This first side canyon, looking south from the main east-west
canyon, looks like a glacially carved, rounded canyon formed by the scraping
of ice over untold ages.
Straight ahead, now passing this interesting side canyon, lay the continuation of the main canyon:
At a road-summit of sorts, the main canyon actually went down, and there in the setting sun we glimpsed the roofs of several buildings (associated with picnic and campgrounds) and saw a number of snowmobiles and even some 4-wheel drive traffic.
But sun was bright ahead of us, on the higher peaks, but behind us the glow on the northern wall of the canyon suggested it would be dark soon, so it was time to turn back.
A nice man in a jeep stopped to ask if we knew what time it was, obviously worried over us in the cold (below 14 Fahrenheit and breezy) and the approaching dark. That was nice. And a truck with several women and a man asked if we needed a ride, to which we said "no" since we were the heroic types, whom we saw then slide off the road ahead of us. As we caught up on foot they were on their way again. Finally, we made it to the car before it was completely dark and then back to the big city for a warm room!