Canyonlands Nat'l Park Backpacking

[Linvillebackpacker]

Hi there,

I'm planning a trip out to Canyonlands this summer to do a several day backpacking trip with some friends. Looking in the range of 30-50 miles, but I've never been so I don't know much about the area. Figured I'd post a few questions here.

-What is the water situation? Are the river tributaries good for drinking with a standard backpacking filtration system?

-Any good long loops in the park? I've seen several 15-18 mile trails, but would like to find a connector between several so as to avoid driving in the park.

-What's the deal with camping permits? If I'm 20 miles deep in the park, is it necessary to have a permit? I know some parks out here (NC) say they're required, but people don't actually purchase them/use them. How much patrolling goes on by park rangers?

-Any "must see" sites?

Thanks for the help!

 

[Nick]

You're going to have to really narrow that down. Canyonlands is huge with multiple districts. Backpacking is best in The Needles and The Maze. Summer is not a great time in either area, IMO. Water is not plentiful at all, it's usually found in seasonal springs that you'll definitely want to check the status of before heading out. The NPS is a good resource for that.

RE: Permits, YES, you must have them within the park! Absolutely necessary.

 

[steve]

which part of canyonlands will you be visiting?

Edit: nick beat me to it.

 

[Parma]

Just get someone to lug a full one of these around and you'll have some water: http://shop.camelbak.com/squadbak/d/1102

 

[Nick]

Just get someone to lug a full one of these around and you'll have some water: http://shop.camelbak.com/squadbak/d/1102

Haha! A $250 backpack that does nothing but haul 55 pounds of water. Sounds AWESOME!!

 

[steve]

that's awesome.

 

[Nick]

Oh best part... that pack will supposedly handle a 25-foot free fall with 55 pounds of water and stay in one piece! I want to test that! Okay, sorry about the derail @Linvillebackpacker

 

[steve]

x2 on it being super hot there in the summer, it's in the middle of the desert. If it were me, I'd go somewhere cooler. However, if you're dead set on canyonlands in the summer, I'd plan every route around water and permit availability. It's a desert with very little water sources. A float/canoe trip through the canyons could also be very neat that time of year, but those reservations fill up fast.

The colorado river can be filtered, but you need to let it sit for a while before you filter it. Allow the silt to settle on the bottom, otherwise it'll clog up your filter in no time.

I really enjoy chesler park in the needles district, but if I were going for a multi-day backpacking trip, I'd choose the maze district. I'd take a jet boat shuttle up to spanish bottom and hike around up there. i don't know if you'll have reliable water sources that time of year. It's extremely remote and the chances of disaster are high with high temps, limited water, and being extremely remote.


I'd recommend checking the trip reports section to see which trips represent the type of terrain you're into.

 

[Nick]

What he said! And if you're not into the permit bureaucracy, just don't go to Canyonlands National Park. There is a lifetime's worth of great destinations on the Colorado Plateau that do not lie within park boundaries and still offer incredible 'canyonlands-esque' scenery.

For long ones in the park, like Steve said, The Maze is awesome. I did a fun loop out of the jet boat a couple years back. Trip report starts here: http://backcountrypost.com/forum/threads/the-maze-spanish-bottom-to-water-canyon.903/

 

[steve]

I'm not a big fan of permits myself, but that's a discussion for another day. What I love most about Utah is the amount of places to go that don't require permits. Coming from California, where I had maybe 5 places to camp within 3 hours of me, Utah is a breath of fresh air. The coolest part is that these permitless places can be every bit as cool as canyonlands.

 

[Linvillebackpacker]

Thanks for the quick responses.
Most of the reason I asked about the permits in the first place is because I find the idea of paying money to be in the wilderness a bit ludicrous.
That being said, I've never been to Utah so I don't know of many place to go aside from the more touristy ones (Staircase, Canyonlands, Glen Canyon), but I'm open to suggestions-- I'm still in the very beginning stage of planning this trip.
Heat isn't an issue, assuming that there is a way to get water. Do the regulated campsites in Canyonlands NP have water sources?

Nick, that trip looks interesting. I'll look a bit more into your route later on.
Steve, any of these places in particular that you recommend?

 

[Nick]

Heat isn't an issue, assuming that there is a way to get water. Do the regulated campsites in Canyonlands NP have water sources?

Nope.

For summer desert backpacking, I'd set your sights on canyons with water throughout their lengths. Escalante!

 

[steve]

Steve, any of these places in particular that you recommend?

There are lots more well-traveled people here than me, but I'd be happy to throw a few suggestions out there for ya. What terrain do you want (desert, rock, forest, glaciers, lakes)? What month are you planning on coming? How many people will be in your group? How many days/miles do you want to cover? How remote would you like to be?

 

[steve]

I should also clarify that even though I don't love the permit system, I always obtain one when visiting a place that requires them.

 

[Linvillebackpacker]

I'll look into Escalante-- no permits required there?

Steve, I'd prefer desert/canyon because that's something there's not a lot of on the east coast. We'll be coming in early June, there should be 3-5 of us. I'm hoping for 30-50 miles in 5 days, but that will depend on the exact group coming. Remote is preferable.

 

[steve]

Escalante could be great, if not a little warm that time of year. Nick is an expert on that area, I've only been a few times. We're going to Coyote Gulch in Escalante in June, but we're only going for a few days. Coyote Gulch will require a backcountry permit, but it's free and you fill it out at the trailhead. No lotteries or waiting around to pick one up.

Capitol Reef could be an awesome destination as well.

Bryce Canyon NP has some great trails you could like together for a nice 3-5 day trip for 40+ miles. You could combine it with some different trails and make a 30+ miler out of it. It's fairly close to escalante, so you could split it into two separate trips. That's a really cool area that isn't like anything in NC. You'll need a permit, but it's cheap and there's not a lottery for it.

 

[BJett]

You do realize that the most of the fees you pay for permits in most NP's go back into maintaining the Park? There is a ridiculous backlog in the National Park budget, they can use all the $ they can get. I think they should charge for backcountry permits in the Smokies, but its so heavily visited and the surrounding areas make so much off tourism its not an issue. Utah has millions of acres of incredible public lands to explore and you don't have to pay a dime if the pay to play is that big of an issue to you.
The Grand Staircase-Escalante NM is my favorite place in Utah, you can lose yourself for weeks out there. Combine some car camping/day hiking and backpacking to see some of Utah's best wild lands. It'll be hot, but not July/August hot. Death Hollow is an awesome warm weather destination, great swimming...check out Upper Calf Creek for more ice cold pools...head down Hole in the Rock Rd. and explore...eyegasms galore.
Folks on this site can give you more info than you will ever need.

 

[Nick]

Escalante requires permits but they are free and self-serve. You're golden in early June for a lot of things and it won't be unbearably hot. Just pick hikes in the water, there are dozens of them. I'm not sure how much desert hiking experience you have, but it seems that mountain backpackers often go into it with a mileage target, must hit 10 miles per day, 50 miles per trip, etc.. In my opinion, travel in the desert is not at all the same. Don't think too much about actual miles and focus more on how much there is to explore and enjoy. You won't hit your mileage target if you spend 2 hours in that swimming hole, but what's going to be more fun? A 20-30 mile hike in the desert is a 3-5 day trip if you're doing it right, IMO. That's just me though.

Anyway, @BJett covered it well. If I had the time to spend, I'd focus on 3-4 day backpacks and mixing in some day hikes and car camps. There's a lot of cool stuff out there but long distance backpacking isn't always the best way to see it. But don't tell @Jammer that.

In the first place you can't see anything from a car; you've got to get out of the goddamned contraption and walk, better yet crawl, on hands and knees, over the sandstone and through the thornbush and cactus. When traces of blood begin to mark your trail you'll begin to see something, maybe. Probably not.