Utah Adventure Journal

“Where do you think the moon will rise?” I asked. Seated on a boulder made of scarlet sandstone, above the Esplanade Trail, on the southern border of the Kanab Creek Wilderness, Rachel pointed to a spot on the southeast horizon. Scanning past a gaping gorge in the surrounding desert stone our eyes rapidly climbed the […]

A heavily tattooed woman called my name. I hungrily made my way to the counter where she beckoned. Her arms were sleeves of ink, a colorful mosaic that complimented her purple hair. She slid my pizza to me, a giant pie called the “Stinky Deluxe.” This hot crust smothered in toppings clearly existed in reality, […]

I stand on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon as tourist hordes ebb and flow around me. They are schools of flashy fish, their cameras, ice-cream cones, and clackety-clack-against-sidewalks shoes grabbing snippets of my attention. I smell sunscreen and sweat, and the odors cause me to tilt my head to the sun. It looks […]

Rolling back into civilization (Hanksville, Utah) I called home to let my wife know we’d survived the kids’ first slot canyon descent. “How was it?” she asked Roman. “It was awesome,” he said. “We had an amazing adventure. There were rappels, downclimbs, narrow slots, a few harmless spiders, and even a dark passageway into a […]

  The red rock walls and unending canyons were so remote the three men might as well have been rock climbing on Mars. In 1962, the trio of climbers, which included Layton Kor, Huntley Ingalls and Steve Komito, were attempting to ascend Standing Rock, a spectacular 350-foot tower, located in Canyonlands National Park. But in […]

In March, Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed HB 148 which asks the federal government, which owns a majority of the land in the state, to give back more than 20 million acres. A similar measure, was passed in Arizona, but was vetoed, and similar bills patterned after Utah’s are being prepared for filing next year […]

  “Buuuuullllllllls**t. In 3 days you’ll sign up again.” Those likely prophetic words were a comment written by my friend Jason, posted on Facebook immediately after I announced my retirement from running. I had just completed my third leg of the Ragnar Wasatch Back Relay on an Ultra Team consisting of six guys running 197 […]

The shadows grew long. I knew I had to get off the slick rock and out of the canyon soon or I’d never cross the wash in the proper place, find my way through the mud and the tangle of tamarisks, and up the other side to my truck. Shadows lengthened. Impatient and a bit […]

Have you heard enough ‘spin’ from politicians this summer? How about this for a political spin? This September Bill Barron, candidate for US Senate of Utah, will embark on a 1200 mile bike ride across Utah. Starting in Logan and ending in Kanab, Barron’s ride will also traverse to Vernal in the northeast corner of […]

Desert Towers: Fat Cat Summits and Kitty Litter Rock By Steve “Crusher” Bartlett Sharp End Publishing 2011 352 Pages Any climber who has set foot in southern Utah can’t help being swept up in the majesty of the place—the endless red rock walls and narrow sandstone towers. Spend enough time in “The Red Planet,” and […]