Backcountry ranger Bill Wolverton is mid-calf in quicksand, which accumulates at the mouths of creeks, including at Fiftymile Canyon. (Susan Spano / LAT)
This place is like a big Christmas present gradually being unwrapped, ranger Bill Wolverton says of the low water levels in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. (Susan Spano / LAT)
Dried mud in Davis Gulch. (Susan Spano / LAT)
Davis Gulch, an Escalante River tributary. (Susan Spano / LAT)
Bill Wolverton has been exploring the Lower 48’s national parks for the last 17 years. (Susan Spano / LAT)
