Canyonlands: White Rim Overlook

Distance: 1.8 miles round trip
Elevation: 6,040 ft
Elevation Gain: 129 ft
Dogs: No, National Park
Bathroom at Trailhead: Yes
Date Hiked: 24 April 2014

Looking down on the White Rim Road from the White Rim Overlook in Canyonlands National Park

The Islands in the Sky section of Canyonlands National Park is filled with short hikes to stunning overlooks that gaze down on the valley below. The White Rim Overlook is one of the most spectacular of these.

The Trailhead. The trail heads straight out over this large slickrock section.

The La Sal Mountains from a sandier portion of the trail.

Our journey to the overlook began uneventfully, with a typical stroll over red sands and short slickrock sections. At the end of the trail however things got a little dicey. My hiking companion decided to work on her fear of heights by walking out onto the sandstone mushrooms that extended from the end of the trail. These pizza shaped rocks extended out into empty space like over-sized stepping stones across a creek. In this case, however there was 1,500 ft of air between each one.

Skeleton of a Utah Juniper overlooks the edge

The rocks my friend was jumping out on.

Not so nimbly moving  from rock to rock, my friend inched her way further outwards. I don't know who was more terrified, she or I. I kept nagging her to come back when she wanted ME to join her on this crusade. My eyes bugged out and I started inching my way back up the trail. It is fine to desensitize oneself of a phobia and quite another to do it in a location where death hovers just a foot away. A sneeze, a gust of wind, or a collapsing wall would have ended this psychological experiment for good.

Nothing but drop offs and open sky

A much safer place to lounge

I finally convinced her to return to terra firma and we lounged about admiring the stellar views. I relate this experience for those with children who have no fear and no sense, who will be equally tempted to stroll out onto these rocks. Heck, you may be too and more power to you! The White Rim Overlook is definitely a place to visit but I'll do it with my back to a size secure rock!

Canyonlands: Murphy Point

Distance: 3.5 miles round trip
Elevation: 6,040 ft
Elevation Gain: 350 ft (cumulative)
Bathroom at Trailhead: No, nearest one is the Visitor's Center
Dogs: No, National Park
Date Hiked: 24 April 2013

Looking west and down, down, down, from Murphy Point in Canyonlands National Park

The trail to Murphy Point in the Islands in the Sky section of Canyonlands National Park is one of the few longer hikes one can take and still stay on the mesa. It traverses sand and slickrock with ever-changing, end-of-the-world views. Be forewarned! Looking off into that abyss is a transcendent Ozymandias kick in the solar plexus. One's whole life is reduced, in the casual stirrings of the desert wind, to meaningless drivel. Our weak brains can't even register the scale of the scenery without reducing it to a theatrical canvas backdrop. Your only hope is bring along sufficient chocolate chip cookies to stay grounded. A prolonged astral projection on Murphy's Point might just prove to be fatal.

Starting off in the deeply rutted road

Stay to the right here

Sagebrush

The trail to Murphy Point begins 8.6 miles south of the Visitor's Center along a deeply eroded dirt track that looks like it was made by a column of 10,000 cattle all racing to the edge of the world. A half a mile in the route splits. Stay to the right or end up on the much longer Murphy Loop/Hogback Trail, which descends off the mesa into eternity returning a few geological ages later.

Looking northwest at the rock formations obscured by haze

That is a cairn in the distance

After the dirt road, the route eventually switches to an easy "find the next cairn", slickrock trail along a narrowing neck of earth. Utah Juniper and Sagebrush dot the landscape and occasionnaly obscure the views. You can wander all over the area but realize there is nothing but 1,500 ft of open air between you and an "oh heck" moment.

Floating over the desert landscape

Sitting at the point looking down on the Murphy Hogback (that narrow elevation portion). You can see the  Murphy Trail as it travels out and around the area. Bring lots of water if you venture that far. 

I did not go anywhere near the edge and so arrived, sanity intact. We had the entire place to ourselves, which is always a treat. Canyonlands is big and it is easy for folks to spread out...and never to be heard from again...at least until the chocolate chip cookies run out. Then they congregate back at the Visitor's Center where they gobble up T-shirts and refrigerator magnets. So plan ahead and stay awhile at the end of the trail. It is not often we get to transcend our banal existence for something the truly sublime.

Canyonlands: Mesa Arch

Distance: 0.5 miles round trip
Elevation: 6,040 ft -6,180 ft
Elevation Gain: 140 ft
Bathroom at Trailhead: Yes
Dogs: No,  National Park
Date Hiked: 24 April 2013

The view beneath Mesa Arch

Mesa Arch in Utah's Canyonlands National Park is the iconic location in Islands in the Sky district that every photographer tries to capture at sunrise. While we were not there to capture the light, the view was still stunning, so don't hesitate to swing by on your way to or from some of the longer hikes in the area. It is a short walk that almost anyone can do.

The arch is just ahead. Note the long line of people...and this was a less crowded time of day.

Looking down from the Islands in the Sky is always amazing. That is 1,500 ft down! Note there is nothing to protect you so don't lean too far over.

Looking down on the arch. You can see how exposed the approach is. A few minutes before there was a woman standing on the expanse. She was not exactly setting a good example for her children who looked on aghast.