Our latest adventure was in southern Utah. Our kids (@thebuslife) who guide and live in the Zion National Park area invited us to experience a slice of their life, canyoneering. Until now, the only canyons in Utah I’ve explored have been ones I’ve walked into with my boots planted firmly beneath me. This is the first time I’ve entered a canyon via a slender rope threaded through a harness on my waist. We departed from Springdale, UT as the sun was just beginning to rise, illuminating the tips of the Eagle Crags outside the park boundaries. We had a beautiful sky of buttermilk clouds. Our guides chose to introduce us to the sport with a canyon not too technical, but high in scenic beauty. The Huntress is a narrow slot accessed from US 89, between Mt. Carmel Junction and Kanab, Utah. They were anxious to get us to the slot, train us in repelling, and make our way through the canyon to a part Matt said would light up like a golden chamber in late morning. I was a little nervous about walking over the side of a sandstone cliff backwards and trusting this webbing system to hold me in place. I put on my best brave face because Matt was pointing a camera right at me. Over I went, and entered a magical world of the Huntress Slot Canyon.
Ribbons of light in The Huntress
The slot isn't terribly deep although the descent required 4 repels and several down climbs. We walked on a sandy bottom that in places was no wider than a narrow footpath. The walls were layered in candy stripes of sandstone. The drifting clouds overhead allowed sunlight to interplay on these stripes reflecting light back and forth. When clouds obscured the sun entirely the shadowy light introduced cooler tones that reflected off the cream-colored layers of sandstone. The camera sensor is able to register colors of light that our natural eyes don't immediately see. I used very modest tone adjustments in Lightroom and Photoshop to bring out the details of the rock. Not once have I pushed the saturation sliders in these images. Most of the color was brought out through midtown enhancements, adding contrast, increasing the vibrancy only slightly, and adjusting the black point of the image.
The canyon serpentined down further and further ahead and we followed each twist and turn with awe and wonder. Sarah and Matt allowed me to take my time to set the tripod and shoot to my heart's content. By the time we reached the final chamber where it was hoped we would find golden light we only found a modest glow. I was confident my camera sensor would pick up subtle nuances of light that our eyes were not entirely aware of. I was not disappointed at what I was able to capture.
We spent three hours on this hike and only travelled about two miles. But those two miles took us into a world unlike anything I've experienced before in my travels through the desert canyons of Utah over many years. That night they took us camping on BLM land beyond the perimeter boundary of the national park where we witnessed a beautiful sunset on the majestic cliffs of Zion National Park.
