Hiking back towards the trailhead from our visit to Saddle Arch, we stopped at the first arch. There is no apparent way to get close to this arch. We each picked our separate ways up the sandy bank near the canyon creek bed and over slick rock trying to get good vantage points from which to shoot the arch. My son, with much difficulty and slightly injuring an ankle, found a way to get beneath the arch. He advised me not to try advancing to his vantage point. I expect I could have, but not wanting to chance an injury, I took his advice, settling for shooting from a distance at several vantage points with my 24 to 70mm lens.
First Upper Muley Twist Arch
The zoom lens makes it look like I’m much closer to this arch than I actually am.
First Upper Muley Twist ArchFirst Upper Muley Twist Arch
One of my Flickr contacts tells me this arch is labeled “Muley” arch in some hiking guides, although I do not recall the map showing a name for this one.
First Upper Muley Twist Arch
The best I could do from my vantage points is to try to show the setting of the arch. If these photos make it look like it would be easy to navigate to the area below and/or behind the arch, that is deceptive. The area around this arch is strewn with boulders and covered with much brushy growth.
First Upper Muley Twist ArchFirst Upper Muley Twist Arch
That’s it for this shoot. There are arches at two locations along the road to the trailhead. We will stop on the way back to the Burr Trail Road to shoot those arches.
Upper Muley Twist Canyon in Capitol Reef National Park is accessed via a three mile four wheel drive road from the Burr Trail Road west of the the point where that road climbs out of Strike Valley. A high clearance vehicle is recommended for this roadway, as it is rugged with some sizable rocks that one must navigate over. However, we saw one or two Subaru Outbacks, that are capable vehicles, at the trailhead. So experienced drivers might be able to safely navigate this road with such vehicles; but definitely, ordinary, low clearance vehicles should not attempt this roadway. The road is narrow in portions with room for only one vehicle.
We were on this roadway several times during this visit to Capitol Reef National Park. The trailheads for both the Strike Valley Overlook and Upper Muley Twist Canyon begin at the parking area, which is large enough to accommodate at least 4 vehicles.
The full loop hike of the canyon is a nine mile round trip. The canyon hike was secondary to our purpose for being here, so we never tried to do the full hike. According to the map of the canyon, there are 4 arches in the canyon. The first arch is about 1 mile from the trailhead. We hiked to the first arch, prior to going to the Strike Valley Overlook for late day photography. We did not have time to go any further on that visit here and still get to the Strike Valley Overlook.
We returned here to hike further into the canyon one day prior to a sunset shoot at a nearby location and again we did not have time for the full hike, so we settled for shooting at the first and second arches along the hiking route.
Hole Rock
The canyon wall has interesting features, such as the holes eroded into the solid rock walls. There were many of these similar to the one in the photo above.
Against the Wall
The canyon walls are steep and sheer rock along portions of the route with stains from water runoff. This green tree against the colorful canyon wall made an interesting photographic subject.
Saddle Arch, Upper Muley Twist Canyon
We hiked past the first arch to the second one that is know as Saddle Arch. This arch is easily visible from the canyon floor, as one rounds a bend in the canyon. It is high up on the canyon wall, requiring a steep climb up a sandy slope to get nearest to it.
I made a number of images from various vantage points. The time of day was not the best for great lighting, but it was the only time we would be here. The colorful sandstone layers add interest to the photos and geologists will enjoy viewing and studying such exposed features.
I suppose a well prepared hiker/rock climber could get to the area directly beneath and behind the arch; but that would be a dangerous undertaking for a most hikers.
On the hike out we stopped by the first arch to try to get closer photos. More on that in the next post.
The trail head for Upper Muley Twist Canyon and the Strike Valley Overlook both begin at the end of a three mile, rugged, high clearance, 4 wheel drive road.
There are at least four arches in Upper Muley Twist Canyon in the southern portion of Capitol Reef. The full loop hike of this canyon is a nine mile round trip. Today, our primary destination was the Strike Valley Overlook, which we had scouted earlier in our visit. We had just enough time before sunset to hike to the first arch, which is about a mile from the trailhead.
The first arch is easily missed. It is high up on the canyon wall, does not stand out sharply from the surroundings, and it is obscured by rocks and vegetation along the stream bed. We spotted the arch, though it was not easily accessible and we had no time today to try to find a route to a good vantage point for getting the best photos. The shot above is taken from a sandy bank surrounded by trees and brush just above the stream bed. We resolved to save any more exploration in this canyon for another day and hiked back towards the trailhead and the Strike Valley Overlook trail.
Strike Valley Overlook and Waterpocket FoldStrike Valley Overlook and Waterpocket FoldStrike Valley Overlook and Waterpocket Fold
There are high rock outcrops to the west of this overlook area, so the late day shadows encroach rapidly, putting much of the area and the valley in shadow well before the best of golden hour.
Strike Valley Overlook and Waterpocket FoldStrike Valley Overlook and Waterpocket Fold
This overlook area sits atop the geological feature called the Waterpocket Fold, which runs for miles in the park.
Strike Valley Overlook and Waterpocket FoldLinear Features on the Waterpocket Fold
This natural, linear, geological feature looks like a shrub lined walkway.
A Very Small Portion of the Massive Waterpocket FoldResting Place
This old tree remnant, resting at the base of a small rock drop off, reminded me of a line from a German poem that I had to memorize in college. Amazingly, I can still remember the complete poem decades later. The last line translated from the original German: Just wait, soon you too will rest.
Strike Valley Overlook and Waterpocket Fold
An old, dead tree and its shadow were good foreground objects, so this appears in a number of my compositions here.
South of the Capitol Reef National Park Visitor Center at the end of the paved road is the Capitol Gorge Trailhead. We hiked a short distance down the canyon, then up a short, steep trail to check out natural water tanks formed in low places along a water drainage.
I captured a few images in the canyon in route.
Capitol Gorge and Hiker/PhotographerCapitol GorgeStanding Tall – Black and White with Selective ColorizationDefiance – Trees atop Canyon Walls – Black and White with Selective ColorizationReflection in a Natural Water Tank
The snow like blobs in these photos are foamy floaters in the water.
Water TankIcy Water Tank and ArchGreen Gold – Tree adjacent to the tanks – Black and White with Selective ColorizationArch below Tanks
Water flow has cut through rock forming a small arch along the occasional stream bed.
Old Visitor Register – Enhanced to bring out faded writing
Early visitors in this canyon left their names and dates high up on the canyon wall. These marking are much higher than anyone other than a giant can reach. Maybe some stood on horses or wagons to leave their mark here or maybe the canyon was not as deep many years ago?
Parched, Hopeful – Capitol Reef Desert Scene
I cannot recall where in the park this final photo was taken, but I think it was shot along the unimproved dirt road that continues past the end of the paved roadway from the Capitol Gorge Trailhead parking area.
Capitol Reef National Park in Utah is a narrow, but long park. During our first visit here years ago, we saw a limited portion of the park centered near the most visited area around the park headquarters. We were determined to see more during this visit and consequently had to spend much more time driving many miles to and from others areas of the park. So much of our time here was spent in a scouting mode, rather than being in a particular place at the best time for landscape photography.
Strike Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
This view of Strike Valley is in the southern portion of Capitol Reef National Park, accessible via a 3 mile, rocky, 4 wheel drive road, followed by a 0.3 mile hike through forest and over slick rock. The photos taken here were during a scouting visit, when it was mostly overcast with rain threatening, so the light was uniform with interesting clouds.
Strike Valley, Capitol Reef National Park, Utah
I paused along the quick hike back to the trailhead to snap photos of the clouds overhead with occasional drops of rain coming down.
In late March of 2022, I drove to my oldest son’s home north of Denver, Colorado and we drove together to Capitol Reef National Park in Utah. We lodged in the small town of Torrey, just west of the park.
Since we arrived late in the day, we only got out for a brief visit to the park visitor center and a stop at a nearby overlook trail, where we shot a few handheld images.
Past PrimeMonochrome Tree
The sky was overcast, the light well suited for muted monochrome images.
Rock TreesAbstract (Rock Texture)Old and GnarlyTruncated
This old tree stump looked different, depending upon the angle of view.
Dancing among the Rocks
The color image of this old tree stump with this angle of view reminded me of a dancer’s torso, but when I showed this one to my grandson, he saw two dogs back to back. I have to admit that I had a similar initial interpretation, but only seeing one blunt snout dog with long ears trailing behind it. I still prefer the dancer interpretation.
80% ExpendedLife on the Edge
I have not had time to go through all of my photos from this trip and just barely got time to write this initial post, more will follow; but I may not be able to keep up with my preferred schedule of two posts per week. (Every trip leads to much to do to catch up at home).
I found the T. C. Steele Historic Site marked on an online map of the area around my operational base in Indiana. I had never heard of T. C. Steele, so I did what I usually do in such situations. I searched for information on the internet and discovered that T. C. Steele (1847 – 1926) was an American Impressionist painter, and a member of a group known as the Hoosier Group of painters. I decided it worth while to check out this historic site.
The site is located at the actual home and studio in the countryside, where T.C and his wife lived and worked. There were maybe a couple of more visitors at the site, when I arrived at a fair sized, newish looking parking lot that even had an electric vehicle charging station.
As I walked towards the visitor center, I stopped at the wagon with iron rimmed, wood spoked wheels that served as T. C.’s portable studio. The wagon is a custom built, enclosed wagon with a wood burning stove in one corner. I made a few iPhone images of the interior and exterior, but none were sufficient to fully capture the utility and quaintness of the vehicle.
There is a modest fee, payable at the visitor center. There are scheduled tours that one can take to see the interior of the studios and there are hiking trails around the grounds, garden and through a portion of the Hoosier National Forest across the road from the site.
I elected to walk the grounds on my own, then take a trail through the forest.
Golden Tree, T. C. Steele Historic Site Grounds
The grounds and gardens are attractive and pleasant to walk through. I was impressed by the large hardwood trees on the site, but my attempts to photograph those trees and showcase the grounds did not work out well.
I chose a forest trail and hoped for better photographic results in the woods.
Yellow and Green, Hoosier National Forest at T. C. Steele Historic Site, Indiana, Fall 2021Woodland Path, Hoosier National Forest at T. C. Steele Historic Site, Indiana, Fall 2021
The sheer volume of objects in a forest make it difficult to get really unique images (at least for me). I went through my photos a number of times, thinking most were a lost cause, before finally beginning to choose a few to edit.
Deep Woods, Hoosier National Forest at T. C. Steele Historic Site, Indiana, Fall 2021Hillside, Hoosier National Forest at T. C. Steele Historic Site, Indiana, Fall 2021
Photos in forest can seem so much alike, that I get easily discouraged trying to capture the scenes.
Intimate Hillside, Hoosier National Forest at T. C. Steele Historic Site, Indiana, Fall 2021Green Profusion or Intimate Forest, Hoosier National Forest at T. C. Steele Historic Site, Indiana, Fall 2021
In the end it seems that forest photos are mostly about colors, textures and light, since most of the objects in the photos are so much alike. I struggle to come up with good titles for images, especially the forest ones. I could not decide which title was best for the image above, so I gave it two.
Woodland Creek, Hoosier National Forest at T. C. Steele Historic Site, Indiana, Fall 2021Leaves, Hoosier National Forest at T. C. Steele Historic Site, Indiana, Fall 2021Path to the Light, Hoosier National Forest at T. C. Steele Historic Site, Indiana, Fall 2021
I returned to the old outlook tower that I found earlier, where a trailhead into the Charles C. Deam Wilderness originated. This time I was prepared to hike with my DSLR.
Into the WildernessSplit DecisionParty’s (long) OverMossy LogThe Light BeneathRed GoldAge SpotsForest LightCommiserationRavine Shadows
In the afternoon, after my morning shoot at Ogle Lake in Brown County State Park, I decided to go to Yellowwood State Forest, where I had shot last year and see how it looked this year.
I hiked the same trail that I had taken the previous fall, but this year I went a little further along the trail. Recent rains had muddied the trail, requiring some minor off trail work to bypass the worst of the mud.
On the opposite side of the lake from my starting point, I encountered a lone, barefoot female hiker, carrying her muddy hiking boots. It appeared that she had walked through some deep mud somewhere along her hike and maybe it was more comfortable to hike barefoot than to suffer in the mud invaded boots. She seemed to be carefully picking her way along, which was good, since there were plenty of natural things on the trail to stick, poke and gouge bare feet. I did not encounter her on my hike back to the parking lot, so I have to assume she made it out.
The lack of good peak fall color in the forest resulted in a disappointing photo shoot in the forest. Even though I was late for the previous year’s peak, the previous year’s shoot seemed more satisfying than this one.
Early Fall Forest, Yellowwood State Forest, IndianaYellowwood State Forest, Indiana
I stood in a small stream crossing to get the shot above, which is about where I turned back last year on my first hike in this forest.
Through the Tree
There were no really good places to get to the lake shoreline from the forest trail, so I had to shoot through trees towards the opposite shoreline.
Somewhere along the way, I managed to push through some brush to get near enough to the shoreline to get the image below. I still had to carefully zoom and position the camera to avoid much distracting parts of stray limbs and bushes intruding into the edges of this composition.
Yellowwood Lake and State Forest, IndianaYellowwood State Forest, Indiana
On the hike out, at a bridge crossing of a shallow creek, I encountered a photographer and a young couple, apparently getting engagement photos. The environment at this location and time did not look great for such photos, but I’m not that kind of photographer, so what do I know about that?
Maybe a quarter of a mile from the parking lot, I stopped at a short section of the trail that had been bridged over by a low wooden section.
Leads Darkly
As I finished a shooting here, the young couple and their photographer approached from behind. We exchanged greetings again and I continued to my vehicle.
When I arrived at my vehicle, I was not at all satisfied with this photographic outing, so I decided to hang around on a small, narrow, concrete boat dock until near sunset and hope to get something more interesting for my efforts today.
