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A Hike in the Needles District

March 12, 2012

The Colorado and Green Rivers divide Canyonlands National Park into three districts – the Island in the Sky, the Needles, and the Maze, with the rivers themselves listed by the National Park Service as a fourth “district.” Island in the Sky is the easiest to visit and, thus, the most popular. The Maze is more remote and the least accessible of the park’s districts. The Needles is a 75 mile drive from Moab. Most of the district’s features are found on its extensive trail system and four-wheel-drive roads.

The road to the Needles district passes through Newspaper Rock Recreational Site, location of a large collection of prehistoric petroglyph rock art.

Most of our September 26, 2011 exploration of the Needles was on the relatively short scenic drive and the 2.4 mile Slickrock Trail (a loop).

Selected Information Resources:

Canyonlands National Park

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Grand View Point Trail

March 8, 2012

Canyonlands National Park – A large region of rugged buttes, pinnacles, mesas and canyons south and west of Moab, Utah. This was the second time we’ve hiked this 2 mile round trip trail.

Grand View Point is the southernmost spot on the high mesa of Canyonlands, Island in the Sky. From the Grand View Overlook, the trail runs along the southern rim of the mesa, 1000 feet above the lower plateau, which is in turn carved into complex canyons by the convergence of the Green and Colorado Rivers.

Selected Information Resources:

Canyonlands National Park

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Upper Colorado River and La Sal Mountains Loop

March 5, 2012

On September 23, after we had moved from Devils Garden Campground in Arches National Park to a campground near Moab, we took a drive to see some some of the area that we had never been through before.

Heading northeast out of Moab on US 191, we turned left onto Utah 128 just before the bridge crossing the Colorado River.

Designated “Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway,” Utah 128 follows the Colorado River Gorge for over 30 miles, after which it crosses open desert towards Cisco. Now a ghost town, Cisco was established as a station for replenishing the water supply on steam locomotives on the Denver and Rio Grand Western Railroad main line. Five miles past Cisco, Utah 128 intersects Interstate 70.

2011 -Upper Colorado River and La Sal Mountains Loop For the first 13 miles, the highway parallels the river through a narrow section of the gorge – part of this distance, the gorge is part of the boundary for Arches National Park. The gorge widens after that, passing Castle and Professor Valleys, shooting locations for western films and television commercials. At 24.7 miles, a dirt road leads to a viewpoint for the red spires of Fisher Towers.

Our drive (blue) took us almost the full length of the scenic byway, including driving to the Fisher Towers viewpoint. We turned back just short of Cisco.

On the way back to Moab (red), we turned at the La Sal Mountain Loop Road, which is also the road into Castle Valley. While the road signs were less than optimum, we were able, with the help GPS, to take the right turns on the Forest Service roads. The road is paved part way.

The La Sal Mountain Range, in the Marti-La Sal National Forest, is the second highest range in Utah, with peaks approaching 13,000 feet. Pines, quaking aspens, and streams make this alpine region a sharp departure from the desert country around Moab just a few miles away.

Selected Information Resources:

Moab

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A very short move.

February 28, 2012

Our stay at Devils Garden Campground was for three days, but there was still more that we wanted to see in Arches National Park as well as other areas. On our 2007 trip, we had stayed 3 nights at the KOA southeast of Moab. This time, we decided to stay there again for four nights, extending our time in the area out to a full week. Driving distance was just 28.6 miles from Devils Garden to the KOA – the shortest distance between campgrounds we’ve done since September 2009.

Moab is the county seat for Grand County, which takes its name for the original name of the Colorado River, which runs north and west of town. The town’s population is around 5,000, with an economy largely based on tourism and outdoor adventure activities.

Selected Information Resources:

Moab

Canyonlands National Park

Dead Horse Point State Park

Arches National Park.

Bureau of Land Management

We hadn’t quite reached our furthest distance away from home. At this point, we still had about a week left in Utah before heading into Arizona.

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The Longest Arch.

February 22, 2012

Landscape Arch is one of the more popular attractions in Arches National Park. Located in the Devils Garden area in the northern part of the park, the trailhead was only a short drive from our site in the Devils Garden Campground. Landscape Arch is 1.5 miles from the trailhead.

It’s the longest arch in the park and according to The Natural Arch and Bridge Society, the longest natural arch in the world, laser measured in 2004 at 290.1 ± 0.8 feet (88.4 m). Since 1991, three sandstone slabs have fallen from the thinnest section of the arch, resulting in closure of the trail that once passed below it. Several other arches are accessible in the Devils Garden area.

Selected Information Resources:

Arches National Park.

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Devils Garden.

February 18, 2012

Our three night stay at Arches National Park was in the Devils Garden Campground. Eighteen miles from the park entrance, the campground is located in the middle of red sandstone fins, boulders and rocky hills, Utah juniper and pinion pines, yucca and prickly pear cacti. The La Sal mountains can be seen in the distance. There are also a few arches nearby. One of them, Skyline Arch, was only a short walk and climb from our campsite, though climbing up into the arch itself was a bit of a stretch.

The nearest town, Moab, is 23 miles away, so there is very little light to pollute the night sky, making the campground a great place to view the wonders of the night sky.

2011 09 22 160a Like most U.S. national park campgrounds, Devils Garden has no hookups for water, electricity, or sewer. Facilities do include potable water, picnic tables, and grills, but there are no showers. There are 50 sites that can be reserved between March 1 and October 31. This is a very popular campground and, for anyone who would like to camp here, I would recommend making reservations.