May 4, 2002

4:24 AM

The Grand Canyon, up close and personal. Start with the series of photos titled 'Royal Arch Trip'. [more inside]
posted by Slithy_Tove (4 comments total)

Majestic photos from the rims of the Grand Cañon of the Colorado are a dime a dozen. (And there are some of them here as well: see the 'Sun, Apr 14' link.) But what is unusually interesting about this series of photos is that the photographer, Canyon Cat, has documented a backcountry hiking trip into the canyon, taking photos every hundred yards or so, it appears. These photos present a view that is usually only accessible to the hiker. They reveal the texture of the inner canyon, a place that is varied and beautiful, arid and unforgiving, and very different from the canyon as seen from the rim. I've done a couple of hundred miles of backcountry hiking in the Canyon, and these photos make me homesick, so to speak.

Canyon Cat also owns the Grand Canyon Explorer website, a tremendous resource for anyone thinking about hiking in the canyon.
posted by Slithy_Tove at 4:25 AM on May 4, 2002

Beautiful.
posted by Foosnark at 7:54 AM on May 4, 2002

I've only done one hike in the canyon, a very easy day hike down the S. Kaibab, across at the plateau level, and up the Bright Angel trail, but even that relatively popular/crowded route was revelatory. But I'd love to do something like this.
posted by BT at 11:12 AM on May 4, 2002

She says "pictographs" a few times when she means "petroglyphs," but big deal. Awesome photos, great link.
posted by diddlegnome at 6:15 PM on May 4, 2002