We got our permits 1 minute before the ranger station closed which was blind luck and they were reluctant to open up the computer to issue them but thankfully they did. We finally made it up to the Wilhite trailhead and cooked up some dinner before we hiked out to the rim where the Wilhite Trail descends to the valley floor.

We set out with an hour left of sunlight to the top of the trail where the vast landscape could be seen!!! it was breaktaking!!

We got a bit turned around as to where we could work our way around a couple ridges and down to the lip of the rim.  The winds were blowing at a sustained 30-35 MPH as the suns tarted to set and the cooler air worked its way over the desert.

Eventually we find the trail the took us to the rim where the trail descends and we walk over to the lip of the canyon floor, wow.  The jaw dropping views we had of the valley basin and the green river are of something that these photos did not capture. The sheer cliff dropped at least 350 to a long scree slope that continued to descend another 300 hundred feet to the floor of the basin.  The green river cut another couple hundred feet into the basin which created a painting like view that can not be forgotten.

We set up a tent just under a few small outcroppings and behind a tree as the winds were blowing at a constant speed.   As night fell the shooting stars and the milkyway never looked more defined and bright in the night sky.  It was simply amazing and I highly recommend anyone within the regional area to camp at Island in the Sky.