Floating Island as it appears from the Silver Island Backcountry Byway |
Campsite: just a level, gravelly spot next to the road |
Looking east from Floating Island |
Breakfast in the morning sun |
I had to clean up the wax mess made the previous night by a candle |
Another view of camp, looking out over the playa (Newfoundland Mountains in background) |
Ready to start hiking, north of the summit (the black buttress) |
Lines made in quarry during construction of a causeway |
Nazca lines for Chariots of the Gods? |
No shade trees here: maximum height of vegetation is about 18 inches (0.6m) |
Plateau and playa, with Newfoundland Mountains in the distance |
Summit |
Joe Tripod stays behind in the service of my ego |
Plateau and playa, with Newfoundland Mountains at upper left |
ATV tracks---but no evidence of surfing---on a wave terrace created by Lake Bonneville |
Northeast side of the summit block |
Rocky lip of the wave terrace |
Terrace and sky |
Big cliff, little Moon |
Access routes to Gate 74 of the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR) |
Final scramble |
Upper slope: turn right and go under the dark overhang |
The evil Dark Overhang |
The evil Dark Overhang from above |
I beg your pardon, I didn't promise you a rose garden |
Cairn on false summit; true summit in background; 300-foot (91m) drop beyond that |
Trough between summits |
PARENTS: shield your impressionable offspring from this debauchery in the wilderness |
My car at the center of the image, 900 feet (274m) below |
My only animal company on the summit |
Looking northwest at the causeway and Silver Island Mountains |
Scenery dispoiled by uncaring visitor |
Wide-angle view to the southwest (toward Wendover) |
Telephoto view to the southwest (toward Wendover) |
Afternoon shadows |
Lake Bonneville terraces |
Dried soil (1 of 2) |
Dried soil (2 of 2) |
Vegetation on the lower terrace |
Plant that thinks it's a brush |
Looking southwest at playa and Silver Island Mountains |
The Hill |
The Hill, up close |
Shadow shot while standing atop The Hill |
Panorama of the Lake Bonneville Terrace from "The Hill" (Floating Island's summit at left) |
East causeway (and Interstate 80, 11 miles away)---see ORIGINAL size image |
Eight shorelines of Lake Bonneville on the mountain slopes |
Bare summit above a large terrace formed by Lake Bonneville |
Rock blades on terrace of Lake Bonneville (blue marks on bamboo stick are one foot [30cm] apart) |
Close-up view of weird rock of previous photo |
Southern end of the island |
Hill and summit |
Hill and summit (from the Silver Island Backcountry Byway) |
Streaky talus above a Lake Bonneville terrace |
Shadowy terrain |
Heading for the car, a blue speck between shadows at bottom right |
Shadow on Floating Island |
Car in shadow by the time I reached it |
Digital record takes the place of a labelled Zip-Loc bag |
Summit from the west |
View from the causeway, looking northwest at the Silver Island Mountains |
Playa, as seen from the causeway |
FIoating Island at sunset |