Bull Valley Gorge

I had been here several years ago, but we did not get very far. This time we headed directly for the easy entrance a mile down the right rim. We got sidetracked on a dead-end trail  (maybe it goes somewhere?) and retraced a bit to descend the obvious gully to the canyon floor. Then we went downstream for a mile or so, had lunch, and retraced beyond our entry point. We saw a couple approaching us, so it became clear we would be able to exit near the bridge. There were a couple logs leaning against the rock at one steep climb, and that allowed the easy exit.

Nice colors in the slot. I had a tripod with me, which is unusual for me.

Mud curls.

In a deep canyon the diffuse daylight does not make it down to the bottom. But the mostly blue light from the sky does. This means the canyon can look blue. The image at right is the same as the one at left except that I saturated blue to the max. This shows that there is indeed blue color present even though the canyon walls are reddish. A discussion of this phenomenon can be found at
< https://www.synnatschke.com/news/best-of-slot-canyons >.

In 1954 there was a bad accident where the Skutumpah Road crosses the canyon. Three local men died. The pickup truck remains stuck between the canyon walls. For more on this story see < https://utahadvjournal.com/index.php/the-bridge-at-bull-valley-gorge >.

In 2019 the bridge that replaced the one that collapsed after the 1954 accident was destroyed by a utility company that dug a trench in it. A new metal bridge was then constructed. (Photo courtesy Sunny Stroeer.)