The primary purpose of our recent trip to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument was to visit a slot canyon called Zebra Canyon.  I had seen a stunning photo of this canyon by Guy Schmickle, another photographer, and since I had some time before my semester began I wanted to visit it myself.

Zebra Canyon I, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, August 2009

Although the canyon is not marked on any map I’ve encountered, it is relatively easy to find because it has become more popular with canyoneers in recent years, and there is a somewhat well-defined trail leading to it.  The hike in is approximately 2.5 miles, so we started early to avoid the treacherous August heat.  Besides, Zebra–like any slot canyon–is best photographed in the mid morning, because you want light in the canyon, but you don’t want one wall illuminated and the other in shade, because you will run into major contrast problems.

Luck was with us because no one else was there that morning, so we had the canyon to ourselves.  As I mentioned previously, I was there with two companions, and Zebra is no place for 3 people at once, especially 3 photographers!  So we each took a turn.  A tripod is necessary (all of my exposures were at least 1 second), but maneuvering one is not easy.  My friend Brent took a photo of me fighting with the narrow walls of the canyon:

Greg photographing in Zebra Canyon, August 2009 (photo by Brent Deschamp)

It would have been easy to spend all day in the canyon because (a) it was beautiful, and (b) it was nice and cool.  However, we wanted to visit one more canyon (Tunnel–not as photogenic) in the area before hiking out.  It was a great start to the exploration of a fantastic area.

Zebra Canyon II, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, August 2009