After four days of trying for the daily lottery permit for The Wave without a payoff, we left Kanab and headed to Canyonlands National Park for a short winter backpacking trip. Twice before, Lyle had reserved campsites in Canyonlands, but we had had to cancel both times. So this, once again, was our third attempt at visiting this national park. And “Third time’s the charm.”
I had just read about Bears Ears National Monument recently, so it was nice to see the area even if it were in the limited predawn light as we made our way towards the Needles District of Canyonlands. The singular monuments scattered within the rather flat terrain is reminiscent of Monument Valley.
By the time we reached the outside of the park, The Needles were brilliantly lit up by the rising sun. Another photo op for Joupe. She shone so lovely in the early morning light.
The plan was to camp for two nights in the Chesler Park Region. From Elephant Hill Trailhead, it would be about 4 miles in. Because of the lack of a water source and the cold temperature, our packs were pretty weighed down. I was carrying 4 liters of water and two sleeping bags. Along with his usual camera equipment, Lyle too had a couple liters of water and the extra weight of the drone and all its necessities. We are definitely not minimalists when it comes to backpacking.
At the start of our hike, the temperature was 29 degrees. In the shade, we certainly felt the freezing bite of the cold air but knew that we’d soon be losing a layer after the short climb out of the valley and into the warmth of the sun. And sure enough, just the little bit of incline right at the start was what we needed to begin warming up.
As the different layers of the rock formations erode at different speeds, hoodoos and balancing rocks take shape. There are so many balancing rocks in Canyonlands, some very large.
We rounded a second curved rock wall and got our first glimpse of a portion of The Needles from afar. A little further down the trail, we climbed up through a narrow passage to the other side of another set of rock walls and were greeted with this immense display of spires as far as our eyes could see. Our path would take us over this range soon enough.
At first the spires seemed so far off in the distance, but the way towards them was flat and consisted mostly of packed dirt making for easy, fast walking. But that didn’t mean we arrived at our destination in good time. Quite the contrary, immersed within this incredible landscape all by ourselves, we took our time to absorb the grandeur and beauty all around us. Literally. At one point, we had climbed through another narrow passage and found ourselves encircled, 360 degrees, by spires, hoodoos and giant rock formations.
Just like in White Pocket, the addition of snow made this landscape extraordinary…but a little more slippery on the downward stretches. That’s when poles really help.
The trail to Chesler Park is a fun one with many unpredictable twists and turns. One minute, we’re on top of a mesa, the next, we’re dropping into the bottom of a canyon and walking along a wash. From wide-open desert meadows to squeezing through narrow slit canyons, with each turn, we were met with brand new amazing views every single time. Because of the quick changes in directions, we couldn’t just follow a well-worn path robotically. We had to keep alert and were constantly scanning the area for the next trail marker, which inadvertently helped us to notice more details that we would have probably missed had the trail been clearly laid out.
We named this spot, The Heart Window. It’s one of our favorite spots on the trek. Contained within this heart-shape window is a complete snapshot of what makes Canyonlands so appealing. The world just feels so perfect and at peace through that window. And, yes, I have to mention it again…it’s a heart!
Being in the canyon looking up at the spires is cool, but being on top looking down and across the canyon is even better.
If we had a geologist with us, she would be able to tell us the scientific distinction between the colorful red tips and the colorless base of these soft-serve ice cream swirling formations. But we don’t so we’ll just have to appreciate them for their interesting physical appearance.
Nearing the pass, the spires dominate the sky, but because they’re so roundish, they don’t look intimidating at all. Just the opposite, they look so cute. I can’t wait to give them a hug!
We made it to the top of the pass without problem. Icy patches made some segments slippery and tricky. That’s all. Then we walked up to the lookout for a glance back at where we came from. Chesler Park, sprawled out in front of us had a much different feel to it. The ground was dotted with scrubs and bushes, but at the base of the rock formations grew taller torrey pines.
One rock formation stood out to us immediately. It was a sculpture of a man and a woman who’s done her hair up in a perfect bun for this special date. The man however keeps whispering stupid, silly jokes into her ear. A scowl soon grows upon her face as she gets more and more annoyed at his incessant stupid jokes that were ruining the moment. When we hiked around to the other side of this formation, we noticed that the woman had turned her back to him, and her scowl is now a satisfied smirk. She must have finally had enough of his nonsense. Hahaha
The five designated campsites in Chesler Park are pretty well spread apart. They are all nestled among the trees at the base of the needles. Lyle was set on site #5, which of course is the furthest one away, at least half a mile from the first site. As we passed each site, we evaluated them.
At first there were three deer quietly staring at us as we entered the area. They’d move when we moved and stopped to stare at us when we stopped to stare at them. Then two more showed up. For a silent minute, it was a staring contest. I think we won when the doe decided to trot off with two of her fawns trailing behind.
After checking out all the sites, site #4 stood out as the most special, with lots of conveniences and special features around it. We could have had our pick of any of the sites since we were the only people in the area.
The trees around Site # 4 served to protect us from the wind. There was a giant flat rock in front of our tent that acted as a porch where we sat to watch the sun go down. There was a gap in the rock formations to our back, providing a short-cut passage to the other side of the meadow. And then there’s the extra special tunnel through the slot between two smaller needles that ends at a ledge, the perfect makeshift perch to sit and look at the spires across the meadow.
The sun set without much fanfare, and with it went any morsel of heat left in the world. We stayed out for a little longer to stargaze, but the skies were too hazy so the stars weren’t shining their brightest. Soon after, into our tent we crawled looking for some warmth. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen. I had to crawl back out of the tent twice in the middle of the night because I just couldn’t ignore nature’s call. Each time, it took so long to warm back up, that I’m not sure if I ever really did get warmed up. After some time, I finally realized that my sleeping pad had deflated and that I was sleeping on the icy ground. I had to roll over on my side, off the mat, to blow it back up. That made a huge difference, but towards the morning, it was deflated again. Lyle had the same unfortunate experience with his sleeping pad also. I’m not sure if it was because our air mattresses are around 15 years old or if it was because the extreme weather had affected their performance.
Although we wanted to get an early start for Day 2, we didn’t crawl out of the tent until the sun was up. Our destination for the morning was Druid Arch, tucked in a canyon deep inside the park, over 4 miles from our camp.
The trail to Druid Arch was even more fun than the day before, which meant that the vistas were even better. Not long after we dropped down from Chestler Park’s meadow, we found ourselves staring out at the most incredible view. Once again, we were encircled by spires, but this time, the formations were much closer, the ring smaller and more complete, and so it felt much more intimate.
In the wash, there were little ditches with a thick layer of smooth, opaque ice on top, suggesting that the water beneath had undergone many cycles of melting and freezing. The designs on these icy doors varied from degrees of transparency to swirls and whorls throughout. The details were so mesmerizing to look at and…to destroy. We entertained ourselves by stomping on them and breaking them into pieces. Some pitches were deeper and wider than others with a thicker layer of ice on top. These were more challenging to break, thus more satisfying when they were smashed…unless, your stomp wasn’t strong enough and you lose your footing. In that case, you find yourself slipping out of control and your behind slammed against the smooth, glassy surface, and yourself a little more humble…and you learn to leave nature’s beauty alone instead of destroying it.
Overcast skies didn’t allow for much sunlight to beam through this morning. The deeper into the canyon we went, the more snow and ice there was on the trail. And once again, I got to ice skate on the frozen water.
At the end of the wash, Druid Arch dominated the skyline. From our angle it looked like a slender column reaching upward, not an arch. That meant we still had to climb up out of the canyon and around to the face of the arch.
Standing at the base of the arch looking up, we realized just how immense and unique it was. The windows inside of the arch are very distinctly shaped. Unlike most circular or curved arches, the main space inside Druid Arch resembled that of a sitting cat. The slit in the arch is the cat’s very long tail.
Not long after we arrived at Druid Arch, the layer of cloud cover that had been hanging above us all morning blew past leaving bright blue skies and puffy white clouds in its wake. Amazing timing! With the sun shining, the colors of the needles popped brilliantly all around us.