We had listened to a pod cast of our favorite authors in which they recommended the Chesler Park Loop trail in the Needles District of Canyonlands NP. When we researched the trail, we found that it was over 11 miles with over 1800 feet of elevation gain. That was a bit more than our legs could handle at this point. So we decided to do the Chesler Park Viewpoint trail. It was advertised to only be 6.6 miles round trip with 1200 feet of elevation gain. We tried to get an early start because we knew it was a popular trailhead and parking was limited. We got to the end of Elephant Hill road at 10:15 (its an hour drive from Monticello) and were very lucky to get one of the last parking spots that the Behemoth could fit into. We packed plenty of water since the temperature was supposed to climb into the 80’s and the humidity in single digits. The first 1/2 mile should have been a good hint of what was to come. Steep climbs, big drop offs to clamber over and lots of people (Most of them going faster than us). The trail has absolutely beautiful views of the Needles rock formations. The steep climbs and drop offs definitely tested our hiking skills. But we made steady progress. There was even a couple of intimidating deep crevices that had to be jumped across. At a couple of points there were narrow slot canyons that had to be squeezed through. The last ½ mile to the viewpoint was very steep, a real gasper (for air that is). But the rock formations are just gorgeous. Topping the ridge to Chesler Park was a relief! We were surprised to see how flat Chesler Park was. We had expected to see a bunch of spike shaped rock formations and deep canyons. But it is a fairly open and level (compared to what we had just climbed) area. The loop runs around the outer edge of the plain. It was tempting to continue on but our legs were telling us that was not an option since we had to traverse the same trail back to the truck. The trail turned out to be 8 miles round trip with 1332 feet of elevation gain (4,549 calories burned, 4 hours 52 minutes). Our legs were feeling like rubber by the time we got back to the Behemoth. Another excellent day of hiking!
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| David on the trail |
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| Leslie Jumping a Crevice |
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| Leslie in the "Slot" |
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| Chester Park |
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| Chester Park |
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