4/25–5/2/21

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Arrival

At last I arrived in Thompson Springs, Utah, on Sunday, April 25. I had booked a room at the Desert Moon Hotel & RV Park for a couple nights in order to regroup, and I’m glad I did. It was just a little room in an old house, and I could hear other guests through the walls, but it was just what I needed after driving 2,101 miles over 2.5 days. Bridget, the host, was great and went out of her way to accommodate me – having dinner waiting for me when I arrived, printing out my backcountry permit for Canyonlands National Park, receiving mail for me even after I left, and letting me stop back in for a shower later that week (which was much appreciated after 6 dusty days in the desert).

On Tuesday morning I left before sunrise to head to my chosen campsite for the next couple of days, a spot on BLM land in Moab. BLM, or Bureau of Land Management (no, not Black Lives Matter land; sorry, I know some of you just got really excited for a minute), land is essentially free, public-use, open land with no amenities. Anyone can camp there on a first-come-first-serve basis, but don’t expect any niceties (i.e. no water, no electricity, no Wi-Fi, no continental breakfast – personally, that last one is the one that upsets me the most). You bring everything you need, and you take everything with you (yes, including trash and human waste 💩), leaving “no trace.”

I find sites like this in advance using several online resources (such as Campendium, Free Campsites, and The Dyrt), and make sure to find sites where multiple people have confirmed good cell reception, so I can work from my phone’s Wi-Fi hotspot. (So no, I’m not just camping in any old random spot that looks good to me.)

Tuesday turned out to be a rainy day (of course it would rain my first day setting up in the desert), which quickly turned the dirt roads on the BLM land into thick mud, which made me nervous as I slid through it in my car. I chose a spot not far from the exit off the highway so as not to get myself stuck somewhere. And then I worked in the car that day, not wanting to put together my work setup in the wind and rain. It was cozy, but it sufficed.

Wednesday was finally the day to set up my portable office – battery bank, solar panels, screen house, a folding table and chair. Of course, I had tested this all out previously, but this was the first time it was real, with no home Wi-Fi or electricity to back me up. Everything worked without a hitch. I was pleased.

Arches National Park

I left Thursday morning, once again before sunrise, off to Arches National Park for the day. I had planned out a couple of (relatively) short hikes in different areas of the park in order to experience some of the highlights. With Arches being a smaller park, there aren’t any backpacking opportunities to be had.

First was a quick 3-mile out-and-back to Delicate Arch, which is arguably the most iconic arch, being featured on no less than the Utah state license plate. I’ve heard sunset is a better time for photographing Delicate Arch due to the lighting; but considering how many people were there for sunrise, I’m sure sunset would have been absolutely packed, and I was happy to skip that for a less crowded experience.

Next was the Devil’s Garden, an 8-mile loop if you include every single spur trail (which I did, of course). It was… alright. The many arches along the route were interesting. And it was fun to get a first feel for desert hiking. But the number of people on the trail made it difficult for me to really appreciate it. It wasn’t quite the experience I was looking for.

Canyonlands National Park: The Needles

I made it back to my car in the early afternoon and drove into Moab proper to pick up some things and finish planning for my upcoming backpacking trip in Canyonlands. Following that, I slept in my car at another BLM spot just outside Canyonlands’ Needles District.

To clarify, Canyonlands National Park is basically three parks in one: Island in the Sky, The Needles, and The Maze. Island in the Sky is closest to Moab, has shorter trails, and attracts the most tourists (76.7% of total park visitors as of 2016). The Needles is a little more backcountry and attracts hikers and backpackers. The Maze is the most remote. To quote the NPS website: “The Hans Flat Ranger Station is 2.5 hours from Green River, Utah… From the ranger station, the canyons of The Maze are another 3 to 6 hours by high-clearance, four-wheel-drive vehicle (more if traveling by foot).” So yeah, I quickly ruled out the Maze for my very first desert backpacking experience.

I had a backcountry permit for Friday night in The Needles, so to make the most of it, I started early and walked a winding 15-mile route to my campsite in order to see as much as I could. I was blown away at the beauty in The Needles; it was unlike anything else I had ever seen before. It was a stark beauty, a bit dry and a bit prickly, but it was beauty nonetheless.

The trail took me up, climbing over Utah slickrock to fantastic views; it took me down into washouts, in the shadows of the canyons and strange rock formations, and through the fields of Chesler Park. And on top of that, I spent much of my time alone, with peace and quiet. When I did run into people, we had pleasant conversations and got to know each other. My pack had been heavy that morning, weighed down with an additional six liters of water (one liter weighs 2.2 lbs, for reference), but I didn’t mind much. This was the experience I was looking for.

Just after noon, I made it to Druid Arch, which I have to say is much more massive and impressive in person than it had appeared in pictures. After I picked my jaw up off the ground, I ate lunch and took a long nap in a shaded spot. It was really starting to heat up in the middle of the day, and much of the trail was completely exposed, with nothing to protect from the sun beating down on you.

When I woke up, I had a long conversation with a couple of locals who had been all over the Southwest gave me a list of places to see. I jotted them down, and hopefully will be able to fit them in when I plan to circle back later in the year.

I didn’t end up walking again until around 4pm. That was just as well, because by then the sun had passed over the canyon and wouldn’t be directly beating down on me for the rest of the day. After walking in a washout for a while, the trail meandered up onto some slickrock and I was presented with a small slit in the canyon wall. I looked around for the cairns that had marked my route so far, and evidently, they directed me straight through this slot.

Even the floor was just a big crack where the two walls met, filled with rocks, branches, and other debris – perfect for some ankle-twisting action. I attempted various approaches before finally turning sideways, holding my pack over my head, and shimmying through while thanking God I didn’t have any more girth. I’m honestly not sure how a larger person would fair there…

I made it to my campsite shortly before sunset, ate my standard couscous and dried veggies dinner, and decided to sleep out under the stars that night, leaving my tent in my pack. It was a great and liberating experience, slowly drifting off to sleep out in the open, in that peace and quiet, while looking up at all those stars.

The next morning, I packed up my belongings and took the long way back to the trailhead. I was amazed at how much my environment changed from the previous day: I found pools of water, walked through a small forest, saw deer. This section of the Needles seemed less stark, more lively. And only a few miles away were those dry pillars and plateaus from the day before.

Canyonlands National Park: Island in the Sky

When I made it back to my car, I circled around to a BLM site near the entrance to the Island in the Sky District and spent the night there. I woke early (you guessed it, before sunrise) and headed to Mesa Arch. The sun rises right through the arch, and I thought it would be nice to see before jetting off to Bryce Canyon area. And well, it might have been, if I could have seen through the arch…

At one point, some guy even climbed on top of the arch, despite the sign that clearly states “DO NOT CLIMB ON TOP OF THE ARCH.” Everyone started complaining audibly, however, this guy had his earbuds in. Whoops. Eventually he heard the grumbling and precariously made his way down. Considering the drop-off on the other side, I think we almost had an episode of the Darwin Awards that morning.

I hung around for a bit, but then grew impatient sitting there with all the commotion. I didn’t come to see crowds of people, and this only reinforced my decision to keep most of my experiences relegated to the relative solitude of the backcountry. So I got up, made a quick stop at Upheaval Dome, and then left Moab behind.

Stats

Miles driven this week: 408
Miles driven so far: 2,509
Miles hiked this week: 35.25
Nights slept in an AirBnb: 2
Nights slept in Obi the Subaru: 4
Nights slept in the backcountry: 1
Time since start of trip: 9 days
States visited since start of trip: 8 (Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah)
Lizards spotted: approximately 31