09-28-2021 Canyonlands Island in the Sky and Dead Horse Point State Park

Photo taken from the Dead Horse Point Overlook at Dead Horse Point State Park

Waking to a morning of mixed clouds and sunshine, I knew that we might not have the right light for taking a photo of the early sun rising in the east and reflecting on the underside of Mesa Arch.  The image of sun on the underside of the arch is used to advertise Canyonlands in many places.

Just for fun, I inserted a screen shot below of only a tiny portion of the photos that show up for a google search of Mesa Arch images.

Located on the east side of the uplift called the Island in the Sky, Mesa Arch was a must see for me on this visit to Canyonlands

We left at 7:30 this morning, an hour later then yesterday, but still early enough to beat the worst of the crowds, I hoped.  Our first destination was the Mesa Arch trail but we planned to view the rest of the easily accessible viewpoints at the Island in the Sky section of Canyonlands.

I have been to Mesa Arch a few times in the past, and even 25 years ago the trail could be crowded.  Especially at dawn, there are often hordes of photographers with tripods set up to capture the famous light on the underside of the arch.

My boss and friend, Eva, walking across the arch in 2000 before the park sign said no climbing on the arch 

Chere decided that the steep parts were not fun and waved to us when we reached the arch

The short half mile trail out to the arch is “moderately easy”, but there are some stairs and a few steep areas.  Still, there were many people on the trail walking toward the arch and many more walking back from the arch carrying their tripods.  Who knows if the morning clouds allowed them to get the famous light on the underside of the arch.

This is as good as it got for me on this slightly overcast morning

The fun thing about Mesa Arch is that the drop on the mesa side of the arch is only 20 feet or so, but the drop on the canyon side is more than 1300 feet.  It is a dizzying feeling that triggers some intense vertigo if you are trying to stand anywhere near the top of the arch. 

Thanks to my lack of balance at this point, you can see me holding on to Mo for dear life in this photo. I realized later something I forgot about.  Take off the dang progressive lenses!  I remember this when trying to go down steep trails and steps and should have remembered this when I climbed up to a high point above the arch for the view.

Dan, Mo, and I had fun waiting our turn for photos at the arch, with most people being kind and thoughtful and not dominating the site for others wanting that same photo.

 See the famous “Washer Woman” in the upper part of this photo?

The Island in the Sky is bisected by a paved road that goes to the end of the mesa, with a “grand” view at Grand View Point.  I learned on this trip something I never knew after all my years traveling the Colorado Plateau.  Until 1921, the Colorado River didn’t start in the state that bears the same name. It began in Utah, where the Green River from Wyoming and the Grand River from Colorado met at the infamous confluence of the two rivers that can be seen from space in the google maps image below.

We planned to visit each of the scenic viewpoints that could be reached by car in Canyonlands.  We would then return to Dead Horse Point State Park on the northeast side of the plateau to view the iconic landscape from another perspective.

From our previous day visiting Arches, we knew that it was wise to get to the most important viewpoints first, knowing that the parking lots and trails were likely to be crowded.  When we left the Mesa Arch parking lot, we headed immediately for the most distant spot on paved road to the Grand View Point Overlook.

As expected, the parking lot was already full and one more time the handicap hang tag gave us access to the only open parking space at the overlook. The view from this site is breathtaking. 

A ranger working near the parking lot said that the overcast sky was actually a blessing for viewing the expansive landscape since bright sunshine often wiped out much of the detail in photos.

We returned to the main road and traveled northwest to the Upheaval Dome Overlook parking lot. What I had forgotten is that there is no view from this point.  Instead of hiking the steep, rocky trail to the overlooks, we settled at a nice picnic table to enjoy some snacks for lunch.  Later, we returned to the road toward the Green River Overlook where we were gifted with expansive views toward the west. 

The views from the Green River Overlook were awe-inspiring.  We could see the far northwestern part of the White Rim Trail, a 4-wheel drive road that is the destination of many a mountain biker and 4-wheeler enthusiast.

Yes, that is Mt Ellen in the distance on the left side of the photo below, at the high point of the Henry Mountain Range.  Dan and Chere got a bit tired of me continuously pointing out Mt Ellen and I promised that this was the last time I would do so.

We drove back to the east side of the mesa for a great view toward the La Sals at the Buck Canyon Overlook. We could see virga, “streaks or wisps of precipitation falling from a cloud but evaporating before reaching the ground” in the distance. Rain was predicted on the mesa by noon, but for us, so far so good.  No rain while we were on our explorations of the Island in the Sky.

Dan and Chere at the Buck Canyon Overlook

We continued to the Shafer Trail Overlook.  There are actually two spots with parking where the Shafer Trail is visible.  We chose what appeared to be the less crowded site a bit south of the main overlook.  The Shafer Trail is a narrow dirt road with sharp switchbacks that descends to the White Rim Road that circles around the Island in the Sky on the White Rim Sandstone. 

We stayed a bit at this overlook, watching the tiny vehicles negotiation the sharp turns.  There were quite a few rigs traveling up and down the road and it was fun to watch them passing each other and bumping around the steep, sharp switchbacks.  I knew exactly how it felt, because I drove the Shafer Trail in my Dakota pickup back in 1997.  I only drove about 50 miles of the White Rim Road before my friend Shera said she had enough of all that rough driving, and we backtracked up the steep part of the Shafer Trail.  It was an experience I will never forget. The next three photos are grainy scans of photos from that trip in 1997.

We ended our day’s travels with a visit to Dead Horse Point State Park. The legend of Dead Horse Point originates around the turn of the 19th century when cowboys would round up the wild mustangs that roamed the mesa. It is said that a herd was driven down the neck of the peninsula, its sheer cliffs forming a natural corral, and the 30-foot-wide entrance was then fenced off with branches and brush.

This was to be our final shared day in Utah’s red rock country.  A friendly guy at the overlook agreed to take a photo of the four of us.  It was a fitting tribute to what has been a wonderful trip.

09-25-2021 Canyonlands National Park The Needles District

Below is a photo of the sign for the turn toward Canyonlands NP and the Needles District from Highway 191 about 35 miles north of Blanding and 40 Miles south of Moab.

For the past ten days, we have been traveling through a part of the world known as the Colorado Plateau.  The name has little to do with the state of Colorado other than the Great Colorado River that bisects the plateau originates in Colorado.  It is the distinct nature of this landscape that draws me back year after year to explore.  This is my sixteenth visit, and there is so much I haven’t seen. It is easy to hit the high points by simply driving, but seeing the depth and beauty of the area requires a level of commitment that I no longer can manage. No matter how many canyons, hoodoos, mesas, and pinnacles you might see, there are always more to explore.

From a book on regional geology I got this succinct description.

“The Colorado Plateau is actually a series of erosionally-dissected plateaus with elevation tops ranging from 5,000 to 11,000 feet. There are several small mountain ranges within the Colorado Plateau. The highest elevation of 12,700 feet is found in the La Sal Mountains of Utah. The lowest elevation is 2,000 feet in the Grand Canyon of Arizona. The Colorado River and its tributaries have carved many deep and narrow gorges across the region .”

“Nearly 200 named sedimentary rock formations of nearly all geologic ages crop out in canyons, escarpments, mesas, and buttes throughout the Colorado Plateau region. The physical properties of the different rock units give rise to the variety of colors, shapes, and erosional characteristics. Mountain ranges of volcanic origin across the region include the La Sal Mountains, Henry Mountains, Abajo Mountains, and Boulder Mountain in Utah. Mountains on the Colorado Plateau in Arizona include the Chuska Mountains and the San Francisco Mountains.”

Canyonlands National Park lies at the heart of the region.  Canyonlands has four distinct units that make up the park, each requiring a drive to a different area.  From the Island in the Sky area you can see two other units, the Needles District, and a bit of the Maze, but the fourth and most remote unit, Horseshoe Canyon, requires a long drive on dirt roads to access the amazing canyon with the Ghost Wall as the prize at the end of your long drive and 3 mile hike.

With two nights scheduled in Blanding, we had the perfect opportunity to drive north to visit the Needles District on Saturday the 25th. It did not matter that we would be passing by the same turnoff when we headed north to Moab the next day.  We wanted a leisurely exploration of this most southern section of Canyonlands NP

Just before the turnoff, there is a distinctive monolith rising from the surrounding plain that has no visible name.  It is a great landmark for knowing when you are approaching the turnoff toward the Needles District.

There is much to do and see in the Needles if you are a 4-wheeler or a biker.  There is even more to explore if you can do extensive backcountry hiking.  For us, the main trailheads were our destination, with a chance to experience just a little bit of what the Needles has to offer. 

The first stop on the way to the park is Newspaper Rock.  The collection of petroglyphs concentrated on this one sandstone wall is incredible. Ancient designs, images of animals, six toed footprints and six fingered handprints mingle with historic petroglyphs of hunters on horseback.

Mo, Chere, and Dan enjoying the petroglyphs at Newspaper Rock

As we continued west toward the Needles District, we enjoyed great expansive views of Wingate Sandstone cliffs topped by thin layers of Kayenta sandstone below the characteristic white domes of Navajo Sandstone.  We stopped at the visitor center which was partially open with masks required. With the help of the ranger, I purchased a neck scarf depicting all the sandstone layers in order of high elevation to low elevation in relation to where they exist in the Colorado Plateau. I can simply whip off the scarf from around my neck to figure out in which formation we are hiking or driving.

Wingate cliffs along the road toward the Needles District

I wanted to check out the Squaw Flat Campground where I camped in 1997.  There are two loops in the campground, with loop A being first come first serve, and loop B requiring reservations.  Although the sign at the park entrance said the campground was full, we saw a few empty spots in Loop A.  There are no hookups at Squaw Flat in either loop, but the bathrooms are state of the art with hot water, a dishwashing sink and showers.

2021 Photo of red rock cliff in Squaw Flat Campground

I took the photo above from a spot in the Squaw Flat campground in Loop B.  Looking up from that spot I could see the slickrock shelf I climbed when my friend Shera and I were camped in Squaw Flat Campground Loop A in 1997. Below is the photo that I took in 1997 looking down on the campground from the same shelf I photographed from below on this 2021 trip. 

1997 Photo of Squaw Flat Campground from the cliff looking down 

After driving around the campground, we continued toward the end of the paved road to the trailhead for the ten mile Overlook trail.  Permits are required to hike this trail to a place where you can see the confluence of the Colorado and Green Rivers in the heart of Canyonlands.

Chere and Dan at the Confluence Trailhead

Sue climbing slickrock near the Confluence Trailhead

Walking a bit around the beginning of the trail was enough for us and we enjoyed a light snack sitting on the rocks watching the parking lot fill up with cars, campers, travelers, and kids. Chere was amazed at how cool the sandstone felt even in the hot sun.

After our relaxing break at the end of the road, we returned to the trailhead for the Potholes Trail.  The day was heating up and the parking lot here was thinning out.  By the time we started up on the trail we had the area almost to ourselves.

Mo, Chere, and Dan starting up the only steep part of the Potholes Trail

The trail is just a bit over half a mile with very little elevation gain.  It offers great views in all directions of Canyonlands.

View of the Needles to the south from the Potholes Trail

The trail that goes close to the base of the Needles and Chessler park meadows is at the end of a 6 mile round trip moderately difficult trail. We didn't attempt that trail on this trip.

We saw the distant Island in the Sky to the north where we planned to visit when we camped in Moab later in the week.

1993 photo of the Dollhouse in the Maze district taken when I hiked up to this spot from the river

We could see a tiny bit of the Dollhouse, in the Maze district, basically inaccessible unless you are willing to do some extensive high clearance 4 wheel drive roads or hike up from the Colorado River at the confluence as I did in 1993 when I rafted Cataract Canyon.

The potholes are interesting, but more so at a different time of year when there is still water in them and the little shrimps that lie dormant waiting for rain have hatched.

It was a lovely hike for the four of us.