Paria Backpack

“A Journey Through Time”

The Paria River originates on the southeastern side of Bryce Canyon National Park and flows south to empty into the Colorado River below Glen Canyon Dam. Backpackers often begin a hike down this canyon from an access point a couple miles south of where Highway 89 crosses the Paria between Page and Kanab.

In late September of 2006 a group of ten of us began a three-day adventure down this remarkable canyon.  At times, there is no flow for much of the hike down, but on this trip, we picked up flowing water for much of the hike. As hikers progress down the canyon, the walls close in, become much higher and the canyon narrows until near its confluence with Buckskin Gulch, it's only a few feet wide.
This photo was taken as the images of two of the members of our group were reflecting in the still waters. The reflecting sunlight on the canyon walls created a beautiful glow. It was originally a film image that we converted to digital.