Near the Four Corners area in New Mexico there is a dry and barren land. Very little plant life exists. Green shrubs are few and far between. However the uniqueness of the barren land is a photographers paradise when the weather cooperates and the light is right. Strange and delicate formations have been produced by wind and rain errosion through centuries of time. This land is called "Bisti". "Bisti" means "badlands" in the Navajo language. The Bisti is also part of what is known as the De Na Zin Wilderness.

These fascinating formations of time reside amongst the Navajo Nation Territory. In the summer time it is hot and in the winter it can be cold and wet. When the clay ridden soil in these badland gets wet it becomes very difficult to impossile to hike there. As a result of all of these conditions it is a trail less traveled.

About an hour drive from Farmington the Bisti Badlands becon only the hearty. For most people this Bisti / De Na Zin Wilderness area holds little lure. But curiosity beconed and I ended up in Farmington NM in the middle of July. I had been warned that it would be hot. A call to the Bureau of Land Management in Farmington only confirmed that warning. I was told to come back in the fall. However I was already there and it wasn't fall so I decided to cautiously approach the Bisti Badlands in the middle of the summer. I avoided the middle of the day and did my hiking after 5:00 pm. Even then on any given summer day is could have been very hot. As it was the two evenings I spent there there was a large cloud cover and a breeze so the 95 degree farinheit did not seem as bad as it might have. As darkness approached it got quite comfortable, albeit very dark with a cloud cover and no moon.

However, I did come upon another hiker who had been hiking with a friend in the middle of the day. He told me that his friend had been overcome with heat exhaustion and had holed up in a small cave to get out of the heat. Now he could not find his friend and he was sure that his friend must be out of water by now. He asked me to keep watch for his friend as he went for some more help. The man told me his friend's name and I kept calling in the evening quietness of the badlands but there was never an answer. I did find out if the friend was rescued. To this day I keep believing that the man must have found his friend.

So, carry plenty of water and don't hike in the middle of the day if you visit the Bisti Badland in the middle of the summer. I also carried with me a good head lamp and a backlighted GPS so that I could find my way back to my vehicle in the dark. Both proved to be very valuable and perhaps life saving in the end. If you start your hike after 5:00 pm and you want to photograph you'll very likely find yourself in the dark in the middle of the wilderness.

There are no trails in "Bisti" so finding your way to the formations may require a good quide book. Finding your way back may require an excellent sense of direction and a good GPS. During the two evenings that I spent in the "Bisti" I hiked a total of 10 miles and used my light and my GPS for more than an hour each evening to find my way back to my vehicle.

All of that said, I still believe I came away with some very nice shots of the Bisti / De Na Zin Wilderness. The clouds sometimes covered the sun as it began to set in the west but the sky to the east was often clear and bright thus causing a beautiful diffused reverse lighting situation. Here are a few of the images I took during my two evenings of hiking the Bisti Badlands / De Na Zin Wilderness. I hope you enjoy them. If you find these images inspiring drop me a note. I'd love to hear from you.

Click the picture to visit more photos of this area. All pictures in this gallery are for sale. If you would like a print or want to use a photo for commercial use please contact me at alvance@charter.net