Needles and Fiery Furnace Dec. 2012

[NateGeesaman]

The itch to camp does not stop when the cold grips the desert. The empty(ish) and FREE campground at Needles was a beautiful and extremely fun destination last December so I decided to hit it up again this year. Last year I saw Druid Arch which had enchanted me in photos and this year I wanted to hit up The Joint Trail after slc_dan did it with his wife and had such high praises for the beauty out there. I just missed ashergrey out here and he understands how choice this area is this time of year.



I drove down South with a mind bogged down by the weight of life. I like solo camping for time to reflect and dream. One of my favorite sayings I have read is "Silence brings answers." The first moments in The Needles and even just the drive were already feeling like a breath of fresh air. The weather was unseasonably warm and the skies were dramatic and beautiful. I arrived at Squaw flat in the early afternoon and wandered around the sandstone hills behind my camp at the end of the loop. There was an abundance of bird activity around and I chilled and watched the beautiful views and scoped out birds with my binoculars for a while. 

 
Squaw Flat Afternoon by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

 
Squaw Flat First View 2 by NateGeesaman, on Flickr



After a while I decided I needed to stretch out my legs something serious before my big hike the next day, so I headed back to the car to gear up. What a great place to be! 

 
Roof Rack Squaw Flat by NateGeesaman, on Flickr



I decided on going up Big Spring Canyon a ways until I felt like turning around to hopefully catch some kind of sunset from camp. The trail was awesome and the clouds were even more awesome. It felt so good to be out here in this moment and it was really fun to get down into the vistas I had been appreciating from above.

With a view like this of the trail enticing me, how could I not take this trail?




Big Spring Canyon initial Trail by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

Skies darkened, but it was still so nice. It felt more like April than December. 

 
Big Spring Canyon Leg Stretcher 3 by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

 
Big Spring Canyon by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

 
Big Spring Canyon Leg Stretcher 2 by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

 
Big Spring Canyon Leg Stretcher 4 by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

Gnarly old Ent!

 
Big Spring Canyon Growth by NateGeesaman, on Flickr



After my time in Big Spring Canyon I spent some more time climbing around on the rocks by camp and continued to enjoy the skies on offer. 

 
Needles in the Blue Hour by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

I retired to camp for some grub, beers, and good sleep to ready myself for the morning.



In the morning I headed straight to the Elephant Hill trail head and ate breakfast there while watching the sunrise. There was one other couple there and one car of some backpacker, who I would later meet, in the parking lot. The day was off to a beautiful start.

 
Elephant Hill First Rays by NateGeesaman, on Flickr



It was so warm that I just wore a sweater and a beanie for warmth. 

It did rain a bit the night before. Just enough to bring a little sky into the potholes along the start of the trail. 

 
Teapot and Potholes by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

I love this trail and early on it gets soooo pretty and just keeps getting better.


Needles Crypto by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

Looking North up Big Spring Canyon towards Island in the Sky:


Another Needles Pano by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

It was at this point in the trail that I ran into a lively unkindness. The Raven were flying around like I have never seen. One had caught a small rodent or a lizard and two or three others were chasing it around like jet fighters through the beautiful landscape. It was awesome to just stop and enjoy the captivating desert drama.


Chesler Park Unkindness by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

...and the views just keep going...


Needles and La Sals by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

Chesler Park and the surrounding area has an awesome feel to it. Big, open, green, ever changing, desert beauty of epic proportions.


Simply Beautiful Chesler Park by NateGeesaman, on Flickr


Layers of Needles Loving by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

The skies were putting on a nice show for me and it was so nice that I was hiking in just a long sleeve t-shirt and a beanie. Great great hiking weather, especially for December.


Howling Wolf Rock by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

This was where I saw the first other human since the trail head. You can see a tiny guy in a red jacket on the left chilling on the white sandstone. He called my attention his way with an owl hoot and a hearty full arm wave.


Chesler Pano by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

I met the guy in the above photo down in the narrows of The Joint Trail. He was a guide from Maryland who was solo backpacking. He was camped out at CP2, but said The Joint Trail was like mecca to him and his favorite hike in the U.S. This was by far one of the coolest interactions I have had with a stranger on a hike. His enthusiasm and energy were genuine and contagious. We hung out in the cairn room for a while and shared some trail and stories together before we parted ways.

The Narrows were great to wander through. Great feel to this portion of the hike as well .


Joint Trail Log Jam by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

Joint Narrows 1 by NateGeesaman, on FlickrFlickr 
John Joseph St Onge by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

...and the views just keep going... This hike required many a photo break.


Needles Pano 3 by NateGeesaman, on Flickr


Eye of the Needles by NateGeesaman, on Flickr


Needles Jumble Pano by NateGeesaman, on Flickr


Needles Crack by NateGeesaman, on Flickr


Procession of Needles by NateGeesaman, on Flickr


The skies were beautiful all day.


Needles Pano by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

I made it back to camp and had just enough time to climb on top of the rocks behind my campsite and catch some of the sunset which was going off in all directions.

East towards The La Sals


La Sal Squaw Flat View by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

South towards The Abajos


Squaw Flat Abajo Mts Sunset by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

and West Towards The Colorado River


12-3-12 sunset 1 by NateGeesaman, on Flickr


12-3-12 sunset 2 by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

I count my lucky stars every time that I have awesome clouds all day to add beauty to the landscape or to break the heat, and then have clear skies just as the sunset finishes up and stars start to come out. I have been lucky enough to have this experience many many times.


Early Stars by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

I ate a huge meal and drank a few victory beers around the fire and took some night shots of the campground.


Squaw Flat Jupiter by NateGeesaman, on Flickr


Squaw Flat night charm by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

Neighbors for the night


Great Camp Stars by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

A neighbor came over to have some brews around the fire and chat a bit. He was on his way home to Vermont after a stint volunteering in Lava Beds National Monument in California. He had a lot of insight I appreciated as I have often contemplated career paths that would have me outside in beauty often. Solo camping provided me with a lot of company on this trip, which can be bad, but was really good! I spent time with two unique and like minded people that I may never have had the good fortune to meet.

I bounced out of bed at sunrise feeling great. The sky was going off again.


12-4-12 sunrise 1 by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

I had a leisurely day with no definitive plans. I headed to Cave Spring to start my day and did the short hike around this interesting historical place.

Another Beautiful Day in Canyonlands!


View from Cave Spring by NateGeesaman, on Flickr


Cave Spring Pictograph by NateGeesaman, on Flickr


Grinders by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

where to next?... talking around the fire the night before and recommending Fiery Furnace of Arches as a fun place to spend some time got me pumped on the idea. I went here last January and wandered around, so I would have a better idea of how to get around back there and our first trip left so much unexplored territory. So off to Arches I went.

The ranger told me there was only one other person in Fiery Furnace and I found him sitting cross legged in the sun in this area.
Fiery Furnace Arch 2 by NateGeesaman, on Flickr He was super nice and let me snap a few shots in his space before I bid him adieu and continued exploring.


Walkthrough Arch by NateGeesaman, on Flickr


Fiery Furnace Arch Verto by NateGeesaman, on Flickr


Fiery Furnace Arch from atop by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

Fiery Finage by NateGeesaman, on Flickr


Fiery Furnace View by NateGeesaman, on Flickr


Fiery Furnace Finage by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

I dead ended after wandering around several fingers of a long canyon I was in so I headed back out to the wash to loop around to the other side of Fiery Furnace. I saw this bad ass huge Juniper and had to stop to take some photos with it.


Monster Juniper Selfie by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

More fantastic hiking weather!


La Sal Fiery Furnace View by NateGeesaman, on Flickr


Fiery Furnace Pano by NateGeesaman, on Flickr


Fiery Furnace Scene by NateGeesaman, on Flickr

Tired from wandering and climbing around this area by now, I headed back to the car and back to SLC. I felt greatly refreshed by all the beauty and good experiences I had on this trip. This desert refresher was a great trip just before the coldest months of the year and the holiday season. It was not long before I was back in Capitol Reef on New Years Day... trip report to come.

Thanks for checking out my trip report!

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[Udink]

Man--nice report! I enjoyed reading it as much as looking at the photos.

 

[slc_dan]

It's cool to see this in one piece like this. nice report!

 

[Dave]

I second slc_dan. I had some similar interactions with strangers in the Needles, albeit both of them female. Must be something about the place...

 

[Yvonne]

this is pure eye candy !! Great report Nate and I really love the little campground in Needles, too.
Wonderful shot of Chesler Park and hopefully I will hit the trail by myself this May before I start my Salt Creek backpacking trip.

 

[NateGeesaman]

Thanks for the kind words.

 

[Nick]

Fantastic trip report, Nate. You always do such a great job making me feel like I'm there.

 

[jakelavell]

Love the report. Gives me motivation to get out in the winter and to talk my wife into letting me solo some desert. Thanks.

 

[pixie1339]

Killer trip report! It must have been nice to practically have Canyonlands to yourself.

 

[Noun Sequitur]

Awesome TR! Hey is Fiery Furnace difficult to navigate in? I ask because when i was a little kid, someone scared me to death about how you should never go walking in fiery furnace without a ranger because 'you will get lost and you will wander around until you eventually DIE, just like every other tourist that has wandered in there alone!' And so I've carried that fear around and then I see people posting nonchalantly about wandering around in fiery furnace and i think WOW! These guys are hardcore! but i bet its not that bad is it? It's not a big area and i imagine you could keep walking in the same direction and find your way out pretty easy right?

 

[NateGeesaman]

Awesome TR! Hey is Fiery Furnace difficult to navigate in? I ask because when i was a little kid, someone scared me to death about how you should never go walking in fiery furnace without a ranger because 'you will get lost and you will wander around until you eventually DIE, just like every other tourist that has wandered in there alone!' And so I've carried that fear around and then I see people posting nonchalantly about wandering around in fiery furnace and i think WOW! These guys are hardcore! but i bet its not that bad is it? It's not a big area and i imagine you could keep walking in the same direction and find your way out pretty easy right?

It is disorienting wandering around back there. I brought a satellite image map to try and find my way around back there and was still very surprised by where I found myself a couple times. I looked up and was like, "Really, the parking lot is up there?" So I would say it is easy to get slightly disoriented, but not lost. Just keeping track of the sun and which way you came will keep you from feeling lost.

It is way fun to do without a ranger though. My first time back here I didn't see as much, but with the map and a little more knowledge this time I got to explore one of the longer canyons and wander down many side canyons of that longer canyon looking for the loop through the fins. I saw 3 arches I didn't see the time before and just had a lot of fun wandering through the new territory. I do want to go on a ranger guided hike one day because I have thus far not been able to find Skull Arch, which looks pretty sweet.

 

[Michael]

That's a wonderful TR, Nate!
...love your night shots.