Talking Rocks Tours
The Sunshine and Campfires Tour
April 29 – May 6, 2018
Sunday. Arrive in St. George, Utah.
By air: Fly to Las Vegas and take a shuttle to St. George. Or car pool. Don’t reserve a shuttle seat without checking with me.
Sunday afternoon. Explore Snow Canyon State Park on your own. Lava caves, sandstone exposures, sandy washes.
Sunday evening. Camp in Snow Canyon (showers). Lecture: Geology 101 and local geology.
Monday morning. Hike to Snow Canyon petroglyphs (5 miles). Led by Gerry Bryant. Geology: Erosion, lava flows, topographic inversion, lag deposits, desert varnish, diagenetic color changes. Drive to the cinder cones at the top of the Snow Canyon lava flows.
Monday afternoon: Investigate the contact between the Kayenta and Navajo formations. Instruction by Gerry Bryant. Drive to Bryce Canyon.
Monday night. Camp at Bryce Canyon. (No showers.)
Tuesday morning. Dawn on the rim. After breakfast: Intro to local geology by Gerry Bryant. The Clarno Formation—the youngest bedrock we’ll examine on our trip. Midday: Hike along the rim. For the more adventuresome: the Tower Bridge Trail (3 miles) or the Fairyland Loop Trail (8 miles).
Tuesday afternoon. Drive to Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park.
Tuesday night. Camp at Coral Pink (showers).
Wednesday morning. Dawn at the dunes. Instruction by Gerry Bryant.
Midday: Moccasin Mountain Dinosaur Trackway. Instruction by Gerry Bryant.
Local exploring of dunes, creek beds, and peaks.
Wednesday night. Camp at Coral Pink (showers).
Thursday. Buckskin Gulch hike (5 or 6 miles). We will hike in from Wiregrass Flat. If we have people wishing to hike the entire canyon (21 miles) that can be arranged for a small group.
Best web site for info: http://climb-utah.com/Escalante/buckskin.htm
Thursday night. Camp at Coral Pink (showers).
Friday morning. Drive to Grand Canyon. For the adventurous, we can hike down to the Coconino Sandstone with its fossil tracks.
Friday afternoon/evening. Hike/ride the shuttle along the rim.
Friday night: Camp at Grand Canyon (showers).
Sabbath. Hike to Plateau Point. 11 miles round trip. 3000 feet of elevation gain. In my opinion, this is the best hike in the park. We will take a very leisurely pace, eat lunch at the point, then take it very slow and easy back up. There are, of course, lots of shorter, easier options to experiencing the glory of the canyon.
Saturday night: Camp at Grand Canyon (showers).
Sunday morning. Drive to Las Vegas airport.
johnmclarty.com 