Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

After my trip to the Grand Canyon in mid-April, I met up with my friend Zeke and we headed to Utah, with plans for about 10 days of explorations in the canyon country and the Bears Ears National Monument. The best-laid plans and all that, but I did get some good photos. The Grand Canyon photos: Part 1 of this series was up on the South Rim . Part 2 took us down the Bright Angel trail and out the Tonto West Trail to Horn Creek . Part 3 is Monument Canyon and Granite Rapids . Part 4 took us to Hermit Creek and Hermit Rapids, where we finally saw some decent wildflowers. Part 5 was the trip up the Hermit Trail and a few extra bits.   Grand Staircase-Escalante The Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is in the south central part of Utah, and abuts both the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Capitol Reef National Park. With minimal development and a maze of canyons (accessed by gravel/dirt roads/jeep trails) it's a favorite haunt of mine. In camp along the Hole In the Rock

Part 1 of this series was up on the South Rim . Part 2 took us down the Bright Angel trail and out the Tonto West Trail to Horn Creek . Part 3 is Monument Canyon and Granite Rapids . Part 4 took us to Hermit Creek and Hermit Rapids, where we finally saw some decent wildflowers. Today we'll finish the backpack trip with the scenic hike up the Hermit Trail (much less strenuous to look at than to hike) and some bonus photos from the drive out of the Park to the east. Day 6: Up and out After a couple of very hot days down in the Canyon, we figured we'd better hit the trail early to beat both the heat and some very high winds forecast to pick up during the day. We'd be hiking fairly light: down to a single small lunch (to be continued on arrival at the rim if necessary) and knowing we would be able to refill water at Santa Maria Springs before beginning the final climb. We did our best to crash early, with alarms set for 4:30 a.m. In the event, we were up at 4:20, really at the

Part 1 of this series was up on the South Rim . Part 2 took us down the Bright Angel trail and out the Tonto West Trail to Horn Creek . Part 3 is Monument Canyon and Granite Rapids . Below the Rim, Days 4 & 5: Hermit Creek and Hermit Rapids Days 4 and 5 continued the easy pattern of our Granite Rapids day. On the other hand, temperatures were climbing steeply, meaning we weren't going to want to do a lot of hiking during the middle of the day. So on Day 4 , despite only having about 4 3/4 miles to go (and some 1200' of climbing along with a goodly drop to Hermit Creek Camp), we chose once again to start as early as possible. First sun on the canyon walls. Time to get moving! Back up past the monument we hiked, stopping for a few photos and to fill water bags before leaving the creek. 8:25 a.m. and it's already bright and plenty warm, a harbinger of what's to come. Out of Monument Canyon, with just one more climb ahead of us. Passing near the edge of the Inner Canyon