After a long week of school and fresh snow in Boulder, I was so grateful to be a part of the small group of CU Hiking Clubbers that drove to newly protected Bear Ears National Monument in Moab, UT for a much-needed weekend escape. This will be the first of several stories from our three-day adventure.
We somehow managed to sleep through the 15-degree Friday night and were ready for our longest day of hiking. We were stoked to be out in the desert. The plan was to explore much of the Needles District in Canyonlands, including the Druid Arch and through Chesler Park into "the Joint" section. All the trails made their way through red sandstone canyons and the paths were surrounded by unique biological soil crust.
The first half of our journey was the 5.5 mile trek to Druid Arch. I have seen plenty of incredible arches while exploring Arches NP, but none of them came close to the enormity of Druid Arch. After plenty of conversations with new friends, and a final scramble up a ladder and several boulders, we came to the arch's viewpoint and all of us stood still in shock. Photos will never do it justice.
The arch is isolated at the end of Elephant Canyon and is 450 feet tall. I cannot describe the curiosity and wonder that my nine new friends and I were feeling as we reached our first destination. I did my best to line up the mid-day sun behind the rock formation and used a slower shutter speed to add the sun flare, which was an attempt to make this image slightly less-stereotypical of a proud hiker.
We continued to snap photos, stand heroically on ledges and stare at the landscape before continuing on through the desert towards Chesler Park.