Canyonlands National Park (Day 2)

Nov 17th, 2008 :- The Needles district is located about 65 miles South of Moab. As one approaches the area the first point to stop by is the Newspaper Rock that has ancient pertoglyphs. Such pictured rocks cannot be dated esily, neither do we really know the significance of these pictures.

As one comes closer to the entrance of the park ones comes across the North and South Sixshooter peaks that are shaped like pistols.

The Needles is a startling landscape of colorful sculptured rock spires, arches, canyons and potholes. The Needles are rock pinnacles carved in red and white. Chesler Park is a grassy meadow amidst the Needles and is a 3 mile hike (oneway) from Elephant Hill. The confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers is located within this district but is only acessible by a 4.5 mile (oneway) hike or a short hike having approached closer along a 4*4 dirt road.

Short hikes at Cave Spring, Pothole point are easily accessible and provide a closer glimpse of the formations that might turn into Neeldes in the centuries to come.

I took the hike to Chesler Park to get closer to the Needles. It was however a lonely walk , and I turned around at the 1.75 mile mark having had a closer enough look of the Needles but did not get really close enough. The drive to Elephant Hill itself is along an unpaved road that has quite a few blind turns.