Udink
Still right here.
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2012
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- 1,710
February 28-March 1, 2020
This trip happened all because a friend of an acquaintance asked me to help him find a rock art panel in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. I always enjoy that sort of challenge, and so after sleuthing on the internet and gleaning the location of the pictographs, I decided to visit the panel myself. I'd never been to the Needles District and figured Salt Creek would be a good introduction to the area. I invited Chris and he met me at my house on Friday afternoon, and by that evening we'd found a camp spot just off UT-211 near Hart's Draw. We had a camp fire and ate dinner while listening to one of our favorite bands, the Fruit Bats, when I decided to use my phone to look at their concert schedule. They were playing in Salt Lake City in August so I bought tickets on the spot, but the concert eventually got canceled due to COVID.
But, they'll be back in Utah this September! It was quite cold during the night and there were even a few spots of lingering snow on the ground, but we still slept on cots under the stars. We were awake early the next morning, made a quick stop at Newspaper Rock, and then entered the park and got to hikin' up Salt Creek.
Early morning at camp near Hart's Draw
Two-track leading back to UT-211
Newspaper Rock petroglyphs
Newspaper Rock petroglyphs
The hike started out with perfect conditions--hiking along a closed road in deep sand. Ugh. We strayed from the road a few times to inspect cliffs or ledges that looked interesting, but didn't find anything of interest. Other portions of the road were actually pleasant to walk on, with damp, almost frozen sand, and some pools of water that were easily avoidable.
Entering Salt Creek
Sand slog down the closed road
Trail through the crypto
Examining an overhang
Water with a thin layer of ice on the road
After a few miles of walking we came across our first rock art. There were white Fremont pictographs superimposed on some older Barrier Canyon Style pictos in red. Nearby were some reverse handprints in white and several large but faint circles.
White shield figures
Large BCS picto behind more recent white pictos
Interesting red/reverse handprint pictograph
Arch at Peekaboo Spring
Stylized handprint pictographs
High pictographs near Peekaboo Spring
High pictographs near Peekaboo Spring
We hiked some more, including a couple of explorations off the main canyon, and arrived at our goal, the Flying Carpet Panel. With some more exploring outside Salt Creek proper we found a couple of other panels that I wasn't expecting--just icing on the cake of an already good day.
Unusual (probably BCS) pictograph
Exploring past Peekaboo Spring
Sarlacc mouth
Flying Carpet panel in harsh sunlight
More pictographs near Flying Carpet
Three small figures near Flying Carpet
Stacked rocks in a large crack
More pictographs
White diamond pattern
The return hike wasn't bad at first, at least not until Chris and I reached the dry sand slog. It wouldn't be a true wilderness experience if we didn't find a mylar balloon, which we did! We spotted some bicycle tracks in the sand that hadn't been there in the morning, and it looked like (presumably) he had a difficult time riding in the sand. Back at the trailhead there was a Tundra with a bike rack on the back, and Colorado license plates. I'm not sure bikes are legal on that road but, oh well, good for him I guess. It looked like he went up Horse Canyon, so he probably saw some pretty cool stuff there.
I don't know what this plant is, but I thought it looked cool
Happy birthday!
Salt Creek and Horse Canyon junction sign
Fatbike tracks on the road
Sandy slog back to the trailhead
The fatbike dude struggled a lot
We clocked 10.7 miles for the day and still had enough energy to hike most of the Cave Spring loop. And even after leaving Canyonlands, we visited some rock art and ruins near Indian Creek that about took it all outta me, but was well worth the effort.
10.7 miles on the trip odometer
Cave Spring cowboy camp
Cave Spring reverse handprint pictographs
Cave Spring pictograph
Cave Spring handprint pictographs
Ladder on the Cave Spring trail
Petroglyph near Indian Creek
Petroglyph near Indian Creek
Pretty potsherd
Badly weathered rock art
Two-story ruin
Ruins from below
Potsherd with fingerprints
We found a place to camp not far from where we'd slept the previous evening. On Sunday morning we visited the Birdcage Panel, which a friend had told me about. We also explored a couple of other alcoves in the area and found some signs of habitation but no more rock art.
At camp on Saturday evening
Sunday morning at camp
La Sal Mountains
Large alcove with pictographs
Birdcage panel
Many turkey track petroglyphs
Great BCS pictos
Thin man
Red and white pictograph
Faded red and purple picto
Exploring another nearby alcove
Broken metate
Grooves in the sandstone
Large worked tool
We still had plenty of time to get home so we took a detour to Hatch Point to see the view from the Needles Overlook. From there we could see some of the country we'd hiked a day earlier. We also stopped at Eightmile Rock which, despite being on BLM land, appears to have been inhabited by some livestock herders. I wasn't really expecting to see much there, but there were "houses" built into the sandstone, saddles and gear ready for a ride, and even a cat inside one of the residences. It slowly dawned on us (idiots) that we were encroaching on somebody's home (however legal it may be) and felt uncomfortable enough to get outta there.
There's a camera somewhere behind this sign
The Henry Mountains almost 70 miles distant
South and North Six-shooter Peaks viewed from the Needles Overlook
Spire below the Needles Overlook
View past Junction Butte to Cleopatra's Chair far in the distance
Cave houses at Eightmile Rock
Saddles and gear
Cat in one of the cave houses
With still yet more time before we needed to be home, we made one final stop near Crescent Junction to search for an 1837 inscription. I read about it in a book and had looked for it two other times, but we came up empty this time as well.
Mouth of Crescent Canyon
Full Photo Gallery: Salt Creek and the Birdcage Panel
This trip happened all because a friend of an acquaintance asked me to help him find a rock art panel in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. I always enjoy that sort of challenge, and so after sleuthing on the internet and gleaning the location of the pictographs, I decided to visit the panel myself. I'd never been to the Needles District and figured Salt Creek would be a good introduction to the area. I invited Chris and he met me at my house on Friday afternoon, and by that evening we'd found a camp spot just off UT-211 near Hart's Draw. We had a camp fire and ate dinner while listening to one of our favorite bands, the Fruit Bats, when I decided to use my phone to look at their concert schedule. They were playing in Salt Lake City in August so I bought tickets on the spot, but the concert eventually got canceled due to COVID.
But, they'll be back in Utah this September! It was quite cold during the night and there were even a few spots of lingering snow on the ground, but we still slept on cots under the stars. We were awake early the next morning, made a quick stop at Newspaper Rock, and then entered the park and got to hikin' up Salt Creek.Early morning at camp near Hart's Draw
Two-track leading back to UT-211
Newspaper Rock petroglyphs
Newspaper Rock petroglyphs
The hike started out with perfect conditions--hiking along a closed road in deep sand. Ugh. We strayed from the road a few times to inspect cliffs or ledges that looked interesting, but didn't find anything of interest. Other portions of the road were actually pleasant to walk on, with damp, almost frozen sand, and some pools of water that were easily avoidable.
Entering Salt Creek
Sand slog down the closed road
Trail through the crypto
Examining an overhang
Water with a thin layer of ice on the road
After a few miles of walking we came across our first rock art. There were white Fremont pictographs superimposed on some older Barrier Canyon Style pictos in red. Nearby were some reverse handprints in white and several large but faint circles.
White shield figures
Large BCS picto behind more recent white pictos
Interesting red/reverse handprint pictograph
Arch at Peekaboo Spring
Stylized handprint pictographs
High pictographs near Peekaboo Spring
High pictographs near Peekaboo Spring
We hiked some more, including a couple of explorations off the main canyon, and arrived at our goal, the Flying Carpet Panel. With some more exploring outside Salt Creek proper we found a couple of other panels that I wasn't expecting--just icing on the cake of an already good day.
Unusual (probably BCS) pictograph
Exploring past Peekaboo Spring
Sarlacc mouth
Flying Carpet panel in harsh sunlight
More pictographs near Flying Carpet
Three small figures near Flying Carpet
Stacked rocks in a large crack
More pictographs
White diamond pattern
The return hike wasn't bad at first, at least not until Chris and I reached the dry sand slog. It wouldn't be a true wilderness experience if we didn't find a mylar balloon, which we did! We spotted some bicycle tracks in the sand that hadn't been there in the morning, and it looked like (presumably) he had a difficult time riding in the sand. Back at the trailhead there was a Tundra with a bike rack on the back, and Colorado license plates. I'm not sure bikes are legal on that road but, oh well, good for him I guess. It looked like he went up Horse Canyon, so he probably saw some pretty cool stuff there.
I don't know what this plant is, but I thought it looked cool
Happy birthday!
Salt Creek and Horse Canyon junction sign
Fatbike tracks on the road
Sandy slog back to the trailhead
The fatbike dude struggled a lot
We clocked 10.7 miles for the day and still had enough energy to hike most of the Cave Spring loop. And even after leaving Canyonlands, we visited some rock art and ruins near Indian Creek that about took it all outta me, but was well worth the effort.
10.7 miles on the trip odometer
Cave Spring cowboy camp
Cave Spring reverse handprint pictographs
Cave Spring pictograph
Cave Spring handprint pictographs
Ladder on the Cave Spring trail
Petroglyph near Indian Creek
Petroglyph near Indian Creek
Pretty potsherd
Badly weathered rock art
Two-story ruin
Ruins from below
Potsherd with fingerprints
We found a place to camp not far from where we'd slept the previous evening. On Sunday morning we visited the Birdcage Panel, which a friend had told me about. We also explored a couple of other alcoves in the area and found some signs of habitation but no more rock art.
At camp on Saturday evening
Sunday morning at camp
La Sal Mountains
Large alcove with pictographs
Birdcage panel
Many turkey track petroglyphs
Great BCS pictos
Thin man
Red and white pictograph
Faded red and purple picto
Exploring another nearby alcove
Broken metate
Grooves in the sandstone
Large worked tool
We still had plenty of time to get home so we took a detour to Hatch Point to see the view from the Needles Overlook. From there we could see some of the country we'd hiked a day earlier. We also stopped at Eightmile Rock which, despite being on BLM land, appears to have been inhabited by some livestock herders. I wasn't really expecting to see much there, but there were "houses" built into the sandstone, saddles and gear ready for a ride, and even a cat inside one of the residences. It slowly dawned on us (idiots) that we were encroaching on somebody's home (however legal it may be) and felt uncomfortable enough to get outta there.
There's a camera somewhere behind this sign
The Henry Mountains almost 70 miles distant
South and North Six-shooter Peaks viewed from the Needles Overlook
Spire below the Needles Overlook
View past Junction Butte to Cleopatra's Chair far in the distance
Cave houses at Eightmile Rock
Saddles and gear
Cat in one of the cave houses
With still yet more time before we needed to be home, we made one final stop near Crescent Junction to search for an 1837 inscription. I read about it in a book and had looked for it two other times, but we came up empty this time as well.
Mouth of Crescent Canyon
Full Photo Gallery: Salt Creek and the Birdcage Panel
