Green River @en
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On the left bank of the Colorado…
Near the end of the White Rim, I hiked to Fort Bottom, in the middle of a meander of the Green River.
1. Remains the “cabin” on a river bank. It is almost 200 years old and housed tuberculosis patients who were sent here to end their days…
2. Build details.
3. On the hill in the middle of one meander of the river, there is this double round tower.
4. Here it’s it closer. This is an Indian building dating back to about 1200. We do not know its function.
5. I sneaks myself inside, being careful not to shake the fragile ruins.
6. The floor of the main tower don’t exist anymore…
7. While I go back to VivaLaVida, curious clouds catch me up.
8. But I get some nice light over the river.
9. Fred, we need your geologist knowledge! 😉 In some areas, there were many stones like this, with a slightly chalky appearance on the outside but inside glassy, that really made me think of red flint including white crystals in zones, almost translucent sometimes. Do you know what it is?
10. Amazing atmosphere of the surrounding cliffs. But no drop will reach the ground…
11. Vivalavida coming out of the White Rim trail the next day by a gray sky, with a final passage a little “tricky” for her size.
I then went to sleep to Hurrah Pass I reached at night, to go to discover a Colorado viewpoint in the morning.
12. Unbelievable! At dawn, he was there, the famous troll I had already thought to glimpse, sitting cross-legged and watching his top spining…! 😀
13. A quite hard path of the trail with a nice step.
14. It’s quite high, isn’t it!
15. But nothing to stop VLV which is already on the next one!
16. The viewpoint was gorgious…
17. … on both sides.
18. Him, it is probably not a troll, but he seemed to look VLV passing, as a kind of alien looking an insect ahead… 😉
That’s it for today. More to come soon…
Still Canyonlands…
No way to risk to stay stucked in so much snow, I preferred not to cross the pass that would lead me to the other side of the La Sal Mountains and went to Warner Lake driving around the mountains. I already discovered this little mountain lake in a previous trip and wanted to see it in its winter coat.
1. Late afternoon light on the Warner Campground, obviously empty at this season.
2. Beautiful frozen Warner Lake.
3. As the weather forecast indicated 12 F in Moab, over 3,000 meters below, I went down for me to find a campsite less exposed to cold. The view over Canyonsland and Henry Mountains, over 0 miles away, was splendid.
4. I found a better sheltered spot above Sand Flat, near an overlook over Castle Valley, a picture of the Far West at sunset…
The next day, session welding because I discovered that the bracket supporting the engine preheater was broken. Again and again the vibrations of the dirt roads… So I went late to Long Canyon.
5. The Colorado River reflecting the Moab Rim.
6. Going up in Long Canyon, With La Sal Mountains in the back.
7. The famous spot in Long Canyon ; Souvenir photo stop required! 😉
8. The next morning, I got up early to go to Mesa Arch at sunrise. A photo that I’m not the first to do but I like it…
9. VivaLaVida then went down the Schafer Trail to get to the White Rim Trail. Beautiful downhill in the vertical walls! VLV is quite small up there…
10. One of the meanders of the Colorado from the White Rime Trail.
11. Self-portrait at Musselman Arch, quite aerial… 😉
12. The towers that appear Under Mesa Arch, but this time from the bottom.
13. One of the huge overhang that crosses the White Rim…
14. In Canyonlands, there are number of canyons and arches everywhere. The White Rim Trail takes its name from the clear limestone layer that it follows over 100 miles.
15. From Whitecrack Campground where I spent the night, Sunset over the 20 miles away Needles is gorgious.
16. Under windwos of VivaLaVida too !
17. Almost the same colors at sunrise…
18. Another of theses giant overhansg with Candelstick Butte in the back.
19. A small slot canyon I visited along the trail…
20. I rediscover the Green River…
21. Luch stop at Potato Bottom.
Continuation and end of the White Rim Trail in the next update.
Back in Utah
I met Nick and Kim in Moab. I met Nick in North Carolina. He also owns a Ford van, two-wheel drive and shorter than VivaLaVida but well equipped for two. He’s traveling for two and a half weeks with his friend Kim who discovers the West for the first time.
1. We spent the first day in Arches National Park, the opportunity to make an image a little different from Delicate Arch while every picture has been done on the site, one of the most photographed of Utah.
2. The next day, Nick rented a jeep to travel the White Rim Trail, a 100 miles trail that runs north of the Colorado first, then the Green River.
3. Having to wait four days to service VLV, I got back to the Needles, probably my favorite place in Canyonsland NP. I went to see Cave Spring inhabited by the Anasazi Indians from 7,600 years BC.
4. Petrograph in Cave Spring
5. The famous hands of Cave Spring.
6. On the way to Tour Ruins, another spot I discovered.
7. I first discovered granaries on the cliffs.
8. Here is the tower which gave its name to the ruins…
9. Here is the ruin, surprisingly well preserved. It was a dwelling place for the summer season.
10. I went to sleep above the Colorado and enjoyed the viewpoint the next morning.
11. The track to get back is quite interesting by place.
12. Axle crossing.
13. In the afternoon, I returned to Chesler Park, a beautiful place.
14. One of the canyons we cross to get there.
15. I approach the famous Needles.
16. And here I am in Chesler Park.
17. The south side is a beautiful meadow that makes me want to camp there.
18. In a side canyon to Elephant Canyon, I discovered this fault created by erosion.
19. It’s late but I go up the Elephant Canyon to find a nice arch.
20. Small tree in the cliffs…
21. After almost running at full speed, here is Druid Arch, a rather unusual double arch.
22. I’m still at the top of Elephant Canyon and I must go down without delay to reach the Trailhead before nightfall, 6.5 miles away.
I reached VivaLaVida at nightfall, a little tired after more than 14 miles on quite uneven terrain.
Some other spots discovered in Utah to come soon…
D5 Creation