Note: I spent last week in Utah, climbing and roaming around the desert in the middle of nowhere. These posts are about the things I saw, the places I climbed, and sometimes, the drawings I made. Previous day’s journeys include climbing to Angel’s Landing and weaving through Devil’s Garden.
From Wednesday, June 2
This is what I came here for. By mid-day Wednesday I was miles from the nearest person, on the top of a rock, alone with the stone and the sun, looking up mountains and down canyons at the magnificent earth around me.
Druid Arch, at the end of Elephant Canyon
By 7:30 Wednesday morning I was on the road. I learned from Angel’s Landing a few morning’s previous, and cooked myself a big breakfast of eggs and chorizo to start the day. Back in “real life”, I rarely eat because I need fuel. I eat enough to provide the energy for my usual daily level of exertion.
The desert is different. Climbing up mountains requires fuel, and I became aware of my need of food for fuel on this trip.
Fueled up, I hit the road. Canyonlands National Park is about an hour and a half drive south of Moab. I drove south from Moab for 30 or 40 minutes, then along the road into the park for about an hour.
Canyonlands National Park is divided into three parts by the Green and Colorado Rivers. The Green River joins the Colorado river in the middle of the park, and they continue on together. In the North is the Island in the Sky, which I plan to visit on Friday, to the West is The Maze, the labyrinth of rocks and canyons that is considered the most remote place in the contiguous United States.
The view just a few minutes from the Elephant Canyon trail head
I went to the Needles in the East, named after the rock formations throughout this area. They have been eroded in such a way that they bulge in layers, like soft serve ice cream poured badly, leaving a mound of lumps. These lumpy rocks stick up, resembling needles, hence the name.
A quick aside about Canyonlands: This park is far more remote than the Yellowstones, Zions, and Yosemites. There are no shuttles, no cafes, no plumbing, no simple guided tours. There is one road in to each of the three districts, and a small visitor center near the entrance. This park is not developed, and it is remote. Just what I wanted.
My hike started at Elephant hill, down the road through the Park, then down a dirt road for the last 3 or 4 miles. The trail immediately climbs up from the parking lot at the trail head. Within 10 minutes of walking, I was in the middle of nowhere.
The trail was easy enough to follow, thanks to the cairns (neat stacks of rocks) along the way. The trail took me up rocks, down through canyons, and along winding paths, until I hit the sandy bed of Elephant Canyon. A large portion of the trail is through this canyon, which serves as a wash during the sporadic rainy periods this area receives.
Pencil sketch of Druid Arch
I followed the canyon until I neared the end, at which point the trail climbs up. The last bit of trail is a scramble up a hill of rocks, and it let out at a large open area of rocks, near the top of the canyon. In front of me was Druid Arch, standing 100 plus feet above me, jutting out from the surrounding rock wall.
I pulled out my lunch and my sketch book, and got to work eating a pear, an apple, granola bar, and plenty of water. As I drew, a raven slowly flew by, close to me, probably checking me out to see what I was up to.
I had this rock plateau to myself, nobody else made the hike out this far. I met a group of three girls coming back on the trail from Druid’s Arch as I was getting closer to it, but that was it.
Even more spectacular than the giant Druid’s Arch in front of me was the view of where I had come from.
The extent of Elephant Canyon and the rocks of the Needles stretched out in front of me, as far as I could see. The trail that took me here weaved through the canyon below those rocks, taking me 5 miles into the Needles.
I sat up here for a time, letting the dry heat soak into me, and looking at this still landscape. The only sounds were the occasional rustle of a small creature in surrounding brush, the brusk blowing of the wind, and my own shoes rubbing on the rock.
The view of Elephant Canyon from Druid Arch. Down below these rocks is the canyon I walked through to get here.
I started on my way back, working through the process of climbing down the mountain, traveling through the canyon, and walking up and over the canyon walls to the trail head. My feet were sore, I was thirsty, and I was ready to sit down, but that didn’t distract me from the process of hiking out this canyon. My usual anxiousness to arrive at my destination was absent, and I was able to enjoy the process of moving myself out of this rocky canyon, back to the trail head.
Worn out from the 11 mile hike, I got to my car, took off my boots, drank water, and drove back to my campsite.
I slept well.
Next: Through the Fiery Furnace and Pictures from the Partition