Exploring Zion's Uncharted, Less Trodden Backcountry

If I were a true artist and could dip a brush into my soul, I would paint Zion.

Utah's portion of the Colorado Plateau is a vast land born of oceans, sandy desert and violent uplifts. The western fringe of this plateau is Zion country, a colorful "core sample" collage that speaks of unfathomable time and energy. For those inclined to metaphysical explanations for "infinity" and other such incomprehensible concepts, it may well be the ultimate "piece" from the Ultimate Artist. 

One of the reasons I am so attached to Zion country, as well as the sweeping Escalante Grand Staircase, is that they remind me of my less-than-a- grain-of-sand "place" on a circum-global beach.

Sand is a remarkable substance in the hands of a gifted artist, be it intricate castles and sculptures on a beach, colorful flights of fancy created from a glowing bulge of gooey glass at the end of a long hollow tube, or Zion.

Imagine miles of rolling sandstone so smooth you could rollerblade...otherworldly hoo doos and arches and spires that, for the "moment," defy gravity's unrelenting tug. Imagine woolly-topped mountains guarded by invincible 2,000 foot walls of Navajo Sandstone—so unwrinkled there's hardly a finger hold, yet climbers inch their way up, undeterred and un-detoured. Imagine a scalpel of a river—old as time and Virgin pure—slicing yawning narrows through solid rock. Imagine a palette...ruddy ironized red for canyon walls, stained with long sable locks of desert varnish. Imagine pinks, lavenders and ochers yellow to red to dark chocolate brown glowing under low morning and evening sun.  

Formed under an ocean—near the equator if you can believe it—Zion is sedimentary in origin and blessed with an abundance of iron. And though we are busy people with little time to ponder our genesis, not to mention, Exodus, there remains today great seismic forces at work underfoot...mostly benign, but some, like Yellowstone's Super Volcano, potentially catastrophic. (Have a nice day.  😍) 

Have no fear: This post is not a longwinded "in-the-begining" till Now dissertation, nor is it a predictor of a volcanic smoke and ash apocalypse, as it is my belief that human demise will come by their own greedy hands. I am a subscriber to Shakespeare's, brevity is the sole of wit doctrine. If the "Devil is in the details," you won't find him here. 

This is big picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words stuff. Thus, a few "thousand words" on one of my favorite Utah landscapes... 

Note: Click on the photo below to view the entire album in a larger, more detailed format.

All this, on a single day hike...

Red Rocks Gang Cast: Gayle, Laurlee, Andre, Rose, Chris, and your's truly, Mark and Bobbie.