18) Canyonlands National Park, October 10 - October 17, 2009

Arches and Canyonlands are so close together, that we started Canyonlands before we “left” Arches. Canyonlands is divided into 4 districts; Island in the Sky, The Needles, The Maze, and Horseshoe Canyon. Each is very different, and none is fully explored by road (some not at all—more on that later).

Island in the Sky is the district that is relatively close to Arches, so that’s where we started. Our first trip was to “reconnoiter” and learn about visiting the various districts. Our maps (including AAA and National Geographic) indicate that all of the roads are unimproved. Not so. In fact when we mentioned to the ranger about our National Geological Survey-based maps, thinking maybe the roads had been paved since the last survey, he said, “the roads were paved about 1974, or so.” Hmmm. He also said that both AAA and NGS personnel had been to the park last year and driven all of the roads, including the 4x4 trails, GPSing them all. Hmmm. Oh well, that’s not the first or last time that our printed material have been less than accurate. All of the districts are really tailored for backcountry camping, either by hiking, by biking, or by 4x4, but one can see a lot by driving and even more by day hiking. The entrances to each of the distrticts are over 80 miles apart, so it’s better to treat each as a separate “park”. The Maze is only accessible by 4x4 or hiking (even the road to the entrance). Horseshoe Canyon is reachable by dirt road, then there is only one, 6.5-mile roundtrip hike. This trail is all sand and, at the time of our visit, was very dry, deep, and loose, which would make for a very long, tiring hike. The rangers did not recommend trying to hike it at this time. Most people 4x4 to the backcountry campground just outside the district, spend the night there, and hike in and out. We did neither of those two districts on this trip. To really see all of Island in the Sky, one should drive or bike the White Rim Trail Road, which is about a four-day trek. The driving needs to be done in a 4x4 vehicle. However, the park road and the “short” hikes in this district provide wonderful views from way above the canyons (hence the name). The Needles district is visited in a similar way as the Island in the Sky, except there are multiple 4x4 roads rather than one very long one. Again, the park road and “short” hikes provide a lot of interesting excursions.

After our reconnoitering, we still had time to drive part of the Island in the Sky park road to where one branch ends at the Upheaval Dome overlook and trailhead. Along the way, we stopped at all of the other overlooks and hiked Mesa Arch, Whale Rock, and the short Upheaval Dome Trail. We also decided to take the Shafer Trail Road back to Moab. This is another dirt road that follows the steep switchbacks that started as an early cattle trail. We, of course, had checked with the ranger, and he said that it’s about 18 miles of unimproved road, and if we made it through Pucker Pass, should be no problem for us, at least going downhill, so we headed down. The road looked MUCH smoother through the binoculars from the canyon rim, but later, it got rougher. Some parts were pretty hairy, others pretty rough, and others both. But there were amazing views, and no “challenges” quite as bad as Pucker Pass. The 18 miles took over 2 ½ hours, including a few stops for views, photos, or road (rock) inspection. After hitting pavement at the end of Potash Road, we still had about 30 miles to go to get back to camp. Whew.

A Few of the Switchbacks on Shafer Trail Road

Mesa Arch

On Top of Whale Rock

The next day, we were back in Arches, but the day after, we returned to Island in the Sky to finish the park road and its overlooks. We also hiked Neck Spring Loop Trail, which is an about 5.8-mile loop, going through a variety of terrain, including an arch on the cliff edge. We, also, hiked Grand View Rim Trail, which is about 2 miles with many panoramic views along the cliff edge.

Buck Canyon

Monument Basin from Grand View Point

Shafer Canyon from Neck Spring Loop Trail

The next day, we left Moab, after camping there for 6 nights, and got to the Needles District in time to get one of the very few remaining campsites. Even before setting up camp, we headed to the visitor center and grilled the ranger. Four-wheel roads in this district are really that. None are suitable for our little truck. This is not because of the roughness or rockiness, but the fact that they cross many washes with deep, soft, loose sand. Most of the trails are very long. She marked all of the “short” ones and a couple of the long ones. Then we drove parts of the main road, hiked Slickrock Foot Trail and Pothole Point. A short dirt road took us down to the trailhead for Cave Spring Loop. This trail took us by rock outcroppings that have been used by humans for 1000s of years. There is still evidence in the form of ancient rock art and cowboy artifacts.

Lower Little Spring Canyon, Slickrock Foot Trail

Interesting Rocks at Pothole Point

Wooden Shoe Arch

Cowboy Camp at Cave Spring

The next day, we took advantage of our campsite location and took a trip to Natural Bridges National Monument, stopping at Newspaper Rock to view an outstanding display of ancient rock art. At Natural Bridges, we drove the Bridge View Drive and stopped at all of the stops, seeing three of the world’s largest natural stone bridges. We hiked the trail to the Owachomo Bridge Trail and got another perspective of the bridge from underneath it.

Sipapu Bridge

Owachomo Bridge

The next day, back at The Needles, we spent just about the whole day hiking to the confluence overlook. This trail traversed several small canyons, allowing for a lot of rock climbing up and down the sides of the canyons. It also crossed dry, open meadow-like flats, ending at a cliff edge 1,000 feet over the junction of the Green and Colorado Rivers. What a magnificent view. But this trail is 11 or 12 miles round trip, and took us almost 7 hours, including our lunch at the overlook. So we didn’t get much else done that day, except attending the evening ranger program. Still, a very satisfying day.

On the Confluence Trail

Confluence of Green, left, and Colorado Rivers

Our last day at The Needles, we decided to do another long hike. This time, we drove a 3-mile dirt road out to Elephant Hill Trailhead. From there, we hiked Chesler Point Overlook Trail to Chesler Park Loop and Joint Trail. The Joint Trail is so named for its pass through a very tight section between deep, narrow fractures in the rock. This hike brought us really up close and personal with the Needles as well as other terrain, and it was another 11 or 12-mile hike, taking us about 7 ½ hours. Whew.

Chesler Park

Entering "The Joint"

In the Distance, the Needles

Tired but happy from all of the hiking, we were ready, the next day, to head on to our next adventure, not too far down the road at Capitol Reef National Park.