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By Richard, July 20, 2010 3:28 pm

The Needles of Canyonlands National Park, Utah

Happy to be on the road

Day 1: Driving 14 Hours from Ada to Monticello, Utah

• Had a nice breakfast with Abby, then hit the road.

* Only stopped to shoot a few items.

• Talked to some good friends on the phone, listened to satellite radio, and called Abby at least half a dozen times.

• Note: Coffee always tastes different on the road, and the first sip always brings a pristine rush of memory, the taste of adventure ahead.

• Arrived after dark.

Spires in the heart of Canyonlands, along the Devil's Pocket trail

Day 2: Devil’s Pocket loop in the Needles District at Canyonlands National Park

• Hesitant about the day early because of rain and high wind in the forecast. For much of the day, the sustained wind was over 40mph.

Along the Chesler Park trail

• Photographed Monticello’s Mormon Temple for my Mormon friends.

• Headed up the Hart’s Draw road west of Monticello only to discover it was closed at the first campground due to heavy snow. Someone later told me Monticello had about 200% of their normal snowfall for the winter of 2010.

• Drove to Elephant Canyon and hiked the Chesler Park/Devil’s Pocket loop trail for a total of about 8.1 miles in a little less than six hours. The actual Devil’s Pocket loop is pretty rugged, and I didn’t see anyone else on it.

• On passes and benches, the wind was funneled into ferocious gales.

Snow in the Abajo Mountain foothills

• Came upon two friendly Park Service rangers who were on their way to examine some vandalism along the Chesler Park trail.

• For the first time since I have been hiking in the desert, I got back to the trail head with zero water.

• Had a blow-out coming out on the Elephant Hill access road, and I assume I struck a sharp rock or other obstacle. A nice couple of guys came from Sandstone Tire in Monticello and got me going after I discovered I didn’t have the key to unlock the wheel.

• Back in Monticello after dark.

Deep in the Heart of the Needles at Canyonlands

Day 3: Natural Bridges National Monument

At Kachina Bridge after hiking much of the White Canyon trail; note my fleece tied around my waist, since it was cold in the morning but warmer when I returned

Abby and I hiked to the Sipapu Bridge on The High Road in 2003. On this trip I wanted to hiked down to the other two, Kachina Bridge and Owochomo Bridge.

• I had breakfast at PeaceTree Café on the north end of Monticello. I’d seen it on several other trips, but only now actually gone in. It was one of the best breakfasts I have ever enjoyed on the road.

• The moment I started hiking this morning, I felt that wonderful burn in my calves. After yesterday’s long hike, my calves were stiff as always. It’s a familiar feeling that says to me that I am challenging myself. Within ten minutes the stiffness is gone.

• Cold again when I got up in Monticello, and not much warmer when I arrived at Natural Bridges National Monument. And again it was crazy windy, though only on exposed areas like cliff tops.

• Hiked down the steep but relatively short trail in White Canyon to Kachina Bridge. I found the bridge itself to be larger and more impressive than I had imagined it would be.

• Continued up White Canyon for several miles exploring and hunting for native ruins, which I found but did not photograph.

The magnificent Kachina Natural Bridge viewed from the approach

• Hiked back up to the trail head and drove to the Owachomo trial head. A different option if I had more time would be to hike the canyon between the two, which is about three miles.

• Short, easy trail down to Owachomo Bridge. Made some decent images despite somewhat subdued light. The Bridge itself is fairly impressive. The obvious temptation is to climb on top of it, but this must have become a problem because signs say it is expressly forbidden.

Day 4: Driving Home

I drove home with some sense of urgency due to a crisis with Abby’s father becoming critically. I didn’t stop much and only shot one photo. Despite rapidly turning around from Utah, I was able to make a couple of excellent hikes, and I had a good time in the wild.

Owachomo Bridge viewed from below after hiking down through the opening; note water flowing on right side of the frame, a qualifier for this formation to be called a natural bridge.

See the Whirlwind galleries at richardbarron.net HERE.