Different Air, Different Light

Summer 2019

Temperatures across the American Southwest were bumping against triple digits like steam trying to escape an engine boiler. On Cedar Mesa, the air was still and oppressive. In Snake Gulch, a hot convective blast rippled the long, winter-grown grasses and blossoming sage. Even in the higher elevations, where it was relatively cooler, grasshoppers stumbled more than they hopped. But there was one benefit to the heat: Aside from the busy trailhead for the world-famous rock formation known as the Wave, which is packed year-round in all conditions, this landscape of radiant mirages seemed empty and ripe for solitude if someone was willing to get up before the sun, stick to the shade, and rest in the heart of the day.

The big word that summer was “overtourism.” In 2018, there were nearly a billion and a half “tourist arrivals” worldwide. As I sat on a perch on the eastern edge of Zion Canyon, it looked like half of them were navigating the Angels Landing