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wallyfrack

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In 1982, after my first year of college, I took a roadtrip from Denver to Utah. We hiked some trails near Moab, but the highlight of the trip was going to the Druid Arch in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. Car camping, beer drinking, glaucoma medication and hiking in amazing places.

Going back to this place has long been in my mind. I finally decided to just do it and got some backcountry permits for an overnight backpacking trip. The original plan was for me and sons #2 & #3 to hike in and campout and explore the area. New jobs and scheduling conflicts put a damper on that plan. So, plan B was to invite Wally and Chris. Chris had some plans, but Wally agreed to go and off we went.

I opted for hotel accommodation over backpacking. So, I got a hotel room in Monticello, UT. Good choice as it was in the 20’s at night. We drove up Friday, hiked Saturday and checked out Sunday.
The plan was to hike to Druid Arch, then over to Chesler Park, visit the Joint Trail, then head back to trailhead via the Chesler Park trail. About 14 miles in total.

We started out from Monticello about 630am and made it to the Elephant Hill Trailhead a little before 8am. It was chilly, but not too bad.

The hike starts with a little climb up to the plateau and then some up and down until you make it to Elephant Canyon and the junction of the Druid Arch trail and Chesler Park. My memories of hiking to the Druid Arch back in the day was rock hopping and wash hiking. And, that’s exactly what it was, all the way. The trail is in the wash and occasionally up along the edge. As you get closer to the arch, it gets steeper and ends up in a steep chute for the final climb up.

The arch was everything I remembered. Such a fantastic view. The arch is much larger than people realize. And, the canyon views looking north up the canyon are remarkable. Even Wally was impressed.

We hiked back down the canyon and started looking for the connector trail between Druid Arch and Chesler Park trails. We located the cairned route and were blown away with the views as we climbed up. We came across a section that had two tunnels and an unusual formation. The best part was the area right before the final climb up to the park, a 360 degree view of needles and spires. This was an unexpected treat.

Chesler Park was nice, especially the flat and soft trail. We hiked over to the Joint Trail and explored down one of the slots. A very cool area. We turned around at the first big obstacle and started back towards the trailhead.

I was surprised how steep the hike back going down to Elephant Canyon was. I am glad we went clockwise and missed the 2 miles up to Chesler Park. The great views were ever present.

The weather had turned from chilly to very pleasant by the end of the day. The cloudy skies gave way to partly cloudy.

We finished up about 4pm, just a little under 14 miles. An EPIC day in an amazing place. Thanks for coming along Wally. It was an incredible visit.

_____________________

"Jobs fill your pockets, adventures fill your soul."

instagram: @andydilling

Nov 23 2024

wallyfrack

Routes 93
Photos 7,758
Triplogs 1,691

64 male

Joined Mar 11 2003
AZ

Southeast, UT

Hiking		Nov 23 2024
		wallyfrack • Triplogs 1,691

Hiking	13.79 Miles	2,184 AEG

Hiking	13.79 Miles	7 Hrs 34 Mns	2.00 mph
	2,184 ft AEG	41 Mns Break

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adilling

Andy planned a trip to Utah and ended up with an empty seat on the bus. I have no trouble being a parasite so off we went. The drive is a little long but the scenery is worth it. The weather cooperated while is was a cool 28 degrees at the start it warmed into the 50s with partial sunshine later in the day. The Canyonlands trails seemed narrow for a national park, no problems hiking but cozy getting around other groups. We went to Druid Arch 1st and we had the views to ourselves for a while. The elevated view of where you hiked was better than the views down in the canyon. On the hike out many more hikers were going in so getting there early was a good choice. The side trail to Chesler Park was a gem with no other hikers, cool features and some scrambles. The slot canyons on the Joint trail were interesting and we didn't have to squeeze by anyone in our stroll in or out. A nice day in the park.

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4 archives

May 05 2021

emilystardust

Routes 386
Photos 49
Triplogs 792

43 female

Joined Jun 23 2015
Phoenix, AZ

Southeast, UT

Hiking		May 05 2021
		emilystardust • Triplogs 792

Hiking	10.80 Miles	1,820 AEG

Hiking	10.80 Miles
	1,820 ft AEG

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no photosets

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Chesler Park Loop. It was a pretty warm day in the afternoon so we had to push ourselves out a bit. First time at Canyonlands. Joint Trail was very enjoyable and much needed respite in the shade.

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Mar 20 2021

PaleoRob

Guides 171
Routes 253
Photos 6,100
Triplogs 1,135

44 male

Joined Apr 03 2006
Pocatello, ID

The Joint, UT

Hiking		Mar 20 2021
		PaleoRob • Triplogs 1,135

Hiking	2.60 Miles	354 AEG

Hiking	2.60 Miles	1 Hour 45 Mns	1.70 mph
	354 ft AEG	13 Mns Break

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After setting up camp at CP5 we took a quick excursion over to The Joint. Got back just before a storm rolled in and we all ate in our tents. It cleared up right at sunset, and then got nasty again until around 2am. Still, The Joint area is cool and could be an easy place to get lost.

Fauna

Fauna [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Mountain Bluebird

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"The only thing we did was wrong was staying in the wilderness to long...the only thing we did was right was the day we started to fight..."
-Old Spiritual
My book, The Marauders on Lulu and Amazon

Nov 05 2020

BiFrost

Guides 4
Routes 491
Photos 10,890
Triplogs 1,257

55 male

Joined Nov 20 2012
Phoenix, AZ

Chesler Park - Joint Trail Loop, UT

Hiking		Nov 05 2020
		BiFrost • Triplogs 1,257

Hiking	12.60 Miles	1,722 AEG

Hiking	12.60 Miles	6 Hrs 37 Mns	2.26 mph
	1,722 ft AEG	1 Hour 2 Mns Break

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slowandsteady

We spent a few days in the Moab area and checked out Needles District in Canyonlands. It has been on the list for awhile and wanted to do an overnight but day hiking was our option for this trip. The drive to Needles from Moab is somewhat long so we arrived late morning at the Elephant Hill Trailhead. From the trailhead we headed towards Chesler Park on the Devils Kitchen Trail. Amazing terrain on the way to Chesler Park and hard to describe but the pictures are the best example. Another hike where our camera phones were working overtime with great shot around every corner.

After about 3 miles we reached a low pass that provided access to Chesler Park. We continued on a loop around the park eventually linking up with a 4WD road. So technically we could have driven but I’m sure the road is more aggressive than what I would want to drive. However, with the scenery on this hike I’d recommend walking anyway. Going around the loop the 4WD road ends at the start of Joint Trail. We continued on the Joint Trail which is fantastic fun despite it’s relatively short length. We spent some time exploring the narrow passages and crazy intersections of the rock formation. Definitely one of the more interesting geologic features I’ve seen.

After finishing the Joint Trail we passed through the opposite side of Chesler Park to complete the loop of the park. Exiting the park we headed towards the Druid Arch junction which had more dramatic scenery especially late afternoon. Arriving at the junction we had a choice to make on whether to do the 4 miles out and back to the arch plush 3 miles back to the trailhead. After a short discussion we decided to leave it for another day especially with the long drive back to Moab and we would probably finish hiking in the dark. Instead we found a nice spot for another break and took a slower pace hiking out. We finished just before 5 but what a great hike to see the Needles District. Now just need to return and backpack more of the area.

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1 archive

Apr 19 2018

chumley

Guides 94
Routes 840
Photos 22,055
Triplogs 1,993

52 male

Joined Sep 18 2002
Tempe, AZ

Joint Trail Chesler Park Loop, UT

Hiking		Apr 19 2018
		chumley • Triplogs 1,993

Hiking	5.97 Miles	750 AEG

Hiking	5.97 Miles	2 Hrs 22 Mns	2.65 mph
	750 ft AEG	7 Mns Break

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Lost Canyon - Squaw Canyon Loop

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John9L

After setting up camp in Chesler Park, we decided to do an afternoon hike on the Joint Trail, and then loop around back to camp.

This is an A++, 100 kokopelli rated hike!

The trail takes you through an incredibly narrow "joint" in the surrounding rock, and there are "intersections" along the way, where you can head off trail into other cracks that lead elsewhere. These slots are over 100 feet deep and as narrow as a foot wide. Sections required turning sideways and removing our daypacks to squeeze through. South Mountain's "Fat Man's Pass" is a 4-lane highway compared to this area! And these cracks are so much deeper, and go on for hundreds of yards at a time. It's just one of the most fun areas I've ever hiked!

The Joint trail ends at a rarely used dirt road that we hiked along for a short stretch before connecting to another trail that took us back to Chesler Park. This second half of the loop was more traditional Needles geology, but despite being totally different from the Joint, no less amazing. Between the Joint and Chesler Park, this loop hits the crown jewels of the Needles district.

Named place

Named place [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Elephant Canyon

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I'm not sure what my spirit animal is, but I'm confident it has rabies.

1 archive

Apr 19 2018

John9L

Guides 6
Routes 183
Photos 5,612
Triplogs 1,647

male

Joined Mar 12 2004
Scottsdale, AZ

Canyonlands Needles Backpack, UT

Backpack		Apr 19 2018
		John9L • Triplogs 1,647

Backpack	31.50 Miles	3,000 AEG

Backpack	31.50 Miles	3 Days
	3,000 ft AEG

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The Big Needles Loop

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chumley

I spent some time in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands back in early 2016 and wanted to return to check out the Needles District. I scored permits in early 2017 and the months blurred by. Chumley was able to join me for this trip and we left after work on Wednesday afternoon. We car camped by Mexican Hat and completed the drive into Canyonlands and started hiking after a quick stop at the Visitor Center. Our plan is three days backpacking followed by car camping and day hikes and then returning to Phoenix the following Monday afternoon.

Thursday - April 19, 2018
We parked at the Squaw Flat Campground and started our hike to Chesler Park. The first mile is over a traditional trail and then you climb up onto slickrock and follow cairns. This will be the story of our hiking over the next three days. Following cairns is critical to not getting lost. Fortunately there are a lot of them and we also had Route Scout loaded with our GPS Route. This kept us on track. We continued hiking and were blown away by the views! Pictures don’t do this park justice! The hiking is also rugged with lots of easy to moderate obstacles to negotiate. The heavy overnight pack made things more difficult and my knees took a pounding!

After a few hours we arrived to Chesler Park and headed over to our campsite in CP2. It’s a nice site situated between several large boulders. It was a very windy day and this boulders helped as a wind break. After camp was set up, we put on day packs and headed for the Joint Trail. We made quick time and had a quick look from above before heading in. The Joint Trail is world class! The walls are roughly two feet apart and there are several side cuts that run for hundreds of yards. Several of these require you to turn your body sideways and shimmy through. I’m not the claustrophobic type but I felt it in here. We spent some time exploring and eventually exited on the far side where we connected onto a dirt road which we followed north for a bit before joining a single track that led back to Chesler Park and our camp. We spent the rest of the evening relaxing around camp and eating dinner. It was very windy which was annoying but manageable.

Friday - April 20, 2018
We woke on day two and checked the skies for precipitation. There appeared to be rain clouds to the north. We packed up camp and started our hike for Squaw Canyon. Along the way we’ll make the side detour to Druid Arch.

The first mile was relatively easy going and we dropped our packs at the junction with Druid Arch. From there it was two miles north to the Arch. Along the way we stopped by the spring which had lots of water. I filtered a quick liter and we continued on. There is good trail for most of this hike with a few obstacles mixed in. There is also an NPS ladder as you near the Arch. It aids the climb out of the canyon. Once we reached the arch we took our time and took a variety of pics. During this time the clouds moved in and some light snow flurries started to fall. Surprisingly the temps were pleasant and we enjoyed the snow! After we had our fill we started our return. The wet rock made things interesting but was not an issue. After some time we arrived at the spring and filtered more water and took another break. From there we returned to the junction and put on our overnight packs. By this time the snow/rain had stopped and the sun came out. The area dried up quickly!

Once we had our overnight packs on, we continued hiking towards Squaw Canyon. The trails conditions were similar to the day before where we follow cairns as we climb into and out of canyons. We also encountered two more ladders which were a lot of fun. With some effort we arrived at Squaw Canyon 2. All campsites are specific in this part of the park. We set up camp and Chumley headed north to get some beer from the car. I chilled out at camp for a bit before doing my own short hike up Squaw Canyon as well. We met back at camp around 6pm and settled in for the evening. This time with beer! Thanks Chumley!

Saturday - April 21, 2019
After a light rain fell the night before, we packed up and started our exit. We opted for a longer hike through Lost Canyon and this was a great option! Lost Canyon was a lot of fun and featured several fun obstacles and had plenty of water after the rain the night before. Before long we dropped down and connected onto our exit trail that would take us back to the car. The last few miles blurred by and we were back to the car around early afternoon. The first part of our backpack was complete. We would car camp in Indian Creek and then day hike to the Confluence the next day.

Final Thoughts
Water can be an issue. We got lucky. Our first night in Chesler Park was dry. We then had plenty of water north of Druid Arch and more water near our second nights camp in Squaw Canyon. Lost Canyon also had some pools.

We got lucky with the weather. We started our hike with cool temps with overcast and lots of wind. The wind held up all evening and was annoying but manageable. We had rain & snow flurries on our second day but it was actually enjoyable and never got super cold. We had sunshine on our final day.

Campsites are designated sites. I scored these permits back in early January. There is a website that shows real time availability. Securing the permit was quite easy.

I'm guestimating my AEG. There were a lot of short ups & downs. We didn't have any major climbs. I think the biggest one was 400ft.

I really loved the Needles District! I would even say it instantly became one of my favorite National Parks! The terrain is rugged and challenging while the views are jaw dropping. There are lots of hiking options especially if you start looking at off trail options. I will be back! And thanks Chumley for driving!

Flora

Flora [ checklist ]

[ checklist ] Claret Cup Cactus

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May 28 2016

arizona_water

Guides 9
Routes 118
Photos 1,079
Triplogs 118

35 male

Joined Mar 06 2016
Salt River Valle

Tour de Needles, UT

Backpack		May 28 2016
		arizona_water • Triplogs 118

Backpack	19.00 Miles

Backpack	19.00 Miles	3 Days

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Big Spring / Squaw Canyon Loop

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Had a great Memorial Day trip up to the Canyonlands. Melody is relatively new to backpacking (her first backpacking trip was down the Bill Haul trail to Thunder River, the lower river trail, and then back up the Deer Creek trail. Pretty epic first backpacking experience). Our previous trips have been high-mileage and really challenging. So sometimes it's nice to have a relaxed pace trek with lots of time for exploring the surrounding areas. We definitely accomplished that this weekend! Usually, the end of may gets up in the mid-90s. We were lucky to have nice clouds and highs in the mid 70s and lows in the 50s! Perfect weather. And there were multiple water pools from recent rains, which is ideal since the western side of the Needles District does not have perennial water.

Friday: night at Monument Valley.

Saturday: Obligatory stop at Newspaper Rock (Very cool). A couple of friends dropped us off at the trailhead, then they continued up to Arches without us. Apparently arches had a several hour wait time to get into the park. It's just as Ed Abbey predicted!
:SB:

Anyway.
Melody and I began the backpacking trip at Squaw Flat - :next:

Big Spring Canyon - :next:

Brief time in Squaw Canyon - :next:

Elephant Canyon. Camped at EC3. I love how isolated the designated backpacking sites are! We took our time and explored a lot of the side canyons in the area.

Sunday: First we did the out and back trail to Druid Arch (definitely worth it) and then stopped at the spring in this canyon to filter water. Then we hiked out to Chesler park which was exploding with wildflowers in bloom. Then we continued on to the Joint Trail. We built a cairn in the cairn room (see pics) and then back-tracked to Chesler and on to backcountry campsite CP1. This is a wonderful campsite with extensive views over the Needles District. You can even see the Maze in the distance!

Monday: On the trail by 6:30 and at the Elephant Hill Trailhead before 8. Our friends picked us up here, which was nice that we didn't have to walk 5 miles back on the dirt road to Squaw Flat.
Breakfast burritos in Monticello and then a quick stop at Natural Bridges National Monument (I love Utah). Planned another stop at Coalmine Canyon, because it was still early afternoon, but everyone in the car yelled at me when I brought up the idea :whistle:

Guess they were tired or something? :lol:

Yay Utah!

Wildflowers Observation Substantial

Pools to trickle

Dry

Dry

Quart per minute

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- there's nothing like finding Water in the Desert -

9 archives

Dec 26 2015

Dave1

Routes 29
Photos 1,548
Triplogs 1,802

49 male

Joined Jan 25 2009
Phoenix, AZ

Big Spring Canyon - Elephant Canyon

Southeast, UT

Hiking		Dec 26 2015
		Dave1 • Triplogs 1,802

Hiking	15.12 Miles	2,676 AEG

Hiking	15.12 Miles
	2,676 ft AEG

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Very cold and windy with some snow on the ground from the previous two days. Enjoyable hike nonetheless. We camped in the Squaw Flat Loop A (Lupe) campground for 2 nights and were the only ones there. Maybe because it got down to 8 degrees at night? Canyonlands is a very interesting park. Really looking forward to more visits here in the future.

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Oct 24 2015

toddak

Guides 13
Routes 38
Photos 1,651
Triplogs 577

60 male

Joined Nov 15 2005
Jackson, CA

The Big Needles Loop

Lost Canyon - Squaw Canyon Loop

The Big Needles Loop

Southeast, UT

Hiking		Oct 24 2015
		toddak • Triplogs 577

Hiking	19.50 Miles	2,500 AEG

Hiking	19.50 Miles	9 Hrs 30 Mns	2.05 mph
	2,500 ft AEG

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Big Spring Canyon - Elephant Canyon

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Lovely day to wander around the Needles after they had received several days of good rain. From the "A" trailhead at Squaw Flat: out Peekaboo to Lost Canyon then west over to Chesler Park and the amazing Joint Trail, looped around the north side of Chesler and back to the start. Excellent canyon and slickrock hiking with tons of short ups and downs (the AEG is my best guess). This hike is listed in Peter Potterfield's Classic Hikes of the World - I haven't hiked enough of the world to know for sure, but I'd say it's pretty darn classic.

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Mar 30 2013

nonot

Guides 107
Routes 249
Photos 2,067
Triplogs 514

male

Joined Nov 18 2005
Phoenix, AZ

Canyonlands-NeedlesDistrict, UT

Backpack		Mar 30 2013
		nonot • Triplogs 514

Backpack	74.00 Miles	7,000 AEG

Backpack	74.00 Miles	7 Days
	7,000 ft AEG		45 LBS Pack

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Lost Canyon - Squaw Canyon Loop

Peekaboo Trail