Canyonlands Backpacking

With school starting and some friends in town I decided is was time for another winter backpacking trip. This time it was to the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. The trip was thrown together a bit quick but on Friday Jan 4th myself, Zanna, and Golden were off to Moab to meet up with Ashley (a friend from my NOLS course) and Landon (her boyfriend).
We weren't able to leave until later so we camped at the trail head Friday night and early Saturday morning we were off on what the ranger termed a 'treacherous' route. With some snow already on the ground and an incoming storm we headed into the park for an adventure. It was spectacular! The route was quite difficult especially with the ice and wind as we had to go over several passes with some scrambling involved but it was amazing to get away from everything. We packed in a little over six amazing miles on the first day and then headed off for a day hike to Druid Arch. There were not even any footprints from other visitor let alone anyone else in the park! Druid Arch was somewhat of a chore to get to but it was one of the most unique and incredible arches I've ever visited. The pictures just did not do it justice.
It got dark quickly and after a nice dinner at our campsite we went to bed early. There were a few scattered showers throughout the night but the snow that was on the forecast never arrived. Waking up on Sunday morning there was hardly a cloud in the sky. We wasted little time and off we went for the last 5 miles of our short trip. I was blown away by the Needles district as it was well maintained yet beautiful and remote. Spectacular views were in every direction and we were able to take in a lot of scenery over the two days we had in Canyonlands. We covered nearly 16 miles in two days and had a great time. I wish we could have done more in the area, just one more excuse to put together another trip. Happy Trails.