Sunset from Twin Point, GCPNM
I’ll dedicate this post to my friend Danny Messersmith, who
loved to bounce around on these remote roads and was generous with his advice
when my own obsession was developing. He
also was the first of many to warn me about Kelly Point in Grand Canyon – Parashant National
Monument (GCPNM).
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Danny Messersmith 1947-2022 |
I suppose I have your attention now, but you might be disappointed to know that there were no disasters. A really good storyteller would make some up, but sadly I’ll limit myself to the usual benign exaggerations.
I’m fascinated by maps, and especially those with large expanses I’ve never explored. As for GCPNM, I’d only nicked its Eastern edge when traveling to Toroweap Overlook, which is part of Grand Canyon National Park. The Monument comprises more than a million acres, so I thought I’d better get started. Though I love traveling alone, I was glad my husband and dog could be talked into this adventure. This one might have been a bit much on my own.
I went to all sorts of sources for advice and road information, with mixed results. The best resource turned out to be a ranger named Jim in the St. George Utah BLM Field Office. He had lots of practical advice, especially about road conditions, and after a long conversation (during which he also warned us about Kelly Point, where one “x” resides on my map) he was kind enough to call back with “one more thing,” which resulted in the “x” on the map above the Grand Wash Cliffs Wilderness. Later we heard stories about a short wheelbase jeep high centering on that segment. So, we were advised to make the big circle north. Like bowling, that’s something worth doing once in a lifetime, but only once. Next time, I’ll leave Gold Butte, circle up to St. George on the highway, and drop into the central area of the Monument from there.
There are large expanses of GCPNM, including that big loop
to the north, which are not inspiring to me photographically. To make matters more challenging, over ¾ of
the Monument is included in grazing leases, and so there are a lot of
unattractive cattle-ravaged places to traverse to get to the magic. But that’s
just the price we paid for remarkable solitude.
We saw 2 other vehicles during the first five days, and we were always
deeply alone at our camps. There’s a whole discussion about BLM grazing leases which
I’ll defer to another time. It’s
complicated, but mostly it’s ugly.
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| Mud Wash area, Gold Butte National Monument NV |
We started at Gold Butte National Monument, a place we’ve gotten attached to in the last few years. We needed to meet with someone who was also camping there, and we thought it might be fun to approach Parashant from there, crossing from Nevada to Arizona.
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| Mud Wash area, Gold Butte National Monument NV |
The red rocks of Gold Butte were lovely, and I made a small series
of images of wind-erosion caves, mostly because there were footprints all over
the dunes themselves because there had been no wind for weeks, ironically.
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| Pakoon Springs, GCPNM |
Water in the desert is always of interest. We stopped at Pakoon
Springs where the cottonwood and willow trees had turned an appealing yellow
and made for an interesting aerial image. Typical of isolated places, Pakoon
has a colorful history, including an alligator and ostriches.
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| Hidden Canyon just before dawn |
So, about that north detour loop - at first it was just dull and slow, but as we turned southward, it got uglier. We probably should have done a little road modification to protect our 144-inch-wheelbase Sprinter, but there was no permanent damage. We covered 65 miles in about 6 hours that day and made an unexpected camp in a surprisingly lovely area called Hidden Canyon. We’d planned to make it to another destination but were tired enough to be deeply grateful for this camp. I didn’t see much photographic potential but it was attractive from the drone. Once we left Hidden Canyon, we appreciated driving on a more normal bad road – it’s all relative.
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| Mount Dellenbaugh from the forest below |
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| Happy hikers at the summit of Mount Dellenbaugh |
We had a nice hike up Mount Dellenbaugh, with 360-degree views of the Monument. The trail is about six miles and gains about 900 vertical feet from a small pine forest to the summit. Twin Point is in the midground and you can just make out Mt. Charleston in the background, 104 miles away. From the NPS website,
Mt. Dellenbaugh is part of the history of the Grand Canyon and its first exploration by John Wesley Powell in 1869. Powell named this peak for Frederick Dellenbaugh, an artist who joined Powell's second expedition in 1870-71. However, it is most known for being the mountain that William Dunn and the Howland brothers climbed after deserting Powell's first expedition. After the three had climbed out of the Grand Canyon they needed a vantage point to get their bearings... They disappeared in the vicinity and stories from the time point to several possible culprits, but ultimately their murders were never solved.
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| Sunrise from Twin Point, GCPNM |
Next, we enjoyed two nights camped in different spots on
Twin Point. Twin is just east of Kelly
Point, smaller, and much more easily reached.
Ranger Jim warned that the juniper trees lining the road made for a
tight passage, but some time in the last year hundreds of trees and branches
have been removed and there are just a few tight spots left in the road. Marco negotiated those just fine.
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| Juniper backlighted at Twin Point, GCPNM |
I loved the chance to enjoy a new-to-me Grand Canyon
viewpoint and to orient myself to landmarks like Diamond Peak and the Skywalk
at Grand Canyon West. We were pleased to
be far enough away that the helicopter noise from the latter was almost not
discernable.
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| More backlight, GCPNM |
I enjoyed an afternoon photo walk out there. In addition to photos, I love this exercise in mindfulness which helps me notice things I might otherwise walk right past. I toddled around with just my iPhone attached to a grip which makes the phone feel more like a camera. Less equipment gives me a sense of freedom.
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| Alstrom Point, Glen Canyon NRA, 2017. One dog ago. |
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| Family Portrait at Twin Point |
Gypsy had mixed feelings about this place, paved as it is with typical North Rim “carnivorous limestone.” It’s tough on her paws. We appreciated her sitting still for this re-creation of a shot at Alstrom point with Luna in 2017.
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| Oak Grove Cabin, GCPNM |
There were some quirky places, artifacts of the long history of this place. One example is the ruins of Oak Grove Cabin, also known as Thayne Cabin. Originally inhabited in 1879, the area was used for dairy, ranching, and a sawmill.
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| Virgin River Canyon, Arizona |
We cut the trip short by a day because of a big incoming rainstorm and stayed in the Virgin River Gorge at the northwest corner of Arizona. This place is spectacular, and almost impossible to shoot well except with a drone. The highway 15 corridor through the canyon is flanked by wilderness (no-fly) areas, so the options for drone flights are limited. Still, I had a good time and would love to shoot there again in better light.
GCPNM is undoubtedly the most isolated overlanding destinations I’ve explored. It’s likely one of the most remote in the country with over 1200 miles of rough dirt roads. The drive from St. George to Twin Point is about five slow hours. My disclaimer – to attempt this you need (at a minimum) a full-sized spare or two, tire repair capability and a compressor, extra fuel for your vehicle, communication other than your cell phone and preferably a way to follow weather patterns (we travel with an In-reach and Starlink), much more food and water than you think you need, redundant maps, first aid, warm clothes, and a modicum of good sense and experience.
I’m already planning my next trip.
As always, there’s more on the website, in the Winter 2025-26 Gallery
