CANYONEERING ON THE COLORADO PLATEAU

In the desert, there’s very little left unexplored. Moab gets busier every year with tourists, Jeeps (we call them Jeeple), weekend warriors and giant gleaming RVs parked atop plateaus in every direction. Zion National Park is considering a permit system for the famous Narrows hike because it’s simply getting too crowded. Call me an old curmudgeon, but overcrowding has become a depressing reality on the Colorado Plateau.

There’s little left to explore, and there are very few who know how to find the last of these unspoiled places. To a climber, an untouched tower is