Mesa Arch and Neck Spring Trail at Canyonlands National Park

Hike: Mesa Arch (see Neck Spring Trail details below)

Hike Difficulty: Easy

Hike Distance (Round Trip): .5 miles

Time (Round Trip): 30 minutes - 1 hour (with plenty of time for enjoying the view)

We woke up at 4:30am on our second morning in Moab. (We were camping at Up A Creek campground in town because we were worried we wouldn't find first come, first serve camping when we arrived. Pros - only tents allowed at campground, good shower/bathroom facilities, ice to purchase, easy walk to restaurants and grocery store. Cons - we were in town, really windy and dusty so our stuff got covered in dirt even with the rainfly on.) It is about 50 minutes drive to Mesa Arch in the Island in the Sky District, and we wanted to be there for sunrise. We made it right as the sun was rising, and we definitely were not the first ones there. Lots of folks with tripods waiting to get the same shot as everyone else. However, we just walked a little bit away from the swarm of 20 people or so, and it was fine and peaceful and definitely worth being there for sunrise. 

The "Honey Moon" at dawn on our way to Mesa Arch.

People waiting to take a picture at Mesa Arch.

On Eagle's Wings (no?)

The shot everyone was dying to get. 

The most beautiful "potted plant arrangement" done by Mother Nature herself.

After spending some time at Mesa Arch, we drove over to Green River Overlook to see the sun rising over the canyons there. Pretty spectacular view!

Green River Overlook

At 7:30ish, we were already at the Shafer Canyon Overlook Parking Area to eat some breakfast before heading out on the Neck Spring Trail. 

Hike: Neck Spring Trail

Hike Difficulty: Moderate (some scrambling up slick rock)

Hike Distance (Round Trip): 5.8 miles

Time (Round Trip): 3-4 hours

Elevation Change: 300 ft

First off, I highly recommend this hike! We had been reading a lot of different descriptions of hikes in Canyonlands. A lot of the longer hikes sounded a bit sketchy because they were super steep and had slippery rocks and a lot of elevation change. We could have done them, but we only had our running shoes with us and we felt like we didn't need to push it. The description for Neck Spring did NOT do it justice. The Canyonlands National Park Service website describes it as "a loop trail that passes historic ranching features as well as two springs and diverse plant life." While all of this is true, it also had it's own canyon and great views. I was really impressed with this trail. It changed a lot so it didn't get boring. And we saw NO ONE on the whole hike. Literally, zero people. If you have been to Arches or Canyonlands, you know how rare this is.

The hike starts out at Shafer Canyon Overlook Parking Lot on the south side of the parking lot (away from the big views). The trail immediately begins going down hill and quickly crosses the road. This trail does a lot of moderate descending and climbing, but nothing that is too challenging. The trail crosses no other trails, so it's pretty easy to follow. Just make sure you keep an eye on the cairns and it's easy. 

Historic Ranching Remnants

Utah's State Flower - Sego Lily

Lizard tracks everywhere!

I believe this is Taylor Canyon. Great spot to stop and have a snack. 

The only moderate part of this hike is the 250 vertical foot climb up slick rock to get back up to the top of the Island of the Sky Mesa. There was nothing sketchy about it. The cairns were easy to spot and none of the climbing was challenging. We then walked awhile along big expanses of slick rock before reaching the main road again. We crossed the road and then the trail hugged close to the road for the last 1/2 mile to a mile (because this section is basically "the neck" and there isn't that much land between the two canyons). The views of Shafer Canyon heading back to the parking lot were incredible.  

The rest of the afternoon, we checked out some other parts of the park, including Upheaval Dome. It was really crowded here, which proves once again that it just takes hiking on the longer trails to completely escape the crowds at national parks. 

Pretty meadows along the road in Canyonland National Park "Island in the Sky" District.

Devils Garden Primitive Loop at Arches National Park

Hike: Devils Garden Primitive Loop at Arches National Park

Hike Difficulty: Moderate to Strenuous (sand and slick rock, not necessarily elevation gain)

Hike Distance (Round Trip): 7.2 - 8.1 miles (different websites report different distances; including all side trails to arches)

Time (Round Trip): 4-6 hours

Elevation: 1204 feet (total round trip elevation gain)

We spent 2 1/2 days in the Moab area, giving ourselves some time to explore both Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. I will be writing 3 separate posts about our hikes in those parks: 1) Devils Garden Primitive Loop in Arches; 2) Neck Spring Trail Loop in Canyonlands; 3) Delicate Arch in Arches. We went on smaller hikes and stopped at several vista points in both parks, so I'll mention those as well. 

Our morning drive into the park was really pretty. With the red rocks, morning and late evening are the best times of day to really appreciate their colors. 

We began the Devils Garden Primitive Loop trail at the Devils Garden Trailhead (which has bathrooms) at about 7:15am. It gets really hot at Arches in the summertime, so we wanted to get the hike done by early afternoon. I am also glad we started early because we beat a lot of the crowds. I think many people don't hike the whole loop but instead only hike to Pine Tree Arch and Landscape Arch (1.6 miles round trip), so that section of the trail was really crowded. 

We took the loop clockwise. I can see pros and cons to hiking the loop both ways, but ultimately I am glad we hiked it clockwise. The primitive part of the loop (second half for us) can be accessed shortly before Landscape Arch, if you want to go counter clockwise. If you do, then you will encounter several slick rock scrambles that you will be going up instead of down (this is a good thing, much easier to go up). However, unless you start the primitive loop section at like 5:30am, you will be hitting the majority of the arches when the rest of the Disneyland visitors are reaching them as well. I am definitely glad we got to see the arches before the swarms of people arrived, so because of that, I suggest hiking the loop clockwise (if you are leaving early...it will be crowded either way if you leave after 9am or so.)

Going clockwise, we saw Tunnel Arch, Pine Tree Arch, Landscape Arch, Partition Arch (I think my favorite...but loved Pine Tree as well), Navajo Arch (this one was ruined by too many people with tripods trying to get the same picture of a not-that-spectacular arch), Double O Arch, and Private Arch. We also took the side trip out to Dark Angel and came back to take the primitive trail right past Double O Arch. 

The first section of the trail is very well maintained and easy to follow. Below is an example of what the trail looks like, and the turn off for Pine Tree and Tunnel Arches. Make sure you take the short detour to the right to at least see Pine Tree Arch. After those arches, we came back to this point and headed toward Landscape and Double O Arch (the left trail in the picture below).

Pine Tree Arch 

Pine Tree Arch

Nature's Artwork

Sage against the red rock is one of my favorite color combinations.

Landscape Arch is 290 feet long and only about 6 feet wide in the thinnest section. Pretty incredible that it can stay as it is! Back in 1991, a section of it fell off and visitors captured videos and pictures of it. Since then, a small trail leading right up under the arch has been closed off. 

Shortly after Landscape Arch, we weren't exactly sure where the trail was until we realized the only way was up...right up a narrow fin of rock. 

Yup...that's the trail!

We took a trail off to the left for Partition and Navajo Arches. 

My fave!

Partition Arch

The trail continues along another narrow fin towards Double O Arch. I'm scared of heights but this wasn't so bad when there weren't many people out there. I wouldn't have wanted to be out on it with a bunch of other people though!

Follow the cairns! I have so much fun following the trails out west, when basically all you have to do is seek out the beautiful cairns showing you the way.

Double O Arch in the background

Double O Arch

There are a couple trails that head off away from Double O Arch. You can see Dark Angel from there, so follow the trail heading out in that direction. We stopped and had a great snack close by Dark Angel with views of Double O Arch from behind.

We took the same trail back towards Double O Arch and then veered left to continue on the Primitive Loop trail. It was a little trickier to stay on this trail. We actually had to help some sort of eagle scout troop find their way back to the trail. I think the key is just staying focused, and it's not that hard to keep watching for the cairns. And yes, if the cairns look like they are taking you up and over a fin that definitely doesn't seem passable or safe, that is the trail. And it was passable and (mostly) safe. I highly recommend good hiking shoes though for hiking this section of the trail. Nothing that will slip down on the slick rock. 

Doing the primitive section of the trail last is the way to go, but it is a bit of a sandy slog. It's a fairly long trail and the sand makes every step harder. However, we saw maybe two people after we helped the eagle scouts. It was quiet and beautiful and we did manage to find a couple of shady spots for water breaks. Bring plenty of water, go early, and make sure you see all of the arches. I can't imagine coming to Arches National Park and not doing this hike! It's the best way to see a ton of arches in one half day. 

United States Cross Country Road Trip - From the Dirty South to the Best (West) Coast

On June 8, Ally and I closed the door on the North Carolina chapter of our lives and embarked on a spectacular cross country adventure. North Carolina was good to us and we will miss it and the friends we made there. Thankfully, a couple of those friends talk of moving to the West Coast, so we may be seeing a lot of them again soon! 

I will be writing several blog posts about our adventures. Mostly, our national park adventures in Utah and California. However, I thought it would be fun to first re-cap the entire road trip with only my instagram pictures taken with my iPhone 5c. Other future posts (about hiking and other fun things in Arches, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Bryce, and Yosemite National Parks) will include pictures taken with my Canon 70D, so stay tuned for much more! 

We started in Durham, NC and finished up in the San Francisco Bay Area. The map below was our original itinerary, which we stuck to for the most part. We only detoured once outside of Louisville, KY because of an accident on the freeway, and once to the west of Denver based on a recommendation from a friend we stayed with. Both detours were worth the little bit of extra time, so I will highlight them below.

Day 1: Durham, NC to Evansville, IN

Durham to Evansville was about 650 miles. It was a really long day in the car. We tackled 5 states this day: North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Indiana. We stopped for lunch in Charleston, WV at Pies and Pints (delicious pizza recommended by a West Virginia native that Ally went to school with) and stopped in Louisville, KY only briefly at a Whole Foods for a quick dinner. 

We had some crazy fog through the first part of Virginia in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Really cool but a little scary in the car. Thankfully, there weren't a ton of people on the road.

 Pies and Pints building in Charleston, WV

Random beautiful, old building in Charleston, WV

Somewhere near Shelbyville, KY we got off interstate 64 and drove 30 miles or so on highway 60. It was late afternoon/early evening so the sun was casting a beautiful light on the land. On both sides of the road was a ton of land surrounding huge houses, with barns and horses and the green, green grass. 

 From the passenger seat, on Highway 60 to the east of Louisville, KY

Evansville, IN was nothing more than a hotel room for us. We stayed in an average hotel right off the freeway. We just needed a bed and a shower and we were off again the next morning. 

Day 2: Evansville, IN to Topeka, KS
It is not shocking that most of the drive on this day was pretty boring. However, we broke things up by spending a few hours in St. Louis. I really enjoyed checking out the old buildings and I found that the downtown area was really nice and clean and pleasant to walk around. We went to Rooster (highly recommended!) for delicious crepes before taking a walk to the Gateway Arch (past the capitol building...also worth checking out).  

Illinois

 Gateway Arch

St. Louis

Shortly after we left St. Louis, we got stuck in a downpour that just didn't let up. We had been aiming to make it to somewhere half way through Kansas, but by the time we got to Topeka we were sick of driving in the rain. It just felt unsafe and it didn't make sense to keep pushing it. We found a really nice Hyatt Place in Topeka. I was pleasantly surprised when I walked in and it felt like a boutique hotel, complete with a little bar (alcohol and espresso). I was happy to have a nice place to stay, given that we were there around 5pm and would be spending several hours hanging out in the room. I was also grateful for the nice bed and good night sleep I got, given the not-so-great sleep I'd gotten the night before. 

Day 3: Topeka, KS to Denver, CO

Our original plan had been to camp somewhere around Vail in White River National Forest this evening. However, since we didn't get as far as we wanted to on Day 2, we called some friends in Denver and decided to stop there and stay with them instead. Kansas was painful enough to drive through and we were definitely ready to stop in Denver! But it wasn't our longest day and we got to Denver around 4pm. We also stocked up at the local Whole Foods for camping/hiking food in Utah (our next destination). 

Kansas

Day 4: Denver, CO to Moab, UT
Our friend recommended that, instead of taking 70 from Denver to Vail and beyond, we check out Golden, CO and then take highway 6 through a beautiful canyon before meeting back up with 70 prior to Idaho Springs. This may have added a few minutes onto the trip, but it was definitely worth it.

From the passenger seat, on Highway 6

From the passenger seat on Interstate 70

We stopped in Vail for probably 45 minutes, just to stretch our legs and get a look at the famous ski resort area. We checked out some overpriced Patagonia gear before continuing on our way on Interstate 70 through the rest of Colorado and on to Utah. 

From the passenger seat....I believe these are Book Cliffs (might be Mt. Garfield) east of Grand Junction, Colorado

Crazy sky in Utah

This section of Colorado and Utah was a little rough to drive through. You could see crazy mountains and rock formations way off in the distance, but it was pretty desert-like and flat by the road with very few places to stop. I was very happy to be out of the car by the time we got to Moab, especially given that we planned to stay in Moab for 3 nights. 

From the passenger seat, heading into Moab

Days 5 and 6: Arches and Canyonlands National Park

We made reservations to camp at Up The Creek campground in Moab, because we were worried we wouldn't be able to find camping and wanted to be somewhere we could easily access both parks. There were definitely pros and cons to staying here. It was nice to be able to walk into town (it's right in town) for ice cream, groceries, or dinner. There are several options for a good meal (Moab Brewery, Twisted Sista was AMAZING, or Jailhouse Cafe for breakfast). The campground has great facilities, with showers, ice, water, etc. However, I never felt like I was camping there. It just never felt that relaxing. I was happy for showers after the long, dirty, hot hikes in the parks though! 

On Day 5, we did Devils Garden Primitive Loop in Arches. On Day 6, we got up to watch the sunrise at Mesa Arch in Canyonlands, then hiked Neck Spring Trail, and then basically checked out the rest of the park by car. Loved Canyonlands!

Sunrise at Canyonlands

Day 7: Moab, UT to Escalante, UT

Before leaving for Escalante (about an hour east of Bryce Canyon), we got up pretty early to hike Delicate Arch before too many people were there. Unfortunately, there were still a lot of people. I had to be really patient to wait for a line of people to pose with the arch, before I could take a few pictures with no one in them. 

Delicate Arch

The next part of our adventure was one of my favorites of the whole trip, and it almost didn't happen! Our plan had been to head straight to Bryce from Moab. However, it was Saturday and we knew we wouldn't be getting there early enough to snag a first-come/first-serve campsite. I had called around to a few hotels and bed and breakfasts and nothing was available. So I broadened my search, and found what looked like an awesome airstream resort in Escalante. We booked that for Saturday night and that changed our route to include Capitol Reef National Park and scenic byway Highway 12. I am so glad we did this drive!

Capitol Reef seems like maybe the ignored sister of some of the more famous Utah National Parks. It shouldn't be ignored! It was beautiful. We went on a short hike to Hickman's Bridge and saw very few people (unlike Arches) and Highway 12 goes right through the park so it's an easy stop. 

Highway 12 also goes in and out of Dixie National Forest and it's beautiful with big vistas and beautiful trees. A very pleasant surprise to see a bunch of green after several days in the desert. 

Capitol Reef National Park (from the passenger seat)

We stayed at Shooting Star Airstream Resort in Escalante. They have several airstreams and it recently changed ownership and was closed for awhile, so they are really trying to increase their visibility. I actually liked that people don't know about it, because it meant we basically had the property to ourselves. We set up shop at Sugar's Shack (decorated like Marilyn Monroe's trailer for "Some Like It Hot") and made dinner out on our deck. Then we watched the sunset over the mountains while playing guitar and singing. 

Days 8 and 9: Bryce Canyon 
There is so much to do in Bryce! We camped at Sunset Campground, which was busy but had tent only loops so it felt quiet and finally like real camping. We hiked the Figure 8 Combination Loop (Queens Garden, Peek-A-Boo, and Navajo Loop combination) on Day 8 and then Fairyland Loop on Day 9. I definitely recommend both hikes and it is worth getting out past the crowds. The hoodoos are a lot more breathtaking when you don't feel like you are going to get pushed off a cliff by an idiot who is hiking in white tennis shoes.

Figure 8 Combination Loop

Day 10: Bryce Canyon to Mammoth Lakes, CA

It made leaving Bryce a bit easier that we were heading home to California. I really enjoyed Bryce and hope to get back there very soon. Because we wanted to do Yosemite on our first full day back in California, we had to take a bunch of secondary roads through Nevada. Wow. It is desolate. Thankfully, we were driving a dependable car but still I was worried if we broke down or got a flat tire. There are literally no towns for like 250 miles and no cell service that whole time either. I'd be seeing aliens too if I lived out here! We definitely saw a few mirages and many Joshua trees (which I love!)

That's right...ET Highway

Getting close to home! 

Entertaining myself in the passenger seat.

Day 11: Mammoth Lakes to Home

Ally was excited to see that her favorite bakery in the world (the original is in Bishop) now has a shop in Mammoth Lakes. It was my first time at Schat's and now I see why it is her favorite. Dang! As long as you eat gluten, you will be able to find something heavenly there. We brought a loaf of the asiago bread home and it is incredible. 

Then we made our way to Tioga Pass and stopped for a hike along the John Muir Trail. We had been doing a lot of hiking and wanted something with views but didn't really want something super hard. Lyell Canyon is an out and back on the JMT on which you can go out as far as you want. We ended up hiking about 12-14 miles, but the view below can be seen within the first two miles.

Lyell Canyon

Olmstead Point was a great lookout point to stop at along Tioga Road (and see Half Dome from the east). 

Granite and ponderosa pines from the passenger seat

We were feeling pretty loopy by the end of our drive. We hadn't thought out food very well for this day, and were getting really hungry after the long hike. We had to stop in Manteca for a quick bite to eat before finishing up the drive and heading over the Altamont Pass (past Livermore). A perfect way to end our journey: watching the sunset over the windmills on the golden hills of the Altamont Pass as we drove our last 20 minutes home. So good to be back in the Bay!