Our next stop wouldn’t take us too far from where we have been the last 12 nights. Dead Horse Point State Park (DHPSP) is only 15 miles due west of our current campground and less than a 40 mile drive. Why bother with such a short move? Well, two reasons: first, Canyonlands National Park would be about a 45 minute drive each way from our spot in Moab but only 15 minutes from the state park. Plus Dead Horse Point SP is actually a destination of its own, so staying there will give us ample opportunities to check it out.
Let’s just get this fact out of the way. Why is it called dead horse point? The land that makes up the state park would be called a peninsula if the canyons that surround it were filled with water. The canyons are dry except for the Colorado River that snakes thru the bottom of the canyon. There are steep drop offs on the sides of the flat top. And when I say steep, I mean nearly vertical for the first 700 feet or so and continuing down to the river roughly 2200 feet in elevation below. Near the tip of the “peninsula” it necks down to roughly 100 feet wide before broadening out again. Back in the day, the cowboys would drive the wild horses in the area out to the point of land beyond this neck and pile branches at the neck as a barricade. The cowboys would then check out the horses they had trapped and select those they wanted. They would inexplicably leave the ones they didn’t want trapped on the 30 acres of the point to die! It’s a rather gruesome fact but it doesn’t take away from the beauty of the area in the present although a name change would eliminate the need for parents to explain the park’s name to their children.
Camping in Canyonlands NP would have been even better but the campgrounds there aren’t big enough for our rig. The campgrounds in DHPSP turn out to be a rather popular stop for many other travelers as well. Originally they only had 21 sites in the Kayenta loop but in 2018, they opened another loop. The Wingate loop added another 20 electric sites and 11 tent sites. Even though they doubled the number of sites, it is difficult to get a spot here. They have a four month window for reservations. We had a reminder on our calendar for May to go check the reservation website. Even so, when we went to check for the dates we were wanting, it was clear that the place was filling up quickly. We managed to snag a site for 7 nights. Each campsite has electricity (20, 30, 50 amp) and there is a dump station but there is no water. The place is so far above the water table, a well is impossible. They do truck in tankers of water each day for use in the visitor center and some of the restrooms but we came prepared with a full fresh water tank.
With such a short drive, we arrived just after the check in time which meant we lots of time to check out some of the park. Our campsite was very close to a trail that went out to the West Rim Trail. From here we worked our way over to the Rim Overlook. The late afternoon sun made for some nice colors on the canyon below. About two miles to the west of us, the canyon walls rise back up and Canyonlands National Park begins. They do make a big deal about the soils in this part of the country. Much of the area is covered with a thin cryptobiotic crust. The living organisms that make up this thin layer help to stabilize the soil and took centuries to develop. Stepping on this crust can damage or kill it so there are signs all along the trails reminding visitors to keep on the trails. The other thing we learned was just how dark the skies are here. It had been quite some time since I had setup to do night sky photography, but when I stepped outside the rig that first night, I knew I needed to take advantage of the conditions.
Canyon Wall on Way to Rim Overlook
Looking Towards Canyonlands NP
I Have Tall Legs!
Milky Way Over Rig
24 Second Video of 15 Minute Night Sky
The following day, we decided to just stay in the state park and check out the visitor center and some of the other trails. The views along the rim of the canyon are pretty spectacular. Just over two miles to the east of the park is a potash mining operation. It would probably go unnoticed but for the huge blue colored ponds of water sitting in a high desert environment. What is potash? Potassium salts which are often used as a fertilizer. Back in the 1960’s, it was mined like coal or precious metals - dug from the ground. But after an accident in the mine killed some of the workers, the mine was converted to something called solution mining. Water from the Colorado River is pumped underground into the mine where the salts dissolve and is then pumped back to the surface to be placed in large shallow evaporation ponds. The brine is dyed blue to speed the evaporation process.
View from Near Visitor Center at DHPSP
Watch for Small Lizards
Colorado River at Gooseneck Bend
Potash Evaporation Ponds
After lunch, we decided to see how good the mountain biking in this park was. All of the mountain biking trails are located north of the visitor center. It’s only about half a mile from the campground to the visitor center so we just road from camp to the trailhead. The park has rated the difficulty level of the eight trails. We started on one named Intrepid which was considered an easy trail. In less than a mile, I knew this wasn’t going to be a trail Chris would enjoy. The terrain was reasonably flat but the trail was extremely rough with rocks that required a fair amount of concentration to pick a line around or over them. She headed back to camp and I continued on. In another half mile, the rough trail changed into a much more pleasant one. I continued north onto Raven Roll Trail and eventually the Big Chief Trail. At the very north end of this trail is another overlook with a bench and a great view. I stopped to sit and enjoy the solitude of the location before proceeding on. I continued on the Big Chief Trail which follows along the rim of the canyon. This part of the ride was very challenging for me with lots of short but steep sections, plenty of rocks to get around and the ever present canyon to the left. If I were to try this route again, I would go to the overlook and turn around.
View at Big Chief Overlook
Along Big Chief Trail
View at Pyramid Canyon Overlook
DHPSP Bike Ride
The next day we drive over to Canyonlands National Park. This northern section of the park is called the Island in the Sky district. By far, it is the most popular unit of the Park probably because it is the most accessible, being only thirty miles or so from downtown Moab. Not surprisingly, it has a lot in common with its neighbor at DHPSP but on a much larger scale. Water is a scarce resource here as well, so plan on bringing plenty to drink with you before arriving.
We stop at the visitor center to get some literature and talk to the ranger about driving the White Rim Road. More details on that later in the post but one must get a permit to drive on this road so we wanted to understand what was involved. The only questions we were asked: “do you have a 4 wheel drive vehicle?” and “do you have any pets?”. The pass is free but you can only get it for the day you ask for it, or the day after. We have one made out for tomorrow since we weren’t planning on that drive on our first day there.
We then continue into the park checking out most of the pullouts along the road. At Shafer Canyon Overlook, we can see Shafer Road as it snakes 1500 feet down into the canyon below. The overlook has a great view of the numerous switchbacks that drop half that distance in a one mile section. This is the road down to White Rim Road - maybe letting Chris see what I had in store for her later in our stay was a bad idea!
A bit further into the park is a parking area for Mesa Arch. There’s room for a few dozen cars but was pretty crowded. There is a half mile loop that goes out to an arch that is near the upper edge of the canyon. With the view thru Mesa Arch to the east, it is a very popular spot during sunrise. We were here hours after sunrise but it still was very crowded and difficult to get a picture void of people. Even if the arch wasn’t here, the view of the distant La Sal mountains and the canyon below is pretty good.
On the Walk to Mesa Arch
Mesa Arch without People
Different Angle
View into Canyon at Mesa Arch
From a Distance
A short drive from Mesa Arch is the Green River Overlook. This river is on the west side of the park and will eventually meet up with the Colorado River to the east. The massive canyon that has been carved out by the river provides another impressive view.
View of Green River
The parking area for Aztec Butte is also just a short drive down the park road. This 2 mile hike is rated as moderate but it takes a half mile before we understand why since the first part is along an easy trail next to several buttes in the area. The intricate patterns in the red sandstone walls of the buttes are so fascinating to me. As we come around a bend and see where the path is heading, we comprehend the moderate trail rating. The trail actually goes up to the top of Aztec Butte, not around it!
Sandstone
Aztec Butte
The wind had really picked up now with very strong gusts. This made the hike up the steep section of rock that much more challenging. We caught up with a group of three that was on their way to the top. So we got a good chance to watch how to get over the steepest part at the very top. In the case of the one hiker, I wasn’t positive she was going to even make it up. It took her several attempts to find a path she could negotiate without sliding back down. I was a bit concerned about Chris but she did fairly well getting to the top and I didn’t hear any whimpering. It’s just over a 200 foot climb to the top of the butte but the views are worth it. Up top it’s amazingly flat on top given how steep the sides are. There is a quarter mile trail that goes along the perimeter of the butte. There is one stone structure up top but it appears to be “new construction” rather than remnants of some ancient people.
Sandstone Patterns Along Aztec Butte Trail
View from Up Top
Old or New?
Now for the fun part - coming back down. Looking down from above, it looks like a bit dangerous if you were to lose your footing. There might be one, less steep area where you could slow down in the event of a fall, but our goal is to not find out! I headed down first and got over the steepest part to watch Chris slowly make her way down. The picture of her using five points of contact to make it down safely does give a good sense of the steepness of this part of the trail. The rest of the walk down is not bad given the traction on the sandstone is pretty good but this would be a terrible hike in wet weather.
At the Edge, Looking Down from Top of Aztec Butte
Chris Negotiates Steep Part
Part way back to the parking is a side trail out to two ancestral Puebloan granaries. These aren’t easy to get to but the climbing is nothing compared to what we just did. After scrambling up one side and over the other side, we find the old storage areas in pretty good shape. There was even a naturally occurring alcove in the cliff. This complete hike was a fun one but a poor choice if there is a great fear of heights.
Puebloan Granary
Cool Alcove
Granary
Aztec Butte Hike
We realized we were not going to be able to see everything in the park in just this one day so we skipped the drive down to Grand View Point and continued out to Upheaval Dome. This too is a popular destination and parking was a bit of a problem. As we were getting ready for our hike here, we saw two trucks pulling their travel trailers come in. Needless to say, they drove around the loop and headed back out. We head out the trail to the Upheaval Dome overlooks. There is also a trail that goes around the dome, but it is over 8 miles and rated as strenuous. Plus the park info points out this is the hike where most rescues occur. We figure the two miles round trip to the two overlooks will suffice. It’s a rather steep walk but worth the effort to see the views here.
View of Upheaval Dome
Trail Continues to Second Overlook
So what is Upheaval Dome? Picture a two mile wide mountain rising up just over a thousand feet but with a mile wide hole in the middle and a third of a mile gap on the western side of it. The experts have been unable to definitively say what caused it but I like the meteor theory. The trail goes out to several overlooks and we thought we were at the second overlook but could see a trail continuing out a bit further. We decided to head out there even though few of the many visitors had done so. We got to another overlook even with a bit of a platform and a safety fence to prevent “selfie falls”. This was a fun stop but we decided to call it a day and head back to camp.
Upheaval Dome from Google Earth
View from Second Overlook
Upheaval Dome Hike
We come back to Canyonlands the next day for a hike. Chris had picked the Murphy Trail as our goal for the day. We wanted to get an early start because we knew this would be a nine to ten mile hike. The trail starts at a parking area and I was surprised how crowded it was. I wasn’t expecting this many people to be out for such a difficult hike. It turns out that this is the starting point for the easy rated, 3.6 mile, relatively flat hike to Murphy Point. A half mile into the hike, the trail splits with Murphy Point continuing straight while our trail beers to the left. Everything was going fine and as we got closer to the edge of the mesa, the views over the canyon below came into view.
Starting Down Busy Murphy Trail
Overlooking Canyon
I’ll admit, I hadn’t even bothered to look at details of this hike. I figured if Chris picked it out, it must be okay. She, on the other hand, needs to investigate hikes I pick out. Along the edge of the mesa, the trail follows along the sandstone where we need to rely on rock cairns to mark the way. The views from here were incredible but it wasn’t clear where this trail was headed.
Following the Trail
At one point, we got to a cairn and tried to spot the next one but we were coming up empty. We started to fan out in search of the way but after 10 minutes of looking, we were coming up empty. How embarrassing, we would have to end the hike because we lost the trail? We came back to the last cairn and it was then I looked down over the edge of what seemed to be a cliff and I saw another cairn. Surely the trail can’t go down the side of this cliff. But surprisingly it does. Once I realized we were heading down there and we had this narrow, rocky trail to follow down the face of the cliff, we set off - carefully. In the next 3/4 mile of trail, we dropped 850 feet for over a 21% average grade! That’s steep. It took us a long time to tackle that short of distance mainly because there are no railings or any other obstacles to stop a fall. Chris did quite well given the conditions but it was her pick so she couldn’t complain to me!
Chris Heading Down
Small Alcoves Forming
Rock Cairn in Foreground Leads the Way
Chris Still Descending
Good Picture Showing Where We Came Down
The Unlikely Trail Continues
It was a welcome relief when we made it to the bottom. Looking back up to the top of the mesa, I found it hard to believe there is a trail in such extreme terrain. It’s not like the trail is a pure scramble. The park service has arranged rocks to form steps at extreme points and even had to put in one short wooden platform to get past a near 90 degree section when no ledge exists.
YES! We Made it Down
Platform to Make Trail Safe
Platform from Below
Google Earth View of Murphy Trail Descent
The next 3 miles would be a relatively easy stroll along another, lower mesa with great views. There are some large rocks that have fallen from the side of the canyon wall. In the distance to the northwest, we can see another impressive sight we later discover is named Candlestick Tower. It wasn’t until we were a mile or so from our turn around point at White Rim Road that we crossed paths with some other hikers.
Huge Flat Rock Standing on End!
Mother Nature is a Sculptor
Looking Up at Mesa
Candlestick Tower
View of Where Our Hike Started From
Overlooking White Rim Drive
White Rim Drive Coming from North
Once we hit the “road” we headed over to the primitive campground that has a pit toilet. No cars passed us while we were taking in the view, but we could see several trucks heading along the White Rim Road. They seemed to be escorting a small group of mountain bikers as they headed around the loop. This road actually goes around the full Island in the Sky district. It is a 100 mile long trek. It generally takes 2 or 3 days to complete in a Jeep or truck and 3 to 4 days on mountain bikes.
White Rime Drive Heads Further Down
Now for the Hike Back
There actually is a Murphy Loop Trail that heads down the road just over a mile to a wash which leads back to the cliff, but Chris had read that the views along the wash weren’t as good, so we simply retraced our steps. The hike back was fine until we got to the bottom of the cliff. We were already up to over seven miles of hiking and now had a big climb ahead of us. But as we nearly always find, up is a lot easier than down. Much of it has to do with your view going up is much more limited so you concentrate just on the physical nature of the hike. Whereas, on the way down, the view is much more open and it becomes more of a mental challenge than a physical one. Whatever the reason, it took us 60 minutes to make the climb up, that had taken 80 minutes to come down. This was a beautiful hike and one that we should feel proud of accomplishing without injury.
Looking Up
Murphy Trail Hike
The following day needed to be an easier one to recuperate from the challenging hike. We ended up with a four mile hike from the campground over to the visitor center then south along the East Rim Trail to the overlook and then back along the West Rim Trail. It’s an amazing walk mainly because the views out over the canyon below keep changing from every viewpoint and give a wonderful perspective of the rugged landscape.
View from East Rim Trail
We had one last spot within the upper portion of Canyonlands that we hadn’t explored yet. So the next day would take us to the southern tip at Grand View Point Overlook. Fortunately there is a good amount of parking at the point because it was crowded. The majority of the visitors only walk out to the viewing point several hundred feet from the parking lot. The views from here are great but a one mile trail continues out to a point. It’s not a difficult trail but it does follow along the edge of the ever narrowing mesa. The canyon floor is over 1000 feet down so fear of heights could pose a problem. Chris managed to complete the trail by staying as far from the edge as possible and letting me go over for the view down. Along the way are some very intricate erosion patterns that don’t look like they could be made by nature.
View at Grand View Point
Elaborate Canyon
Nature's Artwork
On the way back out of the park, there were a couple more overlooks with parking areas. White Rim and Buck Canyon Overlooks are probably worth the stop but we found them crowded as well. That evening back in DHPSP, we had a sunset worthy of some photos.
Sunset at Dead Horse Point
With our last day in the area, we still had the drive down into the canyon to attempt. Since we had not used our pass for a couple days ago, we had stopped at the visitor center yesterday to get another one for today. The turn onto Shafer Trail is shortly after the entrance booth for the park. There is a sign right after the turn with all the rules, regulations and warnings. Chris went out to read the sign and still was okay with us proceeding. I setup the Garmin dashcam before heading down the road to get a video of the trip. The first mile or so of the drive isn’t bad from both a road condition and drop off standpoint.
It’s the next 3 miles that are somewhat unnerving. Initially following a ledge in the cliff just a few hundred feet below the rim above us. Since Chris was on the inside edge, she wasn’t able to see the steep drop off as well as I could. However, after the first switchback, she was on the outside edge and I’m pretty sure that’s when she closed her eyes for a few minutes. I’ll admit, at each of the 180 degree turns, or was a bit frightening to take the turn especially when I wasn’t able to confirm there was no oncoming traffic. The road wasn’t wide enough for two vehicles most of the time but there were spots where two vehicles could pass one another if needed. Fortunately we didn’t come upon anyone traveling uphill this early in the day. Here's the view from the overlook above the switchbacks along with a sped up video of the hair raising drive down them.
View of Shafer Trail Switchbacks from Above
The drive down Shafer Trail
Once past the steep and curvy section, Chris was a bit more relaxed. As we continue down the road, we were approaching the end of the Shafer Trail and the split onto either Potash Road or White Rim Road. The later road is the one where a permit is required to continue on. There were three, likely rented, Suburbans parked right in the middle of the intersection. A group of 12 or so people were out of the vehicles on the side of the road taking selfies and group photos. Initially they seemed unconcerned that we couldn’t continue on, but we finally got one of the drivers to move so we could get by.
White Rim Road
A little over a mile along the road, we see a bit of a pullout and a sign for a trail. We wanted to get out and stretch the legs so this seemed like a good place for it. The trail is probably only a quarter mile each way and follows along a slight uphill rocky area with cairns leading the way over to an overlook to the Gooseneck section of the Colorado River. It’s an impressive view from 900 feet above water level.
View of Gooseneck
Another 2 miles along White Rim Road is a spur road called Gooseneck Overlook Road. It looks like Jeeps will drive up the road, but didn’t look like we should try in the Cherokee. It too was about a quarter mile so we just walked it.
Second Gooseneck View
It was only another quarter mile along White Rim Road to get to our only known destination for this day of exploration. Musselman Arch is a short walk from a larger parking area. We knew of this spot because of a virtual geocache that someone placed over 17 years ago. It doesn’t get visited very frequently- about a dozen times per year. It’s likely the 8.5 mile drive on a scary road and the need to get a permit to drive part of it, keeps many cachers away. For verification that a cacher was here, we only needed to send a photo of the arch. The arch is at the edge of a drop off and the top of it is level with the surrounding ground. The best view is the easiest view - looking underneath facing southeast. We attempted to work our way past the arch to see the view from the opposite direction but the furthest I could get to didn’t really provide any better view.
Musselman Arch
Musselman Arch - Flat Bridge
By now it was close to 1 PM and there were quite a few other vehicles out on the road. Mostly Jeep Wranglers, some 4WD pickups and even a couple dirt bikes. We decided we should head back since we had the hairpin drive back up to accomplish. Along the way, we came upon a small group of mountain bikers. I suspect I can’t convince Chris we should try something like that.
View Along White Rim
When we made it back to the intersection of Shafer, Potash and White Rim, we stop to use the lonely restroom. A couple of tricked out Jeeps stopped as well and we were chatting with them about the drive back up. Being locals, they knew the area quite well and suggested that we may want to try going back Potash Road. It will be a longer drive than heading back up Shafer, but wasn’t anything that our Jeep couldn’t handle. Plus he told us that the final scene from Thelma and Louise was shot at one of the overlooks along Potash Road. So we thanked him and off we went. It was a pretty drive but the road was in much worse shape then the others we had done earlier. Not so bad that we were tempted to turn around but we did need to take it slow thru some sections.
Heading Out Potash Road
Cool Rock Formations
Our Jeep Awaits
One nice thing about driving this road back was that it took us right by the Gooseneck section of the a Colorado River but now only 300 feet above the water. While we stopped there, a group of rafters was floating down the river and headed to a small sandy beach area for their lunch break and we did the same.
Great View of Gooseneck of Colorado River
The rest of the drive went pretty well. We found ourselves stopping frequently to take pictures. Along the way, we knew that Dead Horse Point was one of the tall mesas overlooking us, but it was a bit of a challenge to identify it conclusively.
Dead Horse Point???
The road eventually headed right past the potash plant that it is named for. Up close, the view of the evaporation ponds is a bit more challenging but it was easier to spot some equipment and buildings. The whole area is fenced of to keep people like us from inspecting it too closely.
Potash Evaporation Pond
More Evaporation Ponds
Another thing we liked about this section of the drive was the fact there were a fair number of geocaches to find along the way. One was at an extremely large, nearly round boulder precariously balanced on a small mound of ground beneath it. I swear it looked like we could push the thing over if we wanted to! After 13 miles of Potash Road, we eventually made it to pavement again and stopped at a boat launch for the Colorado River to look around a bit. There wasn’t anybody around and the water was so still it looked more like a lake than a river. We still had a bit of a drive to get back to camp but I’m glad we took the other way back just to see different scenery. The total dirt road section of the day was just under 22 miles and was well worth the effort.
