MonikaC
Well-Known Member
Little Wild Horse is a wildly popular (read: crowded) slot canyon in Utah's San Rafael Swell. It's probably a perfect introduction to slot canyons, with no technical sections, good for kids, dogs & reasonably fit & adventurous elderly alike. I haven't been there in about 15 years, when the road to it was dirt and there was just a pull-out for parking. Now there are pit toilets, big signs in the parking area as well as on the trail, a large parking lot with designated spaces as well as overflow lots and the road to it is paved. Since I hadn't encountered anyone the day before and there were few vehicles on the road, I thought I'd chance it, camping nearby for an early start. Now, conventional slot canyon photography wisdom is that midday is the best time for reflected light. I decided that I'd do an out-and-back instead of looping back through Bell Canyon so that I could catch the better light. On the way in (I started around 9am), there were a few spots in the canyon that already had nice reflected light, but others with good composition but all in shadow. I figured I'd catch those on the way back. It's really a delightful canyon, especially with nobody else around. On my way back out, I encountered 2 people, probably in their 80's about 15 minutes from the parking lot. It was in a convoluted section and they preferred to stop & let me pass than to pass me. The gentleman stopped in a bridge stance (hands and feet on opposite walls) to allow me to scoot underneath while his wife took the more conservative approach of standing at the apex of a curve. My first thought was that they were probably having the adventure of their lives, but then I realized I knew nothing about them; they could be Everest veterans and had dialed down their adventures to casual slot canyons.
Did we really need wifi out there?
