This is one of our mellower treks, and if the thought of spectacular multi-colored sandstone canyons, with a cool desert stream, lush riparian vegetation and numerous ancient ruins and pictographs interests you, then don’t miss the opportunity to sign up for our April 16-21 trek in Canyonlands National Park! I said “mellow”. That’s because we drive to the high point, at the start of the trip. Which means that once we begin the hike on BLM land just outside the park boundary, we descend into the main canyon and from there on, it is all pretty level or slightly downhill — until the end of the trip, six days and about 30 miles later. Except for a couple of modest uphills on optional day-hikes, your biggest elevation gain with a backpack will be about 50 feet. That’s all!
All this and more in a magnificent high desert setting. Weather in the southern Utah canyon country during April is usually pretty good. The intense heat of late spring and summer has yet to arrive; yet nights can be frosty, usually with mild sunny afternoons. But don’t ignore our Clothing/Personal Gear List: bring what is on it, because occasional cold spring storms do occur some years.
This trip begins and ends in the once lovely little town of Moab, Utah, nestled in the red-rocks along the Colorado River. OK, it’s been a long time since Moab was lovely. Smaller is better by my way of thinking, and Moab is no longer small — though it’s all relative. And for someone from Philadelphia, for instance, Moab might indeed seem like a quaint little town. At least the uranium mill is long since shut down. But nowadays, the industrial tourist invasion is pretty much year round, with an overabundance of off-road motor vehicles — motorcycles, jeeps and four-wheelers — utilized by modern canyon country “wreckreationists” flirting with high blood pressure, diabetes and other sedentary lifestyle-induced diseases. And then there are the mountain bikers, adrenaline junkies who think of the canyon country as little more than an outdoor gymnasium. Don’t get me started…. Fortunately, though, there’s still room for those of us who simply wish to experience and enjoy wild nature without mechanized transportation, and backpacking in Canyonlands National Park’s back-country is a great way to do just that!
And “just that” is a wild walk through big stream canyons lush with cottonwood and willow, framed by impossibly colorful rock spires and vertical sandstone cliffs. The pungent smell of sagebrush and juniper will enthrall you, and who knows, maybe the ghosts of the ancient ones will haunt you at night under the spectacularly starry Utah high desert sky.
