Here are some more images from the “Subway” hike up Left Fork Canyon in Zion National Park. My last post with images from this trip included some info about permits and getting there and all that, so this post will just have images and some photo data.
Arches National Park has many short hiking trails, each visiting a wonderland of red rock fins. One of the long-ish trails is the Devils Garden Loop.
The loop is 7 miles fantastic long, taking you through arches, up slick rock walls, along the tops of rock fins and through a labyrinth of magic.
With out a doubt one of the most fun and interesting hikes ever.
Here are a few more images!
This has been officially added to my list of all time favorite hikes. Last week was my second visit and I was even more enamored than before…
Sometimes known as the “Subway”, Left Fork Canyon is out of the main section of the park. To get there you need to go north on the Kolob Reservoir Road, out of Virgin. Permits are required for ANY hiking there, which is a wonderful thing as it makes for a real wilderness experience which is totally unlike hiking in the Zion Canyon part of the park.
The “subway” name comes from the shape of the canyon walls, as you can see here.
This last shot I managed from inside the subway using my new 14mm lens. 
A truly stunning location. Make sure to book a permit before you head down there next time, you will not be disappointed!
Every spring I take a trip to Utah to go canyoneering. last year, someone asked me if I’d ever visited Antelope Canyon, and I answered that I’d never even heard of the place. Soon after I had a look on-line and was stunned by the images.
So, this year I added it to the list of places to visit.
The canyon is in Page, Arizona, on the Navajo Indian Reservation. The only was to visit is to book a photo tour, something I would normally avoid. 
The canyon is narrow, but easy to walk through, the floor is sandy and completely flat. Being only a few hundred feet long its not a long excursion, but every step is filled with colors, textures, light and shapes out of a dream.
Delicate Arch in Arches National Park is the quintessential landmark in the state, adorning license plates and all sorts of travel guides.
The trail you follow to get there is in itself jaw-dropping!
There are many hikes originating in Zion Canyon. From the visitors center you hop on a shuttle bus and ride up stream getting off at the various trail heads. About half way up is the stop for Hidden Canyon, Weeping Rock and Observation Point.
Last April we visited the park and stayed a week, doing many hikes, Hidden Canyon being one of them.
The trail starts with switchbacks, steep switchbacks!
Then the trail clings to the cliff while it swings around to a defile where there is a set of stairs.
Now the trail again hangs on the cliff while it rounds another bend.
The views start to open up of the valley below.
Now the trail plunges into the canyon, the narrow trail is full of amazing rock, fantastically colored and shaped.
On the way back we veered off and up to a high point of the ridge to see the valley below before heading back…
In April of this year I spent a week at Zion National Park and on the way back home did a drive-by at Bryce Canyon…here are a few images from that afternoon.
The National Park Service has implemented a fleet of tour buses to handle the massive flow of people through Zion Canyon. The system works very well, there are many clean, electric, buses running up and down all day long, stopping at all the key sights and trail heads. Angel’s Landing is one of the key attractions in the valley. Just the trail itself is a wonder of engineering. Rising more than 1,500 feet from the valley floor to a sheer precipice in a scant few miles along a finger of rock the trail affords unsurpassed views…
North Western Images - photos by Andy Porter 