murphy hogback

Our other long hike (both of the long hikes were suggested by H and I gladly agreed) was to go back to Canyonlands National Park for the Murphy Hogback loop.  (Technically a lollipop.)  We've done this trail twice before, in 2016 and in 2018, and I always remember it as one of my favorites.  

H making his way down

We didn't get on the actual trail until 10 a.m. as it takes an hour to drive there from town, plus we'd waited for it to warm up a little.  There is a big, fancy, new parking lot at the trail head (although a pit toilet would be *chef's kiss*) and plenty of parking.  Although we were far from the first people there, we were the only ones not doing just the overlook.

Looking back up at the mesa

This time, the trail down the cliff face seemed a little more intimidating as it is very exposed.  It was in good shape, though, and still only took us about thirty minutes to go down (and also back up).  The hogback section is my favorite: easy walking with expansive views.

H on the hogback

When we got to the White Rim Road, we had to wait for about fifteen minutes for road construction.  No, seriously.  Here we were, out in the middle of literally nowhere, and a flagger waved us down: they had set a small charge to remove a rock from the steep hill section of the WRR between the hogback trail and the wash trail.  We found a small tree, hunkered down in the shade for sunscreen reapplication and snacks, and continued on our way when he gave us the all's-clear.

View towards the White Rim Road. Note the white rim.

The wash portion was easier walking than it sometimes is since the sand had been well-packed by the recent rains.  We made our way to the base of the cliff, rejoining the trail we'd come down on.  It took H 32 minutes to get to the top of the mesa; I struggled a little bit from the wooden bridge to the top, but once I got off the steep section, I bounced back.  I suspect it was a nutrition issue as neither of us had the stomach for post-hike beers back at the truck.  We did manage to quaff a couple at Woody's later, though.

Hike stats: 10.61 miles; 3:44 hrs/2.8 m.p.h. walking; 4:06/2.6 m.p.h. overall; 1,590' elevation

reunited

 It had been since October 2019 that we'd seen H's folks.  When we asked if they would be comfortable flying out for a week at the end of May, they readily agreed.  They arrived in SLC on the Wednesday before Memorial Day weekend; as soon as I could get out of work on Thursday, we all climbed into our rental minivan (minivans are not cool but wow, are they convenient, easy to see out of and hold a lot of stuff) and drove down to Moab.

White Rim Road down below

L and P have visited us in Moab before - it helps that L likes the heat.  The weather this time around really cooperated: it was hottest on Friday, and we had off-and-on rain and short hailstorms on Sunday, but otherwise it was quite comfortable for Moab at the end of May.  No complaints!

The gang at Grand View

Each morning, H got up and did a road ride on the bike path (plenty of room to bring his road bike in the minivan, even with all our stuff and food and dog) while Milton and I did short hikes - two in Millcreek Canyon, one up the Moab Rim trail and one along the Pipedream trails - about an hour and a half each time, just enough to get our exercise on.  H and P managed to get walks in almost each morning as well.  Then it was back to the house for a quick breakfast, loading up the cooler and heading out for excursions.

A rare photo of both of us

We went up to Canyonlands on Friday, figuring it would be the least crowded on that day, plus perhaps cooler up on the mesa.  We had to wait maybe ten minutes at the entry gate, so that wasn't too bad.  Our first stop was Mesa Arch.  It's only about a quarter mile in to the arch and we all hiked in, dodging all the oodles of other people heading there as well.  

Dunno what it is but it's cool

Next, we tried to stop in at Upheaval Dome but couldn't get a parking spot, and then swung by the Grand View point.  It was pretty clear and the view down to the White Rim Road was its usual spectacle.  The national park was too busy for lunch so we cruised over to Dead Horse Point State Park where we were able to get a covered picnic table.

YGP new goat residents

Other activities over the lond weekend included a visit to Woody's (hoping for the Yankee game but settling for a barn-burner of girls' collegiate softball instead), checking out the Moab Arts Fest and the Main Street shops (shout-out to Moab Rainbowls for a delicious smoothie!), a La Sal loop road scenic drive and drives down Kane Creek Road and the Potash Road.  We also attempted the dinosaur tracksite at Mill Canyon but that is still closed for site work.

Moab Rim in the morning

We spent some time along the Colorado River as well: lunch at the new picnic spot just a few miles up Route 128, watching the rafts/kayaks/SUPs float by, and venturing out on the footbridge.   After the rain and hailstorms, most of the wind had moved on too and it was quite pleasant - unusually cool for the end of May but most appreciated.

Local screech owl skeptical of me, P and Milton

Since we are all about avoiding the crush of post-long holiday weekend traffic, we all got up at the crack of early Tuesday morning and drove back to SLC then.  L and P stayed with us for a couple more days - I had to go back in to work and H had to do some work-from-home, so many thanks to L and P for the weeding and pruning they did in the front yard!  We had dinner at Grid City on our last night together and then they flew back to upstate New York Thursday morning.

The gang along the Colorado River

It was a really good visit - here's hoping not to have to wait two+ years for the next one!

Iconic

desert treasures

 No doubt about it, fall is my favorite season.  Yes, summer has its long days and winter has skiing and spring has flowers, but fall is the best.  It's cool in the mornings, pleasant during the day and chilly overnight.  The air is clear and the colors bold.  A lot of the tourists go home.  In Moab, autumn marks the return to silly season of course - spring and fall being prime desert time - but we manage to get away from the crowds.  

Killer B goes up quick

This past weekend was beautiful down there - it didn't even get up to 90F, which was just delightful, and it cooled off enough when the sun went down that we were able to drag the firepit out and light it up.  We didn't take the MTBs with us this time, instead opting for foot travel; our first hike left a pouty Milton at home because we were going into Arches National Park the back way.

Park road

On our very first time around the Bar B trail at the Moab Brand MTB trails, we came across a gate into ANP: hikers only, back country rules apply.  From the gate, an old jeep road headed south/southeast.  We decided we should come back and explore it some day.  This past weekend brought that day.  We parked in the large dirt lot off the highway between the ANP entrance and the Moab Brand trails.  This is where the Killer B MTB trail comes down and that is the trail we hiked up.  I feel very confident in saying that we will never, ever ride our MTBs on that trail.  It is super-steep, rocky and loose underfoot.  On the plus side, you gain elevation very quickly.

Rock-walking

Killer B connects to Bar B and we went into the park through that gate.  We followed the old double-track until it just disappeared near some slickrock.  Then, spotting some very sporadic cairns and random footprints in the sand, we kept heading in a southerly direction until we cliffed out overlooking the park road.  We startled a couple of big mule deer, clearly not expecting to see any humans in those parts.

There's the view

From there, we kept to the rock and in washes as best we could, checking out the view across Courthouse Wash.  Since we were up on the cliff tops, we weren't going to be able to make our way down to the road; when we started, we imagined making a loop out of it, coming out the main entrance and walking back up to the car via the paved bike path.  It was not to be, which was fine because the views were fantastic and we didn't have to share them with anyone.

These sheds had been there a while

We wandered around for a while, then found our way back to the end of that old road.  It's not my place to tell the Park Service what to do but if you're going to go to the trouble to have a back country gate into the park, it would be a good idea to have a "Trail Ends" sign or perhaps maintain a few cairns to keep people on the right path.  That gate has got to be one of the least used entrances to the park, however, so I guess they're not too worried about rampaging hordes.  Those deer shouldn't worry about being disturbed too often.

Just your typical desert scenery

Hike stats: 7.43 miles; 2:50 hours/2.6 m.p.h. moving; 3:08/2.4 overall; 1,060' elevation (and that was all on Killer B, I reckon

Imagine riding your MTB down (or up) this

alcove spring

H's favorite Utah national park is Bryce Canyon National Park but I think mine is Canyonlands.  Comprised of three different areas (one of which, the Maze, we haven't even gotten to yet) with distinct terrain, the variety of scenery is mind-blowing.  We've hiked nearly all the trails in the Island in the Sky District, with the Murphy Hogback lollipop being one of my all-time favorite hikes, leaving only the longest ones yet to do.  Because Island in the Sky is located on top of a mesa, most of its hardest and best hikes are out-and-back and involve going down (and back up) the cliff walls.  We've done Gooseberry, the aforementioned Murphy, and the Syncline loop; with Alcove Spring just checked off the list, we only have the Wilhite and Lathrop trails left to do.

I can't believe we'd never seen this view before

Alcove Spring is the third longest of the big Island in the Sky trails.  Our main concern was how much time Milton would be stuck at home - he's not as used to it with H having been WFH for the past fourteen months - and not only is the trail long, but it's about an hour drive to the trailhead, and then another hour again back home.  We were out the door at 7 a.m., under mostly clear skies with the forecasted high of 77 F and a whopping 1% chance of rain.

The Alcove Spring

For folks who just want to see the giant alcove (and its spring), it's less than half a mile from the parking area, although it does involve crossing some steeply canted slabs.  After the alcove, however, things get very steep as the trail descends from the mesa to the canyon floor below.  This was by far one of the least trafficked trails in the whole park but it was still easy to follow, coming down through the weakness in the wall, to the desert meadows and into the wash.

Steep slabs are my jam

The trail across the meadows was terrific to walk on: hard-packed dirt or sand with rolling hills and barely rocky.  Once we got into the wash, it was a little more work with softer sand.  The views were better up in the meadows too: you get tunnel vision in washes and while the soaring cliffs were awe-inspiring, the shorter walls of the wash were not quite as magnificent.

H crossing the meadows

We didn't make it all the way down to the Zeus and Moses climbing spires, shorting ourselves by a couple of miles because it was getting warmer and it was going to be uphill all the way back.  I would like to go back and get all the way down there but it will have to be in cooler temperatures for sure.  We saw one other hiker on our way back out the wash; later, when H was almost back at the top, he saw another couple who were just peeking at the views - not enough exertion to consider them "hikers."

We gotta go all the way back up 

You know a trail is steep when it takes the same amount of time to go up and down.  The Alcove Springs climb back up to the rim is steep and took us about forty minutes each way.  I actually don't mind the really steep ups: I keep my head down and don't look up to see how much further I have to go, just concentrating on each step bringing me up in elevation.  Before you know it, the whole climb has  passed and you're back at the truck, ready to crack open a celebratory beer.  (Or maybe that's just us.)

Hike stats: 9.31 miles; 3:31 hours / 2.6 m.p.h. moving average; 3:52 / 2.4 overall average; 1,560 feet of elevation

crater day 2020

We've done the Syncline Loop around Upheaval Dome crater twice now, once clockwise in 2016 and once the other way around in 2019.  What we'd never done is gone into the crater itself.  Since Saturday was going to be the last morning before temperatures started climbing to their usual heights, we thought we'd get up early and get it done.  Milton would not be coming with us: too hot, plus no dogs on the hiking trails in the national parks.  There was some pouting when he realized he was staying behind.

View of the Colorado Green River from the rim

We'd gotten organized the night before and got up early, so that even with the hour drive from Moab, we were still on the trail around 7:30 7:00 a.m.  There was just one other car in the parking lot when we got to the trailhead.  The plan was to head out clockwise until we got to the turnoff for the crater spur, do that and then go back the way we came.  In theory we could have continued all the way around but that would likely have added another couple of miles to our total.  We knew we were pushing our luck a little with the heat as it was and instead opted to keep the hike as short as possible.

Silhouette

It was cool and we were in the shade as we dropped over the edge of the plateau, winding our way down the switchbacks and into the wash.  The sun marched inexorably higher, however, and by the time we'd gotten to the crater spur trail, there was little shade.  The heat wasn't too bad yet but it would get worse.

You can explore a little further up the wash past this sign

As we worked our way up the wash into the crater, the broken dome's red rock walls loomed high over us.  The geologic formations we were walking through were very different rock, however: white, yellow, grey and green.  No one is 100% sure what caused Upheaval Dome - the two prevalent theories are that it's either a collapsed salt dome or a complex meteorite impact crater, and most geologists seem to lean towards the latter - but it is one funky hole in the ground.  We wandered around, hoping to get a glimpse of the viewpoint overlooks 1,000 feet above us so we could wave at the tourists.  The sun was getting stronger, though, so we had our snacks and retraced our steps.

A geologist's dream

We made pretty good time coming back off the spur trail and heading up the wash towards the canyon climb.  When we started to climb, however, it started to feel very hot; even though there were some shaded sections, we were working hard and going pretty much straight up, so it was easy to feel overheated.

Striking colors

H doesn't like the heat that much but this day I was the one suffering.  I had not drunk enough water Friday afternoon and evening and had thus woken up feeling dehydrated.  I had to pace myself with drinking water on the outbound leg of the hike because I didn't know how much I would need for the climb back out, so I was still dehydrated when we started our climb.  I felt tired and a little light headed ... but there wasn't anything to do but keep on going.  There was food and water at the car - I just had to get there.

Heading back out the wash

Spoiler alert: I made it!  I started feeling better once the climbing stopped.  There is still nearly a mile from the canyon rim back to the trailhead but it's easy walking and mostly flat.  H and I guzzled the Gatorades we'd brought as we changed out of our boots and sweaty, sweaty clothes - post-hike beers would have to wait until we were back home, inside with the air conditioning.

Hike stats: 10.3 miles; moving time 4:24/speed 2.3 m.p.h.; overall 4:52/2.1 m.p.h.; 2,090' elevation

thanksgiving weekend, part 1: stormy

Because of the big storm that blanketed most of the state for Thanksgiving, we hightailed it out of SLC after work on Tuesday, rolling into Moab around 10:30 p.m.  It wasn't the most relaxing drive since it was all after dark, plus evening commuter rush through Provo, but the roads were dry and once we got off I-15, there wasn't much traffic.

H and I both worked on Wednesday, although Milton and I managed to get out for a quick walk up at Sand Flats Recreation Area.  When we stopped at the entrance to show our pass, the lady warned us that the dirt roads had been treated with magnesium chloride - I think she was concerned about Milton - and when I said we intended to do the Practice Loop, she smiled and waved us on.  It was windy and chilly and there were patches of snow and ice out on the slickrock.  We saw a handful of MTBers (most of them on their way back to the trailhead as the wind picked up) and a couple of hikers.  Milton got to stretch his legs and run-run-run: he really seems to love slickrock hiking and some of his jumps are impressive.

Blustery out on the rock

On Thanksgiving, H and I got our hiking stuff on and drove out to Delicate Arch in Arches National Park.  It had been quite a while since we'd done that hike (since our sunset hike in 2013) and we thought Thanksgiving morning might be a good time to do it again.  We were rather taken aback to see that SO MANY other people thought the same thing.  The main trailhead parking lot wasn't quite full when we got there but it did fill up while we were hiking.  We did our best to be patient, however, and managed to pass oodles of people once we were on the steep slickrock ramp that leads up to the ridge.

Hang onto your hat!

It was cool and breezy as we ascended.  Then, when we turned the last corner and stepped out into the sandstone bowl that surrounds the arch, we caught the full force of the wind: H nearly lost his hat and I actually had to sit down a couple of times to keep from being blown over.  On the plus side, those crazy winds dissuaded people from lingering too long, taking in the scenery, and H was actually able to get a photograph of the arch without any other people in it.  Amazing!

Blustery out on the rock

We descended quickly, as still more and more people were heading up.  We heard one girl remark, "There really isn't any off-season anymore," and that seems pretty accurate.  It's always post-hike parking lot beer season, though, and we took care of that before heading back to Milton and the rest of our quiet Thanksgiving.  FYI:  the Moab Brewery is open on Thanksgiving (Woody's is not), in case that is something you need to know.

ten years

On October 3, 2009, at 2:43 p.m. (when we had dropped off our U-Haul trailer), we had arrived in Utah.  We can't believe that ten years has flown by so quickly.  TEN YEARS IN UTAH!  It was a really good move for us and we have really loved it out here.  We may not be exploring the SLC area as much as we did ten years ago (although we did just discover a new brew pub, Hopkins Brewing in Sugarhouse, who does an excellent NAIPA ("not an IPA") and has a dog-friendly patio) but we are still spending as much time as we can outdoors in this gorgeous, adventure-worthy state.

Because of when we moved, our year starts in October and ends in September, so here's a recap of what we've done this last year.  We didn't go as far afield as prior years, mostly because we wanted to do Milton-friendly stuff, but we did get down to Moab a lot.  Which is always awesome.

October 2018:  MTBing; hiking; rainy trip to Moab; visit from H's folks; drier trip to Moab; MILTON!!!!

November 2018:  Culmination of the Year of Hiking, including the annual Sol-Bright hike; Thanksgiving turkey trot; opening day at Alta

December 2018:  Skiing; hitting 100" of snow at Alta; celebrating twenty years of being together; Christmas in Moab

January 2019:  Skiing (including some cold temperatures); quick trip to Moab; some good storms up north; houseguests here to ski (my brother and niece)

February 2019:  Skiing; the wettest winter Moab has had in years

March 2019:  Skiing (H got new ski gloves!); really good snowpack throughout the state; quick trip to Moab where it was almost warm (not really)

April 2019:  A couple of Moab weekends, where it was actually dry enough to hike; skiing; fantastic snowpack; another visit from my brother; closing day at Alta

May 2019:  A week's vacation in Moab, with a visit from H's folks; hiking and MTBing (in Moab because still too much snow up north); Memorial Day weekend in Moab

June 2019:  Some hiking and MTBing along the Wasatch as the snow melts (Park City and Snowbasin); weekend getaway to Moab

July 2019: Hiking (Alta, the LaSals); MTBing (Park City, Moab); Fourth of July weekend in Moab

August 2019:  Week's vacation in Moab (hiking and MTBing); first ever sighting of Utah's state flower, the Sego lily; MTBing in Park City; hiking in the Uintas

September 2019:  Hiking (LaSals, Moab canyons, Millcreek Canyons north and south); MTBing (Park City, Dead Horse Point State Park, Moab Brand trails)

Happy tenth move-iversary and happy new year!

long weekend: mtb

We were lucky enough to take the Friday before Labor Day off so, with an extra long weekend at hand, we drove down to Moab Thursday night.  (Yes, there has been a lot of Moab this year. Expect more of the same.)  We got into town about 8:45-ish, having gotten caught in traffic on I-15 between Lehi and Provo due to both an accident and increased traffic for the college football game.  After the drive, we needed to decompress just a bit and walked over to Woody's for a beer.  The bartender was quite surprised to see us out after the sun went down.  But not so surprised that she didn't remember what beer we drink.

 Rusty Spur

Friday morning found us on the dirt at the Moab Brand Trails around 8:30 a.m.  We decided to change things up just a little this time.  We still started out on Rusty Spur to warm up, then followed the Bar M loop just to the Bar B/Rockin A/Bar M junction.  We turned right to do Bar B counter-clockwise.  We'd never done this one before: it was more technical than our usual route, especially as we made our way down into the washes, but it had a nice long climb on a old road on the back half.  We also found a back entrance to Arches National Park.  No bikes allowed off-road in the park so we'll have to go back to explore on foot sometime.

Canyon next to the Rockin A trail

Back at the Bar B/Rockin A/Bar M intersection, we turned right and went out on Rockin A.  This trail we've done once before, back in 2012.  It seems to be one of the older trails in the Moab Brand system and is all on the slickrock skirting a pretty little canyon.  The first two-thirds were great and fun to ride but the last bit was more technical than either of us was comfortable with and we ended up walking a bunch of it.  We finally reconnected with the Bar M trail at the Circle O junction (we plan to give the Circle O a try another day) and finished the Bar M loop.  When we got back to the parking lot, we took the cut-off across, back to the Bar M, and did that half of the trail in reverse direction to what we normally do.  There's more climbing that way, for what it's worth.  It was getting hot at that point so we didn't linger too long over post-ride beers.

Ride stats:  16.66 miles; 2:24/6.9 m.p.h. (because of all the walking); 22.9 m.p.h. H's max speed

On Saturday, after our hike (more on that later), H took his MTB back to Moab Brand Trails to get some more miles in.  It was hot - although the temperature dropped consistently while he was out there - and he had the place to himself.  He said that the different angle of the light made everything really pretty: usually we're there as the sun comes up, not as it's going down.

A distant Arches National Park in the evening light

Ride stats: 15.92 miles; 1:24/11.3 avg. m.p.h.; 22.2 max speed

Our final ride of the weekend was on Sunday, up at Dead Horse Point State Park.  We didn't leave until close to 8 a.m. and there were about a dozen vehicles already in the parking lot, including two guided tours.  Once we got past a couple of groups on the Big Chief loop, however, we really didn't have to deal with many other riders.  It was a beautiful morning and we both felt like we were riding pretty well.  H has new tires and found that his cornering, especially on Whiptail and Twisted Tree, was much better.  I thought I had ridden out too fast (for me) on the front end, trying to put some distance between myself and some other MTBers but after a snack, I found plenty of strength in my legs for the second half of the ride.  Gorgeous morning, good riding, entertaining people-watching during post-ride parking lot beers.  It's all good.

Whiptail trail

Ride stats:  16.67 miles; 2:02/8.2 average m.p.h.; 17.9 max speed

doing devil's garden

What's even crazier than hiking at Canyonlands National Park on Memorial Day weekend?  Hiking at Arches National Park on Memorial Day weekend!  Yes, friends, for some reason we decided to hike Devil's Garden on Sunday.  Never mind that we haven't hiked at ANP for years because it's so often so crowded - let's do it on the busiest weekend of the year!

Landscape Arch

So we, and hordes of other people, got up at 5:30 and pulled into the Devil's Garden trailhead parking lot at 6:45 a.m.  Cars were literally pulling in one right after the other and we shared a laugh with the 20-somethings next to us, relieved that we'd gotten a spot.  After snarfing down tailgate PB&Js, we were on the trail at 7:15, heading out to do the primitive trail.

Partition Arch

The trail is well-maintained until Landscape Arch, then gets markedly more rugged on its way to Navajo Arch, Partition Arch, and so on to Double O Arch.  Foot traffic lessened after we passed Landscape Arch but we kept seeing the same hikers over and over again as we hit each of the viewpoints.

Sandstone fins

 There was some confusion out at Double O Arch where a number of us missed the cairn marking a turn; other park visitors had put up unauthorized cairns - don't do that, please.  After that, the trail is described as "primitive" but was much more worn in than when we had done it the first time in 2014.

Twisty tree

Because this loop is longer than most Arches hikes, we thought we'd have it to ourselves.  We were shocked at how many people we saw out there, as well as the levels of unpreparedness (little or no water, fitness levels, non-hiking footwear).

Fins with the La Sals in the background

When we got back to the car, the parking lot was a madhouse.  Park rangers were patrolling it, moving people along, and there was no way we could have our traditional snacks and beers there.  We found a pull-out a little ways down the road and pulled out our camp chairs there, soaking in the view of the Salt Valley and appreciating the fact that no one was around us (except for the few cars on the road).  We actually were surprised at how few cars were on the road - until we got to the entrance and realized that they had actually closed the park for several hours because it was too crowded.  They re-opened the entrance just as we were leaving and the cars were already lining up, waiting to get in. 

For the record, it was even pretty busy at Woody's Tavern later that afternoon (heckin' Memorial Day weekend!).

syncline loop reversed

What's the best thing to do, on Memorial Day weekend which is historically the busiest weekend of the year for Utah's national parks?  Go hiking at Canyonlands, of course!  I wanted to do the Syncline Loop, which we last did three years ago; H suggested that we go the opposite way around this time (counter-clockwise).  We didn't add the 2-4 mile round trip side excursion into the collapsed dome so we'll have to save that for another time.

Looking down the wash ahead of us

We were up at 6 a.m. on Saturday and out the door at 7, after having fed and walked Milton, who would not be coming with us since dogs are not allowed on the trails at Canyonlands.  After a quick stop for gas, we were at the Upheaval Dome parking lot at 8 - I always forget that it takes a long time to get to the trailheads - and had our feet on the trail by 8:20 a.m.  There were a fair number of cars already in the parking lot but we didn't see anyone as we headed out the long, gradual wash; most people who come to this trailhead are just going out to the dome's overlooks.

Lots of water in the wash due to all the recent rain

The weather was just about perfect: sunny and clear, 55 F at the start of our hike and around 70 F by the time we finished.

Use caution when going down the boulder section

Since we've now done this hike in both directions, we both agree that we thought it was easier and more enjoyable going counter-clockwise (not that we disliked it the other way!), except for the boulder scramble section.  When we did it in 2016: steeply down from the plateau to the canyon floor, then a gradual climb up the wash, then a steady climb along the creek, then scrambling up the boulder section, then a long grind up the wash to the start. 

I'm standing on stone steps sunk into the hillside

This time: that long grind was a pleasant descent; the boulder section was unnerving in some spots, since we were going down; the creek section was a nice, gradual down; the wash, while exposed to the sun, seemed to go quicker; and the steep section up went very, very quickly.  Plus, everyone (about thirty other people) else we saw seemed to be going clockwise so no-one caught us.

In the wash

It did take us longer than we thought it would to get back to the trailhead from the steep up but it wasn't anywhere near as tedious as the final section had seemed in 2016.  I think the cool temperatures helped.

Working our way back up

It was very busy at the trailhead when we got back to the car but we felt no compunction about having lunch and beers while we changed out of our boots since parking spots were opening up regularly.  It made for good people watching and we appreciated several impressive parking maneuvers in tight spaces.

La Sal mountains in the distance

It was extremely busy at the Canyonlands entrance when we drove out early/mid-afternoon; there were over 130 cars lined up, waiting to get in.  And traffic in town was brutal too, bumper to bumper from before the road crossed the Colorado River.  We weren't surprised, though, we knew it would be busy this weekend.

Hike stats:  8.5 miles; 3 hours 40 minutes moving time / 2.3 m.p.h. moving average and 4 hours 39 minutes total time / 1.8 m.p.h.