Would like to apologize for the delay in this months images, it's been a long couple of weeks and I am still not home - actually was home for 8 hours for a short nap, unpack the car, pack a new bag and drive up to northern Michigan. Hopefully images captured over the last couple of weeks make up for the delay.

The first image is the main reason for the recent adventure, a location known as Reflection Canyon - this is one of those spots where tourist's and regular hikers will not visit since it's a backpacking trip. Backpacking to Reflection Canyon is not for an easy hike, it is an incredibly challenging 18-mile round-trip hike through the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area backcountry for one view into Reflection Canyon. Reflection Canyon is an extension of Lake Powell, and it is usually seen by boat and plane. It's location was revealed in 2006 when National Geographic published photographer Michael Melford's photos of the canyon in "Glen Canyon Revealed". It also gained popularity when it was used by Apple in June 2012 to promote the new Mac Book Pro high resolution with retina display. To reach this location, you need a four-wheel drive vehicle to access a remote section of the Grand Escalante Staircase National Monument via an unmaintained and unpaved route down Hole in the Rock Road. First part is to check weather and road conditions before you head out; storms and rainfall can wash out portions of the road and create sections that are muddy and impassible. If the conditions allow, you drive 50 miles down the road, entering Glen Canyon territory in the last few miles of the trip. There is no official trailhead and really no official trail, numerous path's that can be sometimes seen, this hike requires map reading and GPS to avoid steep canyons along the way, find the actual canyon location and back to your vehicle. You have to carry all clothing, food, water, camping equipment and camera gear - not a light backpack but a little lighter than summer when you have to carry twice as much water due to the heat. While the hike can be done in one really long day, I wanted sunrise and sunset photos so an overnight stay was required - to save weight I decided to leave a tent and sleeping bag behind, only sleeping with clothes, blanket and sleeping pad. While the daytime temps were in the lower 50's the night time desert temps reached the low 30's, while wishing I had warmer sleeping arrangements I was happy to not carry the extra weight - to be honest I did not take enough water and was getting dehydrated. For this image I was really lucky to have a fishing boat come by while I was shooting images, most photographers dream of having a situation like this when they visit Reflection Canyon - guess someone was watching out for me.

Our second image this month is a buck Mule Deer from Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge located near the Denver CO airport. This portrait of the buck shows the hardship they endure in the wild, you will notice one of his antlers is broken off - most likely from the recent rut activity. The background is white since it was snowing and it was around 15 degrees above zero when this image was captured.

Here's a link to download the appropriate version of this month's image for your desktop, one for standard screens and one for wide-screens. Right click on the text for the format you need and select Save As, save to a location on your computer that you can remember and change the background as needed for your OS.

http://www.timlesterimages.com/calendar/november.html

Hope you enjoy the images this month and they are worth the wait.

Tim Lester

TIM LESTER IMAGES
Email: tim@PROTECTED
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