Gnarled

2009 Canyonlands Trip - The Needles

Folder: Travel Stuff
Squaw Flats and Big Water Canyon, then back to Denver through a Mars-like dust storm -- complete with rolling tumbleweeds.
Just the Beginning

Just the Beginning

22 Mar 2009 57
About twenty minutes into the hike.
Low Cliff

Low Cliff

22 Mar 2009 49
Relatively speaking. It was about 30-40ft tall.
Rock Blobs

Rock Blobs

22 Mar 2009 64
Notice all the blobby rock formations among the trees.
Oasis

Oasis

22 Mar 2009 75
A small seasonal creek, almost dried up.
Getting Interesting

Getting Interesting

22 Mar 2009 89
Just when the low terrain and stunted trees were getting a little dull, up pops a huge rock wall. We would end up climbing up and over the wall at the base of the triangular knob on the horizon near the center of the photo.
Benches

Benches

22 Mar 2009 66
Layers of rock worn down into benches.
Crusty

Crusty

22 Mar 2009 81
Some dead trees and bacterial soil crust.
Crusty

Crusty

22 Mar 2009 80
More dead trees and bacterial soil crust.
Mushroom

Mushroom

22 Mar 2009 56
One of the mushroom formations found all over in Needles.
Thataway

Thataway

22 Mar 2009 70
The big rock wall, with a log pointing at the saddle where the trail passes over.
Yucca

Yucca

22 Mar 2009 78
The rock wall, an old log, and a yucca plant.
Little Forest

Little Forest

22 Mar 2009 58
Looking Back

Looking Back

22 Mar 2009 70
Leaving behind the last bit of the scrub forest.
Corner

Corner

22 Mar 2009 57
This feature was a lot bigger than it looks here -- maybe a good 150ft tall. Note the broken arch on the righthand wall.
Imposing

Imposing

22 Mar 2009 71
One weird thing about this area of the park is how the eroded sedimentary rock formations often look like lava flows. The fins look a lot further away than they really are, thanks to the wide angle. They're really only about 100yds off, and the "lava" is only about 20ft away.
The Only Way Up

The Only Way Up

22 Mar 2009 56
A little slippery, but not too difficult. It did become a LOT more difficult about five minutes later, when we reached the saddle and walked into the hurricane winds coming over from the other side.
63 items in total