Day 50 - Canyonlands Needles Pt 2

Drive on the scenic road until it dead ends. Continue along the direction of the road on a trail that quickly drops and descends to the canyon floor in front of you. Go south along the canyon bottom and then ascend a side canyon coming in from the right or east. Go around the cliff ledge aways, going down a bit then back up, until you reach a ladder. Climb the ladder.

Follow the slick rock up to the peak of the canyon wall and look west. You then will descend a series of rock steps, weaving left and right, until you reach the bottom of the second canyon. Follow a well-tread path for a mile along this canyon floor. Once you reach a cliff wall, climb up the Kayenta ledges to the next cliff top. Enjoy the views all around. Continue over the ledge west and down to a safe grassy area. Intersect a Jeep road.

The path continues across the Jeep road once. Climb a shallow canyon wall and then descend to a beautiful sage grass valley with spires towering in every direction. Intersect the Jeep road again. This time follow it west or left for a spell until it dead ends. The foot path continues up a cliff straight ahead. Follow it. Once up continue for a half mile to a outcropping of boulders. You have reached the confluence of the mighty Colorado and Green Rivers. They meet a thousand feet below you, down a sheer cliff. Look for the line at the confluence where the currents meet. Take funny photos at scenic, rare site.

Backtrack, away from the boulders, down the cliff, along the Jeep road, taking the Jeep road an extra mile and a half this time around the grass valley, back on the trail east, ascend the canyon wall, down and along the long valley floor, up the next canyon ledge, enjoy views of white-capped mountains ahead, down the ladder, down the valley of the last canyon, up the final steep ascent and to your car.

Day 50, good job.

Tomorrow, Colorado.

Comments

Day 51 - Canyonlands Needles Pt 3

A deep connection to the nature surrounding you comes from the solitude of solo travel, but sometimes it is nice to have a companion! I ran into David, a retired telecom exec from Canada a few days ago on the Syncline Loop trail at Canyonlands Island in the Sky. Then I ran into him again halfway through my Chesler Park hike two days ago, then again later in the hike, finishing the last two miles together. David hiked his favorite trail, the Peekaboo trail yesterday, and said I could join him, but my heart was set on confluence trail, so we hiked separately. We did share a campsite though and exchanged travel stories. David was 55 and had retired at 50 from a high-level international job with Nortel and was now traveling full-time. We instantly bonded over our solo travel style. He outclassed me by leagues. He had trekked one month in Nepal, then another month in India, then some months in Asia. He had hiked and skied and adventured all over the western U.S. and Canada....

Day 40 Escalante Hole-in-the-Rock Road

I woke up late following a lovely slumber in a REAL bed-- such a luxury. I stayed in bed reading my maps and guidebooks, trying to put a plan together for the next months travels. I decided I would spend two more weeks in Utah and add on two weeks in western Colorado instead of spending all four weeks in Utah-- I was starting to tire of the desert and Colorado seemed like a good mix of backcountry beauty and civilization proper. The last must do in Escalante was Coyote Gulch, so I read and reread the route description in my guidebook and went to the visitor center to get my permit. I was going to do a loop down Hurricane Wash to Coyote Gulch to the Escalante River and then up Crack-in-the-Wall overland back to my car. Permit in hand, I lingered by the Outfitters wifi emailing and blogging and then drove out Hole-in-the-rock road forty miles to my trailhead. The road was dirt but well graded in most parts. A high-clearance vehicle was recommended for the last five miles but my Dodg...

Days 89 and 90 - Waterton

I started my journey north to Canada today. My plan was to head to Waterton Lakes, just north of Glacier, then to Calgary, then the Canadian Rockies parks of Banff, Jasper, Yoho, Glacier and a few others, then to Vancouver and finally to Seattle, all over the next several weeks. But first I needed the Internet! I drove south out of Many Glacier to a place I remembered having cell reception. I did some emailing and calling back home, did some research for my Canada trip and watched the final three episodes of Game of Thrones--wow, the final two episodes were sensational. This rainy, dreary day was perfect for such activities. I then drove into Canada late in the evening and to a campground set in the cloudy mountains at Waterton. The weather cleared a bit the next day and I was able to do some hiking around this scenic alpine lakes district. Waterton Lakes district from a high hill called Bear's Hump: The chipmunks at Bear's Bump were very interested in the conten...

Road Trip Daily

Search This Blog