overland: utah
september 2021 | utah
NIKON D850, DJI MAVIC AIR2S
Nikkor 20 f/1.8, Tamron 24-70 f/2.8
I had been itching to spend a few nights in the desert, overlanding to some unique spots without the hassle of a morning drive to make sunrise. At the tail end of summer, during Labor Day weekend, we did just that, based mostly around Hanksville. This part of Utah offers a very doable drive from our place in Colorado, between four and five hours depending on where we end up, so it’s an area I frequent annually.
The first stop was sunrise above the canyons that tower over Moab. We did need to leave Colorado in the dead of night to make sunrise here, but it was worth the early call. Pretty sure this also was my first true trip using my drone out in the wild and I was so excited to get it in the air over this insane landscape that using the drone became my main focus the entire trip (this time, I rarely used my digital camera, and I didn’t really shoot film yet). From the top of the canyon, we then entered Island in the Sky and dropped down through Shafer Road. I had tried to do this drive in the past but it was always closed when I was in town. It did not disappoint and some parts are sketchy for sure. I’d like to do the entire White Rim one day, actually.
Then we made our way over to the Hanksville area for the next few days. On the way out there, we detoured a bit and rocked a slot canyon outside Goblin Valley called Little Wild Horse. Then we headed out to the bentonite hills (aka, “Mars”) for sunset and we camped near the Factory to grab sunrise over the lunar landscape the next morning. We had set up scouted the area and set up camp before trekking over to Mars.
Sunrise was pretty incredible, and we had it all to ourselves. After breakfast and some offroading, the plan was to head to the back of Capitol Reef to the Cathedral Valley for sunset and to camp, but the week prior, a massive mudslide ran through the area and tore up the towns. The roads to the back of the park were closed - the rangers said it would be impassable. We didn’t know this until we had gotten to the beginning of the dirt road off the 24, and then at the Visitor Center we were told the bad news. We had also planned on getting to Long Dong Silver, but, again, the mud made the drive and even the walk through the soft clay impossible, so I flew the drone from the road instead. The audible became Leprechaun Canyon in the daytime, and then we bagged a nice slab of sand for the night right in that area outside of Goblin. The next morning, we packed up, did some more flying, and booked it home, eager to return again.