Goblin Valley

The morning after our hike in the swell, we headed down to Goblin Valley State Park. I wanted to hike around a bit and check it out before heading home. If you ever get a chance to go there, it's pretty sweet. I remember going there as a kid and loving climbing all over the formations. 

We didn't have a ton of time to explore other areas of the park, but I hear there are some fantastic hikes in the park as well as the Valley of the Goblins. 

Little Wild Horse/Bell Canyon Loop

A few weekends ago, Roomie and I went down to the east side of the San Rafael Swell to hike the Little Wild Horse/Bell Canyon loop. We took off late Saturday morning, caught lunch in Price, and after setting up camp, started hiking around 4:00.

The timing was perfect. It is still pretty warm in the desert, so the late afternoon start was just cool enough that we weren't going to suffer from extreme heat, but still warm enough that we didn't freeze as the sun went down behind the canyons.

Fabio would be jealous.

"Help! I need your help... Get the camera!"

The whole hike took us about four hours. The evening light made the canyon extremely beautiful. I have done this trail three other times, but always in the morning hours. The slots looked completely different in the late afternoon.

It started getting dark right as we were completing the last part of the loop. Bats swooped above our heads, almost bouncing off the narrow canyon walls, chasing twilight bugs. We jumped down the last couple of drops and made it back to the car just as night came down around us. It was a fun evening and beautiful hike.

Joe English

The next morning, Mom, Auntie M, Cousins, and I went hiking on the Joe English Reservation. This little nature preserve is only about a mile or two from Parents' house. We started off on Chestnut Hill Road, wound our way to the beaver pond, and snaked our way back along a completely different trail. It was a beautiful morning and a great way to explore Parents' new backyard.

Moss and a little frog, about the size of a quarter.

Cousins, Auntie M, and Me

Beaver Pond

Cousin #1

Mom and Auntie M

Cousin #3

Beaver Pond Bridge

Chesler Park: Part 2

In celebration of Roomie's graduation, we took off to the desert to hike the entire Chesler Park trail (see Chesler Park Part 1) in the Needles District in Canyonlands National Park.

This little guy was hiding under my tent the first night camping.

We set out on the trail a little later than planned. This meant for a hot afternoon, but it was totally worth it. The scenery was spectacular!

Heading up the trail, about 3 miles in.

We were pretty focused on getting through the trail, so we didn't end up with a ton of shots of the general scenery, which is completely amazing. Once you hike the main out-and-back trail, it opens up into Chesler Park about 3.5 miles from the trailhead. The area opens up into huge spaces and the loop begins. We decided to start looping to the east. On the farthest end of the circle, the trail ducks down into an impressive slot canyon.

 

The slot continues down into an open room, covered in cairns. Once you climb through the rest of the room, the trail opens back up into the rest of the park.

Up until this point we had only seen one other person. After we left the slot canyon, we began to see quite a few more, most with only minimal water. We were on the far end of the loop and still had a good 5 miles to go with the heat of the day upon us. I was starting to worry for these people without adequate water supplies, when we stumbled on a parking lot, picnic tables under trees, and even a restroom. Apparently, part of the loop trail joins up with a 4x4 road. Who knew?

After we left the road, we hopped back on the trail which goes into Devil's Garden. It is aptly named as it is beautiful and mysterious, but also blazing hot and the trail rolls around the scenery, never ending. Best to get up earlier and avoid this part of the trail in the heat of the day.

Despite the heat and blisters (Make sure you wear the best shoes you've ever owned! Roomie lost 2 toenails and it took me a couple of months to heal from all of my blisters.) this is a fantastic trail! It is especially breathtaking and definitely one I would recommend for those looking for a great way to see some deeper country and picturesque scenery!

January Sandstone

Over New Year's weekend earlier this year, my roomie, two other close friends, and I headed to Moab, UT, for the holiday weekend. We knew it would be cold, but the single-digit highs with wind chill froze us to the bone. The days were filled with lots of layering and warming up in the car and/or hotel room in between hikes.

It was a beautiful trip. There is nothing like the red rock peeking through the snow. We went on several hikes in the Island in the Sky District of Canyonlands National Park as well as Arches National Park.

After checking into the hotel, we headed straight to Arches National Park for a sunset hike to Delicate Arch.

The following morning we waited for the sun to warm things up a little bit and headed to Canyonlands to check out Mesa Arch as well as Grand View Point Trail.

 

After exploring Canyonlands, we headed back to Arches to walk around the Windows area of the park. The sun was going down quickly, and it got cold fast, but it made for a beautiful evening.

 

 

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