Islands in the Sky - Part One

Back in June 2013, I introduced you to the "Ghostly Mustangs of Dead Horse Point" which is reached by traveling down Route 313; eleven miles outside of Moab. Now we're going a bit further down the road, crossing from Grand County into San Juan County, to experience Canyonlands - Island in the Sky. Of the three sections of Canyonlands (Needles, The Maze, Islands in the Sky), Islands is the largest; itself being divided into three sections; so, sticking with the theme of three, this adventure will be in three parts.  How long will it take to visit Islands?  What a ridiculous question;  as long as you want it to take of course!  There are many trails to hike; and walking to the Overlooks will be over sandstone, slickrock and sand; the only thing paved in this park is the main roadway.  Roy and I spent six hours there and still didn't get to walk as any trails as we would have liked to; we did make sure to get as much of an eyeful as possible though.  There were clouds moving in all day, we heard thunder in the south; by 5:30 that evening, the rain began to fall down.  Best get started then, aye?

 

Route 313 is an exquisite drive in itself; sandstone walls reaching up to the sky; the remnants of an old railway trestle will be on the right hand side; reminding us of Moab's mining days of the past.

There will be a parking area for Merrimac and Monitor Buttes; this will be an additional shock to the senses, but there is still more to come!

Merrimac Butte (left), Monitor Butte (right)

You'll come up to a sign directing you to either Dead Horse Point (to the left), or go straight for Islands; I highly recommend you take one hour and explore Dead Horse Point.  This is the Overlook for the famous Gooseneck formed by the Colorado River, the "white horse" silhouette on the canyon floor, and "Thelma and Louise Point", where the Grand Canyon scene was actually filmed for the movie.   Whether you go here before or after Islands, do not miss this site!


While you have been riding in Grand County, you'll eventually pass a sign stating you are now entering San Juan County, the true home of Canyonlands National Park.  Once you pay your fee at the toll booth, or show your National Park pass; visit the Visitors Center which is not too far away; and the Shafer Trail Overlook just happens to be directly across.  Oh, by the way, there will be two types of rangers available at the Park, the human and the raven; the ravens have their wings in everything, as demonstrated with the photo of the toll booth.  The ranger inside informed us that he, the raven, was acting supervisor for the day.




The Shafer Trail can be accessed here at Islands; a winding, graded dirt road that hugs the hillside as you descend down into Shafer Canyon.  This trail will take you across Dead Horse Point into Long Canyon, and finally exit out onto Potash Road famous for Jughandle Arch, petroglyphs and the love of rock climbers, Wall Street.  Driving down the Shafer Trail is on our "to-do" list for 2014.

To the right, there is an SUV on the road, so you can get perspective.

Pyramid Butte

Down the road a little further will be the pull in point for "The Neck"; another view of the Shafer Trail and the canyon below; but cross the road and you will get a most excellent viewing of "Neck Spring".  There is a loop trail (considered moderate in difficulty) that goes down into Neck Spring for hikers; estimated time to complete the trail is 3 to 4 hours.

Neck Spring

Now here is one of the most wondrous features of this stretch of roadway, Mesa Arch.  The trail itself is a half mile loop over sandstone steps and sand; surrounding you is a truly desert environment.  Mesa Arch is spectacular, but what you see from the arch will blow you away as much as the arch itself.  The White Rim off to the right; Sandcastle Tower, Washer Woman Arch and Monster Tower are directly left through the arch; behind them is Airport Tower; the La Sal Mountains in the far distance.  The visitor's guide says, "30 minutes", but if you do not spend at least an hour experiencing this section of the Park, then you're not truly there to experience it at all.  With Mesa Arch, the top is flat and wide enough to walk over, and we saw a couple of guys do it; however, they did say that the wind got stronger up there.  The other side of the arch is a sheer drop off to the canyon floor below, so I wouldn't recommend doing this at all.


First view from the trail.









Interesting Rock Formation along the trail.



Sandcastle Tower is the lower section behind Washer Woman Arch; Monster Tower in front of WW Arch; Airport Tower is lighter colored tower behind them.



View of the White Rim.

View of the White Rim from Mesa Arch.

This is the end of Part One; the beginning of Route 313 into the Park and down to Mesa Arch.  Bet you've been wondering where the map is on this post, well I'm not one to disappoint.

In Part Two, we'll be making the right hand turn at the junction after Mesa Arch; first coming to the Green River Overlook and heading all the way to Upheaval Dome.  Until then...

Mary Cokenour

The Ghostly Mustangs of Dead Horse Point.

White Horse Figure in Outline
 

The legend of Dead Horse Point originates in the 1800s when cowboys would round up the wild mustangs that roamed around the mesa.  They would corral them down at "The Neck", pick out the best of the herd and let the others go free.  However, for whatever reason, one day the mustangs not chosen were left in the corral and forgotten about.  They died of thirst with the Colorado River in full sight, 2000 feet below them.  We don't truly know how the cowboys felt about what they had done; we can only hope their humanity kicked in with feelings of regret and remorse. It is said that at night, campers can hear the mournful cries of the horses being carried on the wind through the canyons.  From the viewpoint, looking below, the form of a white horse can be seen; a ghost to remind us of the wild horses who tragically passed away.




The Gooseneck
 

From Moab, along Route 191, the entrance to Dead Horse Point State Park, and Canyonlands - Island in the Sky, is about 10 miles to Route 313; another 18 miles to the State Park itself.  After parking and checking in at the Visitor's Center, the Overlook is along a paved, upward incline, walkway.  The walled viewing center is shaded for the most part, but you want to get close enough to the wall to be able to see as far as the eye can see.  Straight ahead is the most photographed site of the park, "The Gooseneck" aka "The Neck". As with the Grand Canyon, the ever moving Colorado River carved out this formation; in fact, Dead Horse Point is also known as Utah's "Little Grand Canyon".  It was here that the actual Grand Canyon scene from the movie, "Thelma and Louise", was filmed. 



The Overlook is surrounded by sandstone; juniper trees, shaped by the wind, grow strong between the stones.








 


To the East is Cane Creek Anticline and the Solar Potash Collection Ponds.






Down below is Shafer Basin and Shafer Trail (originally used to bring cattle down to the water), while looking southward is Pyramid Butte and Pyramid Canyon; further on, Islands in the Sky can be spied.

 

Westward is a desert tower known as "Big Chief" keeping a watchful eye over his canyon.

 

Big Chief
 

Looking to the North, Merrimac and Monitor Buttes can be seen; they can be reached via trails from Mill Canyon Road.

 

Merrimac Butte (on left), Monitor Butte (on right)
 

 

Merrimac and Montior Buttes
 

 

Besides the Overlooks, there are many trails that can be hiked, and while camping sites are available, better make reservations or you'll be out of luck staying overnight at the park.  Invest in ATV or 4 wheel drive maps for traveling over the Basin; it doesn't hurt to carry a map of the hiking trails either.  Want more?  You can always get back on Route 313 and see what surprises Islands in the Sky has in store.  Enjoy it all !!!

Mary Cokenour