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| Run/Jog | 14.70 Miles |
2,041 AEG |
| | Run/Jog | 14.70 Miles | 5 Hrs 9 Mns 19 Secs | | 3.18 mph |
| 2,041 ft AEG | 32 Mns Break | | | |
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| no partners | | First big adventure of the week, and the primary goal with the Southern UT road trip - check out the Needles district, which I hadn't been to before. I kind of stole a route from a friend who visited a month ago, which the idea to do the Big Springs/Elephant Canyon loop, and add on the out-and-back to Druid Arch if I felt like it.
Stopped at Newspaper Rock on the way in - it was frigid in the narrow part of Indian Creek, which was quite pretty.
Just a few cars at the TH in Campground A. Started up Big Springs Canyon, which gets prettier the farther up you go. Eventually, at the head of the canyon, it turns into an easy scramble up slickrock and down the other side into Squaw Canyon (has it been renamed yet?). The upper part of the canyon along the upper part of the Big Spring/Elephant Canyon connector is pretty stunning. Then it was a climb over into the Elephant drainage involving a couple of ladders.
Now the actual needles were in view. I was in awe most of the way. Decided I just had to go up to Druid Arch, which was in another scenic canyon, and a lot bigger than I expected. Saw a handful of hikers on this section, which is weird considering I didn't see any within ~3 miles of the TH. Guessing they all came from Elephant Hill...
Thought about taking a detour through Chesler Park, but wasn't sure how much it would add. Turns out it probably only would've been an extra mile, so I should've done it, but was feeling a little exhausted. The trail back to the campground was better than expected, with a lot of it spent on slickrock.
Really enjoyed the Needles district (more than Island in the Sky), and there's definitely more I need to go back and see. |
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