Exploring the Paria Plateau
This photo was taken May 17, 2017 on a remote mesa on the northern Paria Plateau where few people tread. It was my third expedition to explore sites beyond the well-known places on the plateau, and the first occasion for 3 all-day solo hikes that yielded noteworthy discoveries, like Secret Pocket, Sky Pocket and the Domes of the Gnomes. I've since returned each year and I continue to find new things. I hope to be back in May 2022 and maybe again in October.
This view, taken above Sky Pocket, looks south down the east wall of the Forked Tongue Ridge toward my starting point which is behind that standalone hill I call Anvil Butte. Beyond that is the butte with Hole-in-the-Rock Arch. Having completed the exciting Wrather Recon to Domes of the Gnomes the previous day, I returned from this hike feeling really pumped about what I had seen so far, which exceeded my expectations. The next day would be even better when I discovered Secret Pocket. A year later, in 2018, I returned to find the Lost City and other dramatic features.
Onsite video of these hikes are posted on my YouTube page as "New Discoveries on the Paria Plateau." The plateau, surrounded by steep cliffs on 3 sides, is in northern Arizona near the Utah state line. Its 400 square miles require 4-wheel-drive to reach and there are no services, so not many go up there. Fewer still hike into the backcountry.
Note: Paria rhymes with Maria. It's from an Indian word meaning "muddy water" (literally the case in the Paria River).
Disclaimer: I don't claim to be the first to have seen these sites. Indians and ranchers undoubtedly knew about them, but left no records. Others like Michael Kelsey and Steve Dodson have explored the plateau extensively, but apparently not where I hiked. I only claim "new discoveries" where there are no written descriptions or photos to be found on the internet prior to mine. I've also asked the BLM about them but have never gotten a firm answer that any ranger has been to them.
Exploring the Paria Plateau
This photo was taken May 17, 2017 on a remote mesa on the northern Paria Plateau where few people tread. It was my third expedition to explore sites beyond the well-known places on the plateau, and the first occasion for 3 all-day solo hikes that yielded noteworthy discoveries, like Secret Pocket, Sky Pocket and the Domes of the Gnomes. I've since returned each year and I continue to find new things. I hope to be back in May 2022 and maybe again in October.
This view, taken above Sky Pocket, looks south down the east wall of the Forked Tongue Ridge toward my starting point which is behind that standalone hill I call Anvil Butte. Beyond that is the butte with Hole-in-the-Rock Arch. Having completed the exciting Wrather Recon to Domes of the Gnomes the previous day, I returned from this hike feeling really pumped about what I had seen so far, which exceeded my expectations. The next day would be even better when I discovered Secret Pocket. A year later, in 2018, I returned to find the Lost City and other dramatic features.
Onsite video of these hikes are posted on my YouTube page as "New Discoveries on the Paria Plateau." The plateau, surrounded by steep cliffs on 3 sides, is in northern Arizona near the Utah state line. Its 400 square miles require 4-wheel-drive to reach and there are no services, so not many go up there. Fewer still hike into the backcountry.
Note: Paria rhymes with Maria. It's from an Indian word meaning "muddy water" (literally the case in the Paria River).
Disclaimer: I don't claim to be the first to have seen these sites. Indians and ranchers undoubtedly knew about them, but left no records. Others like Michael Kelsey and Steve Dodson have explored the plateau extensively, but apparently not where I hiked. I only claim "new discoveries" where there are no written descriptions or photos to be found on the internet prior to mine. I've also asked the BLM about them but have never gotten a firm answer that any ranger has been to them.