Needles, Canyonlands National Park

The Needles District of Canyonlands National Park is a vast area with lots of interlocking trails and lots of backpacking opportunities.  Needles is a two-hour drive from Island at the Sky, and you need to drive out of the park and into a different entrance because the districts are separated by the Colorado River.

After two days in Island in the Sky, I went to Moab for a night and got some more supplies before driving to Needles the next day.  I arrived to Needles around 7:00 AM on a Wednesday morning, and I found an open spot at Squat Flaw campground.  These campsites are difficult to get, in mid-April and in most other months; in fact, a man from a neighboring campsite told me, "Congratulations" as he walked past.

Squaw Flat Campground

I set up my tent, ate a banana, and began a 7.5 mile loop hike through Squaw Flats and Big Spring Canyon.

The Squaw Flats to Big Spring Canyon loop is the larger peanut shape in the middle.

Hiking across Squaw Flats

I read about this hike in a book called, "Best Easy Day Hikes Canyonlands and Arches," so I had a good idea of what I was getting myself into.  The walks in each of the canyons were flat and easy, and the climbs up from one canyon and back down the other were challenging.  "Challenging" can mean different things when you're hiking.  It can mean that the incline is steep, or it can mean that you have to use your hands to scramble up a near-vertical piece of rock, or it can just mean that the trail is on a narrow ledge and one misstep could cause a very long fall.  Here, it meant all three.

Climbing out of Squaw Canyon

Fun hike over slick rock

Climbing up out of the first canyon was fun, after a few deep breaths.  Handholds were carved into the rock, and there were several vertical climbs all in a row.  I was glad not to have a bigger backpack (I just had a day backpack).  But after a slow and steady climb, I reached the top of the canyon, and the view was amazing.  

Descending into Big Springs Canyon

Climbing down into Big Springs Canyon was not as fun.  I do not like descending steep trails, especially when the trail is more like the edge of a cliff and you really don't want to slip or stumble.  I get pretty scared and walk very slowly.  Anyway, I made it down, and my heart beat returned to normal once I was back on flat trails.  I felt extremely tired after this descent, and I think I should have been eating more snacks.

Somewhere between miles 5 and 6, I started feeling really tired, and my feet hurt a lot.  My pace must have slowed a lot because it took me awhile to get back to the campsite.  I like to think that my constant photo breaks had something to do with it, though.

The next day, I packed up my campsite and drove to the Elephant Hill trailhead.  As indicated on the park map, the last three miles of the drive was over dirt roads, but I was fine in my rental sedan.

My slow hike the day before had me rethinking my hiking plans for the second day.  I had planned on hiking a 10 mile out and back trail, but now I wasn't so sure.  So I started out thinking that I would hike only 6 miles, to the nearest corner of the famous Chesler Park and back.  The first part of the hike, the part towards Elephant Canyon, was rocky and steep.

Hiking out from the Elephant Hill Trailhead

After climbing out of Elephant Canyon, I began to see the edge of Chesler Park.  It was fascinating to see a green field in the middle of the desert terrain.  I had been hiking around the desert for five days and was beginning to think that the whole world was made of red, brown, and tan-colored rocks.  And now there was this huge oasis, where ranchers used to raise cattle.  And the needle formations were all around the sides of the field, forming natural sculptures and walls.

I had hiked only three miles so far that day (don't mind the return trip), and the trail going forward looked totally flat.  So I kept going.  I promised myself to turn around at noon, which is a general rule for hiking.

Chesler Park

My watch alarm went off when noon came, but I didn't turn around.  I knew that I must be very close to the Joint Trail, a unique trail that weaves through very narrow spaces between tall walls of rock.  I wanted to see it.  And sure enough, I got there in a few more minutes, and I rested in the cool shade in between the rock walls.

The Joint Trail

It took me about 3 hours to hike the 5 miles to the Joint Trail, and the return hike took almost four hours.  I had plenty of food and water, so I took my time, but I was very happy when I got back to the parking lot.  I had had a great adventure, and I needed to rest.

The next time I go to Needles, I would like to spend more time there.  I would like to stay at one of the high-demand backcountry campsites, but some spots, like scrambling up canyons and tiptoeing down canyons, might be difficult with a big backpack.  I might be tempted to rent a 4WD vehicle to get to one of the trailheads closer to the Joint Trail so I could spend more time exploring the narrow rock walls.  I would also like to see Druid Arch, which is supposed to be beautiful at sunrise.

The Needles District and the Island in the Sky District were very different in terms of hiking opportunities.  While nearly all of Needles could be accessed by experiences day-hikers, it seemed that backpacking would allow more time to experience the best parts of the district.  On the other hand, most of Island can be seen just by driving to the different view points, with some day-hikes and one overnight backpacking opportunity (Syncline).

Island in the Sky, Canyonlands National Park

Canyonlands National Park and Arches National Park are about one hour apart by car, but it's not nearly as popular (Arches had over one million visitors in 2011, Canyonlands had less than half a million).  And that is a real shame because Canyonlands is an incredible place with amazing scenery and hiking trails.

Green River Overlook

View from the Aztec Butte Trail

Murphy Point

Canyonlands is divided into three districts that are separated by the Colorado and Green Rivers.  The northern district, Island in the Sky, is named so because it lies high above the rest of the park, on high canyons that overlook the other districts down below (there are three distinct layers of canyons, Island in the Sky in on the highest layer).  Most of the hikes lead to overlooks of the canyons, and impressive views are accessible by car as well.  This is the least rugged district in Canyonlands, with easy access and several easy hikes.

The Three Worlds

Grand View Point Overlook Trail

After much consideration, I decided not to hike the Syncline Trail (8 miles down 1,300 feet into a canyon and back).  I did not have any experience canyon hiking (saving the uphill for the return), and I didn't want to push my limits without a hiking partner to save me.  So I ended up having enough time to hike almost all of the shorter trails and take breaks at nearly every viewpoint.

The Upheaval Dome Trail is pretty rugged.

Upheaval Dome

Willows Flat Campground

After a day of relatively flat hiking, I spent the night at Willows Flat Campground, the only campground in this part of the park.  Same as Arches, there were no showers but bathrooms with running water.  I got up extra early in the morning to hike the Mesa Arch trail at sunrise, which was recommended by a park ranger.  This was a super-short and easy hike, I jogged some of it because I was running late (for the sunrise), and it was worth it.  When I got there, a handful of other people, mostly photographers, were waiting for the sun to come up.  I got there just in time, and it was a beautiful moment.

Mesa Arch

I spent the rest of the day looking for big-horned sheep, even I heard at an earlier ranger talk that the sheep are hard to spot at this time of year.  I was on my way out of the parking, stopped at one last overlook before the park exit, when I finally saw them.  Three of them, not fully grown yet but definitely big-horned.  Amazing!  After a few pictures, I left the park totally satisfied.

If I were to go to Island in the Sky again, I would probably skip the Murphy Point Trail because the Green River Overlook and the White Rim Overlook has better views with less hiking.  I might give the Syncline a shot, with a buddy and plenty of water.  And I would definitely get to Mesa Arch in time for sunrise, and I wouldn't be late this time.

Arches National Park

Utah might be better known for other things, but hikers know it as a treasure chest of amazing landscape and desert rock formations.  Exactly one year ago, after a long Chicago winter, I was feeling especially starved for the outdoors, so I took a week-long trip to eastern Utah.  I visited Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park, and they were both fantastic.

From Chicago, I flew to Grand Junction, Colorado, rented a car, and drove two hours east to Arches National Park.  I especially remember the last part of the drive leading up to the park entrance - the red rock walls were like nothing I had seen before, and I knew that I must be getting close to something special.

I arrived to Arches at 6:00 PM on a Saturday night, and it was a great time to be there.  At this point, most day visitors had already left the park, and even more were leaving.  So there was plenty of space at all the view points and parking lots.  I wanted to set up my campsite before dark (around 8:00 PM), so I didn't do any hiking, but I stopped by many of the viewpoints between the park entrance and the campground (about an 18 mile drive) to take advantage of the dusk light and take some pictures.

Balanced Rock

The Devils Garden Campground, the only campground inside the park, has above-average facilities.  No showers, but clean bathrooms with running water.  Each campsite also had its own picnic table and fire pit.  Not to mention, the campground is nestled among the region's famous red rocks, and the setting is beautiful.  The campground sits at about 5,200 feet, and it was pretty chilly at night.

Devils Garden Campground

The next morning, I drove to the Windows trailhead to start the day with some short and easy hikes.  The Windows trail was very flat and very accessible.  At the same time, the Windows turned out to be some of the least impressive arches in the park.

North and South Windows

Turret Arch

Nearby the Windows trailhead, there was also a short trail to Double Arch.   This trail was also very easy, and the arches were more impressive than the Windows.

Double Arch

After an easy morning, I dedicated the afternoon to the Devils Garden trail, the most primitive maintained trail in the park.  The roughness of the trail ranged from soft sand to small rocks to slickrock (when you're just walking on the faces of very large rocks) and every combination in between.  Note, I saw three barefoot hikers on this trail.  The trail got especially interesting after Landscape Arch, when it became slickrock and exposed hiking.

Landscape Arch

Slickrock on the Devils Garden trail after Landscape Arch

Devils Garden trail near Double O Arch

I was about 2 miles into the Devils Garden trail, nearing Double O Arch, when I noticed the wind pick up.  Sure enough, the sky to the south was turning a dark blue color, and the clouds were moving closer.  Considering that the last half-mile of the trail was slickrock and that slickrock gets really slippery when wet, I decided to turn around.  I was about a hundred feet from the trail head when it started raining and hailing.

Double O Arch

After a full day at Arches, I drove out of the park and into Moab, the nearest town.  I booked this trip less than a month in advance, and I could only get a reservation at Devils Garden Campground for my first night in Utah.  Also, I could only get a reservation for the guided tour of the Fiery Furnace (highly recommended) for the last day of my trip, so I would have to return at the end of the week.  In the meanwhile, I would make trips to two different parts of Canyonlands National Park, with Moab as my "home base."  I didn't want to stay at a hotel, and I didn't want to stay at a campground with a bunch of RVs, so I was very happy to find Up The Creek Campground, a tent-only campground in town.

I returned to Arches the following Friday, with two goals in mind: I had to hike to Delicate Arch, the most famous arch in the the world, and I also had a reservation for a hiking tour of the Fiery Furnace.  But I got to the park early (7:00 AM), so I hiked the short Park Avenue trail to see the Three Gossips and Sheep Rock.  Both landmarks were towards the north end of the trail, so next time I would probably start there instead of at the south end, but it was a short and easy hike, so it was no big deal.

Three Gossips

Sheep Rock

After the warm-up, I headed to the Delicate Arch trail head.  The parking lot was nearly empty when I got there (around 9:00 AM), but it was full by the time I left (around 12:00 PM).  This was a relatively difficult hike, but it wasn't long.  There was just a long stretch of slickrock that seemed to be at a 45 degree angle, but I took it slow and didn't find it so bad.  It may have helped that it was only about 60 degrees when I hiked it.  I can imagine that the hike would feel a lot longer and harder if it was 80  or 100 degrees.  Anyway, after that stretch, the hike wasn't bad at all.

Delicate Arch trail up slickrock

Even before I began hiking, I wondered if Delicate Arch would live up to its reputation.  And when I was trudging up that slickrock, I really hoped that it would be worth it.  And... it was pretty good.  Not only was it a really big arch, but it was on the edge of a cliff, so it stood out more and seemed more prominent.  There were a couple dozen other people there, but it didn't feel crowded.  I even had a chance to get a picture of the arch without anyone else on it.  I think the larger crowds arrive for sunset.

Delicate Arch

Delicate Arch from Delicate Arch Viewpoint (from across the cliff)

My last experience in Arches was the Fiery Furnace, and oh boy, did I save the best for last.  Dick, my senior citizen tour guide, took us through a maze of fins, slickrock, and hidden arches for three hours.  It wasn't just walking but also scrambling, jumping, sliding, and maneuvering.  It was like a natural playground, and I definitely recommend it.  There was also the option of going without a guide, but this requires a special permit, and there is no "map" of the Fiery Furnace.

Fiery Furnace

Our Fiery Furnace tour guide, Dick

Skull Rock

Kissing Turtles

Hidden Arch

The next time I go to Arches, I would dedicate more time to the Devils Garden trail and start early in the morning.  I would also go to the Fiery Furnace again, maybe without a guide this time, although following a guide was probably the most efficient way to see all of the highlights in the area.  I would also try seeing Delicate Arch at sunset, or at least in the late afternoon, instead of the morning.  Since the arch is on the east edge of a cliff, it looks best when the sun is in the west.  The only problem is that everyone else will be there too.  I recommend the park overall, but I don't think there is more than two days worth of stuff to do.  And since Utah is a long way to go for just two days, I would recommend going to Arches as part of a larger trip.

I will write about my trips to Canyonlands National Park next.