Three Parks Till Gunnison

An Unexpected Visit To Arches National Park

My last trip to the Arches/Canyonlands area taught me that if you want to visit these parks you have to get there early because they’re insanely popular. The popularity and crazy environment is compounded if it’s a weekend and even more so if you land there on a weekend. Thus, given the fact I’m waking-up in Moab on a Saturday in late-May, I decided to pass on Arches NP, because I spent a bit of time there on my last visit, and concentrate on Canyonlands NP.

That was the plan, anyway. Instead, when I checked-in to my room, I decided, just for the fun of it, to see if there were any timed-entry passes available for Arches and was surprised to find that I’d logged-in to the site just as they released some passes that they must hold until the night before… and got one for 6-7 AM. Getting out that early is not in my wheelhouse, but I figured I could enter the part, which is only 10 minutes from my motel, get in a hike and get to the visitors center right as it opened at 8 AM to get my stamp(s) and souvenir, then be off to Canyonlands as expected.

Somehow, it all came together perfectly. When I arrived at a 6:45 AM, there were only a few cars in front of me. The hike I chose was the Park Avenue Trail, which is a mile-long out-and-back not far from the visitors center. It didn’t feature any arches, but the rising sun lighting-up the western side of the canyon the trail passes through, along with the fins and towering canyon walls, made it as beautiful of a hike as I’ve been on during this trip. After the hike, I arrived at the visitors center with just enough time to download and log the pictures and videos I shot during the hike, and walked through the doors at 8:01 AM. By 8:05 AM I was back in my car and on my way to Canyonlands.

Canyonlands National Park

During my last trip, I returned to Utah specifically to visit Canyonlands and Arches. My first stop was to Canyonlands and when I told the ranger at the entrance station that I was heading to Arches next, he told me that I should probably turn-around and goto Arches first. His reasoning was that if I toured Canyonlands, Arches might be closed down by the time I got to it, but I wouldn’t have a problem getting into Canyonlands later in the day. I followed his advice, only taking some pictures and videos at the Shafer Canyon Overlook near the visitors center, before heading to Arches.

You don’t know what you don’t know, but now I know how much I missed because Canyonlands is epic. If the Grand Canyon didn’t exist, I think that this park would wear its crown. Just like the Grand Canyon, Canyonlands is comprised of canyons within canyons within canyons. My destination was the Grand View Point Overlook at the southern most tip of the plateau that the visitors center rests on. From there, a hike of about a mile took me to THE very point of the plateau where the western and eastern canyons meet.

Getting In Trouble After Losing My Fear Of Heights

A surprising part of my trip here was the fact that my fear of heights and blind edges seemed to disappear while I was in Canyonlands. You can get as close as you want to any ledge, which usually freaks me out, but I was climbing rocks and hiking near the edges the entire way. It was almost like I was so high up that I didn’t feel like I was that high up. It was a strange experience.

This got me in trouble when I stopped at Aztec Butte on the way back out of the park. The map just showed a half-mile hike to the butte and I figured it would be an easy way to add a third hike to the day and another pin on my hiking map. As usual, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, and, at the 0.3 mile mark, I arrived at the base of the butte and found people climbing up the side.

Peer pressure isn’t a big thing with me, but internal self-pressure is for real, so I decided I was going to climb this butte. The surface of the feature is basically smooth rock, so there isn’t really a visible trail. Instead, I had to follow cairns along the way. Well, I got fucking lost and spent about 10 minutes, literally, trying to scramble and climb up the shear surface of Aztec Butte. Eventually, I tapped-out and felt bad about myself… until, on my return I noticed people going-up the actual path that I hadn’t noticed! From there, everything was a breeze and I did get to the top of the butte.

So, make that two times on this trip that I somehow escaped a potential disaster.

Visiting Two Old Friends

After leaving Canyonlands, I was off to Colorado National Monument outside of Grand Junction, Colorado. Along the way I shot a bunch of pictures of Monitor and Merrimac, two twin buttes that really stick-out on the horizon. They were the first features that really inspired me on my trip, so it kind of felt like meeting two old friends in a way.

Colorado National Monument

Colorado National Monument is what I call a “drive-through park” because it’s basically just a road with viewpoints and trailheads along the way. This stop was primarily to get the stamp(s) I didn’t get on my previous trip, and I’d have like to have gotten in a hike somewhere, but there just wasn’t time. I made a few stops to shoot some pictures, but that was about it.

Gunnison, Colorado

Again, I was fortunate that my estimated driving times throughout the day were all bloated. The drive from Canyonlands to Colorado NM was about an hour shorter than I thought it would be, and so was the drive from Colorado NM to Gunnison, Colorado. During the two-hour long trip, the skies turned from blue with a few clouds here and there, to completely overcast and chilly. The forecast is calling for snow in the mountains, so it was kind of expected.

My destination was the house of my friend, Kurt, who I worked with at the Burrito Buggy in Athens, Ohio, for a couple of years. We got along really well, bonding over heavy metal music and messing with customers. It was good to see him, but almost even better to see his dog, Grimm, in-person. It’s weird seeing people’s kids and pets grow-up online. When I finally meet them in-person, it feels like meeting a movie star or something to me.

We headed-out to get something to eat and drink, and then spent the rest of the evening catching-up. Some basic plans were made for the following day, then I turned-in for some well deserved sleep.