Utah & Nevada, September - November 2021

Chris had flight testing for two programs in October and November 2021 at Dugway Proving Grounds, Utah. He left a few days early to visit parks on the weekend before flight testing started, and then visited lots of parks on each weekend for 7 weeks.  He hiked new trails at every place, and re-visited some trails he had done before.  By the end of the trip, he had hiked over 160 miles, averaging 20 to 25 miles per weekend. Chris made it to the big five national parks of Utah, in this order: Capitol Reef National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Zion National Park. He also visited Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument, Cedar Breaks National Monument, Cathedral Gorge State Park (Nevada), Snow Canyon State Park, Mt Nebo Scenic Loop, and relaxed in two natural hot springs at Fifth Water Hot Springs and Meadow Hot Springs.  He toured the Hill AFB Aerospace Museum and he flew his RC planes and quadcopters to capture aerial video everywhere he went (outside of national parks).  He took over 3400 high-dynamic-range (HDR) photos with his Nikon D7100 DSLR on this trip.  HDR photos consist of 5 photos of the same image taken at different exposure settings, and then blended into a single photo that matches what the human eye actually sees.  Chris uses EasyHDR as his HDR blending software.  It produces excellent images that are vibrant yet true to real life.  Also shown below are airborne videos shot with his RC aircraft, and ground videos shot with his GoPro, Gear360, and phone.

Thursday, 30 Sep

Nathan dropped Chris off at Baltimore-Washington International (BWI) Airport, and Chris flew to Salt Lake City, arriving in the early afternoon.  He was lucky when he pickup up his rental car; someone had just returned a large 4WD SUV, and Chris got that car as his rental for the next 7 weeks.  He drove south, through Spanish Fork and Price, reaching the Wedge Overlook on the north edge of the San Rafael Swell.  He had camped there twice before, in 2018 and 2019, and camped there again on this night at almost the same place as the previous times. 

Friday, 1 Oct

Chris got up, made breakfast, and assembled the RC airplanes that he had brought with him; a NanoTalon and a 5' wingspan flying wing.  He flew the NanoTalon at the canyon edge, and then drove north and east to Buckhorn Draw Road.  He headed south on Buckhorn Draw Road, stopping at a couple pictograph panels within Buckhorn Draw, and then flew his flying wing at the San Rafael River Bridge.  He continued south to I-70, stopping at the Spotted Wolf Canyon Overlook where you can see I-70 cut down and through the eastern edge of the San Rafael Reef. He drove on to Green River for gas and lunch, then came back west and then south towards Hanksville, stopping near Goblin Valley State Park to hike the Little Wildhorse Canyon and Bell Canyon loop trail.  He had hiked this same trail in 2018, but there were far fewer people on this circuit of the loop.  The trail was dry the last time he hiked it, but there were a few places with water up to about a foot deep this time through.  He recorded the full hike on his phone with the All-Trails App; it was 8.7 miles long and recorded as 1142 feet of vertical climb.  That vertical value is probably not accurate as the GPS signals are bounced around a lot within the narrow slot canyon sections.  After Chris finished the hike, he continue south to Hanksville for dinner, then drove west to Capitol Reef National Park and camped just outside the park's eastern boundary.

Buckhorn Draw

San Rafael Reef

NanoTalon aerial video at Wedge Overlook	Wing aerial video at San Rafael River Bridge (two flights)
Buckhorn Draw Drive, north to south	Hiking video of Little Wildhorse and Bell Canyon Loop Trail
Google Earth Tour of Little Wildhorse and Bell Canyon Loop Trail Google Earth Path: Little Wildhorse & Bell Canyon.kmz	Little Wildhorse Canyon
Little Wildhorse Canyon 3D - All-Trails Pro	Little Wildhorse Canyon 3D - All-Trails Pro

Saturday, 2 Oct

Chris planned on a long hike this day, but wanted a hotel to relax and clean up after the hike, so he drove through Capitol Reef to Torrey and got reservations at a hotel there.  He then drove back into Capitol Reef to the trailhead for Hickman Bridge & Navajo Knobs.  He had hiked to Hickman Bridge a few times before, but on this day would be hiking all the way to Navajo Knobs, which is the high point along the cliffs on the north side of the main road (Utah 24) through Capitol Reef.  There are incredible views for almost the entire hike.  He recorded the hike on the All-Trails App; it was 10.4 miles round-trip with a 2257 foot vertical climb. At the end of the day, Chris was dead tired.  He returned to his hotel, showered, and then just crashed.

View from Panorama Point, looking northwest

View from Panorama Point, looking north

View from Najavo Knobs

View from Navajo Knobs at the top

View from Navajo Knobs Trail

Navajo Knobs	Google Earth Tour of Navajo Knobs, Capitol Reef National Park Google Earth Trail Path: Navajo Knobs.kmz
Navajo Knobs 3D - All-Trails Pro	Navajo Knobs 3D - All-Trails Pro

Navajo Knobs Hiking Video

Sunday, 3 Oct

Chris drove west out of Torrey and then north on Utah highway-72 across the mountains northeast of Capitol Reef, reaching I-70 around noon.  He flew his RC aircraft at several places as he was headed towards Dugway Proving Grounds to begin flight test in Monday.  He had visited the Fifth Water Hot Springs a few years before and wanted to relax in the natural springs again. The springs are just southeast of Spanish Fork, slightly off the direct route from Capitol Reef to Dugway. He drove to the trailhead and completed the 5.5 mile roundtrip hike with a 700 foot vertical climb on the way to the springs.  After sitting in the hot water for a couple hours, he returned to his car and finished the drive to Dugway, where he checked into the post hotel for the first night.

Fifth Water Hot Springs

Monday - Thursday, 4 - 7 Oct

Flight testing for two different programs began on Monday and would continue until almost Thanksgiving.  The post hotel did not have any rooms available for Monday to Wednesday nights on this first week of the flight test, but after those first few days Chris would be staying on post for the entire trip.  Chris stayed at a hotel in Salt Lake City for Monday through Wednesday nights, so he had to drive back and forth each day from Salt Lake City to Dugway.  It is a round trip of about 180 miles each day from the hotel to Michael Army Airfield on Dugway. 

On Monday and Wednesday after work, Chris stopped in northern Skull Valley at Lone Rock and Horseshoe Springs to fly his flying wing.  Chris had also ordered a camera quadcopter called a Hubsan Zino Pro Plus, which had arrived at home after he left for Utah.  Tami shipped it to him at the hotel on Dugway, so Chris picked that up on Tuesday and prepped it to be flown on the following weekend.  On Thursday morning he checked out of the hotel in Salt Lake City, and after work was done in the afternoon at the flight-line he headed towards Moab for the long Columbus Day weekend.  On the way to Moab, he stopped at several viewpoints, including on Utah HWY-313, which is the road that goes to Canyonlands National Park - Islands In The Sky.  He took sunset photos along that road, and then went into Moab to have dinner at Zax's.  He had planned to drive over Hurrah Pass the next day, so he drove out to Kane Creek Canyon to camp on Thursday night.

Lone Rock, northern Skull Valley, 4 October 2021

Book Cliffs from Crescent Junction Rest Area

Friday, 8 Oct

Chris woke up to find it raining, with the forecast in Moab to continue raining all day.  He decided to drive south to Canyonlands National Park - Needles district, where the forecast had a little less rain.  As he drove back from Kane Creek Canyon into Moab, it became apparent that Moab was incredibly busy on this long weekend, so going to Needles made even more sense, as it is remote and never as busy as the parks right around Moab. He got breakfast and then went south, stopping at an overlook of the Needles district to fly his flying wing, before continuing on to Newspaper Rock Historical Site and then to Canyonlands.  He drove to the Elephant Hill trailhead and began the hike out to Druid Arch.  It was overcast and light rain fell occasionally through the day.  He made it all the way to Druid Arch, seeing only a couple other hiking groups all day long.  Just before the last climb up to the viewpoint for Druid Arch is a sand-stone slick rock section that is pretty steep, but fortunately does not really have any exposure - you just slide back down the slick rock if you slip.  Chris struggled with this, as it had been raining and the rocks were sandy and slippery.  With the help of a group coming back from the Druid Arch viewpoint, he managed to make it up the last steep part of this section, and made it all the way to Druid Arch.  He had Druid Arch to himself, as it was late in the day and few people were hiking this day anyway.  On the return hike, the last two miles back to Elephant Hill were completed in the dark, but Chris had expected this so he had a flashlight with him to see the way.  He drove just outside the park and camped nearby for the night.

Needles from Elephant Hill Trail

Panorama at Druid Arch

Druid Arch

Saturday, 9 Oct

Chris drove back into the park and cooked breakfast at a picnic area at the Potholes Viewpoint. He drove to the Cave Springs trailhead and completed that short trail before going to the visitor's center for a recommendation for a good hike for the day.  The ranger recommended the Big Springs & Squaw Canyon Loop trail, which begins near the Canyonlands - Needles campground.  Chris hiked this trial over the next several hours and enjoyed it very much.  There is one small section with scrambling and some exposure over slick rock.  If was a sunny dry day, so it was not slippery.  Chris would not recommend that trail if there was any moisture in the forecast, as you hike along slick rock with exposure at the far end of the loop.  One slip could drop you over a cliff on both sides of the approach to the pass between the two canyons at the far end of the loop.  This hiking route and the views are excellent; if you would like a birds-eye view of this hike, Chris built a Google Earth tour of this loop as he hiked it on 9 October.  After finishing this long hike, Chris drove back to Moab, stopping to fly his RC aircraft at a couple places along the way.  He got dinner in Moab then drove along the Colorado River to Castle Valley, where he camped for the night.

Potholes Picnic Area Panorama

Pothole Point Panorama

Pothole Point Panorama

Cave Springs Trail View

Big Spring Canyon

Squaw Canyon

Squaw Canyon

Squaw Canyon 

Wing aerial video outside Canyonlands NP in Indian Creek Canyon	Q180 aerial video short flight in high winds at rock pinnacle on HWY-114
Google Earth Tour of Big Spring & Squaw Canyon Loop Google Earth Trail Path: Big Springs & Squaw Canyon Loop.kmz	Big Springs & Squaw Canyon Loop

Big Spring & Squaw Canyon 3D - All-Trails Pro

Sunday, 10 Oct

Chris flew his wing in Castle Valley right next to the Colorado River on Sunday morning, then drove to Arches National Park.  Arches National Park has become VERY busy in the last few years, getting most of the crowds that come to Moab.  The car line to get in on this Sunday morning in October was about 30 minutes long.  You can see that line in one of the photos below.  He hiked the Devils Garden loop trail (also called the 'Primitive Trail'), visiting Landscape Arch, Double-O-Arch, and Dark Angel.  Chris had hiked this loop several years before, with no problems on the previous hike. On this day there was one difficult part with minor exposure because the slick rocks were VERY sandy and slippery from the rain over the last few days.  He then hiked up to Delicate Arch for sunset, spending several hours hiking all over the slick rock for different viewpoints of Delicate Arch.  The main viewpoint for Delicate Arch is always crowded, but very few people leave the trail to go to the bowl below the Arch or the cliffs on the high-ground across from the Arch. These viewpoints are great, and provide alternate photo opportunities.  Whenever Chris descends into the bowl below Delicate Arch, he always finds and picks up trash that has been dropped from above; usually it is water bottles that have rolled away from people.  The photo below shows Chris' haul for this day.  Chris drove to Green River on Sunday night for dinner and a hotel.

Devils Garden Loop Trail

Delicate Arch

Delicate Arch

Gear 360 video of Devils Garden & Delicate Arch	Wing aerial video in Castle Valley
Google Earth Tour of Devils Garden Loop Trail Google Earth Trail Path: Devils Garden.kmz This loop trail is also called the Devils Garden Primitive Trail.	Devils Garden Loop
Google Earth Tour of Delicate Arch Trail Google Earth Trail Path: Delicate Arch.kmz The trail shown here is the normal trail to reach Delicate Arch, and then it follows a seldom-followed path to the bowl below the arch, then to some cliffs on the south side of the arch, and then back across some slick rock to rejoin the normal trail back to the parking lot.	Delicate Arch
Delicate Arch 3D - All-Trails Pro
Devils Garden GoPro Hiking Video	Delicate Arch GoPro Hiking Video

Monday, 11 Oct

Chris decided to relax on this day, slowly driving back to Dugway while crossing the San Rafael Swell on I-70.  He left the Interstate for a short drive out to Crawford Draw slot canyon, which he had hiked in 2018.  He did not hike the slot canyon this time, but he knew that it was remote and would provide a good place to test his new camera quadcopter, a Hubsan Zino Pro Plus.  He test flew that quadcopter, and also flew his flying wing at Crawford Draw. He then drove on across the San Rafael Swell, stopping at most of the viewpoints along I-70 (viewpoint #1, viewpoint #2, viewpoint #3, viewpoint #4) to get photos.  He stopped in Nephi for dinner, and drove back to Dugway via the unpaved Pony Express Route over Lookout Pass.  This is a shorter route to Dugway when coming from the south, than the normal paved Johnson Pass route, so Chris wanted to see if the road was in good condition for all the weekend trips he would be taking to the south over the next several weeks.  The first part of the road was in good shape, but later sections had washout due to rain, so this was the only time Chris used this 'short-cut' during the whole trip. Chris checked into the post hotel on Dugway, where he stayed for the remainder of the entire flight test series.

San Rafael Reef View Area

San Rafael Swell Ghost Rock Rest Area

San Rafael Swell Eagle Canyon Rest Area

San Rafael Swell Eagle Canyon Rest Area

San Rafael Swell Salt Wash View Area

Tuesday - Friday, 12 - 15 Oct

Dugway flight test continued on both programs. Friends from other flight test programs (from other companies) were also on Dugway for there own flight tests, and they visited and planned for hikes the next weekend.  On Friday night, Chris and a friend shared a bottle of wine and chips with salsa in the hotel lobby and prepared for a weekend visit to Bryce Canyon National Park.

Saturday, 16 Oct

Chris and his friend drove to Bryce Canyon National Park, where they hiked Sunset Point to Navajo Loop-Two Bridges to Peekaboo Canyon Loop to Queens Garden to Sunrise Point. The hike was 7 miles long and 1550 feet of vertical gain.  They had both reserved rooms at Bryce View Lodge in Bryce City for the night.  Chris' friend was playing the whole COVID infection possibility very carefully, so he declined dinner at Ruby's, but that food was too good to pass up after a long day hiking, so Chris had dinner at Ruby's on Saturday night.

Bryce Canyon Sunset Point

Bryce Canyon Peekaboo Loop Trail

Bryce Canyon Peekaboo Loop Trail

Bryce Canyon 3D - All-Trails Pro

Sunday, 17 Oct

On Sunday they drove from Bryce City to Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, and hiked the Willis Creek Slot Canyon all the way to Sheep Creek. They measured it as 6 miles round-trip hike with 300 feet of vertical gain on the return back to the trailhead.  Chris set up his GoPro on the windshield of the car for the drive on the Skutumpah Road back to Cottonwood Canyon Road.  That video is linked below, and the route shown in the video is linked in Google Map here.  They picked up lunch in Tropic and ate at a picnic area in Red Canyon, while enjoying the red rocks around them.  They drove on through Panguitch, and then turned southwest to visit Cedar Breaks National Monument and Brian Head, and made it back to Dugway just before sunset.

Cedar Break National Monument, Chessman Ridge Overlook

Willis Creek

Skutumpah Road drive from Willis Creek to Cottonwood Canyon Road

Monday - Friday, 18 - 22 Oct

Flight testing continued on both programs all week.  On Friday after work, Chris drove to Springdale and camped.  He would be hiking the West Rim Trail at Zion National Park on Saturday.

Saturday, 23 Oct

Chris drove into Zion National Park and parked at the visitor's center. He packed for the long day-hike, and walked over to Zion Adventures in Springdale.  He had reservations on their private shuttle for the ride to Lava Point to begin the hike. As he arrived at Zion Adventures, fortunately about 30 minutes early, he realized he had forgotten his facemask which was required to ride the shuttle.  He walked back to his car to get the facemask, and returned; that round-trip walk added abut 2 miles to his hiking total for the day.  He made it back with about 10 minutes to spare before the van left, and got on the van for the ride to Lava Point.  The drive is about 45 minutes along the Kolob Terrace Road, stopping at the west trailhead for the West Rim Trail. This was the third time Chris has hiked this trail; the van driver knew Chris had hiked the trail before and asked him to give his opinion to the other hikers (the van was full);  it is Chris' favorite hike in the world and the last half of the hike is nothing less than breath-taking. He recorded the hike on the All-Trails App. Depending on how much you believe of the recording, it is 15 - 17 miles long.  Chris forgot to turn off the recording when he got on the shuttle bus, so the All-Trails recording below also includes the 5 mile shuttle ride back to the visitor center from the Grotto.  Most of the West Rim Trail is downhill, but there is a section in the middle at Potato Hollow and a section at the end at the west edge of Zion Canyon where you climb up several hundred feet, so those climbs and the overall length of this hike can be tiring.  After this very long day-hike, Chris made it past Angels Landing and down to the Grotto, where he caught the park shuttle back to the visitor's center and his car.  He walked around a few minutes to stretch his legs, and then drove to his hotel in Virgin and had dinner at a nearby restaurant.

Gear 360 video of West Rim Trail	Google Earth Tour of West Rim Trail Google Earth Trail Path: West Rim Trail.kmz
West Rim Trail + Shuttle	West Rim 3D - All-Trails Pro

Sunday, 24 Oct

Chris drove up Kolob Terrace Road all the way to Lava Point.  On the way back off of Kolob Terrace, he flew his flying wing just outside the park boundary.  He stopped at the Wildcat Canyon trailhead and hiked the Northgate Peaks Trail. It is only a few miles long and mostly flat.  He drove back to Dugway, stopping at Meadow and visiting Meadow Hot Springs which is just a few minutes from the Interstate.  After soaking in the water at two of the hot spring pools, he flew his flying wing again just before sunset, then finished driving back to Dugway.

Lava Point Panorama

Kolob Terrace Road Panorama

Kolob Terrace Road Panorama

Wildcat Canyon Trailhead Panorama

Northgate Peaks Panorama

Kolob Terrace Road drive from Virgin to Lava Point	Northgate Peaks
Wing aerial video on Kolob Terrace Road	Wing aerial video at Meadow Hot Springs

Monday - Friday, 25 - 29 Oct

Another week of flight testing for both programs continued. Chris flew his flying wing after work on Thursday, 28 October 2021.

Wing aerial video in southern Skull Valley, 28 Oct 2021

Saturday, 30 Oct

Chris decided not to drive anywhere distant on this weekend, and did two short day trips from Dugway on Saturday and Sunday. He drove to Hill Air Force Base on Saturday morning and visited the Hill AFB Aerospace Museum, which has a large collection of aircraft.  After getting lunch, he drove east on I-80 and up into the Wasatch Mountains.  He flew his flying wing at the east end of Emigration Canyon overlooking Salt Lake City, and then drove down the canyon to the trailhead for the "Living Room" trail.  It is only 1.3 miles one-way to the top of the trail, but is 1000 feet of vertical climb in that short distance.  He stayed there until dark, filming a beautiful sunset on his phone, and then hiked back in the dark. There are three time lapse versions of the sunset video linked below.  Chris went back to Dugway for the night.

Drive from Big Mountain Summit to Emigration Canyon	Living Room Sunset Time Lapse : 1 hour compressed to 6 minutes
Living Room Sunset Time Lapse : 1 hour compressed to 2 minutes	Living Room Sunset Time Lapse : 24 minutes compressed to 1 minute
Wing aerial video at east end of Emigration Canyon (two flights)	Living Room

Living Room 3D - All-Trails Pro

Sunday, 31 Oct

Chris drove to Nephi, picked up lunch, and then on to the Mt Nebo Scenic Byway, which he completed going from south to north.  There is a small section of red rock hoodoos on this drive called Devil's Kitchen. It is billed as a "Mini Bryce Canyon" - it is a very mini Bryce Canyon.  He ended the drive in Payton and then returned to Dugway.  He flew his flying wing twice on this drive, once on the Mt Nebo Scenic Byway, and at Johnson Pass just before arriving back to Dugway.

Mt Nebo Scenic Byway, south to north

Monday – Friday, 1 – 5 Nov

One program had finished flying for a few weeks, while the other program was confined to ground testing during this week.  A skeleton crew remained for this week to conduct the ground testing.  Chris flew his 180 sized quadcopter, flying wing, and camera quadcopter after work on 3 November 2021 in Skull Valley.  Chris and the crew finished the ground testing on Friday afternoon.  After they finished putting the plane away for the weekend, Chris began a drive south and west into Nevada, where he planned to visit Cathedral Gorge State Park on Saturday morning.  He drove past Great Basin National Park on the route into Nevada, and camped for Friday night in his car at the Pony Springs Rest Area in eastern Nevada.

Skull Valley, 3 Nov 2021

Hubsan Zino Pro Plus aerial video in southern Skull Valley, 3 Nov 2021 (two flights)

Saturday, 6 Nov

Chris woke up and drove the last hour to Cathedral Gorge State Park, Nevada.  He hiked the very short Eagle Point trail overlooking the gorge, flew his flying wing at the Eagle Point trailhead, made breakfast at Miller Point, and then hiked the 5.3 mile loop trail through and around the gorge.  When he finished the loop trail and returned to his car, he flew his camera quadcopter at Miller Point.  He drove on, headed towards St George, Utah.  He stopped at the Mountain Meadows Massacre Memorial Site, here in Utah.  In 1857 a group of Mormon militia had attacked and killed a large group of settlers headed towards California in this small mountain valley.  One of the leaders of that attack was John D Lee.  After the massacre, Lee and others had hidden to avoid prosecution.  Lee's Ferry on the Colorado River, just below Page, Arizona at the beginning of the Grand Canyon was colonized by Lee and his wives as a ferry crossing during this time, and that is where Lee had hidden before he was arrested in 1874, tried, and finally executed in 1877.  Chris continued on to Snow Canyon State Park, and hiked several miles over the slick rock and into a lava tube cave.  Snow Canyon is not large, but has incredible scenery and diversity in such small area.  He drove into St George for dinner, and then on to Springdale where he camped for the night at the same place he had camped on 22 October.

Cathedral Valley from Eagle Point Trail

Cathedral Valley from Eagle Point Trail

Cathedral Valley from Eagle Point

Cathedral Valley State Park

Cathedral Valley State Park

Mountain Meadows Massacre Memorial Site Panorama

Snow Canyon State Park

Snow Canyon State Park

Snow Canyon State Park

Snow Canyon State Park

Wing aerial video at Eagle Point Trailhead, Cathedral Gorge State Park	Cathedral Gorge
Google Earth Tour of Cathedral Gorge Google Earth Path: Cathedral Gorge.kmz	Snow Canyon
Snow Canyon 3D - All-Trails Pro
Hubsan Zino Pro Plus aerial video at Miller Point (first flight, 1080)	Hubsan Zino Pro Plus aerial video at Miller Point (second flight, 4K)
Gear 360 video of hike through Cathedral Gorge State Park	Hiking video of lava tube in Snow Canyon State Park

Sunday, 7 Nov

Chris drove to the Zion National Park visitor's center and got the park shuttle to the Grotto.  He climbed to the top of Angels Landing; this was the fifth time he has climbed Angels Landing.  He recorded the climb on his GoPro.  It seems to get steeper and more difficult each time he climbs it as he gets older; the park service must be rearranging the rocks over the years to make it steeper, and gravity must be getting turned up higher at Zion National Park as time goes by.  The All-Trails recording below is very inaccurate for elevation gain and a lot of the actual route, as the high canyon walls of Zion Canyon and Refrigerator Canyon don't allow clean GPS signals to reach the ground.  On the way back to Dugway, Chris drove up into Kolob Canyons off of I-15 and hiked the Timber Creek Overlook Trail at sunset.

Angels Landing from the top

Angels Landing panorama from the top

Angels Landing panorama from the top 

Angels Landing from just above Scouts Lookout

Kolob Canyons from Kolob Viewpoint

Kolob Canyons from Timber Creek Overlook Trail

Kolob Canyons from Timber Creek Overlook Trail

Hiking video of Angels Landing

Monday - Wednesday, 8 - 10 Nov 2021

Chris remained at Dugway this week to support other flight test series and conduct an avionics training class for the Dugway crew.  Thursday, 11 November was Veterans Day, so Dugway was closed for flight operations on Thursday and Friday. Chris took advantage of this and planned a trip to Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument for the 4-day weekend.  Here is the driving route for this long weekend.

Thursday, 11 Nov

Chris drove to Torrey, south over Boulder Mountain, and to the Upper Calf Creek Falls trailhead in the Escalante River Gorge.  He hiked to the falls, seeing only one person the whole way and that person was headed back to the trailhead.  With the falls all to himself, he flew his camera quadcopter at the falls.  He returned to his car, and drove across the Hogbacks on the Utah State Highway-12 Scenic Byway to the Head-Of-The-Rocks Overlook for sunset.  After sunset he continued on into Escalante, had dinner at Escalante Outfitters, the same restaurant he and Tami have eaten at before, and had one of the best pizzas he has ever had.   He had planned to camp on Thursday night, but instead found an inexpensive, clean hotel in Escalante.

Head Of The Rocks Overlook

Hubsan Zino Pro Plus aerial video at Upper Calf Creek Falls	Driving video across the Escalante River Gorge on Utah-12
Upper Calf Creek Falls	Upper Calf Creek Falls 3D - All-Trails Pro

Friday, 12 Nov

Chris drove from Escalante to Hole In The Rock Road on the west side of the Escalante River Gorge.  He went to Devils Garden, which is about 15 miles down the unpaved Hole In The Rock Road.  This was the third time Chris has driven down that road, but he did not go nearly as far on the road this time as the last two times, as he had plans for a long overnight hike on the east side of the gorge. He flew his camera quadcopter twice at Devils Garden, and also stopped at the trailhead for Zebra and Tunnel Slots, where he flew his flying wing.  He returned to Highway-12 and drove to Boulder to get on the paved Burr Trail Road. He stopped at Singing Canyon in Long Canyon, a small side canyon with lots of echoes, and then on to the unpaved Wolverine Loop Road.  Thirteen miles down the Wolverine Loop Road is the trailhead for Little Death Hollow.  Chris recorded this drive on the Wolverine Loop Road from the Burr Trail Road to Little Death Hollow Trailhead with his GoPro mounted to the windshield of his car.

Little Death Hollow is about 10 miles long, with several miles of that being a very narrow slot canyon. Chris made it to the trailhead and packed his big backpack for an overnight trip, with tent, sleeping bag, food, camera quadcopter, and lots of water.  All the write-ups on the Internet state there are no major obstacles in this slot canyon, so no technical gear is needed. What the guides don't tell you is that while there are no major obstacles, there are LOTS of smaller obstacles.  Chris found there are several dry-falls from 4 to 10 feet tall, and if it has rained recently there will be water at bottom of the dry-falls and other low spots, so he recommends you definitely hike Little Death Hollow going downhill.  Chris hiked it this direction on Friday, and then returned uphill to his car on Saturday via Wolverine Canyon, which does not get nearly as narrow as Little Death Hollow and has no obstacles.  It is a long hike at 20 miles, but if you make it an overnight camping trip, and it is very doable.  When Chris had completed Little Death Hollow by Friday evening, having to climb through cold thigh-deep water in several places, he had enough of slot canyons and was glad he would be walking out of the water with no obstacles on Saturday.  Chris camped at the junction of Little Death Hollow and Horse Canyon on Friday night.  It got very cold, and Chris found that his sleeping bag did not support its claimed low temperature rating of 20 deg F, so he started a campfire to keep warm.

Hubsan Zino Pro Plus aerial video at Devils Garden (two flights)	Wing aerial video at Zebra Slot Trailhead
Driving video on Wolverine Loop Rd, from Burr Trail Rd to Little Death Hollow Trailhead	Google Earth Tour of Little Death Hollow & Wolverine Canyon Loop Trail Google Earth Trail Path: Little Death Hollow & Wolverine Canyon.kmz
Little Death Hollow GoPro Hiking Video	Little Death Hollow

Wolverine Canyon

Saturday, 13 Nov

Chris got up and cooked breakfast. As the water was warming up, he flew his camera quadcopter at the campsite. The battery had been cold-soaked all night long, so it gave out quickly and the flight did not last very long. It was just long enough to get an aerial view of the camping area at the confluence of Little Death Hollow and Horse Canyon.  He packed up and began the 10 mile hike back to his car through Horse Canyon and Wolverine Canyon.  About 1/2 mile into the hike, he passed a small line cabin about 8 feet square.  He looked inside to find a wood stove and cot.  If he had known that cabin was so close and had a stove, he would have hiked there the night before and would have been much more comfortable.  Wolverine Canyon ended up being very pretty, better than he expected, so it was a nice hike on Saturday.  Wolverine Canyon is full of petrified wood; it is supposed to have the second highest amount of petrified wood in the United States, second only to Petrified Forest Nation Park in Arizona.  Wolverine splits about half-way through, with the main canyon going north-east and a side canyon going mostly east, followed the north side of Little Brown Bench. This side canyon is a more direct route back to the Little Death Hollow trailhead, and that is how Chris hiked back. After reaching his car, Chris rested for a little bit then flew his flying wing at the trailhead.  He drove out on Wolverine Loop Road the way he had come in, rejoined the Burr Trail Road, and eventually made it back to Boulder.  He drove north over Boulder Mountain, stopping to get sunset photos.  He stayed at the same hotel in Torrey where he had stayed at the beginning of this trip on 2 October.  He had a great burger in Torrey right next door to the hotel.

Circle Cliffs from Wolverine Loop Road, Boulder Mountain in the background

Circle Cliffs from Wolverine Loop Road, Boulder Mountain in the background

Circle Cliffs from Burr Trail Road view point here

Escalante River Gorge, Straight Cliffs & Navajo Mountain on the right, view from Homestead Overlook on Boulder Mountain

Escalante River Gorge, Henry Mountains on the left, view from Homestead Overlook on Boulder Mountain

Escalante River Gorge, view from this overlook on Boulder Mountain

Sunday, 14 Nov

Chris relaxed on Sunday, visiting places at Capitol Reef National Park he had been to in the past.  He stopped at the pictographs panel in Fruita, and then drove east to the Cathedral Valley Road, which starts outside the national park border.  He crossed the ford of the Fremont River, and drove the first mile of the Cathedral Valley Road to reach a small set of bentonite hills.  He flew his Q180 quadcopter, flying wing, and camera quadcopter at these hills, then returned back across the Fremont River. He drove to the Notom-Bullfrog Road and went a few miles south to an open area to fly his flying wing again.  He went back west into the park and stopped at Sunset Point and the Goosenecks Overlook of Sulphur Creek.  After leaving the park headed west, he stopped again to fly his flying wing.  He had a late lunch in Torrey and returned to Dugway that evening.

Cathedral Valley Road, bentonite hills flying spot

View from Notom-Bullfrog Road, looking west towards Capitol Reef

View from Notom-Bullfrog Road, looking north

View from Sunset Point of Navajo Knobs hike, Navajo Knobs is high point on far left

Sunset Point Panorama

Goosenecks Overlook Panorama

Monday – Friday, 15 – 19 Nov

Chris and the crew had a great week of flying, accomplishing all their goals and some extras for this week, finished the flight test series on Friday. They began to pack all the equipment up to ship it back to Maryland after landing for the final time on Friday afternoon.

Saturday - Sunday, 20 -21 Nov

Chris checked out of the Dugway hotel on Saturday morning, and he and the crew finished packing on Saturday.  Chris had a hotel reservation in Salt Lake City on Saturday night, and a flight home early on Sunday morning.  On the way back to Salt Lake City on Saturday afternoon, Chris flew his flying wing again in Skull Valley, and again in Saltair on the edge of the Great Salt Lake.  He and the remaining crew had dinner at Red Iguana 2 on Saturday evening.  Chris finished taking all his RC equipment apart and packing for the trip home on Saturday evening. He flew home on Sunday, arriving back to BWI in the afternoon.

Skull Valley Panorama, 20 Nov 2021