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Maze Disctrict of Canyonsland NP & Moab area

The next day we decided to walk to the confluence of the Green River and Colorado River, north of Doll House.
 
 
1. Along the trail.
 
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2. Some areas are full of flowers.
 
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3. Colorado River 1000 feet below.
 
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4. Jean-Luc saw him just before to walk on!
 
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5. Using the Flint Trail to go up on the plateau, some switchbacks were really narrow, requiring maneuver. what an initiative to have drawn a road in such a steep slope!
 
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6. We slept on the plateau…
 
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7. … and saw a gorgious sunset.
 
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8. We joined the Horseshoe Canyon to discover cave petrographs. Huge overhang! Can you see Jean-Luc ..? 😉
 
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9. Panoramic picture from the bottom of it.
 
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10. The “Great Gallery”.
 
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11. Surprising painting…
 
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12. … so varied.
 
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13. Going down the canyon, we saw this beautiful snake (about four feet long), an enemy of rattlesnakes he kills by constriction.
 
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14. At Green River UT…
 
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15. Further, a short stop to Crystal Geiser…
 
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16. Saturated colors!
 
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17. Detour through a smal erg of orange dunes.
 
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18. But the sand Wind will force us to go away.
 
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19. Colorado River near Moab.
 
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The next day we joined a place called “Top of the World” by another quite rockcrawling track! Here are some images of Vivalavida in action since I had a photographer there. 😉
 
 
20. Steep hill…
 
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21. Here, both lockers were necessary! 😀
 
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22. big step.
 
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23. Axle crossing.
 
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24. Where is the best way to go..?
 
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25. There! 😀
 
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26. The Sunset was gorgious on this promontory!
 
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27. Jean-Luc over tausend feet emptyness..!
 
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28. A panoramic picture to finish this update…
 
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The next update will bring you to the Great Salt Lake, the last place we wisited with Jean-Luc who then flew back. To come soon.
 
 

Henry Mountains & Maze District of Canyonsland NP

Since Jean-Luc decided to take a domestic flight from Salt Lake City to join his international flight to San Francisco, it left us more time to explore Utah. We visited western Canyonsland National Park we reached by crossing the Henry Mountains.
 
 
1. Stop for the night at Bastion Reservoir, at about 7,000 feet elevation.
 
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2. Jean-Luc spotted Wilson’s phalarope, an unexpected bird in this region.
 
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3. I saw this snake without being able to identify it.
 
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4. Campfire under the top that Jean-Luc climbed.
 
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5. Down from Mount Helen, the culmination of Henry Mountains.
 
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6. After going refueling in Hanksville, a really remote and depressed corner, we followed a long path to reach the Maze Overlook, first taking the Devil’s Canyon road.
 
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7. Water crossing of the Devil’s River.
 
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8. On the other side of the river.
 
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9. The track is rugher I imagined and we slept at the Sunset Pass…
 
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10. VivaLaVida over a huge overhang!
 
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11. My acrobat brother at Maze Overlook. 😉
 
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We then decided to join the Doll House and it took us no less than 6 hours to reach on a track probabliy the most difficult Vivalavida has traveled so far … Here are some pictures to illustrate this incredible journey.
 
 
12. Driving on the rock.
 
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13. Sometimes overhanging.
 
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14. It goes steep up…
 
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15. … then down.
 
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16. Big step.
 
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17. It leans sometimes too…
 
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18. It’s sometimes narrow…
 
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19. … or tight!
 
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20. We will end up to arrive first at Standing Rock…
 
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21. … then the beautiful Doll House that reminds me of the Needles, on the other side of Colorado.
 
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22. We were Lucky to get a camp place just in the middle of Doolhouse ad this is the view we had at sunset;-)
 
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23. Last rays on the Colorado River.
 
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24. Indian granary well protected under an overhang of sndstone.
 
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25. Trail at dusk in the mid of needles…
 
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To be continued…