Canyonlands National Park, Utah
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Druid Arch Canyonlands National Park, Utah |
October 17, 2019
Day #7, the halfway point of the Autumn Bucket List Tour, also is the crux of the mission. Today's outing not only is the longest scheduled hike of the trip, but it rates to be the most challenging as well.
My campsite at The Needles
This is my first campsite rental in several decades.
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Starting out in unusual fashion
The first three-plus miles will be a duplication of ground covered on my trek over to Chesler Park and the Joint Trail two years ago, but there is no other reasonable way to go.
The landscape is surreal
That's why they call it 'The Needles'
It seems that I am supposed to head for that notch
Yep, and a tight squeeze it is
Too tight, in fact, for my lumbar pack. Rather than bothering to remove it, I clamber up the left side of the notch.
New scenery
This joint is great fun
Trickier going
Mini-arch
That guy wasn't napping a few minutes ago
Aha! This first milestone is the most important junction on the route. This is where I went astray on my Joint Trail excursion (Hike #378), when I continued straight down the wash (to the right in the photo) rather than turning eastward.
That signpost has been moved so as to be more visible
It's a left turn for me here
Elephant Wash will be used a lot from here on
Occasionally, however, a trail has been established to bypass a rough section of the wash; and sometimes that detour is a bit obscure.
This unusual marker is helpful
Somewhere in here I pass the junction to the spur route over to Chesler Park. That's what I used earlier, so I'm covering new ground now.
There is no good way around the next obstacle:
Crawling required
There's an interesting spire up there
I'll call it the Artist's Paintbrush
This fun section would be spectacular when wet
I seem finally to be closing in on the objective.
A first glimpse of the arch (toward the left)
Another great route marker
I guess that the going has been too easy, for up ahead is a difficult section to be climbed. I manage it with white knuckles.
Ugh!
I am not going to enjoy that one later.
More work to do
That's the arch, but not the view that anybody wants
Now I must handle what has become a common theme on this tour —
a slab that is smooth and steep enough to give me pause.
Trouble at the top
After briefly entertaining the notion of quitting here (I really am getting old!), I manage to inch my way up the final six feet of slab, despite the prospect of a lengthy slide should something go awry.
That was not fun
Now I can concentrate once again on what lies ahead.
The arch still is sideways
Wow! That formation is every bit as spectacularly configured as the more famous Delicate Arch over in Arches Park. It's a wonder that this one still is standing at all.
Via ferrata!
Bloggers and park literature alike refer to the "difficult" climb on the upcoming
quarter-mile; but it must be done, or there will be no reward.
Scrambling up the talus
Finally, it is unnecessary to climb any farther. Wow!
Druid Arch: 150' high. The big opening is 85' × 20'
I knew what to expect from photographs, but of course there is nothing like actually being here.
It is doubly surreal
Despite the world-class spectacle, I remain anxious about the return, not to mention this crummy slope upon which I currently am perched. Not seeming able to generate much interest in pausing for a snack, I might as well start down straightaway.
Difficult, but not scary
Back in the canyon bottom
Back at the ladder
Back at Double Trouble
A little slide could turn into a big one
Lacking an option to continue this time, I grit my teeth and slowly inch my way across the problem area as before.
That ordeal is mercifully over
Now I can relax, for all that remains is a lot of mileage.
New scenery in this direction
This one proves much easier on the descent
Yes, a four-foot drop-off onto soft sand is vastly better than sliding
an equivalent distance on slippery rock with no sure stopping-place.
Back at the crawl-space
Back in Elephant Canyon
It looks like a 'broken' arch
Back in the groove
A blogger had suggested a quarter-mile detour on the Squaw Flat cutoff trail in order to see something special. Trying that, this is what I find:
A nice little arch
This is why Carmine goes hiking
Two miles to go. I wish that my Walkman was available to divert attention from my relative exhaustion.
Sixshooter Peak in the distance
Clamshell Rock up close
Made it! And there still were a few swallows of water remaining. This is good.
Elephant Hill staging area
§: Well, that was a predictably outstanding venture. Druid Arch
should be on the must-do list of every Canyonlands explorer. The only
better hike around is the nearby Joint Trail, which is even more unique.
Because of the 'scare factor' that I experienced, I cannot give this walk a top rating. Of course, many other hikers might have no issues with my 'problem' areas. One certainty is that nobody else writes about them; yet equally certain is that their love of life and limb will increase with age, as has mine.
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ADDENDUM
Note these photos of the Chesler Park-Druid Arch trail junction.
Two years ago there was a giant cairn across the wash; yet today it is
gone — doubtless dismantled by a ranger, because it served no
legitimate purpose and was an eyesore in any case. Enough is enough.
Now you see it...
...Now you don't
