Into the Wild: Solo Camping in Canyonlands National Park Part II (8/4 - 8/5)

-      As I sit in a coffee shop in Atlanta three months after my solo trip to Canyonlands I feel far away from my summer adventures in the southwest.  Far away in terms of physical distance - around 2,000 miles - but also in terms of time.  Far away, yet determined to continue to capture and share my experiences.  

           On August 5th I woke early after a good night's sleep at the Needles Outpost.  With afternoon temperatures exceeding 100 degree Fahrenheit in the unforgiving desert, I rose early with the sun and was out hiking by 6:30 am.  Here are some early morning views - the first of my campsite and second the view of the Needles from my campsite.

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-       From the Needles Outpost I drove a ways into the park and then took about a three-mile gravel road to the Elephant Hill trail head.  I was glad to have 4-wheel drive Hi-Ho Silver as my stead and no company along the windy, hilly, often one-lane road.  I parked in a lot big enough for 20 cars, but only housing about three others at the time I set off - probably back country campers overnighting on the trail or super early risings already off on their adventure.  Here is a view from the trail head and of the trail sign that let me know I was on track even though I felt very off-the-beaten-path.

   
     My friend Nicole equipped me with a map and instructed me that Elephant Hill would be the best trail for me.  I planned to hike about six miles, but ended up doing about four miles round trip.  I only saw one other person on the trail that morning.  He was heading out as I was heading back to the trail head.  It was a little nerve-wracking, but mostly amazing to have the place to myself - to experience the desert meadows and needle formations on my own and to only hear the sounds of my own feet hitting the desert sand, my own breath and the scurrying little creatures, which I hope were mostly tiny lizards.  Again, I followed the buddhas set out by park service staff.  When I got turned around, I followed my method from the previous day of taking a breath, taking a look around, locating a buddha, walking to it and then locating the next.  About two miles in I was enjoying myself, but also feeling a little tired and nervous.  I knew I had a six or so hour drive ahead of me back to Flagstaff after my hike back to the car, so I called it quits and turned around.  As I've indicated in previous blogs, I believe in erring on the side of caution in wilderness situations.  Here are some photos of the hike and amazing Needles District.

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       I left Canyonlands satisfied with my two-day visit and the amazing views my hikes and campsite afforded me.  I packed up my campsite, bought some expensive gas at the Needles Outpost to make sure I could make it 50+ miles to Monticello, Utah and started the journey home to Flagstaff.  It was an amazing drive back as it had been the day before.  I took a slightly different way to get in more views and visit Navajo National Monument - cliff dwellings in northern Arizona.  I also managed a visit to Sonic for happy hour, which definitely hit the spot after many hours of driving and some left to go.  Here I'll let the photos and videos of the drive and Navajo National Monument speak for themselves.

      After sunny, sunny Utah and far northern Arizona, the clouds started to turn mean when I was about a hours drive from Flagstaff.  Although a little ominous, the dark skies made for amazingly dramatic views from highway 89 and along the road through Wupatki and Sunset Crater Volcano National Monuments.  How could I resist more photo opportunities?

     So, after the long and beautiful drive I arrived in Flagstaff safe and sound with two more National Park passport stamps and my first solo camping trip complete!

  

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Into the Wild: Solo Camping in Canyonlands National Park Part I (8/4 - 8/5)

In early August I found myself with a free weekend in Flagstaff.  Jay and Laurel had adventures planned with friends and family - Jay to Zion with friends and Laurel to Grand Canyon and Flagstaff area sites with her mom and aunt.  I considered checking out Mesa Verde in southern Colorado, but was quickly convinced by my friend Nicole to visit the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park in Utah.  Nicole was working at Grand Canyon on detail from Canyonlands and thought I would enjoy the natural beauty of the Needles District over the cultural heritage of Mesa Verde.  I don't know if she was right, because I only went to Canyonlands, but I definitely enjoyed the amazing beauty of the Needles District.  

I bravely ventured solo from Flagstaff on Saturday morning up the now familiar 89 north route to Utah.  I drove through the red mesas and buttes of the Navajo Nation in northeast Arizona and southern Utah. Beyond these familiar sites, I enjoyed driving by a beautiful lake of green water and seeing volcanic mountains in the distance.

I arrived in Canyonlands National Park - about 50 miles from the nearest gas station, hotel or restaurant - in the early afternoon.  This was just in time to experience the heat of the day, which was certainly 100 + degrees Fahrenheit.  My first stop was the Visitor Center where I discovered that all the park's first-come, first-served camping spots were occupied.  So after getting some hiking advice and stamping my National Parks passport, I headed back out of the park to the privately-owned Needles Outpost to secure a camping spot there.  Thankfully, there were plenty left and I even scored a sweet spot between two trees and just far enough from a family camping nearby.  

Sweet camp site at the Needles Outpost.

View from my campsite.

Another gorgeous view from my campsite.

Because it was the heat of the day I rested at the campsite for a while before heading for my first hike on the 2.5 mile Slick Rock Trail.  Along the trail I only saw a few other people - a family leaving as I was about a quarter mile in.  There was still plenty of daylight and I had water and snacks, so I was not nervous, but it was a little strange to be so alone on the trail.  The hike provided some amazing views of the nearby volcanic mountains and beautiful needles rock formations in the red and white sandstone.  The hike was not strenuous, but did require some concentration as the trail did not have natural boundaries like the tree clearings in the Smokies or sheer cliffs of Grand Canyon and Zion.  Instead, the trail is marked by small Buddha-like rock formations.  

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-      After the hike I stopped by the visitor center to call family on the pay phone before turning in for the night.  You read correctly, I stopped at the pay phone!  There is no cell service in the Needles District, which made my mom and grandmother a little nervous for me, but in a way added to the wilderness experience of it all.  I enjoyed a novel by headlamp in my tent and turned in early to be ready to explore more of Canyonlands in the cool early morning.  

Joy in Zion (7/28 - 7/29)

Lauryn Hill, formerly of the Fugees, has a beautiful song in which she proclaims, "now the joy of my world is in Zion."  She is referring to her child coming into her life.  Of course, Zion is a name that has great meaning to many besides Lauryn Hill.  Zion is another name for Jerusalem and represents not only Solomon's Temple and the City of David on Mount Zion, but also the idea of the world to come.  By one account, Zion canyon in Utah was so named to reflect it as a "place a refuge," which Utah was for Mormon pioneers seeking a place in the west to be free to practice their beliefs.  Though far from Jerusalem, the amazing country contained in Zion National Park certainly has a spiritual quality about it and I was blessed to spend two days in late July exploring this amazing place.

From the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, Zion was only a few hours north in Utah so Laurel and I headed out early Saturday morning July 28th.  As usual on our weekend adventures, we drove through beautiful desert country and quirky little western towns.  The drive into the park was amazing and of course we stopped at the entrance sign for a photo op!

We had a few hikes in mind for our two days in the park, but wanted to check on whether conditions before heading out so we stopped at the Visitor Center for guidance.  We originally planned to hike the river trail the Narrows early Sunday morning, but learned from the ranger that Saturday had a lower chance of rain making it a better day to hike the Narrows - less chance of flash flood.  Being the combination of adventurous and risk averse that we are, we decided to get ourselves ready for the Narrows hike ASAP and get it conquered Saturday afternoon.  It was a beautiful hike, but definitely challenging because it involved hiking through a creek/river for most of our five-mile round trip.  I definitely used my balancing skills honed in yoga this summer!  Note: Still figuring out how to edit Blogger, so please try to enjoy these photos even though they are sideways!

Yup, that's me attempting a yoga pose on the trail.  Man
am I cool....

It was a rather crowded trail, which made the balancing
act on the rocks even more challenging.  I'm glad
so many park visitors enjoy the Narrows, but it was not
as peaceful an experience as I hoped.

Laurel took the land route and I enjoyed a swim.

After the beautiful, but exhausting Narrows hike it was awesome to have a hot shower in a cute cabin right in the valley.  Camping is fun, but sometimes you just need a hot shower.  When we were all cleaned up, we headed to Springdale, Utah for a hot meal at a pizza/pasta place and checked out some of the local galleries.  There is so much amazing art on the southwest - I expect artists can't help but be inspired by the amazing country around them.  On the way back into the park, there was an amazing sunset.

-       Although I could have gone to bed right away, I managed to keep my eyes open for about another hour to enjoy part of a ranger talk at Zion Lodge.  The ranger shared some of her experiences and gave a slide show with photos of the park in all seasons - I want to come back for fall, winter and spring!  She also shared her journey to the park - she was a school teacher earlier in her career, began volunteering for the park and is now an interpretive ranger.  Her story was a good reminder that we can always try something new - even in our 50's.  I left the talk a little early due to closing eyes and the need to go to bed early to start our morning hike at 5 am!

    Early to bed and early to rise, Laurel and I set off before sunrise to conquer the eight-mile hike via the East Rim Trail to Observation Point.  Next to the Narrows Trail, Angels Landing is the most popular trail at Zion and we considered doing that one and Observation Point.  We landed on Observation Point because Angels Landing includes hiking a narrow ridge to the summit - something neither of us were really interested in.  Additional benefits of Observation Point included an extra 2.6 miles of trail and an extra 660 foot elevation change for an amazing view of Zion canyon.  Though no 5,000 foot change like our Grand Canyon hike, the 1,453 foot change provided a great workout and stellar view. Here is our journey from Weeping Rock through Echo Canyon to Observation Point and back to the valley:

  

After the hike, we arrived at the cabin with just enough time to shower and make late check out. We wanted to spend a little more time in Zion before heading back to Flagstaff, we we explored part of the Emerald Pools Trail in the valley.  Heat got the best of us after about half a mile, so we didn't finish, but did get a new perspective on the park from the valley floor and hiking by the river.

Zion is such a beautiful valley park - it like being in Yosemite Valley in California and looking up at the red rocks of the Grand Canyon.  It was tough to leave, but we knew we had about a six hour drive back to Flagstaff.  We chose a new route back and passed Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, but also retraced our steps through the southern park of Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, picked up delicious treats at our old Sonic in Page, Utah and stopped for some more views of Horseshoe Bend.  After that, the drive back was pretty stormy with tornado warnings in north east Arizona - thankfully, we were headed the opposite direction to Flagstaff.

I had so many wonderful experiences this summer and count the five days I spent at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and at Zion National Park among the best of them.