evening was settig in when I got to the Cowboy Camp. This is a historic site where Cowboys used to hitch their teams for the night before leaving Lower Muley Twist Canyon. It has grafiti from the 1920's on it and there are some relics from the cowboys days that litter the fire pit area. After taking a nice break I continued on the last part of Muley Twist Canyon. This section narrows, which has some really interesting light in the evening in it. After I exited the canyon, I missed the turn off for Muley Tanks and walked the wash for a bit till I found a trail that took my up to the Muley Tanks. These are depressions in the sandstone that collect water that you can drink if it is filtered. It was an 11 mile day, and my feet were tired, so I put my camera out for a star trail, and I took like a two hour nap, then got up, retireved my camera, and went back to bed.
Morning came and it was chilly to start. I got a great nights sleep and I made some coffee and breakfast, and filled up my waters, then broke camp. The hike out was really nice, sunny, sandy in some spots, and got a bit hit towards the last mile to the Jeep. All in all this place is wild, and you need to make sure you have enough water at all times. This by far was the driest desert backpacking trip I have ever done. Enjoy the pics, and makes sure you check out the YouTube video from this adventure!
