My Best of 2017

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Matt Hunt

Aqua colored Lake Minnewanka. Golden larches. Snow-capped jagged peaks. Lush green pine forest. I’m not sure it could get much better!

This hike did not end with a summit, but it did end with quite a view! The hike was tough, especially the last mile or so, that seemed to be at a 45° grade. I wasn’t quite used to the elevation yet, so I was huffing and puffing as I made my way up. In spite of cool temperatures, I was still sweating.

The dense pine forest was so peaceful. The climb was so rewarding. The view was out of this world. This was a spectacular moment, and the photo may be my best of 2017.

(C-Level Cirque Trail)

The Top of Texas

Posted on March 21, 2017 by Matt Hunt

I have an idea. Instead of just visiting all 50 states, why not summit the tallest peak in each of the 50 states? Sure, in some cases this is not that exciting, like in my birth state of Indiana, for example. The highest point of Indiana is just a spot you drive to and walk a short distance. Woo. But in the western states, there are actual mountains to climb, and how cool would it be to say I’ve reached the highest point in all 50 states?!

Whether I accomplish that or not, I could at least start with my current home state’s highest peak. That would be Guadalupe Peak located in Guadalupe Mountains National Park. This is actually one of the least visited National Parks in the country, ranking 48/59 in 2016 with 181,839 visitors (for comparison, the #1 park was Great Smoky Mountains with over 11 million!). Given its location, that does make some sense. In the middle of the Permian Basin, oil wells dominate the region, and there are no cities or even large towns nearby. There are no hotels within about an hour of the park, and the campgrounds are small. It’s just not an easy park to visit, especially if you plan on staying for more than a day or two.

For me it was about an 8 hour drive. In order to accomplish this over a weekend, I had to leave immediately following work on Friday evening, drive to Midland (about 5 hours) and stay the night, then get up early (I mean REALLY early; 4 am!) to complete the drive and begin the hike by sunrise. So that is what I did!

Preparation is the key to success. If I were to complete this hike, I’d definitely need plenty of fuel! Take a look at my selection of goodies!

I started my hike just before 8 am. It’s 4.2 miles from the trailhead to the summit, with a gain in elevation of just over 3,000 feet to reach the summit at 8,749 feet above sea level. This park is known for its wind, so I had watched the weather for a while, and found a weekend with almost no wind. It was also pretty warm, so the long-sleeve shirt and jacket I had with me were not even needed.

Wildlife in this park includes black bears, mountain lions, and mule deer, among others. I didn’t see any bears or mountain lions, but I did run into a few mule deer. Two grown females, and three young ones, probably yearlings.

They weren’t too sure about me, but they didn’t run away, either. I always love running into wildlife. Such a treat! Love these animals!

The first mile or mile and a half of this trail is the steepest. Good news and bad news, I guess. You certainly don’t ease into the hike, but on the plus side, you get the hardest part out of the way first. It also means the views get pretty spectacular pretty quickly.

You get a little bit of everything on this trail. There is some loose rock, some slick rock, open desert area, and pine forests. In the morning the trail starts in the sun, but then goes into the shade on the western slope, as the trail levels out somewhat. It’s a welcome break after that initial steep ascent in the sun.

Perhaps my recent increased activity level helped, or perhaps it was due in large part to frequent stops to take photos, but this hike ended up being less strenuous than I had anticipated. It took 3 hours and 15 minutes for me to reach the summit from the trailhead. Without all of the breaks, I think if I really pushed it I could do it in around 2 and a half hours.

There’s a big silver pyramid marking the summit, with a lock box containing a register. I signed the register, and took a break to eat a few Kashi bars, drink some water, and take some photos at the summit.

I’m well aware of the fact I’m not making any fashion statements with that outfit! But that was the only moisture-wicking shirt I had, and the shorts are actually convertible pants, which are very convenient when you’re not sure what the temperatures are going to be like.

Going up is your cardio workout, and coming back down is without a doubt your leg workout! My quads were burning by the last mile, and of course that would be the steepest part! It’s almost easier to jog down. I did not take any breaks on the way down, and it only took an hour and a half!

At that point I took the opportunity to get my entrance sign selfie, and then decided to head up to Carlsbad Caverns (about 45 minutes north).

I had originally planned on camping at the park and going to Carlsbad Caverns in the morning, but the campground was full. As it turned out, that was a very bad time to visit Carlsbad Caverns. It was absolutely packed, and I just didn’t have time to go through it all, so I was in and out, and did not see the most interesting sections. Oh well. I had to get to the next spot that I wanted to photograph, which was the salt flats! But first, I had to stop and get the iconic shot of El Capitan!

Then it was off to the salt flats. I assumed it was okay to drive on them. There were no signs to tell me otherwise! There were also plenty of tire tracks, so out onto the flats I went. Pretty cool place!

That would be a really great spot to shoot the sunrise. Maybe some other time. After that I made the drive to Prada Marfa. It is located in the middle of nowhere on US-90 in southwest Texas. No, it’s not an actual Prada store. It’s a sculpture by artists Elmgreen and Dragset. It’s not even in Marfa, it’s in Valentine. Marfa is another 26 miles to the southeast.

It originally contained actual Prada shoes and purses, but was vandalized 6 days after it was completed, and those items were stolen. They were then replaced with knock-offs.

Since my camping plans were spoiled, I then decided to drive all the way to Odessa to stay in a hotel room for the night. I was completely exhausted by the time I got there, but it left me with just a little over a 5 hour drive on Sunday to get back home. So it was really a one-day adventure, lasting about 20 hours! Carpe diem!

Here is a vlog I put together on my hike to Guadalupe Peak. In the future I plan on either getting a dedicated camera for this, or at least a gimbal to stabilize the phone shots.

Independence Pass

Posted on October 24, 2016 by Matt Hunt

The word independence means a lot to me. I’d consider myself a pretty independent person, going on all of these trips alone, and absolutely loving it! It’s also a goal of mine to reach financial independence so that I can take even more trips. And my evening at Independence Pass was one of my favorite evenings in Colorado.

It was really a spontaneous decision to go out to Independence Pass on my final night in Snowmass Village, as I had already captured all of the other spots that I wanted photos of. So with a free evening, I decided I’d head out east for sunset.

In Goggle map searches, I found there was a trail that led out from the parking lot to an even higher peak. There were a couple 360° pictures along this path, and the view looked pretty good. I wanted to get a sea of mountain peaks in front of the setting sun.

The drive out was gorgeous! One of the most scenic roads I’ve ever driven, with the bright yellow aspen trees, dark green pines, and snow-capped peaks amidst deep blue skies and sunshine.

I still wasn’t very well adjusted to the elevation, and in this case I was starting from an even higher elevation of 12,095 feet! While the view from the paved overlook area was good, I was in search of better.

Frequent breaks along the hike were necessary, as I was getting short of breath after about 10 seconds of hiking! Seriously, that thin air is no joke! No big deal, as I had given myself plenty of time before sunset, and there were some great spots for photos along the way.

I made it up to the peak I was shooting for about an hour and a half before sunset, so I had time to just enjoy the views, and hunker down to try to stay warm! It wouldn’t have been that bad if not for the wind. I had left my heavy coat in the car, so all I had was a sweatshirt, light jacket, and hat & gloves. On the eastern edge of the peak, I was able to escape some of the wind, especially if I laid down flat!

The thing I enjoyed most about this spot was… there were no other people anywhere to be seen! All week I had been in the more popular touristy spots, including the Maroon Bells, which was absolutely packed. Here was a different story. Two guys had passed me on the trail, but I’m not sure what happened to them, and they may have even turned around and gone back to the parking area, and I just didn’t see them as I was snapping photos.

The scene to the west at sunset wasn’t actually all that great. The foreground was nice, but there was not a cloud in the sky in this area to add interest.

No big deal, however, as the clouds to the south and east lit up after the sun had set! I was literally pumping my fists with excitement as I captured these images! What a great call to come out here for sunset!

That first photo is one of, if not the favorite sunset photo of mine that I’ve ever captured. It’s funny how my favorite photos rarely get the most likes on Facebook and Instagram, but I think there’s a different perspective when you are the one who captured it, and actually witnessed that scene in person.

While I prefer to stay behind the camera, I decided to record a little vlog during this hike:

In my next few posts, I’ll cover the Maroon Bells, Crystal Mill, Capitol Peak, Kebler Pass, McClure Pass, and Rocky Mountain National Park. So check back if you want to see some of the beautiful fall colors!

Delicate Arch: A Utah Landmark

Posted on September 10, 2016 by Matt Hunt

On my trip through the National Parks of southern Utah, there was one shot in particular that I was after. I wanted to get a shot of the milky way through Delicate Arch. Delicate Arch is symbolic of Utah; in fact it appears on their license plate. Formed of Entrada Sandstone, the arch opening stands 64 feet tall and 45 feet wide. It is the largest free-standing arch in Arches National Park.

Delicate Arch is not one that cannot be driven right up to and seen with a short walk. It requires a fairly strenuous hike of 3 miles round trip, with a 480 foot elevation gain. In the summer heat, this is made even more strenuous, and there isn’t a whole lot of shade along the trail! Since I wanted to be there for sunset as well, I completed this hike at probably the worst possible time of day, the late-afternoon, when it was well in excess of 100 degrees! The sign at the beginning of the trail recommends bringing 2 liters of water with you for this hike. I had finished off 1 liter by the time I reached the top.

Once I was at the top, however, I was able to sit in the shade and cool down, and it wasn’t bad at all. That’s the advantage of the dry heat! In spite of the heat and the relatively demanding hike, it was pretty crowded up there, but I fully expected that.

Even with the crowds, you can get a good angle on the arch from several different spots, so it’s not really an issue. The biggest issue is that everyone and their mother wants to get a picture of themselves standing underneath the arch! There was actually a line, and one at a time they’d walk out, take a few pictures, then the next person or group would come in.

Once the sun began to get lower in the sky, however, there was one brave photographer who yelled across the way for those people to clear the arch and give everyone 10 seconds for a clear shot!

This is another one of the top shots I was after on this trip, and one that had been two years in the making, ever since I was originally set to spend 4 weeks in Grand Junction, CO, just 2 hours away. The only thing that would make it better is if the La Sal Mountains had snow on the peaks! I guess I’ll just have to go back in the early spring to get that shot!

Later on as the shadows were creeping up on the arch, and the light at the top of the arch was even more brilliant, I took it upon myself to yell across the way and ask for another 10 seconds to shoot!

You see the difference in the color there as the sun gets lower, and the light turns to a more brilliant orange. I just wish the arch was sitting a little higher, or there wasn’t anything blocking the sun at the bottom of it at this point. Nonetheless, that was quite a beautiful moment, and in this scenario, a completely cloud-free sky was another thing I had been hoping for.

The lack of clouds was absolute requirement after the sun set if I were to get the #1 shot I came for with the milky way! After the sun went down, the crowd slowly started to die down, and for a moment I thought it would just be myself and one other photographer there to shoot the milky way, but by the time darkness had set in, half a dozen or more photographers showed up.

To get this shot, I had planned on doing two separate exposures. One for the milky way itself, with a high ISO to take in more light. I then wanted to do a separate exposure for the arch at a lower ISO for less noise, lit by my flashlight. I made sure the other photographers were okay with me light painting for a couple minutes, because I was still doing a long exposure for this. If you light paint on a high ISO, you really only need a flash.

Back on the computer, I combined the two images in Photoshop. Since I’m not that skilled with the various methods of cutting parts of layers out, I did this all by hand when zoomed way in. In addition, my camera creates this odd noise on long exposures with these little purple, red, blue and yellow lines. I went through all the dark spots on the foreground with the spot removal tool and took literally thousands of these little specs out by hand! This one image has about 4 hours of labor in it, but the end result was well worth it!

Want a print of this image? Visit my Etsy store to order! I got an 18 x 24 inch canvas of this printed for my wall at home, and it looks great! Just contact me if you want to order any other images that are not in my current inventory on Etsy!

Chasing Zebras

Posted on August 5, 2016 by Matt Hunt

In the medical field there is a thing called chasing Zebras. A Zebra represents those rare, but serious conditions that a patient could have, but more than likely doesn’t. If you’re chasing a Zebra, you may end up running a ton of unnecessary tests, and get nowhere. Or if the patient actually has a Zebra, you may end up saving a life!

In this case, I’m referring to a different Zebra, but I’m still not referring to the animal. When I was at the Bryce Canyon visitor’s center, I was browsing through the books, and found one titled Photographing the Southwest. This was the first volume in a series, and was focused solely on southern Utah. In this book I found this amazing slot canyon called Zebra Slot Canyon. I had seen pictures of this place before, but I didn’t really know where it was. I looked it up, and it was only an hour and a half from Bryce! It left a 4-hour drive to Moab, where I was headed next, but I HAD to go visit this place!

This is well off the beaten path. To start, you’re in the small town of Escalante, UT, population 779. From there, it’s an 8 mile drive down a ROUGH gravel road. A 4WD vehicle is not necessary, however, and my Accord got there just fine.

When I got to the parking area, there was one other guy who was just leaving his vehicle and heading out on the trail. I’d end up catching him later on and passing him, and then I never saw him again.

The hike out to Zebra Canyon is really pretty easy and flat. There are some sections that get a little confusing, but you can always look around and find the trail.

My feet were still in bad shape from my hike through the Zion Narrows, so the hike was a bit painful at times. I found it was worse in sand, because I couldn’t really keep the pressure off those wounded areas. There were several sections where I had to cross the Halfway Hollow creek, and while it was muddy, there was no water running through it, so I would get some mud on the sole of my hiking shoes, but it wasn’t a big deal. Then I came up to this…

What would you do? I walked up and down the bank here, and while some sections became more narrow, there weren’t any narrow enough that I could jump over. I had to cross it. I thought I may be able to throw some rocks down and create a little bridge, but the rocks were just sliding in the mud on the bottom, not to mention covered with slippery mud on top! The risk of a fall was high, so I decided to forego that. Alright… off with the shoes and socks! Yep, I crossed that sucker barefoot! When I came out on the other side my feet were caked with mud! I knew I was close, so I just continued on barefoot, but that became an issue shortly as the sand was filled with spiny little twigs that were getting stuck to the bottom of my feet. Ouch! I eventually sat down and scraped off as much mud as I could, and put my socks and shoes back on.

It wasn’t much further until I finally came upon the mouth of the slot canyon. Hooray!

I had read that there could be pools of water at the beginning of this canyon, their depth of which would depend on how much rain had recently fallen. This water was stagnant, dirty, and disgusting! There were tadpoles swimming in it, and these huge water bugs on the surface. But there was no other option if I wanted to get to the sweet spot of the canyon, so into the nasty water I went! I was at least prepared for this by wearing swimming trunks. I had hoped it would only be knee deep. Well, that hope vanished about 4 feet in. It was clear I wouldn’t be able to wear my backpack, so I came back out and took all of my stuff off, took my cell phone and keys out of my pocket, and went back just to test how deep that water was.

It got deeper. A lot deeper! All the way up to the top of my chest! Did I mention it was dirty water? I know I didn’t mention it was also cold! I’m not sure if it was the fact it was cold, dirty, or that it was in this narrow space, but for whatever reason it literally took my breath away. I was afraid it would continue to get deeper, which would not have allowed me to bring my camera in, but luckily it did not.

It did, however, get more narrow. VERY narrow. To the point where my feet wouldn’t even fit on the bottom, so they were getting scrunched and scraped all the way through that joint! I was still angry at my water shoes from Zion, so I did not have them with me. I wasn’t going to get my hiking shoes wet either, so I continued to do this barefoot. Finally I hit the point where the water ended, but there was still a very narrow section to navigate. The best way to do it was to “sit” against one wall with my hands behind me, and put my feet (bare feet, I remind you) up on the other wall, and… I’m not sure what you call this… spider walk? Whatever you’d call it, it takes a lot of energy to do! And at one point I slid down the face of the walls, giving me rock burns on my right palm, and left sole.

It’s certainly not easy to get to the back of the canyon, where the magic is located. But in the end, it’s worth it. I scraped up my feet quite a bit, particularly my right foot, where the wounds had been healing, but they were both opened back up, and would prove to be an issue for the remainder of the week as a result. Anyway, I had finally reached the sweet spot, and this is what I saw…

WOW, was it beautiful! That wasn’t even the best view, however. After going further in and looking back, the view was even better!

Because of the difficulty in getting back there, I had only brought my camera, which I just carried above my head through the water, and hung around my neck for those sections requiring use of both hands. I really wanted to go back and get my tripod so that I didn’t have to shoot at ISO 2000, but after going a little ways I decided it was too much trouble, and I’d just come back some time in the future and be better prepared!

I was also somewhat pressed for time, as I had a 4-hour drive to get to Moab, check-in to my room, and then get up to Delicate Arch for sunset, or really well before sunset for the photos I wanted. So I didn’t stay any longer.

When I got back to the front where all of my stuff was, I realized… I never took my wallet out of my back pocket! Oh, goodness. It was soaked, of course! So on the drive to Moab, I came up with a decent way of drying it out…

I was so dirty and gross, and I’m sure I smelled terrible, but it was all worth it! I’ll definitely go back sometime, but this time I’ll be better prepared! Perhaps the best part was that I had the canyon to myself the entire time! On the way back, I passed a group of four who asked me if they were on the correct trail to Zebra Canyon. It was a young couple with two older women. I informed them what they were about to encounter, and showed them pictures as motivation, but I really doubt the two older women were able to make it back there! Then when I was almost to the parking area, I passed a large group of boys and a couple men. I’m not sure if they were headed all the way to the canyon or not. But chances are good if you head out there in the morning hours, you’ll be all alone, or will only see a few others!

The Narrows

Posted on August 4, 2016 by Matt Hunt

Ahhh, it sure was good to be back at Zion National Park! This is without a doubt one of my favorite places, even though I had previously spent all of one day there! After a long drive out from Dallas, I had spent the previous night in nearby Kanab, UT, about an hour away. I arrived at Zion relatively early in the morning, and planned on heading to the last stop on the shuttle, the Temple of Sinawava, which was where The Narrows hike began.

Before I got through the east end of the park, however, I ran into a huge group of bighorn sheep, so I had to stop and take some photos! I originally only saw one standing on top of a rock, so I turned around, and by the time I got back in that area several cars had stopped, and I noticed quite a few. Then more showed up. Then more showed up! They were all females with the exception of one male ram. Of course I focused on snapping pictures of him, because those big horns (hence the name) are pretty impressive!

This has to be one of my favorite animals. And sure, you can see bighorns and other animals in an enclosed space, like a safari drive, but there’s just something so much more magical about seeing them out in the wild. Obviously these animals have been around for a long time, as they can be seen in petroglyphs throughout this area of southern Utah. What a magical creature!

Moving on through the park, I got to the visitor’s center and got my bag put together and caught the shuttle. It takes quite a while to get all the way to the final stop in the canyon. I’d recommend getting there much earlier than I did, and catching the very first shuttle out. I had to wait in line for a while just to get on the shuttle. It was mid-morning, I forget what time, but this seems to be the busiest time of day for the park shuttle.

The trail starts on the Riverside Walk, which is a well-maintained path, so that part is easy. This goes for about a half-mile I believe. Where this ends, it’s time to go straight into the Virgin River! I purchased a pair of water shoes with a pretty thick sole on them a few days prior to leaving, however I was never able to find any neoprene socks. I noticed that many others had the same shoes on, with sizes noted by markers. They were rentals. I should have done more research! Those shoes (and socks) looked legit, and much better than my $25 water shoes. As it would turn out, I really could have used those! The insoles in my shoes came loose, and were shifting all around inside the shoe, and rubbing against my feet. I ended up with skin scraped off in four different areas, two on each feet. The most problematic of them all were on the inside “corner”, if you will, of each foot right at the ball of the foot. This spot on the right foot in particular would end up being an issue for the entire duration of the trip! So if you do the Zion Narrows hike, be sure you are properly outfitted for it! I’d recommend using one of the local outfitters to rent those shoes. I couldn’t tell you which one those people got them from, but I’m sure a little research would reveal that!

At any rate, I’m not sure how far out I went, but I hiked for about 3 hours before deciding to turn around and come back. The water was never even waist deep, and most of the time was only ankle deep. In this 100-degree weather, it was much more pleasant hiking in the mostly shaded, cool waters of the Virgin River! I heard one guy saying you could go as far as 14 or 15 miles down the river if you are so inclined. Obviously I didn’t go quite that far! But it’s a good hike for the family, and you can make it as long or as short as you want.

As far as a photography standpoint, well that was tough. The river was absolutely packed with people, so I had a hard time finding spots where I could get a clear shot. On many occasions, just as I thought I had a clear shot, a group of 10-15 more people would start hiking through. At one point right after I had set up my tripod, this kid literally sat down RIGHT in front of my camera. Ugh, really kid?! I just glared at him, and after a minute or so he started moving out of the frame. I’m sure it wouldn’t be so packed during the cooler months, but at those times a wet suit may not be a bad idea!

Enough words, on to the photos! Contact me for prints or canvases of any of these photos!

Zion The Beautiful

Posted on July 19, 2016 by Matt Hunt

I woke up well before sunrise in my tent in Page, AZ. Since I was up so early, I thought I’d give it a shot to get some Milky Way photos prior to making the 2-hour drive to Zion National Park. I returned to the Horseshoe Bend area, and just set up quickly in front of some bushes. Since dawn was soon upon me, the sky ended up having a beautiful blue tone to it. It was a decent shot, but unfortunately I didn’t take the time to get the foreground bushes in complete focus. Oh well.

After just a few shots, the sky was getting too bright, so it was time to head on up to Zion! This entire drive is beautiful, and I made a few stops along the way to take pictures on the side of the road. I arrived at Zion a little after 8am, and got my bag together in preparation to make the Angels Landing hike!

During the warmer months (I was there in April), public vehicles are not allowed to drive through the canyon, so you must park at the Visitors Center and ride the shuttle. They come by often, so there’s not a lot of waiting around. I got on the shuttle and was on my way.

It was actually a pretty chilly morning, but as I started my hike, I quickly began shedding layers. Even with the fairly gradual slope at the beginning, I had a big bag with my camera, a couple lenses, tripod, water bottles, and some snacks on my back, so it wasn’t long until I was in a t-shirt and shorts.

The hike is pretty strenuous, especially when you reach Walter’s Wiggles, a series of 20 switchbacks with a steep incline. When you get to the last 1/2 mile or so, it goes from a hike, to basically a climb. There are several ledges in this section that do not have a ton of room, and are situated on the edge of a 1,200 ft drop to the canyon floor below! In fact, six people have fallen to their deaths on this hike since 2004, according to the sign at the base of the trail. There are chains bolted to the rock in these locations for hikers to hold onto, just in case. Don’t let this scare you away from this hike, however, as there is still plenty of room to get by without being too close to the edge. You should not be completing this hike in running shoes, though. Get some real hiking shoes/boots. You’ll be thankful for the extra traction. On the way back down, the girl in front of me was slipping and sliding all over the place, while I never had an issue.

Anyway, the climbing part isn’t that strenuous, because you’ll be taking frequent breaks to wait on others to come down, or on others in front you to get up. Once you reach the top, you’re treated to the most incredible viewpoint ever!

I spent a great deal of time just sitting at the top of Angels Landing, taking in the view. I was grateful in that moment, just to be there. Life doesn’t always give you what you want. I always wanted to be married with kids by age 34. However, if that were the case, I probably wouldn’t have been there, in that moment. So there are advantages to any situation. I still hope to have a wife and kids someday, but in the meantime, I’ll continue to cherish the opportunity to go on adventures like this!

Going down was much easier than coming up! That’s an understatement! Once I got back down to the valley, I looked back up at where I had been. I had to take a picture of that! It was crazy to see just how far I had climbed!

At that point, I was starving, so it was time for my first real meal of the day! In hindsight, I should have stopped for a big breakfast prior to that hike, but it’s whatever! I went into Springdale, and with the help of Yelp, found a place called Whiptail Grill. I chowed down on some chips & salsa and carne asada tacos, and washed that down with a Corona! It was perfect! I can highly recommend this place, and in fact I plan on going back when I’m in Zion again next week!

After getting my campsite set up, organizing my car a bit, and taking a shower, it was just about time for sunset. While on the shuttle bus, the driver mentioned that the Watchman at sunset, photographed from one of the bridges, was a popular spot for photographers. Alright, I’m game.

There I got to talking with a nice photographer from California. We shared some of our favorite images with each other. He had an amazing photo from a lake out in California! It was fun chatting while I let my camera snap away on interval shooting.

I wasn’t done yet. After sunset I went up to the Canyon Overlook, as I knew the moon would be out, and thought it may light up the canyon. Yes, it was a little eerie hiking out there in the dark! I hadn’t actually been there yet, so I was completing that short 0.5 mile hike for the first time! I was also the only one up there, which I found a little hard to believe! Why were all the other photographers going to bed? They were missing some great shots!

Nope, I STILL wasn’t done! I stopped on the side of the road (the one you see there where the light trails are) and continued to shoot in the dark. After a few minutes, a truck pulled up and the guy asked if I was getting any good shots. I told him I was getting some great shots! He asked if I’d mind if he tried, too. Of course not! Well he only had an iPhone, so he wasn’t able to do what I could with my Nikon, but nonetheless, here was another cool person I chatted with. His name was Cody, he was originally from North Carolina. He had spent the winter working at a ski resort near Salt Lake City, I believe he said. He had just arrived at the park, and didn’t even have any reservations! He did have a camper that he had built on the back of his truck, so he really just needed a place to park, but still. I love that, though. I love that sense of adventure, and spontaneity! We talked for quite some time, and he even tried to convince me to go on a night hike with him. I passed in lieu of sleep, and then he said something that has stuck with me, “you won’t be telling your grand kids stories about sleeping.” Touche, Cody.

I still went back to get a little bit of sleep, but it wasn’t long before I was up again.

I knew that the moon would set well before sunrise, making the Milky Way visible. Once again, I was up before any signs of daylight, packed up my campsite, and went out to shoot some more!

I went to the parking lot of the museum to get a shot of the Milky Way above the Watchman. Unfortunately, there were a few thin clouds in the sky, but I just kept shooting and shooting hoping they would clear enough for a good shot. It was cool, and WINDY that morning! Once again, pretty eerie being out there by myself. I had a headlamp around my head, and my flashlight in my pocket. I kept my head on a swivel, looking around for other vehicles, or anything else out of the ordinary. Then I heard a rustle in the bushes. I quickly turned my headlamp on and looked that way, but didn’t see anything. There are mountain lions in this park, you know. So then I got my flashlight out of my pocket and shined it in the direction of the noise. Ah, there was something heading this way! I couldn’t tell what it was at first, then it got closer and became clearer. A raccoon! They can be mean, and have rabies! The hairs were standing up on my neck, and I was preparing to do my best Pat McAfee impression and unleash the boomstick on this dude! Luckily, he thought better of it, and turned around and ran the other way. Whew!

So yeah, here was the shot I got out of all that!

After that I got in my car to warm up and avoid anymore wildlife run-ins while waiting for the sun to come up. Another popular shot here is first light hitting the Patriarch’s, which were right behind me, so no need to go anywhere!

This time there were a couple other photographers out, completely unaware of the Milky Way shot they had just missed!

The sun was blocked by many clouds that morning, and there was just a narrow window of opportunity with at least some visible light on top of the cliffs, but nonetheless, I made it work out okay!

After that I went back to the Canyon Overlook for a daytime shot.

Then I traveled back through the eastern part of the park, which is also beautiful, on my way out to Monument Valley!

Zion just might be my favorite place I’ve ever been! I know this is a place I can come back to and spend a week, and never run out of trails to hike, or pictures to take. If you’ve never been, I would definitely recommend putting it on your list! I’ll be back next week to hike the Narrows, and probably Observation Point!

Red Rocks Rock!

Posted on May 7, 2016 by Matt Hunt

What can I say about Sedona? It is truly one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to. It’s a photographer’s dream. It’s a spiritual haven… apparently. It’s a hiker or mountain biker’s paradise. It’s a great place for a vacation. While I only spent a day here, I could easily have spent a week.

It was a jam-packed day for me, which started with a hike to Bell Rock. This hike was a bit longer than I expected, but had some pretty good views from an elevated spot of the rock, though I think the rock itself was pretty spectacular, too!

By the time I got back off of that trail, it was time for lunch. I stopped at a great little place called the Red Rock Cafe where I had a wonderful chicken melt sandwich, sweet potato fries, and key lime pie! I didn’t feel guilty at all about that meal, because I had just come back from a long hike, and was about to go on another! I can’t speak for any other restaurants in the area, since this was the only one I went to, but I can highly recommend Red Rock Cafe! They seem to be very popular for breakfast, and I was very close to getting breakfast for lunch!

After lunch I headed to the Airport Vortex. There’s some kind of special metaphysical energy you’re supposed to feel at this spot. I guess I’m not into that sort of thing… I didn’t feel any different! It does have fantastic views, however! It’s a very short hike up from the parking area, so this is a good place for everyone to go and experience.

I sat up there for a while, just taking it all in. Not that I had time to explore the whole town, but I’d have to say this is the spot for the best views. Considering how quick and easy it is to get to, it’s a must stop if you’re in Sedona!

Next up was my favorite part of Sedona… the hike to Devil’s Bridge! If you have a 4-wheel drive vehicle with a high clearance, or you rent one, this hike is considerably shorter. If not, you’ll have to park an extra mile and a half or so from the trailhead. This would not have been that difficult of a hike, but after climbing Camelback Mountain in Phoenix the day before, and hiking Bell Rock earlier in the day, my feet were downright killing me by the end of this one! It felt like I’d get one big blister on the ball of each foot! So unless you’re in the same boat, this one isn’t too bad. There is a pretty steep climb to get up to Devil’s Bridge, but anyone in moderately decent shape should be able to handle it without issues.

The view is, of course, amazing. From this location you cannot see any houses or other buildings, it’s just those beautiful red rocks, shrubs, and trees! The above picture is a wide angle shot, and doesn’t really do the drop-off justice. If you fall from the top of Devil’s Bridge, you probably won’t survive. However, it is not as sketchy as it looks from this angle. It’s actually very wide, even at its most narrow point, where I’m standing. You’ll have to wait your turn to get a picture alone, hopefully not as long as I had to wait for this group that sat out there forever taking selfie after selfie after selfie! Annoying.

After that, it was about time to start thinking about getting the shot I really came here to get; Cathedral Rock at sunset! Unfortunately on this day, the clouds had other plans. I also had a difficult time finding the spot I wanted to shoot from. It is actually called “Secret Slickrock Trail”. There is no official parking area for the trailhead, you just have to park along the side of the gravel road. But in my opinion, this is the best viewpoint of Cathedral Rock, and not quite as over-shot as the Crescent Moon area below this slick rock.

At least there was some water in that pool, but I was definitely hoping for more sunlight on the rock. Thin high clouds were muting the sun quite a bit, so this was about the best I could do. I’m still happy how it turned out, though!

I left that spot before sunset, and debated on where to go from there, thinking there was a chance for a good sunset. I decided to head back to the Airport Vortex, and right as I arrived, the spectacular sunset was taking place! Unfortunately it was packed! I could not find a place to park! I finally parked in a little gap on the end that was actually a parking spot, but my car fit! I had to run to a little ledge above the road, as I didn’t have time to get to the top of the Vortex.

That ended up being a great way to end the day in Sedona! Accommodations in Sedona itself are quite pricey, so I had reserved a room about 45 minutes to the north in Flagstaff. It’s a windy road with a big elevation climb once you leave Sedona, and suddenly you go from the Red Rock desert, to a pine forest! There was also quite a temperature change!

As I was making this drive, I looked up and saw that the stars looked brilliant in the breaks between the clouds, and I envisioned how great that would look in a picture above the tall pines, so I found a spot to stop along the side of the road! Sometimes these impromptu shots end up being my favorite shots, and this one was no exception!

The orange glow on the bottom right is a result of the city lights of Flagstaff. The trees at this spot weren’t perfect, but for a shot that was completely unplanned, I’ll take it! There was also quite the change in temperature at this higher elevation, and I had to get my winter coat out to shoot from here!

Those Ponderosa pine trees had a very unique aroma. I can’t really describe it. They did not smell like what you think of as a traditional pine. It was not bad, by any means. I actually liked it! Some say it smells like vanilla, but I didn’t think so. I wonder if the people living in Flagstaff even notice it, or if their olfactory centers have gotten used to it, and they smell nothing? It’s probably the latter, but for an out-of-towner, it was a lovely welcome to town!

Sedona is definitely a place I want to go back to and spend more time. I’d love to get some sunrise shots, and some better sunset shots as well, particularly at Cathedral Rock. If you have never been, I highly recommend it! You will not be disappointed! As always, pictures do not do it justice, you’ll have to go see it with your own eyes!