Cornering Consciousness

You can see her from just about anywhere in Washington County, a geological feature whose name is not only an apt descriptor but also a social icon in this ultra-conservative culture, Mollie's Nipple. That's her poking up in the upper right hand corner of this view down our street, and you can see how she got her name. We've wanted to climb Mollie's Nipple for awhile and since relocating to Hurricane, her ever-presence got us even more motivated, so before the weather gets any warmer, we thought we make the hike today. Ginger and Maryanne in their enthusiasm were ready to go, though they were in the wrong car. There are two approaches to Mollie, one from the base where the trailhead is just outside a little housing development, and the other from a rather technical dirt road that comes off of Highway 59 east of Hurricane. There are more internet descriptions than there are approaches to this hike and we followed one that took us to Gould's Trail that leads...

Despite all the celluloid and digital records I've made of this canyon, I’ve never had a moment where I could say that’s a keeper , I believe because all attempts to replicate fail on so many levels compared to Zion's contextual impact on just being there, especially with someone you love. For me there’s little point in pulling out a print to look at Watchman, the Narrows, or Angels’ Landing, when the real thing is a short drive away. But that doesn’t stop me from photographing it.  I’ve hiked most of Zion’s trails always with appreciation of the many hands of the Civilian Conservation Corps’ incredibly hard work to make navigating Zion accessible, if not a lot easier. While my grandfather is fondly remembered for his part of the CCC’s movement in the thirties, this trek began with gratitude for the following generation, the company of my daughter. Observation Point is accessed from the trail head at Weeping Rock. Its two thousand foot ascent ramps up quickly, engagi...

There's a kind of cosmic camping serendipity that both graces and curses our adventures when we decide to rough it amidst the public. The grace is in a timing that affords us an unanticipated cultural experience. The curse is relative the amount of noise created by neighboring roughers after sunset and before sunrise and the rotation of the planet in between. This was our first camping trip in the H3 and being we're still outfitting for overland travel to more primitive, less populated areas, it wasn't yet prepped to carry the water we'd need to be self-sustaining. Valley of Fire was our choice for the trip, far enough away from St. George and in the right, warmer direction. We arrived at the park's visitors' center (Valley of Fire is a Nevada State Park that does not accept National Park passes) where we learned not surprisingly that all the campsites were full. Mindy's optimism pressed us on to the Atlatl Campsite in hopes we'd find a vacancy, an...

I have a student in my Social Media class who is building a Facebook page with the mission to introduce people to paths off the beaten trail here in Southern Utah. I suggested she name it "...then I'll have to kill you," given the guarded nature of most explorers indigenous to our beautiful area wanting to keep her secrets safe. I'm guilty of doing the same thing with this blog, in fact, I've been called out for revealing a certain area in the Parashant. We took a Sunday drive today to test out our new platform for our adventures over land, a 2007 Hummer H3. You can read about its build here . A great trail to put any vehicle through it's paces is one that leads to a favorite summer time retreat somewhere along the Hurricane fault. If you're a local, you know where this is. If you're not, as they say in French, tant pis . It was our good luck to run into four people who walked much of the more technical trail into this spot, two and a half miles...

Moto-camping forces perspective, not so much as the optical illusion, but rather a consideration of what's important to bring along with you and still keep camping and refuge apart from each other. We got pretty good at it before we got into real size camping using the Montero, but we've since been spoiled by it. Such was the struggle in packing the Blackbird for an overnighter to Boulder Mountain in Highway 12. Seen here moments before departing is the result of forced perspective. Packed therein is a Kelty three-person tent, two Nebo down sleeping bags, two Pedex down inflatable sleeping pads, a JetBoil with fuel, another camp stove plus mess kit to cover two for dining, two meals each for breakfast and dinner,  clothes for another day plus the unmentionables, toiletries and the standard riding fare of a tool and first aid kit. We were set. The Bird has been on the fritz most of the Summer with a burned out stator. With my attention turned to the Montero I didn't ...