Showing posts with label Canyonlands National Park/park hiking trails. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canyonlands National Park/park hiking trails. Show all posts

Monday, August 31, 2009

"ANGEL ARCH"





This guy (or is it a girl?) is worth the trouble of an over-nighter. As a 20 mile out-and-back trek, it's a tough day hike. Along with "Delicate Arch" in Arches National Park, this arch is one of the "quintessentials" in the world. So don't trust pictures. Being there is what it's about. A pleasant hike throughout, (it is sandy and gravelly) it heads south down Salt Creek. This used to be a 4WD track to Angel Arch, but too much damage was done to the environment. The hike now starts at "Peekaboo", a camp and good rock art site.
You will have to pay for privileges at the visitor center of the Needles District, Canyonlands National Park. Be sure to pre-reserve a spot at Angel Arch Camp, which is the closest camp to the arch (1 1/2 mi.), for overnight primitive accommodations. The way is well marked to the park. Take Rt. 211 westbound off of Hwy. 191, north of Monticello, Utah. They will tell you all the cautionary tales at said visitor center. Don't worry, they won't let you proceed unprepared.

There is great stuff further down the creek southbound, all the way to Cathedral Butte. That another story, which is long and multi-day.

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Wednesday, July 29, 2009

"UPHEAVAL DOME"





The Upheaval Dome (or) anticline is one of the many pleasures in Canyonlands National Park (fee area), near Moab, Utah. This gem is in the Island in the Sky district of the park. Surrounding the dome is a syncline, the opposite of a dome. One can just drive up to the viewpoint, ho hum. Or a better idea.....
The Syncline Loop Trail (8 mi.) begins near one of the paved access viewpoints. Clockwise is the preferred walking direction for the trail which features geologic cataclysmic beauty. There is an optional trail, 3 1/2 miles from the start of the loop, into the center of the crater (additional 1 1/2 mi. each way). It goes east just about where a trail west goes to the Green River, 3 miles away, and the famous White Rim Trail. Watch for the small, dull-colored indigenous rattlesnakes in the area. They pack a wallop. It's very warm here in the summer, therefor dangerous without proper preparation. The terrain is fairly demanding on this hike, but the trail is well marked.
http://www.utahtrails.com/Backcountry pages/Upheaval.html has good info.
Or just www.utahtrails.com/UpheavalCan.html

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100 more photos here.