Days 02-03: Backpacking through Canyonlands

Let’s just start off by saying, Utah—beautiful. Stunning red and white rocks set against brilliant blue skies, with a landscape dotted by green bushes. It was vast, sparsely populated (at least right now), and ours for exploring.

Currently writing this post on day 2 of backpacking in Canyonlands, taking a siesta Spain style to avoid the worst of the desert heat and conserve water.


But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here—we can start at the beginning. 

“Is this a trail?” “Probably?” (It wasn’t)  defined our first 90 minutes or so. Luckily we stumbled back onto a real trail and upped our way-finding game the rest of the day.

The trail wound through canyons surrounded by tall red and white rock. We hiked through narrow slots (more of those to come),


         







down rock slopes,


and up a few cliffs before collapsing that night to camp.


Hiking through giant stadiums of rock walls and spires makes you feel small next to such awe-inspiring formations of nature.














Speaking of awe-inspiring, Druid arch took our breath away on day two. That section was more climb than hike, but it was well worth the effort.


As we hiked down, we marveled at the ability of plants to survive in such a harsh, dry climate. We talked about how the environment seems to present life with a choice between two challenges—a brutal climate with less competition or a lush climate with brutal competitors. The plants along our hike took path A. For example, we came across this tree growing sideways out of nothing more than a small slit in the canyon walls.


Speaking of cool plant life, shout-out to Sophia for opening our eyes to some of the unique ecology we might find along the way, in the form of a fun presentation: 

We did our best to do our homework and report back with some highlights:




Overall, it was the hardest backpacking trip either of us has ever taken (that means more coming from Grey since it was Abby’s maiden backpacking voyage). Climbing in-and-out and up-and-over Canyons will wear you down—especially under the hot Utah sun. We even carried all of our water for 3 days on our backs. Not to jinx the last leg of the trip, but we’re feeling pretty accomplished. 

Here are a few more photos for your viewing pleasure.  










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