Seeley's Travels
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I've been around (and around, and around...) and I thought that it was time to organize my thoughts and my photographs so that friends and strangers could see some places where I've been and where they might want to go. I live in Salt Lake City, Utah, but I have been far and wide across the American West and a number of other locations too.
I've done a lot of trips for and with the Wasatch Mountain Club. I maintain a trips blog that highlights recent outings in excruciating detail. If you are a WMC member or if your tolerance for big piles of photos is high, please check it out.
For those of a more sensitive nature, I have straightforward descriptions of fun places to visit and (occasionally vague) instructions on how to get there.
NOTE: Some friendly advice... Hiking and driving directions on this website are not guaranteed to be current or even particularly accurate. Check maps and other sources before heading off to see these sights. Some of the routes involve moderate scrambling with exposure — be sure that you and other members of your group are comfortable with the route before you take off. I don't view this site as a guidebook; it's more meant to inspire you to visit places that are less well known and deserve more attention.
The Great Basin
This is a broad area of mountains and valleys that stretches from Utah to California, where most of the valleys have no drainage outlet. Salt Lake City is located in the northeastern Great Basin, so much of my hiking and sightseeing takes place in the Great Basin.
For my purposes, I'm going to define the Great Basin as the north-south trending mountains and valleys between the Wasatch Front (inclusive) in the east and the Sierra Nevada (exclusive) in the west, and south from the Snake River Plain in Idaho (exclusive) to the Spring Mountains near Las Vegas (inclusive). I'll subdivide this huge patch of land into 4 areas: east, central, west and south. I'll cover the area mostly from the north and east (Salt Lake City) to the south and west.
The Eastern Great Basin
In Utah, this area is usually called the West Desert. I'm lumping into this category the eastern boundary ranges from the Tushar Mountains north.
The Central Great Basin
This section covers the area from the Jarbidge Mountains in the north to the Quinn Canyon Range in the south, and from the Snake Range in the east to the Shoshone Range in the west.
The Western Great Basin
This section covers the area from Steens Mountain in Oregon to the north down to the Inyo Mountains of California to the south, but not including the Sierra Nevada.
Inyo Mountains
White Mountains
The Southern Great Basin
This section covers the area from the Pine Valley Mountains in Utah west to Death Valley in California, and from the Sheep Range in Nevada south to Lake Mead. A lot of this area drains directly or indirectly into the Colorado River, but it maintains the appearance of high north-south ranges.
Arrow Canyon Range
Beaver Dam Wash
Big Rocks Wilderness
Cathedral Gorge State Park
Death Valley National Park
East Mormon Mountains
Escalante Mountains / Powell Point
Gold Butte National Monument
Meadow Valley Wash
Muddy Mountains
Panamint Range
Pine Valley Mountains
Sheep Range
Snow Canyon State Park
Valley of Fire State Park
Virgin Mountains
White River Narrows
The Colorado Plateau
This is the red rock country of Utah, and its spill-over into Colorado and Arizona.
The Western Plateau
This broad area includes the country east of the Great Basin and west of the Green River.
Book Cliffs
Canyonlands National Park (the Maze)
Capitol Reef National Park
Fish Lake Area
Grand Staircase / Escalante National Monument
Henry Mountains
Paunsaugunt Plateau
San Rafael Desert
San Rafael Swell
Sevier Plateau
Wasatch Plateau
Zion National Park
The Eastern Plateau
This section covers the country east of the Green River.
Abajo Mountains
Behind the Rocks
Arches National Park
Bears Ears National Monument
Canyonlands National Park
Fisher Creek / Onion Creek
La Sal Mountains
The Rocky Mountains
North
From Jasper south to the Utah border, including the central Idaho ranges.
Absaroka Range
Banff / Jasper
Beartooth Mountains
Bitterroot Mountains
Boulder Mountains
Lemhi Range
Lost River Range
Pioneer Mountains
Sawtooth Range
Wind River Mountains
White Cloud Mountains
South
Utah and Colorado (and New Mexico, if I ever get there).