Chesler Park: Part I

In March of 2010, a friend of mine and I drove from Bluff, UT, to the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, located in Southern Utah. The total hike is about 11 miles long, but we had limited time and the weather was looking threatening. The last place I wanted to be was stuck on a muddy road in the middle of nowhere in my little, non-high clearance, non-four-wheel-drive, car, so we decided to only do the first major part.

The first half of the trail to Chesler Park is extraordinarily scenic and exemplifies the reason this area was named the Needles District. Almost in a cliche kind of way.

Once you get to the top of the ridge, the trail opens up into a beautiful sagebrush meadow with red rocks all around. I wanted to keep exploring in this vast space, but the foreboding clouds were telling us to head back.

There was a river going down the main road to the trail head, so we had to park about a mile away and walk down the road before starting the hike. By the time we got back, my feet were killing me. Time for new shoes.

 

The rain started coming down, just as we were leaving. An excellent day that I will always remember!

All photographs taken by Mallory Platt