10 Amazing Arizona Slot Canyons and Utah Slot Canyons

best slot canyons in utah and arizona

best slot canyons in utah and arizona - win

Lesser-known/hidden gems for NP Road trip?

Ok, here's the setup: My wife and I have been doing a weeklong (give or take a few days) road trip from the Chicago area to a few destinations out west on a yearly basis for nearly a decade now. We love the places we've hit, but we're looking for a few diversions and lesser-known areas to hike and hit on our way through.
We typically camp the whole week - we bring a tent and either sleep in our car between spots, or set up tent on BLM land, in parks, or backwoods when hiking.
Standards that we've hit:
In Colorado: RMNP (most of the hikes around Bear Lake, but primarily, Bear Lake to Fern Lake loop), Hanging Lake, Grizzly Creek, Colorado National Monument, Mesa Verde
In Utah: Canyonlands (both Island in the Sky and Needles), Arches (primitive trail hike, delicate arch hike, as well as pretty much everything reachable by car), Capitol Reef (Cave Spring and, I believe, confluence overlook), La Sal Mountains (we've just camped here).
Arizona: Slot canyons, Horseshoe bend, Lone Rock Beach (although this place sucks now, because it's overrun by RVs) Northern Rim of the Grand Canyon (but just barely we did not get to hike).
I'm looking for any hidden gems at these spots, or any hidden gems within reasonable driving distance from these spots. We very loosely plan - we just get in the car and drive whichever direction pulls us, so alternative spots are welcome. I'm down for hikes to cool points of interest, scenic drives, great camping - you name it. I prefer to get away from the crowds, if possible.
Bonus points if there's a decent amount of BLM land for camping out of our car nearby.
Related - I've been wanting to take the trip a bit further west for Zion, but I'm always a bit nervous that the crowds will bother me too much - what's the best way to get away from the rabble in Zion? There's nothing more I hate than a National Park experience that feels like an amusement park - I want to be semi-alone with my thoughts, my wife, and my camera.
A million questions, I know, but I figure if anyone would know the answers, it'd be my fellow National Parks lovers.
submitted by coheedcollapse to nationalparks [link] [comments]

Was Inspired to create an All-American Baseball League

I was reading this post and was inspired by the idea of creating a league for the 50 states! So, because I don't want to do my work, or pack for my move next week, I decided to create this league!

New League: Public Baseball System (Lame name, just going for the acronym)
Structure:
2 Leagues: American and National
For each League, 5 Divisions, with 5 teams each: West, North, East, Midwest, and South
Minor Leagues: AAA, AA, A, Rookie (each minors team must be in the state of it's parent organization. Washington Evergreens AA Affiliate might be Spokane Indians *screw you Texas*)
AL:
AL West:
AL North:
AL East:
AL Midwest:
AL South:

NL:
NL West:
NL North:
NL East:
NL Midwest:
NL South:

-----
Rules:
(Please note, these are really close to standard, but adjusted for patriotic purposes)

Universal DH
Roster Size: 25 (half of 50)
40-man Roster: 50 (duh)
Expanded Roster: 38 (25 + 13 colonies bitches)
Roster Expansion: Sept 1 (kept this, cause Labor Day, federal holiday)
Spring Training Roster: 38 (25 + rep those colonies)
Foreign Players on Roster Limit: No Foreigners Allowed ('Murica)
Waiver Period Length: 4 days (July 4 making an appearance)
DFA: 13 days (colonies again!)
DL/IL/whatever: 13 days (.....)
Kill the Rule 5 Draft!
Draft Day: July 4, because it has to be then. Fireworks, amateurs, baseball, America
Slot Bonus Baseline: $1,776,000
No Revenue Sharing (Who shares?!?!?!)
Development Budget Baseline: $13,000,000 (do I need to say it again?)
Scouting Budget Baseline: $7,600,000

Number of Games: 176
Season Start: March 23 (date of "Give me Liberty, or give me death!!")
No Rainouts (Play in the rain! Water won't kill ya!)

Spring Training Length: 4 weeks (4th of Jooly)

Yes All-Star Game
Yes it determines home-field advantage
Roster Size: 38, again.....

Playoffs:
Division Leaders + 3 WC spots
WC 1-game series
Regional Series (Best of 9)
League Championship Series (Best of 7)
State Series (Best of 5)

We'll see how it goes!
submitted by VeryOddlySpecific to OOTP [link] [comments]

Where are the best places to go backpacking in the U.S.?

Where are the best places to go backpacking in the U.S.?
There are literally hundreds of thousands of hiking paths in America; each state has a seemingly infinite range of incredible paths to explore, so you can imagine how hard it is to narrow down a list of the top 10 hikes in the US.
For many reasons, the USA is the dream country of a hiker. America is absurdly varied and includes almost every kind of landscape within its boundaries: deserts and hills, rainforests and thousands of kilometers of shoreline.
From the Grand Canyon and Hawaii's lava fields to the Rockies, Tetons, Smokies, and Sierras, America's hiking trails bring you across all kinds of terrain and climate. It's no surprise that the trails are hit every year by millions of individuals from the US and around the globe.

https://preview.redd.it/a338rnxn6bh31.png?width=598&format=png&auto=webp&s=c1dee5596bbcaf09e02bb9829fe5d29b4d1d2de1
Now, let's understand some of America's finest hikes
Each adventure starts with the correct equipment. Frankly, hiking is not so much fun without adequate facilities. If you've ever had a pair of bad hiking shoes or a sleeping bag that doesn't keep you warm, you understand what I'm talking about.
It is not only important to own the correct equipment for comfort and fun, but it is also crucial to stay secure in unpredictable weather patterns and hostile natural surroundings.
In distant, wild, and possibly harmful settings spread across the nation, the finest hikes in the United States are discovered. For any hiking journey, the first step is to evaluate the equipment you own and what equipment you may need to purchase.
We are very enthusiastic about quality backpacking equipment at the Broke Backpacker. Our team has been testing and reviewing the market's top outdoor devices for numerous hours.
Below is a series of equipment reviews that will bring you in contact with all you need to have a successful (and secure!) hiking adventure.
Best Hiking Trails in the United States: Find Your 2019 Adventure
  • California's Lost Coast Trail

https://preview.redd.it/jj6tjirv6bh31.png?width=596&format=png&auto=webp&s=ac3bb084ccc9de4f7e9d448c24b86c430f597cc5
Length: 24.6 miles (39.6 km)
Days: 3-4
Best time to hike: All year, Fall is best.
Northern California's Lost Coast Trail is often overlooked. Why? Well, it's kind of lost. Logging companies attempted to construct a highway here and failed to do so. Instead, Highway 1 cuts into the windy coastal mountains and redwood forests inland from the coast. Lost Coast has even been heard by few individuals.
Fun fact: This portion of the shoreline from Northern Mendocino to Humboldt County is the biggest undeveloped coastline outside of Alaska in the United States!
Either direction (north-south or vice-versa) from Mattole Beach or Black Sands Beach close Shelter Cove can be walked on this nearly 25-mile walk.
The southern segment of the Lost Coast Trail goes to Usal Beach about 30 + miles north of Black Sands Beach for those interested in an even longer walk. However, most individuals tend to adhere to the northern section.
The path along the Lost Coast winds its way along barren, misty beach and forest stretches. The tide schedule has to be factored into the hike and bear-proof canisters are advised to be carried by hikers.
A misjudgment may literally imply the end for you in the tide timetable. At high tide, there are a few miles of the path that is impassable, so do your studies.
Due to its distinctive and remote place in a state of nearly 40 million individuals, this hike is one of the finest hikes in the USA. Here I enjoy it!
  • Tonto Trail, Arizona (National Park of the Grand Canyon)

https://preview.redd.it/zt2rv2567bh31.png?width=600&format=png&auto=webp&s=830de4811cd1a4e1602b59611aa7d8684c306924
Length: 70 miles (113 km)
Days: 4-6
Best time to hike: Spring, Fall, Winter (avoid July and August, you will melt.)
The Tonto Trail is an amazing multi-day trek to make that dream a reality for those who really want to experience the Grand Canyon from within the Canyon itself.
Officially categorized as a South Rim Hike, the Tonto Trail goes from Garnet to Red Canyon.
Water, particularly in summer, can be a problem on the Tonto. Appropriate sources of water include Hermit Creek, Monument Creek, and Garden Creek — but remember (very important!) that you MUST filter or treat water as it may be loaded with heavy metals / unpleasant bacteria.
Back country campsites along this path must be reserved with the Backcountry Rangers Office through a wilderness license.
Enjoy amazing views of the Colorado River and huge red rock canyons ' infinite ocean!
  • California Trans-Catalina Trail
https://preview.redd.it/mzxfc3em7bh31.png?width=595&format=png&auto=webp&s=2a28cd0541c0b0b019dd362442f116c2d709b4fa
Length: 38.7 miles (62. km)
Days: 3-5
Best time to hike: All year, (Summer is HOT AF)
I wouldn't usually reach Southern California with a 10-foot pole for the finest hiking paths in the U.S. list (ok, Joshua Tree is great and some other places are also great). That said, it is worth knowing about the Trans-Catalina path.
Catalina Island is about 22 miles south of the mainland and couldn't be any distinct from Southern California's mainland. Well, at least the island's rough interior is a world away from So-Cal traffic / people-ridden.
The hiking can be intense as it is pretty exposed throughout the whole route. I'm not recommending to tackle this summer hike.
In August, I did it, and it was really a poor choice. I felt like I was melting and on several occasions I likely approached the heat stroke. Simultaneously, I had my life spotting buffalo, camping on hidden beaches, and soaking in the spectacular landscapes of the desert island.
You can really walk your own pace on this hike. If you tend to be a slower hiker or walk it in the summer heat, consider completing the hike for 4 days.
  • Katahdin Mountain, Maine

https://preview.redd.it/423zeslv7bh31.png?width=597&format=png&auto=webp&s=e4fb998604d92ba0f8cb6aee860484be2744898e
Length: 2.4-9 miles (depending on where you start/end)
Days: 1 (8-12 hours)
Best time to hike: Summer
Mount Katahdin is the iconic peak where thru-hikers start or end their epic voyage on the Appalachian Trail.
The Katahdin hike may not be very distant, but as you can see from the time-on-trail–8-12 hours–it's a hard nut to crack. However, the juice is worth the squeeze; a Katahdin ascent provides sweeping opinions from the state of Maine's highest mountain in all directions.
The path in locations along the so-called Knife's Edge path is mercilessly steep and slow. The hike is an absolute pleasure with the correct level of fitness, rewarded by the epic landscapes discovered at the top.
  • Coast of Kalalau / Napali, Hawaii

https://preview.redd.it/t48qmwc28bh31.png?width=594&format=png&auto=webp&s=c76831c3af9fa679dedbb772fe6eeb1d601811ee
Length: 22 miles (35.4 km)
Days: 2-3
Best time to hike: All year
I'm not the first to dub one of the finest hikes in the US on the Kalalau Trail. The Napali Coast on Kauai's Hawaiian island is one of the most amazing sites on Earth. Out of Jurassic Park and Avatar, the landscapes look like something (oh wait, they've been filmed here!).
The Kalalau Trail has amazing beach scenes, waterfall swimming possibilities, rivers— all framed in the background by the hills.
This path is rough, remote, and some sophisticated planning is required. It is necessary to apply for camping licenses for months in advance. Rainstorms can suddenly come with a flash's intensity. When mellow creeks turned into raging torrents, hikers were swept away.
The Kalalau Trail can be performed as a day hike to Hanakapi'ai waterfall, but you should tackle the entire trail to really get the essence of what the Napali Coast is about.
Come ready and leave with lifetime memories.
  • Arizona's Wave

https://preview.redd.it/ewkhj5w98bh31.png?width=591&format=png&auto=webp&s=7236e3a7955c0d57384cd71c868e2aec446880a1
Length: 5.2 miles (8.3 km)
Days: 1 (2-4 hours)
Best time to hike: All year
Instagram might have made The Wave even more famous than it was before. True. But this magical swirling red sandstone landscape is not to be missed in the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument.
But... wait for it... the Land Management Bureau limits foot traffic to 20 people / day due to the site's overwhelming popularity. Yup. 20.
You're going to need a lucky stroke to get the license, but if / when you do it, you can be sure you're perhaps the best desert day-hike in the United States about the tackle. Pack plenty of water as there's no one on the path accessible.
  • Lake Cracker, Montana (National Glacier Park)

https://preview.redd.it/0rnzil5g8bh31.png?width=594&format=png&auto=webp&s=4d84d1ad9f31eef88b15aac95b4e9de2e3a071bf
Length: 12.6 miles (20 km)
Days: 1-2 days
Best time to hike: Summer
Glacier National Park is so lovely that it was really difficult for me to cover just one walk from this park on my list of "best hikes in the USA." The landscape is dramatic and the crowds are not as abundant from such a lovely national park as you would expect.
The hike to Cracker Lake can be made as an intense day walk or as a pleasant overnight stay. I suggest this last one. Trust me, the last thing you want to do when you come here is turn around and leave.
Glacier National Park stays quite cold for most of the year due to its northern place. I can't believe of a better location to be on a good, clear summer day.
  • South Climb of Mount Adams, Washington

https://preview.redd.it/34f96vjm8bh31.png?width=594&format=png&auto=webp&s=b4bd0b32b4e6f48f4b192954942a88904b9c7fb4
Length: 11.2 miles (18 km)
Days: 1-2 days
Best time to hike: May-September
The hike up Mount Adams is one of America's greatest hikes for its genre, as far as medium-difficulty mountain summits go. The hillsides explode in a colorful wildflowers ocean in the summer. Snow stays on the summit throughout the year, and many hikers choose to ski down the mountain (or more closely to the end of the snowline).
You should understand that because of its accessibility and relative ease, this path is popular. You shouldn't try the Mount Adams trek in anything but good weather. Although the path is simple and I dare to say, obvious, hikers get lost every year and end up in severe or worse danger.
  • The Peak of Long, Colorado

https://preview.redd.it/na04le6u8bh31.png?width=595&format=png&auto=webp&s=cc46833dccf5ef9e68accfb6c510b5a1194d36d6
Length: 15 miles (24.1 km)
Days: 1 (12-14 hours)
Best time to hike: May-October
The Colorado Long's Peak is one of the most remarkable 14,000-foot peaks that can be climbed by the state. The hike is as hard as it is rewarding.
Most hikers take out when it's still dark in the wee hours of the morning. You can catch the sunrise above the tree line and also offer yourself plenty of moment before sunset to finish the trip.
The Long's peak hike climbs more than 5,000 feet through the conventional Keyhole path. Half the individuals who try to reach the peak of Long do not reach the summit. Why? The simple response is it's not simple. A late start is another factor contributing to a failed summit bid. If you start at 10 am, don't expect to finish this end-to-end hike.
Give yourself plenty of time and deliver plenty of actual food, snacks, and water. You should crush it if you set yourself up for achievement.
  • The Narrows, Utah (National Park of Zion)

https://preview.redd.it/iq3rzcr59bh31.png?width=601&format=png&auto=webp&s=acd36f931b7493e28beaca78ddf3087ccc1c2fff
Length: 5-16 miles (depending on the route)
Days: 1 (5-10 hours)/2 days
Best time to hike: May-October
The Narrows in Zion National Park, Utah is not just one of America's finest hikes, but one of the world's finest slot canyon hikes. Few other locations on earth give the chance to descend into a canyon to gawk at the eroded rock walls of 18 million years.
The Narrows relates to two hikes, both the bottom-up hike of 3.6 miles (5.8 km) from Sinawava Temple to Big Springs, as well as the top-down hike of 16 miles (26 km) from Chamberlain's Ranch back to Sinawava Temple (for which we suggest bringing a backpacking tent and making it an overnight stay).
I suggest tackling the bottom-up hike for one of the best day-hikes in your life. Hiking takes place mainly in the river as the river runs canyon wall to canyon wall for a third of the path.
Water concentrations are changing from season to season; most hikers are going to wade at least waist-deep and a few brief segments are going to swim.
Flash flood hazard is a very severe threat to consider when walking the Narrows, and generally hiking slot canyons. If there's rain in the forecast, stay out the hell! But set off and appreciate the truly amazing landscapes in stable weather conditions.
Books to read about America's Best Hikes
Get to understand in more detail some of America's lovely landscapes and hikes through some of these wonderful readings:
The Bible Backpacker— Learn how to dissect your desk and travel around the globe on just $10 a day while building internet revenue.
Our National Parks— the classic collection of marvelous drawings and descriptions of America's domestic parks by John Muir. From a wonderful view, a very significant book told.
California Mountains— the comprehensive account of John Muir's traveling experiences through California's domestic parks (before they were domestic parks).
My First Summer in the Sierra — John Muir's other significant novel. My First Summer in the Sierra is Muir's account of his adventures and observations while working in the Yosemite Valley as a shepherd, who later became Yosemite National Park as a direct consequence of Muir's writings and activism. I enjoy John Muir really, all right.
Desert Solitaire — Edward Abbey's very touching autobiographical work, regarded the American West's Thoreau and his passion for the desert of the Southwest. The book details the author's distinctive adventures and disputes, from coping with the harm caused by land development and excessive tourism to finding a dead body...
Wild — Cheryl Strayed's PCT trip transformed the now-famous tale into a film.
Alone on the Wall — Alone on the Wall recounts Alex Honnold's extraordinary life and career's seven most amazing achievements, brimming with lessons of fearless living, taking risks, and keeping focus even in the face of extreme danger. For anyone who enjoys climbing rock and adventure sports, a must-read.
Appalachian Trail Guidebook (North Bound) — All you need to understand, including section-by-section breakdowns, to prepare and hike the AT.
submitted by awesomeworldtour to u/awesomeworldtour [link] [comments]

Drive from Page to Bryce - options along the way

As part of a larger US trip from Sydney, I'm spending about 10 days through Arizona and Utah. I am stuck trying to figure out the best option for doing something along the drive from Page to Bryce Canyon. It is only a ~2.5hr drive, which leaves almost a whole day to explore something on the way.
I have come across some cool slot canyon type hikes, such as Wire Pass, Buckskin, and Paria. Or there is the entire Grand Staircase-Escalante area which has a tonne of cool things to see. So hard to decide. I'd like to do some sort of canyon hike but with limited time not sure I would be able to hike in far enough to see the best parts.
As long as I end up at Bryce Canyon for sunset I am open to anything. Thoughts / ideas / options / opinions?
submitted by prento to CampingandHiking [link] [comments]

I was a Paleontology student in the desert. Since we're talking about weird happenings. [Part 3]

The Desert Rat Update:
Part 1: https://www.reddit.com/nosleep/comments/3ptvty/i_was_a_paleontology_student_in_the_desert_since/ Part 2.4: https://www.reddit.com/nosleep/comments/3r9ozb/i_was_a_paleontology_student_in_the_desert_since/
Alright, I've had a lot of PM's about the Desert Rats, and now that work and school have calmed down, here's an update on them.
Do I know what they are? NO!
I have my ideas and speculations.
Do I know what they are not? Probably shrug
I have seen footprints, both in the desert and in some of the towns. They normally don't come into areas where there is a lot of light, so you hear them, and smell them, more than see them. At first I thought it was the Paleontologists and Archaeologists making things up to scare the students and volunteers. But, yeah, impulsive 18 year olds will go do things, like say try to find a big natural gas deposit on their own, in the wilderness with no buddy system to help them if something goes wrong. While I've never actually seen one in detail, I HAVE seen them scuttling about. Every time it's been a case of the things trying to get away from where I was when they realized they might be seen.
So what are they not?
They're not The Rake (from what I can tell), they're also not Wendigos (at least not from what I've read them described).
My first encounter with them was on a late summer dig (which I wrote about in part 1). I encountered them one other time, directly. I was out surveying for mineral deposits, trying to get rich quick on geology (and got claim jumped, but that was another story), and hadn't brought anyone with me. I'd been out a full day, and was feeling pretty good, since I had a weeks' worth of rations with me, and plenty of water and hiking gear. I bed down for the night after a roaming around good sized area unsuccessfully and set up camp for the night. I let my fire die (BIIIIIIIG Mistake!) and climbed into my 2 man tent to get some sleep. It was a new moon evening and cloudy so the night was like someone had painted pitch on a plastic dome over me, and I couldn't see very far at all. After I had been down I heard something sniffing around, but it didn't sound too big so I brushed it off as maybe a stray sheep (prairie maggot) and started letting myself fall asleep. What I heard was a kind of deformed chittering. It wasn't in the animal call range either, it sounded like a highly malformed human voice. After a few moments I heard more of them and whatever they were, they crept into my camp. In a rush they shook the tent so hard that I thought the poles were going to break, but they held, and I heard this kind of mumbled half-language all night long. The best way to describe it is to hear someone with a severe hearing disability speak, combined with random teeth clicking noise, and gorilla-like grunting/huffing.
The smell pushed itself into the tent too, and I wound up throwing it away since it wouldn't wash out. It was like rotted carrion mixed with soured goat's milk and coal slurry. The voices ranged from very deep to high pitched, like a soprano singer and back. I hadn't brought a gun with me (HUGE MISTAKE in the desert) so I tried to stay totally silent and wait it out. They shook the tent twice more in the night, and at one point I heard what sounded like fingers fumbling around the door of the tent. Fortunately they never found the zipper!
About an hour before the dawn twilight the creatures started chattering and a fight broke out, then they ran away. Flat feet slapping on stones as they went. When I left the tent there was nothing but these weird footprints that looked like bare human feet with claw or talon like marks above the toes.
Of course, me not being able to leave well enough alone, I had already been sniffing around, but now I started to try to really dig for details. One of the students that was there with me claimed to have shot one with a .22, but it didn't kill it. It ran off leaving a patch of blackish blood on the ground.
Another one of the students lived in a town that was just outside of the town where the college was, and was nestled in a slot canyon. She claimed to see them regularly, at least weekly, when the nights were really dark. You'd flip the back porch light, and there'd always be one or two poking around in the back yard. While I visited her house once or twice, I was never there at night, so I didn't get an opportunity to try it, myself.
Most of the town was terrified of them, and if you asked about the Desert Rats, they'd just stop talking, abruptly and walk away from you. Some of the Museum staff would talk about their experiences more, though. One of the administrators told me once about seeing one through a door. She had a red, adjustable LED light on her back porch (which she assured me with strenuous emphasis on this point that it was for "Scientific Purposes," and not for, "The kind of thing most of you interns go for,"). She heard a loud tapping noise on her back porch windows so she went down to take a look. She could see a dark silhouette outside the door tapping and pushing on the windows and door. So she turned on the red light on its' lowest setting and turned it up slowly so she could try to see what was going on.
"It looked kind of like a person, but it had a muzzle, more like a bear and not as much like a dog. Its' skin was very thin, and I could see veins bulging in it, even in the low light. The back of its' head was bulbous, the way a chimpanzee's head flattens at the crown and then arches back."
She couldn't tell what color its' eyes were, or its' skin due to the dim red light.
"It was trying to get in the of the house," She shuttered a little, "It was big too. At least as tall as my husband if it had stood up fully and squared its' shoulders. It was hunched, it probably could run on all fours easier that on two feet. After a minute another one showed up, and this one was bigger. It only had stubs for lips so its' teeth were mostly bare. This one's face was more human. It didn't have a muzzle. Their fingers were very long and ended in talon like claws."
"When I turned the light up too high they freaked out! I've never seen animals move that fast! And screams!" shudder "Like 11 year old boys, and goats, being tortured."
She had reinforced the windows to her house with half inch thick iron bar cages after that.
When I had expressed my frustration with trying to get information about the Desert Rats to one of my friends who was a history major, he just laughed and asked, "Why do you think all of the dorms around campus have reinforced doors that automatically close just before sundown, and lock? Why do you think this little school has more street lamps than BYU?"
He pointed me in the direction of some research, but it was all very sketchy, no actual details. However, there did seem to be a beginning to the observations of them. It was just after one of the largest coal explosions in the area. One of the bigger newspapers in nearby area published a story about, "Hulking night stalkers," (of course that particular newspaper was tragically lost in a records fire from the publisher's offices.) So all I got were off/hand descriptions of the article. The more I dug the less I found though. It looked like there were a lot of local legends about a lot of things that the counties in the region had actively suppressed.
One night, shortly before I gave up, one of the students offered to show me something about the Desert rats. She took me up to her room on the top floor of one of the dorms, and just after midnight she opened up her window blinds slowly.
"Watch the street corner where the light's blown out." She whispered to me darkly. She the took a bright white bed sheet and threw it up in the air so it spread out and reflected some of the outside light for a second, then yanked the sheet back down to the floor.
I saw at least four hunched shadows scramble from different sides of the street to the other.
"Only on the darkest nights," She said holding my eye contact. "You shouldn't go back to your building tonight..."
The reprieve was snow. Yes the desert does get snow. It's incredibly cold, doesn't stick very well and usually turns into ice on any surface it's near to within a few minutes. Whenever it was snow the sighting would die down, for weeks at a time. Winter was the main safe time. But there was still the occasional sighting, so no guarantees of any kind of safety.
So what are these things?
No one really knows.
There are a lot of stories about boom town millionaires making a ton of money off small claims that dried up in a year or less, buying exotic pets like chimpanzees, or gorillas, then going broke, and just leaving the animals in the wild to fend for themselves, in an environment where there is often coal and uranium in semi-toxic levels in the streams and rivers. The oldest stories and what few hints I could find in newspapers showed that the local people started reporting seeing similar things after one of the first major coal mining disasters in the area. Could be a small cut off communities’ water supply got polluted and irradiated from the mines.
A Navajo friend of mine told me his community thought they were some kind ancient people who’d become decrepit and corrupted by some of the fouler areas out there.
They could also be a unique species to the region.
Some of the spiritual thought the Desert Rats were literal Ghouls. Flesh eating undead, maybe tragically killed outdoorsmen and miners.
I've kept in touch with a lot of the friends I made while I was at that school, they all know I love strange/macabre things, and will report back to me with stories that they gather. They also put me in touch with people, or tell me where to look things up.
Similar things have been spotted, over the years, further and further away from the San Raphael Swell area. I've heard of strange sightings resembling the Desert Rats from as far west as Black Rock Desert in Nevada to as far south as Flagstaff Arizona, and north to Dugway Utah. It is clear to me though, that as the winter temperatures rise, and the droughts get worse, these things are migrating.I’ve also heard that in the areas where I first heard of them, they’re not being seen alone in the towns anymore, but in small packs.
They’re getting bolder.
Edit: formatting
The desert was a dangerous place to start with, let alone with things like that crawling around now. There is no way in hell I’d be caught alone in the desert now. I wouldn’t even go in a group of two or three anymore.
submitted by deadlandsMarshal to nosleep [link] [comments]

2400 miles in 5 days on a 30 year old dirt bike. Ride Report and Album

Album here:
Cian and I, mainly Cian, decided to ride to GGG's wedding in Zion National Park in springdale, utah. I planned out the first half of the ride and we set off on Wednesday from Portland to make it to the wedding on Saturday.
Day 1: Meet and Meat, Cheese, Bread for coffee and a steak sammich. Head out and shit on my nuts it's cold as balls. It's 40 and rainy through Hood and we have to stop every 50 miles to warm our hands on the engine. Cian is riding his SV1000 and I'm riding my 1983 XT550. I was in no way prepared for cold weather, and was just lucky to bring my raingear in general. We make it to Bend and eat a big ass burger at Pilot Butte Drive-in. My fucking boots and socks are soaked and I can't feel my appendages. We head out anyways on our route to the Alvord Desert. We make it to the turn off to the desert and I take a big wet shit on the side of the road. Luckily I had brought some paper towels so I wasn't riding with dingleberries all fucking week long. It's beautiful out here, but apparently it's the ONE FUCKING DAY of the year that it rains. We make it to Alvord Hot Springs and decide to call it a day. 404 miles the first day aint bad. We talk to the guy working at the hot springs and he says it's $20 to camp there, or you can drive up this mountain road and after a certain point it's owned by the state and they can't charge. So we do this and camp out for the night.
Day 2: We wake up and I ride out a little bit and notice it's fucking muddy as shit. It's like liquid clay. You'd take a step and bring up a platform of clay stuck to your boot. Cian tried to make it out on his street bike and ended up just fucking shit all up. 3 hours, removed fenders and chain and we get it to the bottom of the mountain. Luckily we were at a hot springs and they had a hose we could use to wash all the shit off. We go for a soak and head off to Winnemucca, NV for lunch. We got to Winnemucca too late to have lunch at Martin Hotel which was a real bummer. We ate some mexican and got a burrito for dinner as well and headed off. While riding I feel my sleeping bag get a little loose and about a second later my bike felt like a gold wing I had so much leg room. Unfortunately this means my shit was all over the highway, so I had to stop and put it back on. From there on we made a pact to make a rapid masturbating sign with our clutch hand in case one of use needed to pull over. Holy shit it got cold to the point of snowing by the time we made it to Austin, NV. Cold to the point of I went half retarded when I got off. I kept seeing 'Austin - 30' signs. Like 20 miles of seeing it's only 30 miles away. My summer gloves were not handling it well and my hands fucking hated me. We got there and checked into a motel across from a bar. The motel had a sign stating 'emergency family issues' which didn't look new. After waiting 30 minutes in the fucking cold we finally got into the janky ass motel with mattresses with the angel like softness of plywood. We headed across the street for a beer and to eat that damn burrito.
Day 3:We got some good breakfast at the adjoining cafe and headed out, finally on a beautiful day. We headed down 376 in between 2 mountain ranges on a 60+ mile straight road. I've never wanted a fast bike more. I'd love to blast down this thing at least 100 mph but the xt was hating me enough and 100 mph is a dream I do not wish to fulfill on that fuckin bike. We turned off and went to a couple semi ghost towns named Manhattan, NV and Belmont, NV. Manhattan was a real weird place, both were actually but Manhattan had much more of a 'we got nothin goin for us' vibe then Belmont. We cruised the forest roads a bit and my shit fell off the back of my bike. Cian stopped praising the way I had packed my shit and invented a new X factor ratcheting strap combo (copyright, registered tm cian the sledgehammer 2013) to keep my shit from falling off anymore. We headed out to Tonopah, NV for gas and lunch. We had lunch at the Mizpah Hotel, former fuck palace of the Lady in Red who famously got murdered mid coitus and now haunts the hotel spitting ecto plasma in the eye of innocent children. It was pretty decent, so we headed off to the extra terrestial highway.
The ET highway was basically a shitload of nothing. I tried to find Groom Lake Rd and passed mile marker 34 + 35 looking for a dirt road but couldn't find anything but a little road to a ranch where these fucking cows stared at us weirdly. On second thought, I believe the road was the right one and the 'ranch' we saw was the ghost town of warm springs. Fuck, oh well we didn't have much gas. We said fuck it and went to Rachel, NV. We asked the guy and he said a road was right past town(on google maps it's back gate rd or something) so we followed that down, and I ran out of gas on the way down that road. I filled up with my 1.5 gallon spare and hoped for the best. We made it to the area 51 entrance and it was pretty lame. Just a couple gates with no one manning the booths. I'd still like to find groom lake rd before I die. I took a piss on the fence and we headed back off, Cian's gas light was now on and we were running short with 60+ miles to the next gas station in Ash Springs. It soon was dark(pitch black). One weird thing about these fucking roads is that cattle guards are built into the highway, and cattle are free to roam in the streets. This wasn't a problem during the day, where they stayed in the fields. So we're riding along at about 65, I'm leading, and my light doesn't work for shit, and ALL OF THE FUCKING SUDDEN A MONSTER FUCKING SHIT HEAD OF A COW APPEARS!!!! I had to fucking swerve and barely barely missed it, very nearly clipped it. I would've probably died or been paralyzed. It's freaky to even think or write about. Super scary. After this I slowed the fuck down and let Cian lead, who actually had a functional headlight. We got to ash springs for much needed gas(barely made it) and some caffeine. At this point cian wanted to camp out a few miles down and I wanted to get to the border. After a bit of coaxing(it was close to 10pm riding all day) Cian agreed to ride it out to Mesquite, NV. We made it there without much issue and settled into a hotel room. Cian decided he needed Taco Fucking Bell and enticed me with the promise of 'a free gordita' or some shit. Several days of eating shit food and sitting on a dirtbike rattling my fucking brains out was starting to get to me.
Day 4: Aka the day of the wedding. We woke up, ate the shitty egg circles in the continental breakfast and headed out for gas. We played some video slots at the gas station and headed out into Arizona heading up into Utah. Arizona from Mesquite, NV to Utah is so fucking beautiful. You ride into this crazy canyon and emerge out the other side. We just trekked it on into Springdale and went looking for food. We sat at a restaurant and ordered up some grub. Then waited, for 30 minutes. Then left the restaurant and texted G-Money. He was apparently at a brewpub 'at the entrance of the park'. It 'had no name'. We just got here and had no clue where the entrance to the park was. So another 30 minutes later and we finally find it. Having never been to springdale, we had no clue you could just keep driving down the road we came in on til you hit a gate that you have to pay to enter. That's where the beer was. Gary was busy imbibing in liquid courage when we got there. We departed there to get ready for the wedding. The whole point of the trip. The wedding was the most painless ever. GGG had the balls to wear an all white suit, in classic gary fashion like 3 sizes too big. Thing was sagging like my grandma's tits and Gary was rocking the hell out of it. After the 30 minute ceremony we went and had dinner and drinks and all that. They never did read these mad libs things we all filled out and mine was basically the best ever. By this time I was feeling the effects of being on the road and eating nothing but shit food save for this day. We ended the night hanging at the little b'n'b that the wedding was at.
Continued below.
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best slot canyons in utah and arizona video

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Slot canyons are narrow gorges in soft rocks like Utah’s layered sedimentary deposits. They are named for their narrow width, often squeezing down to a sliver. It is said that Utah has the largest concentration of slot canyons in the world, and many of them are easily accessible. Discover the best Conclusion: Slot Canyon Arizona and Slot Canyon Utah. The best Slot Canyon Arizona would be Antelope Canyon. Whether you go to Upper or Lower Antelope Canyon you will love it. You can check out my article on the pros and cons of each. The Best Slot Canyon Utah would be the Zion Narrows. The scenery in the canyon is just amazing. Slot Canyons of the American Southwest. Long Canyon. Moonshine Wash. Keyhole Canyon. Baptist Draw. Beartrap Canyon. Pumphouse Wash. These pages describe slot canyons and other narrow gorges of the Southwest, mostly within the Colorado Plateau of north Arizona and south Utah. There are plenty of slot canyons in the general vicinity of Kanab, including some just outside of town. The one issue you will have there is that most of them are only realistically accessible with 4WD. Plenty of tour operators in town who will take you or you can rent a Jeep. There's no best time to visit - go when it's convenient for you. Our Favorite Slot Canyons in Utah and Arizona #10 The Subway at Zion National Park The Subway at Zion National Park in Utah is one of the most visited slot canyons in the world by backpackers and canyoneers alike. Location: Along the Utah/Arizona border, near Kanab. Distance: 3.5 miles; Best for: Families can totally do this slot. Best time to go: Spring and fall are ideal, but you can hike here year-round. The entirety of Buckskin Gulch canyon is one of the longest slots in the world. Or so proclaims the internet. Use this list to find the best slot canyons in Utah for you! Slot Canyon Hikes, Utah Buckskin Gulch. Location: 43-miles East of Kanab. Length: 21-miles one way. Difficulty: Hard. Two hikers dwarfed by Buckskin Gulch, located in southern Utah, it is one of the longest slot canyons in the world. This is one of the longest slot canyons in the world and could take many days to hike the entirety of this canyon. Some of the slot canyons on this list are accessible by RV. Antelope Canyon, Little Wild Horse Canyon, Kanarra Creek, and the Zion Narrows are accessible by RV. The pink canyon in the Valley of Fire is located along a paved road but the parking area is extremely small, so parking might be an issue. The Buckskin Gulch is a canyon located in southern Utah, USA. It is definitely one of the longest and deepest slot canyons around the globe attracting tons of slot canyon hikers and being a premium destination it sees a high amount of foot traffic. Being 21 km long, it is often visited by people looking for a hiking day trip. A Hike Through These 7 Slot Canyons In Arizona Will Feel Like You’re Discovering A New World. Arizona is the land of canyons so it’s only natural that we think our state has some of the best examples! Today, we’re going to focus on slot canyons, which are narrow, often very deep canyons formed by water rushing through rock.

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World's Best Day Hike Buckskin Gulch in Utah Epic Slot ...

A birds' eye view of some slot canyon paradise-ing with Sea-Doo (@BRPseadoo) and DJI (@DJIglobal) on Lake Powell (Arizona / Utah).-- -- -- -- SUBSCRIBE to ou... During a routine recon of a potential new canyoneering route, my partner an I were trapped for an hour and a half deep inside a beautiful slot canyon in Sout... antelope slot canyon in utah I wade through mud and muck on one of the world's best day hikes in Buckskin Gulch, an epic slot canyon in Southern Utah. Known as one of the premiere slot c... Escalante Utah has some of the best Slot Canyons in the world. They are rugged, and commercialized. This was our second trip to Escalante Utah and we can n... Zebra and Tunnel Slot Canyons in Escalante, Utah are unique. The banding in the sandstone in Zebra is not like many other slots. The colors are different and... Check out all the places seen in this video: https://www.touropia.com/best-places-to-visit-in-utah/With five national parks, 43 state parks, and vast areas o... Antelope Canyon is the most photographed slot canyon in the world. It is located on Navajo land near Page, Arizona, and managed by Lake Powell Navajo Tribal ...

best slot canyons in utah and arizona

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