This is a hiking guide to the Paria River drainage of southern Utah. The upper part of the system begins near Bryce Canyon National Park, and flows south to the Colorado River and Lee's Ferry. Lee's Ferry is not far below the Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell. Many people have now heard of the hike down the Paria, but there are many less-known and less-visited parts of this drainage included in this book.
This guide covers the entire river system, including a couple of mountain climbs in the far north, plus the dozen or so slot canyons in the middle and lower end. The more famous slot canyons are Bull Valley Gorge, the scene of a pickup wreck (still lodged in the slot) which left 3 hunters dead. Also,Round Valley Draw, the Buckskin Gulch and of course the Paria itself. This 3rd Edition includes for the first time Coyote Buttes and its best know part, The Wave, an international destination for fotographers. For this edition, 16 pages and several new hiking areas have been added, plus the author re-hiked many canyons and updated all of them. This editon has 178 fotographs.
As in previous edtions, the history of early-day ranchers and cattlemen are included. The history of gold miners at Lee's Ferry and around the old ghost town of Pahreah is also discussed. And the best story of all is that of John D. Lee, and his involvement in the Mountain Meadows Massacre (about 120 people were killed), and his life on the run from Federal authorities. It was John D. Lee who was sent by the Mormon Church to the lower end of the Paria River to hide out and build & operate a ferry across the Colorado River. His entire life story is told.
The author was born in 1943, and experienced his earliest years of life in eastern Utah's Uinta Basin; first near the town of Myton, then Roosevelt. In 1954, the family moved to Provo, where he attended Provo High School, and later Brigham Young University, where he earned a B.S. degree in Sociology. Shortly thereafter he discovered that was the wrong subject, so he attended the University of Utah, where he received his Master of Science degree in Geography, finishing that in June, 1970.
It was then real life began, for on June 9, 1970, he put a pack on his back and started traveling for the first time. Since then he has seen 223 countries, republics, islands, or island groups. All this wandering has resulted in a number of books written and published by himself. Here are his books, listed in the order they were first published: Climber's and Hiker's Guide to the World's Mountains and Volcanos (4th Edition), Utah Mountaineering Guide (3rd Edition); China on Your Own and the Hiking Guide to China's Nine Sacred Mountains (3rd Edition-Out of Print); Canyon Hiking Guide to the Colorado Plateau (4th Edition); Hiking and Exploring Utah's San Rafael Swell (3rd Edition); Hiking and Exploring Utah's Henry Mountains and Robbers Roost (Revised Edition); Hiking and Exploring the Paria River (3rd Edition); Hiking and Climbing in the Great Basin National Park (Wheeler Peak, Nevada); Boater's Guide to Lake Powell--Featuring Hiking, Camping, Geology, History and Archaeology (2nd Updated Edition); Climbing and Exploring Utah's Mt. Timpanogos; River Guide to Canyonlands National Park & Vicinity; Hiking, Biking and Exploring Canyonlands National Park & Vicinity; The Story of Black Rock, Utah; and Hiking, Climbing and Exploring Western Utah's Jack Watson's Ibex Country.
He also helped his mother Venetta B. Kelsey, write & publish a book about the town she was born and raised in, Life on the Black Rock Desert--A History of Clear Lake, Utah.
