Reflection Canyon

Backpacking Reflection Canyon is not for the faint of heart. It's an intense, challenging hike that takes you through slot canyons, climbing up and down shifty sandstones and traversing rugged terrains and ravines. Although the elevation gain is almost nothing, the up and down climbs from one ravine to the next really messes with your head once you've gotten 3.5 miles into the hike, knowing you have another 7-9 miles left to go. Just think of a balloon deflating every so slowly.

With that said, you'll be blessed with a view like no other of Reflection Canyon, and if you're lucky, paired with a sunrise you'll never forget. It's worth it when that happens. Is it challenging? Yes. But you'll get unrestricted views, zero crowds and camp on a ledge 60+ miles away from civilization.

Enter Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument, from there you'll be traveling on Hole in the Rock Road (You'll need a 4WD for this trip.) The last 5 miles of the trip is where you'll enter Glen Canyon territory. Keep a look out for a small parking area on the right (37°15'21.70"N, 110°57'47.25"W).

The straight edge cliffs on your right while facing south are your number one marker for this trip. Make sure you keep these cliffs on your right while you're hiking. Veering away from the cliffs will land you in sea of slot canyons that shoot 60 ft up. Not good, and you'll find yourself backtracking a lot more. You'll see the cliffs square off, this is the point where you'll want to turn your back to the cliffs and head SE. The canyon is two miles from there ( 37°11'15.72"N, 110°55'8.54"W).

When you backpack in, remember to bring in everything you bring out. Let's keep mother nature as undisturbed and tainted as possible. Enjoy the hike, and don't forget a GPS, you'll need it when you're off trail.

Photography:
Photographing Reflection Canyon is an experience you will never forget. Partially because of the permanent blisters you'll have from the 20 mile hike, but more so for the view and the everlasting images you'll capture of this gorgeous extension of Lake Powell. Reflection Canyon is in a remote section of Glen Canyon and can be photographed by air, boat or land. This adventure will take you through the land version.

Because it's a canyon you're shooting, the time of day is essential to how your photos are going to turn out. You can absolutely make the 20 mile roundtrip hike in one day if you want to, but when you wake up and every muscle in your body is in a permanent spasm, you'll know why. If you time it correctly, you can shoot the sunset, the midnight sky and stars and the sunrise in a two day one night backpacking adventure.

Shooting at sunrise proved to provide the best light while keeping the canyon shadows at a minimum. Similarly sunset provided the same even light, but once the sun was gone, the light quickly followed.