Prologue:
Utah has always been one of those destinations that has stuck out to me as a photographer and traveller. The unique landscape it presents is like no other and it's no wonder why so many people flock to it's Mighty Five National Parks every year.
Since 2018, I've been blessed with being an ambassador for the Salt Lake City (SLC) based Eco-Minded gear and apparel company called Coalatree. If you're reading this blog, there is a good chance you've seen countless photos of me rocking the gear over the years and if you know me, when it comes to supporting something, it means I truly stand behind the product.
Having been in contact with everyone within the company over the years, our schedules finally aligned to make not only a Utah roadtrip possible, but be able to visit the shop in SLC and get to meet the man himself who I first connected with back in 2018, Brandon Sturm.
With that said, I flew down to SLC a few days prior than Mark in order to hang out with Brandon, meet his lovely family and get to witness what an incredible life he's built in arguably my favourite American city.
Let's get into this roadtrip!
Day 1: Salt Lake City
I woke up this morning to the unfortunate news that Mark’s flight from Detroit to Chicago had been cancelled and that he would be rerouted to Phoenix before connecting on towards Salt Lake City. This meant he would be arriving closer to 3pm (15:00) instead of the initial 11am we anticipated.
Since I had a rental bike from the day prior, Brandon and I decided to meet up at his place for 9am in order to quickly send it up the nearby mountain for one final descent together. Once at the bottom, I brought the bike back, and then proceeded to the nearby Sugar House Coffeeshop which had been my breakfast staple for the first couple days.
With some time to spare due to Mark’s delay, I thought I’d head out to the nearby Parley BMX Trails and see what they’re all about. While on the way, I remembered that we had to apply for the next day and 2-day before lottery permits for Zion National Park before 3pm (15:00). This thought made me realize that Mark wouldn’t be able to apply in time since he’s currently 33,000ft in the air. I quickly called his wife Melissa and we created a fake e-mail in his name so I could do the application process for the both of us. I was able to apply for the Left Fork Trailhead (Subway), The Narrows and also Angel’s Landing. The total cost for these applications were $24usd. We would find out sometime later what the lottery results would be...
Instantly upon arrival at the BMX trails, I was amazed by the sheer size of them. It was also great witnessing everyone walking around the park with dogs off their leashes enjoying the creek that ran through.
The clock was getting close to 4pm (16:00) however, which meant I had to start heading back to meet up with Mark. While I was waiting at the shop, the results for the lottery came in. Unfortunately, both emails didn’t win the Angel's Landing permit, but luck looked to be on our side as my email won the permit for The Narrows and Mark’s newly created email won the permit for the Left Fork Trailhead (Subway).
Not long after winning the lottery, Mark arrived and I got to share the news. We quickly dropped off his luggage at the shop and then took a bus into the city centre for some sightseeing while contemplating which hike we would take on.
We decided to get off the bus closer to Capital Hill and then walk down towards the Temple Square which is where the city of Salt Lake City is built around. This has to be one of the cleanest cities I’ve ever visited with a lively atmosphere all around. Perhaps it was the gorgeous weather or that fact that everyone lives with nature at their doorstep but whatever it was, I was into it!
We decided that we would take on The Narrows over the Left Fork Trailhead (Subway) which meant we also had to hire equipment, a shuttle bus and make it to the Zion Visitor Centre before it closes the next day by 7pm (19:00) so we would be ready for the 6am shuttle the day after.
Before long, we were headed back to the shop and catching an Über with our gear out towards a hotel near the airport allowing us to get a free shuttle to our car rental agency the next morning. The moment we got to our rooms, we were lights out.
Day 2 - Bryce Canyon
With a ton of energy and excitement, we were both awake before our alarms went off. We headed down to the breakfast area of the hotel and asked if it would be possible to catch the shuttle at 8am instead of the requested 8:30am shuttle and the girl working the reception said that the girl previously had put us down for 8am anyway. The system at the hotel had been down for a couple of days and everything had to be manually done which I’m sure caused a lot of headaches for those working there.
When we got to the Thrifty counter to pick up our rental, we asked if we could get the car just 30 minutes sooner and she said she would have to add a whole extra day onto our booking. I asked why we couldn’t just move the whole rental period ahead a half an hour and she went on a whole spiel about why it’s not possible… We bit the bullet and paid the extra day fee only to have the car for 30 minutes of that day just so we could get some extra time in Bryce Canyon National Park later on.
The four hour drive commenced after a brief stop at Walmart to gather some groceries for the trip. I opted to drive this portion of the trip because I absolutely love driving. The landscape began to truly change about halfway thru the drive and we could tell we were about to enter all new territory.
The road ahead travelled thru mars like landscapes, and carved between arches before we reached Bryce Canyon National Park. Knowing we only had about 3 hours to sightsee before we had to make the 2 hour drive over to the Zion National Park Visitor Centre, we chose to hit the three main viewpoints.
We started with the furthest away from the visitor centre called Bryce Point. This is where we got our first taste of what this roadtrip would be like. Excitement brewed within us as each step we took unravelled more and more outstanding views. Hoodoos as far as you could see scattered the canyon floor and from this location, the sun was hitting them just right giving crazy contrast to the scene.
With two viewpoints still to go, we headed on to the next one known as Inspiration Point. At this point we were greeted with a more middle of the canyon outlook which changed the perspective of what was below us. The final viewpoint was called Sunset Point and this is where we got as close as we could to these incredible giants of geology. With just a half an hour to go before our ideal leaving time, we opted to run down the hike called Wall Street to get a real sense of the hoodoos size.
We managed to get back to the car by 4pm (16:00) and started our venture towards Zion National Park. While leaving, we got a call from Red Rock shuttles confirming everything for the next morning and asking wether or not we got our permits. She also mentioned that a storm would be coming in the next evening and ensuring we knew what we were doing. The reception wasn’t the greatest but I explained we were on our way to Zion to pick up the permits as we speak.
A few stops were had along the way for photo ops but we were well ahead of schedule making our way to the visitor centre by 6pm (18:00). Once parked, we headed to get our wilderness permit for The Narrows only to find out that that specific section of the centre closes at 5pm (17:00). I was devastated... Everything I just booked and paid for in order to do this hike had just went out the window. We quickly scooted over to Zion Outfitters where we rented the equipment and told them the situation which they happily refunded. I tried calling Red Rock shuttles to explain the situation but they had already closed by that time. My brain began working overtime at this moment, and I remembered that I didn’t decline the Left Fork Trailhead (Subway) that Mark’s email had won. That was it, our new plan was to show up here the next day at 6am so we could explain the situation to our shuttle bus driver and then pick up the permit for the Left Fork Trailhead (Subway) at 8am as soon as the visitor centre opens.
We back tracked out of Zion National Park surrounded by darkness until we got to our pull off campsite for the night. Since we needed to wake up super early to drive back down to meet with the shuttle bus, we thought it would be best to sleep in the car and pass on setting up the tent.
That would be a mistake as we scrunched up with me in the passenger seat laid back and Mark curled up in the back seat. You could say it wasn’t the comfiest of sleeps but it worked.
Day 3 - Zion National Park
This morning was a bit less of excitement waking us up, but rather anticipation of potentially getting a refund for the $120 shuttle we no longer needed. We drove back down through Zion National Park to the visitor centre once again and arrived at 5:50am to meet the driver. He was at the gathering point waiting for us when we rolled up. Luckily, we weren’t the only ones suppose to catch the shuttle that morning and once we explained our situation he wished us well and apologized that he had no say in a refund.
Now that we had two hours before collecting our permits, I sent an email out to Red Rock shuttles and further explained the situation and commented that we still made the effort to meet with the driver so he wasn’t waiting around for us.
With time to kill, we set about brushing our teeth and utilizing the minimal reception we had before collecting our permits. By 8:15am, we were on the road once again en route to the Left Fork Trailhead.
Knowing that this is a unique hike on it’s own, I decided I would film this one similar to how I’ve made hiking videos in the past for my YouTube channel (@chasedavidsson). We set out and for the next 4 hours or so we found ourselves descending down into the canyon below and navigating back and forth over the river running through it. I couldn’t tell you how many small charming waterfalls we past on the way. Each one more beautiful than the last. The park ranger that issued us the permit noted that we were guaranteed to get wet but with only 10 minutes to go until we were at the final destination, we were still dry.
That changed the moment we found ourselves having to walk literally up the remaining waterfalls before entering The Subway. This was a narrow corridor formed by erosion over thousands of years. Having only seen photos of this place online, it was a surreal experience meandering through the ankle deep water up to the final waterfall.
While there, we watched a few people who took the top down canyoneering route descending the 20 foot high ledge via ropes. Mark didn’t hesitate to find a sketchy way up on the side adjacent to where they were descending. I won’t lie, I was a bit skeptical of the idea but didn't hesitate to follow him up. Mark and I have known each other for over half our lives having met at one of the local skateparks and since that time, positive peer pressure has naturally formed between us.
This next part involved us jumping over the five foot gap and over the waterfall. While as sketchy as it sounds, the resulting beauty we discovered in a section only meant for those coming down the canyoneering route and our effort was instantly rewarded. The narrow slot canyon begged us to continue but knowing we still needed to make it back to the trailhead and then drive a further two and a half hours to Page, Arizona, we began the venture back.
One of the great things about having to obtain a permit is that only 80 people are permitted to walk this trail per day. 60 of those permits are issued in a seasonal lottery three months prior, and the next 20 issued as a 2-day before permit like we obtained. Throughout the whole hike, we maybe came across 20 people max doing the hike which was surprising. Exploring this time of year certainly has its perks!
We chit chatted with mostly everyone we passed and on the way back, we got to know a small family from West Virginia. We ended up hiking back together now and then before we made the final climb back towards the car park together. While we were climbing up the canyon wall, we somehow got a bit off the trail and it became more of a climb than a hike. The wife in the family began to panic and get fearful so I went ahead to find a better route, while Mark stayed back with the family to keep everyone calm. I scrambled up and reconnected with the trail where I’d begin to track back to them. All was good in the end and the five of us were back at the car park in one piece glad to be finished.
We said our farewells and then went our separate ways. It was only 5pm (17:00) which gave us plenty of daylight still so I asked if Mark could be the driver back through Zion National Park on our way to Page so I could shoot some photos from the passenger seat. I also noticed at this time that I had an email from Red Rock shuttles confirming that I was able to get a full refund. That was a huge win after an already amazing hike!
If you’ve never been to Zion before, I can’t recommend it more. Just the drive alone is worth the cost of admission. On these two days there wasn’t even a park attendant at the entrances to the park!
The night hit us around 7:30pm (19:30) and the remainder of the drive was shrouded in darkness except for the headlights in front of us. We were getting closer to the Arizona border but found a campsite just before next to a beauty of a butte.
Day 4 - White Pockets x Buckskin
The alarms went off at 5am giving us plenty of time to pack up our tent and head into Arizona for the first time this trip. Once we entered the state, the time zone shifted back one hour since Arizona doesn’t observe daylight savings and Utah has yet to adjust the clocks back for winter. This would give us an extra hour before picking up our 4x4 jeep so we parked in the Safeway parking lot to cook some breakfast. Oatmeal and coffee was on the menu!
By 7:30am, we were jumping into our 4x4 for the day and heading towards our first destination, White Pockets. This specific destination is an area only accessible by a 4x4 vehicle and was highly recommended to us by my good friend Nick Seman (@nicksemanphotography). Combining this attraction with Nick’s other recommendation, Buckskin Gulch was the perfect loop route back to Page.
The drive alone was as scenic as you’d expect with breathtaking views everywhere you look. These are the scenarios were the advantage definitely goes to the person sitting shotgun and not having to focus on the road ahead. We pulled off a few times to take some photos and then one final stop at Cliff Dwellers to load up on some snacks for the day. Cliff Dwellers was a neat little spot where homes had been carved into the rocks way back in the day.
We drove along highway 89a for a few more miles before turning off onto a dirt road that resembled someone’s driveway. This road can be a hit or miss apparently to wether a 4x4 vehicle is necessary but it seemed to be in great condition at the moment. It wasn’t until further up after a few more zig zags did we meet an entire section of sand that would not have been passable in a 2WD vehicle or a vehicle without high clearance. This was a wild experience getting to drive through something like this.
Eventually, we arrived at White Pocket and made our way out a football fields length to one of the most out of this world locations yet. It’s hard to even put into words how this place looked. We had a dark cloud looming overhead which blocked the sun but as soon as the sun broke through, it lit up this whole area into a fantasy of its own. The glowing light streaming across the colourful layered texture and geometric looking rocks was simply magical.
We spent a lot of time freely exploring the area, taking photos and videos. Not surprising given how secluded this spot is, there wasn’t more than 15 people in the wide open area allowing us to feel distant from everyone. Knowing we still had to get to Buckskin Gulch before returning our vehicle, we scurried off and hit the dirt road once again.
An hour later and we were at the Wire Pass trailhead. This trailhead allowed us to pass through the Wire Pass slot canyon and into Buckskin Gulch quicker than if we were to start from the Buckskin Gulch trailhead.
We stumbled upon an iPhone 15 on the trail unexpectedly which happened to belong to the tour guide further up ahead of us. Once we caught up, he informed us that the slot canyon to the right of the confluence would be muddy at the moment and also to watch out for the petroglyphs that are located on the right hand wall just before making that right turn.
Unbeknownst to a challenge and having soaked our ankles in the subway water yesterday, we opted to head to the right straight away and hope that the crowds may avoid that section. Welp, we were right about the crowds avoiding this section…
Within just a few metres of entering the southern slot canyon we came into an unavoidable water pass. We debated what to do for about 5 seconds before Mark just sent it. Naturally, I had to follow suit! The surprise awaited us when we entered the fourth water passage. Carefully taking each step in order to avoid any pitfalls, I went ahead having the longer legs. Uh oh, this is getting deep… With each step, I got deeper and deeper until it was up to my waist. Mark hesitated but after a bit of positive peer pressure, he joined me and we proceeded deeper into the unknown.
Once we were content with what we’ve seen, we headed off into the north side of the confluence from earlier. It wasn’t nearly as remarkable as what we just entered due to it being the only accessible one, minimal water levels and lots of traffic thru and thru. Nonetheless, still nothing I’ve experienced previously!
An hour or so later and we were back to our jeep. The drive out from Buckskin Gulch back to Page was shorter than the initial drive but also offered us a view of the landscape we had passed the night before under darkness. Since Buckskin Gulch was just above the Arizona border into Utah, the time zone had changed on us giving what felt like an additional hour of time before having to return the jeep. Instead of bringing the jeep to the car wash as suggested by the company, we went to the gas station to fill up and just used the water and squeegee there to get off any dirt on the vehicle. Voila!
Knowing we would be heading to Horseshoe Bend just outside of Page in the morning, we found a nearby spot to set up our tent across from the Welcome to Page sign. We popped up the tent, made ourselves dinner and called it an early night.
Day 5 - Horseshoe Bend to Moab
Considering the fact we were camped out underneath electricity lines and at the intersection for two busy roads, we got out of there the moment we woke up.
A bit off our usual route, we decided to hit up the McDonalds in town for a warm breakfast before heading over to Horseshoe Bend. I knew getting here at this time meant that the sunlight wouldn’t be ideal for shooting the bend but we also couldn’t wait around till the afternoon either. The walk was a short 15 minutes and we were left with a view of one of the most photographed spots in all of the United States.
The Colorado River winding its way around the horseshoe bend 300m below was a sight to behold despite the lighting. At one point, we saw a boat navigating the river showing the sheer size of the surrounding cliffs.
From here we got back on the road and towards Moab, Utah where we would be spending the next couple nights. The estimated time of driving would be over 4 hours so we grabbed some snacks and set out. Mark was willing to drive this section while I began writing the blog you’re currently reading.
As time went by, we crossed through Navajo Land, including their sacred Agathla Butte and eventually back into the state of Utah where we were greeted by the famous Monument Valley. Buttes in all directions as far as the eye could see! We stopped at the Navajo Visitor Centre to learn more about the culture and history of the area before continuing the drive north. With Monument Valley now behind us, we came to what’s now known as Gump Hill made famous from the Hollywood film Forest Gump. It’s worth a quick stop here for the view of the road leading straight into the valley.
After passing the village of Mexican Hat which was named after a rock that looked like a Mexican hat, we took the scenic road up through the Valley of the Gods. This was an unexpected gem as we approached what seemed like a dead end straight into the mountain range, only to look down at the GPS and see the winding dirt road we’d soon be driving up. A few stops were made on this ascent in awe of the overwhelming landscape below us.
Our next stop on route to Moab was also unplanned and called Butler Wash Ruins. I saw a quick photo of this location at the Navajo Visitor Centre earlier that looked really neat but didn’t know we’d be passing by. We decided this would be a great spot for a late lunch as there was no cars in the parking lot so we packed what we needed into our bags and headed out along the trail to the ruins.
When we got to the viewpoint, we could see the ruins of the Ancient Ones across the canyon below us and read the information board nearby. We set our bags down and did some exploring of our own before cooking up some canned soup and coffee. Mark and I were both left mesmerized how the ancient Indians were able to cultivate and live off the land here over a thousand years ago.
It was getting close to sunset and we still had over an hour drive ahead of us, so we continued on while I used the app iOverlander to look for our next camping spot. I was able to locate one just 10 minutes south of Moab in a primitive location that was just barely accessible in our Toyota Corolla. Mind you, if there was rain in the forecast, this would have been an easy nope.
We set up our tent under the night sky with the milky way once again shining above us. This turned into our coldest night yet with temperatures reaching below 0° celsius.
Day 6 - Canyonlands National Park
Waking up this morning was freezing to say the least. I for one did not want to get out of my sleeping bag. Knowing the slower we are in the morning meant the later we get to the next epic location was enough of a motivation to get moving.
The road into this campsite wasn’t nearly as gnarly during the daylight and we made great time getting into Moab. Now that we’ve been on this trip for a few days and got some unreal content, I knew I needed to back it up. Taking advantage of the town amenities, we stopped by McDonalds for breakfast and gave myself ample time to dump everything onto my laptop. While at the McDonald’s, we searched for anything nearby for a quick start and saw something about dinosaur tracks and petroglyphs at a trailhead called Poison Spider.
After all the videos and photos were backed up, we set out and made tracks towards Poison Spider Trailhead. Even the road towards the trailhead was just as stunning displaying petroglyphs along the sheered cliffs running adjacent to the road. The trail up to the dinosaur tracks wasn’t far and the tracks themselves were as clear as ever. I couldn’t resist putting my hand in one to show the immensity of even a “small” dino.
Further up the trail were plenty more petroglyphs and the occasional vandalism from previous tourists.
*Mark made a unique remark about this stating that what if all these petroglyphs we see today and admire are simply just teenagers doing their own form of graffiti back in the day. Not a bad thought…
It was now time to head on over to Canyonlands National Park. The first stop in the park was the visitor centre so we could get another stamp in Melissa’s National Park Passport. We took the time to read up on the history of the park and also get a better idea of what hikes we’d be capable of completing throughout the remainder of the day.
We chose to do the easy and moderate hikes over the grueling strenuous 17+ kilometer hikes. This gave us more to see in a shorter amount of time. We exited the visitor centre to check out Shafer Overlook and then headed on to the infamous Mesa Arch. Upon arrival, the parking lot was full of cars which was expected given the popularity of this hike and it’s accessible approach. To our surprise though, we timed it perfectly as mostly everyone was on their way out when we were heading in. We even had a brief moment with this iconic landmark all by ourselves!
The next stop we made was at Aztec Butte. It would be a simple hour and a half hike and it certainly met our expectations. Scratch that… Exceeded our expectations! We circled around the first butte and then worked our way up the second larger one to discover ancient dwellings in the cliffside. It seriously felt like we were in a Flintstones movie.
Our third stop would be a bit longer of a hike at Upheavel Dome. This location was particularly different as it resembled that of a meteor crater. There was two different lookout locations here, one a bit further on than the other and also a loop trek but that wasn’t on our radar. The wind was pretty intense throughout the day but it seemed to be even more so here. Mark nearly lost his hat and I had to keep a firm foot plant on the ground when taking photos.
The final stop of our day would be at Grand View Outlook. Just like every stop before it, we were once again awestruck by the massiveness of the whole area. Canyonlands National Park was by far the most extravagant of all the parks if you were to base it on size alone. Since there was still some time to kill before sunset, we took off down one more trail that would lead us to “The Island in the Sky”. On the way back my shin suddenly started to hurt but there was nothing I could do about it so I did my best to ignore it.
After returning, it was off to find another campsite for the night. Mark took control of iOverlander and found us a spot not too far out of the National Park on some BLM territory. We got to setting up the tent underneath a juniper tree and used our car to block the wind from hitting the tent throughout the night. Like all the times before, the milky way was shining brilliantly once again!
Day 7 - Arches National Park
Nothing like waking up and having the dire need to go pee. That’s what happened to me at 4:30am and typically this would be no issues… Except this is the moment I realized my shin was in a lot more pain than I thought. I was able to limp myself out of and back into the tent but this was a precursor to what sort of day it would be.
When we did wake up for good, it was freezing! Below zero once again and since we had a bit of a drive to get to Arches National Park, we just packed up and scooted over that way for breakfast. That gave us about 45 minutes of warming up in the car on route.
Per usual, the first stop was to get a stamp at the visitor centre and then from there we went straight to the Devil’s Garden trailhead. It was a great idea to skip breakfast at the tent because we lucked out with prime parking and just made our breakfast with coffee there. Our breakfasts typically consisted of oatmeal and banana, but we’d occasionally throw in pieces of a peanut butter crunch Cliff Bar for extra protein.
*When photographing giant areas such as these National Parks, you need to think about which way the sun will be shining in the morning and afternoon. From there you can better plan your route around the parks to get optimal lighting on the subject you plan to shoot. That being the Arches in today’s case.
This hike could be split into segments or followed as a 12.7km loop in either the clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. The eastern portion of the hike however, was considered “primitive” which meant route finding, narrow ridges, and possibility of getting wet. We chose to do the loop in the clockwise direction saving the primitive section for the way back. This would allow for not only optimal lighting on the arches, but also avoid the crowds that were sure to arrive over time knowing most people wouldn’t be able to do the primitive route.
Our first couple arches came even before the loop began but the great attraction here would be the Landscape Arch that stretches over 300ft which is over the length of an American Football field. Wild!
This is where the hike began to get interesting we’ll say. Immediately after Landscape Arch, the trail goes up along the ridge of a fin and continues to weave and wind it’s way to different arches before coming to the famous Double O Arch. We had to get a photo together here while there was no one around. From the Double O Arch, there was an offshoot trail leading to Dark Angel viewpoint which sounded too good to pass up. Not much I can say about this specific landmark that doesn’t speak for itself in the photograph…
When we caught back up to the main trail, this would mark the beginning of what would be the primitive section. I checked my Maps.Me app to verify the route we were on and saw that we were nearly at the off shoot for “Private Arch” which had no actual signs so we decided to test our luck. Luck once again was on our side as we had one of the most incredible little spots to ourselves. Perhaps it’s the season we’re in while travelling through but it’s beyond me how we keep managing to have these epic vistas to ourselves.
Back to the primitive trail we went and this is when everything I mentioned earlier came to fruition. Route finding was at the fore front and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have to look at my maps. At one point we came to a sheer drop and was like what… Moments later, a group of 5 others or so joined us and then we all put our heads together to figure out the route onwards. This kind of adventure is what it’s all about for me!
It didn’t take long after that difficult section before we were faced with navigating around a wet section but it’s been dry enough lately that we were able to stick to the canyon walls high enough to avoid getting wet. Deep sand was our only obstacle from here on out and now that the sun had shifted plenty over the past 5 hours we had been on the trail, the shade of the canyon walls cooled us off.
Just as we got to the car and were getting ready to pull out, a herd of deer popped out in front of us. We sat there calmly and watched them go about their daily life for a few minutes and then started heading towards the Delicate Arch. This would be our last stop in the Arches National Park since we wanted to celebrate this trip with a nice sit down dinner afterwards.
Since my shin was pulsating with pain at this time, we decided to just venture onto the two lookout points instead of doing the trail up to the arch itself. This was still an 800m hike mind you and uphill for that matter but the beauty of it all was the fact that this angle was perfect for a photo since the sun was now shining on it from the southwest.
From here we headed out of the park and to a nearby dinosaur museum so Mark could get a couple photos for his son, Sam. Then it was on to The Broken Oar for a well deserved dinner. I decided to try the Beast Burger which consisted of a mix of Bison, Wild Boar, Elk and Wagyu. I’ve always loved wild game growing up with my dad often going hunting with his friends and bringing back venison or bear. While the burger was delicious, I didn’t find it too much different than a regular beef burger but that could be due to the fact I was just hungry and wolfed it down.
Wanting to get a bit further down the road towards our next destination, we took off and drove to the town of Green River. This was about halfway to Goblin Valley State Park and offered us a convenient place to set up our tent. We found a decent little dirt patch near a bridge and some trees, set up shop and called it a night with full bellies.
Day 8 - Goblin Valley State Park
We had our alarms set a tad earlier than usual so we could get out of Green River and into Goblin Valley State Park for breakfast. Basically, we did the exact same thing as the day prior in order to warm up except this time Mark and I talked about the idea of sleeping in the car for the final night so we wouldn’t have to worry about packing everything up super early in the morning.
We arrived at Goblin Valley State Park shortly after 8am and were the only ones in the car park. We took our time making oatmeal and laying out all of our stuff to pack for the plane which we’d be taking the next morning. With no one around and the valley to ourselves, I took this opportunity to launch the drone for a few quick shots as well.
Soon enough, cars began pulling in and just as we were finishing up eating, the sun came out and really lit everything up. We marched down into the valley admiring all of the hoodoos and honestly, we just ran around like little kids. Remember my injured leg? Yeah… It’s not going to like me very much after today. It didn’t take long before we were climbing up to little caves and descending down “shortcuts”. There was a couple of “lairs” on the park map, adequately dubbed Goblin’s Lair and Goblette’s Lair which we knew we had to check out.
When we rounded the backside of the cliffs, and continued the hike towards the Goblin’s Lair, we noticed some people and decided to take our chances with the Goblette’s Lair first. Great choice as there wasn’t a single sole when we got there. As impressive as it was, it was just a mere blip compared to what we’d find at the Goblin’s Lair.
The immensity of the Goblin’s Lair was unfathomable and I can understand why many people simply look into the cave rather than descend into it. It’s not for the faint of heart. We worked our way down slowly and took in all its beauty, a gigantic chasm of sandstone straight out of an Indiana Jones movie. Mark saw a little crevice in the rocks and disappeared. He came back in awe of what he found and so naturally, we both go in. A cave inside of a cave. We must have went 100m into the dark cave with only our phone lights leading the way. The mouth was nearly tall enough to stand in but it got narrower and narrower to the point we were on our bellies moving deeper. We could feel the wind coming through at this point which meant it lead outside somewhere but my nerves were like “Nope” and I had to turn back. That was far enough for me.
When we got back out of the cave, there was a youth group spelunking from the top of the Goblin’s Lair down. I asked if I could take a few pictures of one of the kids coming down and they said no problem. We stuck around to watch that and then started to head back to the car with a few other stops in mind for the rest of the day.
The next driving section brought us through this tiny place called Hanksville and the coolest thing about it was the gas station called Hollow Mountain. At first glance we thought there was no store around and then we realized the store was literally IN the mountain. Obviously we had to check it out! I bought some Wild Boar jerky to try and then we carried on towards our next stop, Long Dong Silver.
The unique landmark isn’t that well known yet, but you can see that infrastructure is going to be commencing soon. At the moment, there is no signs or anything pointing to the location BUT due to social media and even blogs such as this, Long Dong Silver is gaining in popularity fast. What makes it so remarkable is that it’s a thin black spire in the middle of a unique and wild landscape.
To get to it, we drove about a kilometer or so across a dirt trail which probably shouldn’t have been done in a 2WD Toyota Corolla but it has been dry for days and we took it easy. At the kilometer mark, we came to a sign post that clearly states no motorized vehicle beyond. Unfortunately, it looks like a long fence is being put up in the coming days or weeks since tourists continue to drive past this posted sign and ruining it for others. Just today alone in what’s considered an offseason, we saw a couple from South America camped out in their van and another vehicle well past the sign. It’ll be interesting to see when this now not so hidden gem becomes monetary gain.
Our next spot wasn’t as easy to get to. It involved going down a dirt trail as well but this one was definitely not meant for 2WD vehicles. Not wanting to hear how rough the road actually was, we cranked some Rammstein and carried on. Just a few hundred metres into it however, an oncoming car waved us down and said there is no way our car would make it to the end. We thanked her and carried on a bit until it was impassable. Naturally, we didn’t want to miss out on this location and with only 3km left, we decided to make a jog for it. I’m pretty sure at this point if my leg could talk, it would be cursing and cussing at me left and right. I was hurting but the motivation of it being the last day and knowing how highly this spot was recommended to us made me push through. Fortunately, it’s a pretty known spot and after making it 1km closer, a SUV was coming up behind us and I stuck my thumb out for a hitchhike. The gentleman in the front seat happily let us jump in with him and his partner up to the overlook.
We had a slow 2km’s together and got to know each other. Justin and Tris were the names of our favourite people today and both also shared a passion for travel and photography.
You’d think saving myself from a grueling 5km’s of extra walking would be a great way to say sorry to my leg but nope… As soon as we arrived at our destination, Moonscape Outlook, I was running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off. As always, Utah continues to blow my mind! There was the coolest little off shoot and I knew exactly what needed to be done on a landscape like this.
Justin and Tris were nice enough to give us a lift back to our car before they continued on to explore nearby Factory Butte. We exchanged information quickly and then we began our long journey back towards Salt Lake City.
Initially, our plan was to spend our final night at the Moonscape Outlook but seeing as we needed to have the car returned the next day by 9am and that we had a 4.5 hour drive still, we thought it would be better to get closer to the airport. Our plan was to sleep in the car anyway, so we made our destination a Walmart Supercentre about an hour south of the airport in Spanish Fork. With about an hour of daylight left, we took the scenic route thru Capital Reef National Park which checked off the fifth of Utah’s Mighty Five National Parks. The rest of the drive was dark with just a few deer on the sides of the road here and there to keep us awake.
When we rolled up to the Walmart in Spanish Fork, we found the darkest area, tilted our seats back and tried to get as many Zzz’s as we could with our alarms set for 6:30am.
Epilogue:
The morning came quick and thanks to our brief packing the morning before, all we had to do was return the car with a full tank of gas. We made sure to give ourselves time to eat up the rest of the oatmeal we had and brew our final coffee packets before doing so.
This trip through Southern Utah with one of my best friends will never be forgotten and couldn't have asked for better company. I hope this blog inspires you to get out there and see it for yourself because while I tried my best to capture it's beauty, there is nothing like seeing it with your own eyes.
Big thank you goes out not only to Coalatree for helping and supporting over all the years but especially to Brandon for the hospitality and love he's shared for the outdoors.
Keep living the dream!
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