Canyonlands National Park, Utah
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Cave Spring Loop Canyonlands National Park, Utah |
October 16, 2019
It's Day #6 of the Autumn Bucket List Tour. After having negotiated some bad
off-road miles to view several nifty arches south of Moab, the plan is to fill
out the day here in the Needles Region prior to camping out for the night (which consists
of sleeping in the car).
My sweetie and I did this loop more than twenty years ago. I doubt whether it has changed, but there are no decent photographs of the prior visit.
Starting out
Almost immediately I encounter an old cow-punchers' camp. The amazing cliff that overhangs the ground was put to good use in a number of places.
The cowboy kitchen
The larder, I guess
A little cave
The overhang enlarges to provide a unique attraction.
Cave Spring
Water actually is flowing
Around the next corner
What's this? On the roof of the cave are a bunch of well-preserved
pictographs resembling human hands — about twenty in all.
This is why I go hiking
Looking back
The next attraction is a 12-foot ladder. A group of about fifteen women is just ahead of me, however; so progress is somewhat slow.
Ladders are fun
Whoa! There is a second ladder. One of the women suggests that I forge ahead of them, but I decline on the pretext that I would miss out on some good pictures.
Once at the top I do pick up the pace, for now there is plenty of room to pass the others at will.
One woman points to a distant formation and identifies it, saying that she has "taken a class".
Sixshooter Peak
Having passed everyone by now, I am on my own.
Great scenery
A different overhanging formation
Shortly, the loop is complete.
Study in pink
§: Well, that was great fun. I had not forgotten about the ladders,
but somehow I missed the pictographs on my former tour. Shame. Had I been
aware of them, I would have shared that great panel with my buddy Gary during our
trip through here last year.
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