Monument Valley's Wildcat Trail... no one shoots there?

I just returned from a 10 day trip through Moab and Monument Valley, combining photography and writing for my newspaper column.
I have visited Monument Valley numerous times, and it’s one of my favorite places to visit. I can’t get enough of it, really. Blame it on watching too many westerns…
Anyway, we all see photos taken from the same places… next to the visitors center, from John Ford Point, Artists Point, North Window, etc. Then there are the places that require a guide: Teardrop Arch (I finally got there on this trip), Hunts Mesa, the Totem Pole, etc.
On this trip, I hiked the Wildcat Trail, which is the only trail in Monument Valley that you can hike without a guide. It loops around the Left/West Mitten, and while I was doing it, I wondered why I haven’t seen many photographers shoot from it. Maybe photos from the trail have just escaped my attention, but I don’t think many photographers are aware of it.
The views are stunning, and it’s as close to any of the large formations as you’re likely to get. It also offers some different angles for other formations.
The hike is a pretty easy 4 miles, but the climb out back from loop does involve some loose sand that slows you down, and it’s fully exposed, so during the summer it will be HOT.

That’s the telling detail for most folks, I fear.

I think you chose well in the pano format for this, and I especially like the cloud shadow midframe. I fear it would appear “flat” without it, if such a thing is ever possible in such dynamic scenery. Love the clouds too, as BBS (bald blues skies) are mostly anathema for me.

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People can always turn around to make it shorter, until, of course, you get to the half-way point.
I just added a second photo (cactus blossom) that was taken only a mile into the hike. The pano was around 2.5 miles.
The photos are just for illustrative purposes to show the perspectives from the trail. I hiked this mid-day, so if it wasn’t for the great clouds that day, the pictures would’ve been pretty bland. This trail at late afternoon/sunset is probably pretty spectacular.

I usually don’t even get interested in a trail that’s less than 6 or 7 miles… but, that’s me, and as they say on TV “your mileage may vary”.

I love it that most people think anything more than half a mile is not worth doing. That means more to explore for the rest of us.

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