Noun Sequitur
My Feet Hurt
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2012
- Messages
- 360
In an unabashed attempt to score some loot, I've decided to risk diluting the high quality of this website by posting my trip report.
Last year, my brother-in-law and I spent a beautiful October day walking the Chesler Park loop in the Needles district. I've been near Chesler Park several times via the Elephant Hill trail but I've never seen it. So my bro-in-law and I decided to pack some water and trail mix and go for an adventure.
Our first stop was the Albuquerque Balloon Festival. Wait what? Yep. I had to get to Utah before we could start the hike so we stopped to see New Mexico on the way. The kids loved it.
Darth Vader balloon was my favorite. His evil self slowly rose from the ground as he was inflated. All of the bystanders started the Imperial March as the Dark Lord lifted into the air... DUHN DUHN DUHN dun da duh dun da duh...
We pulled into Utah late that evening and started getting our packs ready. When the sun came up the next morning we said goodby to the wives and kids and hit the road.
I've heard this rock called many things. Church Rock is the least profane.
Soon we were at the EH trailhead and off we went. Right off the bat the trail goes up a hill. Wow that pack got heavy quick! Did I really have to bring two gallons of water?? Turned out the answer was yes.
Before long we were at the top with an excellent view of the confusing, manic jumble of rock that we were heading into. Jumping feet first into that mess was exciting.
The trail wound through sandstone structures and joints and finally arrived at the bottom of Elephant Canyon.
After another uphill battle out of the canyon, we emerged facing the immense stone buttress that guards Chesler Park.
The route continued up and through a crack in the wall and suddenly we were looking out over a desert pastoral, ringed on all sides by improbable sandstone shapes.
We came to a fork in the trail. There was a brief but rather heated discussion regarding which direction we should go. In a completely uncalled for personal attack, my brother-in-law besmirched my navigation skills with the petty grievance that I was holding the map upside down. I countered that most, if not all, legendary explorers held their maps upside down, and postulated that even the great Amundsen after reaching the South Pole, would have viewed his map from several orientations at once. This perfectly logical line of reasoning only resulted in more ridicule and further derision of my route finding ability. To avoid wasting precious time, I acquiesced and we continued along the northern edge of Chesler Park in a direction that my brother-in-law called "west".
The trail continued through the peaceful desert meadow until we came upon the perfect shady spot to eat our lunch of tuna and trail mix. After lunch, we scrambled down into Chesler Canyon and followed the jeep trail for a while. Roads are often eyesores, but when they are properly done they can be picturesque.
After we reached the end of the road, we took a quick breather and continued up the joint trail, back towards the park. The joint trail is every bit as awesome as people say. The cairns were in full effect.
I took lots of pictures here but only a couple turned out half way decent. This one reminds of a Star Wars poster (wow that's my second Star Wars reference! Completely unintentional).
Back in the park, the afternoon was progressing and the sunlight was warm on the eponymous needles.
Part of the plan was to exit Chesler Park at the southeast corner via a pass that leads straight to Elephant Canyon. This turned out to be a scenic and wild little route, steep and a bit difficult, especially towards the end of a long day hiking. Here's the entrance to the route from Chesler Park.
The pass emptied onto a slickrock bench with Elephant Canyon on the right and the awe-inspiring wall that hides Chesler Park on the left. After folowing the bench north for a bit, the trail takes a steep dive into the canyon. Unfortunately we were running out of daylight and I didn't stop for pics. This bit, along with joint trail, were my favorite parts of the hike.
We reached the bottom of EC, marched double time down the canyon, scrambled up the other side, and started down the home stretch.
We made it back to the car just as the last bit of light faded.
Featured image for home page:
Last year, my brother-in-law and I spent a beautiful October day walking the Chesler Park loop in the Needles district. I've been near Chesler Park several times via the Elephant Hill trail but I've never seen it. So my bro-in-law and I decided to pack some water and trail mix and go for an adventure.
Our first stop was the Albuquerque Balloon Festival. Wait what? Yep. I had to get to Utah before we could start the hike so we stopped to see New Mexico on the way. The kids loved it.
Darth Vader balloon was my favorite. His evil self slowly rose from the ground as he was inflated. All of the bystanders started the Imperial March as the Dark Lord lifted into the air... DUHN DUHN DUHN dun da duh dun da duh...
We pulled into Utah late that evening and started getting our packs ready. When the sun came up the next morning we said goodby to the wives and kids and hit the road.
I've heard this rock called many things. Church Rock is the least profane.
Soon we were at the EH trailhead and off we went. Right off the bat the trail goes up a hill. Wow that pack got heavy quick! Did I really have to bring two gallons of water?? Turned out the answer was yes.
Before long we were at the top with an excellent view of the confusing, manic jumble of rock that we were heading into. Jumping feet first into that mess was exciting.
The trail wound through sandstone structures and joints and finally arrived at the bottom of Elephant Canyon.
After another uphill battle out of the canyon, we emerged facing the immense stone buttress that guards Chesler Park.
The route continued up and through a crack in the wall and suddenly we were looking out over a desert pastoral, ringed on all sides by improbable sandstone shapes.
We came to a fork in the trail. There was a brief but rather heated discussion regarding which direction we should go. In a completely uncalled for personal attack, my brother-in-law besmirched my navigation skills with the petty grievance that I was holding the map upside down. I countered that most, if not all, legendary explorers held their maps upside down, and postulated that even the great Amundsen after reaching the South Pole, would have viewed his map from several orientations at once. This perfectly logical line of reasoning only resulted in more ridicule and further derision of my route finding ability. To avoid wasting precious time, I acquiesced and we continued along the northern edge of Chesler Park in a direction that my brother-in-law called "west".
The trail continued through the peaceful desert meadow until we came upon the perfect shady spot to eat our lunch of tuna and trail mix. After lunch, we scrambled down into Chesler Canyon and followed the jeep trail for a while. Roads are often eyesores, but when they are properly done they can be picturesque.
After we reached the end of the road, we took a quick breather and continued up the joint trail, back towards the park. The joint trail is every bit as awesome as people say. The cairns were in full effect.
I took lots of pictures here but only a couple turned out half way decent. This one reminds of a Star Wars poster (wow that's my second Star Wars reference! Completely unintentional).
Back in the park, the afternoon was progressing and the sunlight was warm on the eponymous needles.
Part of the plan was to exit Chesler Park at the southeast corner via a pass that leads straight to Elephant Canyon. This turned out to be a scenic and wild little route, steep and a bit difficult, especially towards the end of a long day hiking. Here's the entrance to the route from Chesler Park.
The pass emptied onto a slickrock bench with Elephant Canyon on the right and the awe-inspiring wall that hides Chesler Park on the left. After folowing the bench north for a bit, the trail takes a steep dive into the canyon. Unfortunately we were running out of daylight and I didn't stop for pics. This bit, along with joint trail, were my favorite parts of the hike.
We reached the bottom of EC, marched double time down the canyon, scrambled up the other side, and started down the home stretch.
We made it back to the car just as the last bit of light faded.
Featured image for home page:
