10/29/18

This morning we said goodbye to our amazing dispersed campsite in the middle of the desert, that we ended up spending 3 nights at, and headed back to Canyonlands. First we hiked to Upheavel Dome, an impact crater that they’re not 100% sure how it got there. Then we decided we wanted to do the scary switchback road into the canyon called Shafer trail. I was so tense as we went down switchback after switchback on the narrow dirt road, feeling sick when my side was overlooking the edge. We pulled to the side while 6 bikers passed us pedaling up the freakin canyon, 3 of them looking like they were 12 year olds. I can’t even imagine doing that, so insane. We thought this steep descent was going to be the hard part of the drive, and it would be a straight shot through the canyon to Moab for the night. Boy were we mistaken.

The whole road through was extremely rocky and rough. We had to stop 8-10 times for Dan to get out of the car and make sure we could make it past the steep jagged edges of the road with our clearance, even moving rocks out of the way. It ended up taking us 4 hours to drive the 18 miles. Aside from the stress of trying to just make it through in one piece, being that deep in the canyon was extremely beautiful and other worldly to be out there all alone. It made me feel really small. As the sun began to set it started to become a scary reality that we might not be able to make it out. We’d have to sleep in the canyon to turn back around tomorrow in the light, having to do every hard part all over again. On the last stretch of drive, as the sky was turning pink, there was a huge mud pit we could get stuck in. Dan powered through on the side and we were clear from there, the smooth dirt roads felt unfamiliar and like a breath of fresh air. At the first campsite we saw we stopped, made dinner and quickly fell asleep, exhausted from the day’s events.

10/30/18

We woke up and did the Corona Arch hike that we slept across from last night. It turned out to be one of my favorite hikes. All of the surroundings felt like another planet and we had the whole place to ourselves. During it you walk on rock face the whole time and climb up a ladder to get to the arch. I’m glad we got to do some hikes outside of the parks, they ended up being the best. On our drive back to Moab the road was lined with cars and people rock climbing up the big red rock walls that tower over the road, it’s pretty crazy. We got breakfast at Love Muffin Cafe and spent the day in the library getting work done and relaxing after the stress of the day before.

10/31/18

Our last day in Moab we went back to Arches and visited Windows and Landscape arch. It was a cold and windy day compared to the 70 degree weekend, but still beautiful. We wore Dan’s orange jackets around the park for Halloween spirit. The night before we went to the movies and saw Halloween. I was totally sucked in and jumped so much. It was fun until we had to go sleep outside in the pitch black, totally terrified. We slept along the Colorado River at one of the many campgrounds lining the shore that had been so crowded on Friday.

Highlights:

Corona Arch hike, 1.5 mile trail off of Utah State Route 279
Shafer trail in Canyonlands, if I were to do this again I would just go up and down the insane looking switchbacks. It is adrenaline pumping but doable. The remainder of the trail is a trek that I will not attempt again without a very high clearance vehicle! That being said it is a beautiful and unique way to see the canyon that not all get the chance to experience.

Part 2: Arches, Canyonlands + Moab