CANYONLANDS - NEEDLES
A spectacular location for hiking and photography, the Needles section of Canyonlands offers varied terrain, some permanent water (including access to the Colorado River), and marvelous standing rocks. If you are into combined hiking and biking, a great day adventure from the Elephant Hill parking area consists of pushing (or riding if you are really good) your mountain bike over the EH staircase jump-over and following the old jeep road to the Joint Trail parking area. The jeep road is pretty solid, except for a couple of sandy stretches. There are three really rough cut-throughs between the Graebens, where most people will have to get off and push. But all in all its a nice one to two hour ride. Lock your bike to a table and hike the joint trail to Chesler Park. The joint trail passes through a short but quite photogenic tubular slot canyon, then through a long narrow fracture (typically a few feet wide and more than a hundred feet high). The good thing about this is that after only about a mile it comes out right at the best section of Chesler Park, where the nicest standing rocks in the area are to be found. The bike-hike access to this location is quicker than hiking the regular foot trail from Elephant Hill. You can ride your bike directly back the same way, or follow the "one way" jeep signs on a different route over the "silver stairs" back to Elephant Hill. A side excursion to the confluence overlook is also doable if you leave Chesler Park by early afternoon.
The light in Chesler Park at the Joint is best within an hour or two of sunset. So one day I went out with a headlamp (i.e. a headband with a flashlight on it) and planned to stay out through sunset to take pictures and then to ride back in the dark. It was my first off-road night-riding experience. The desert gets real dark, real fast, and with no moon I soon realized that taking one light, with no spare bulb (I did take extra batteries) was pretty stupid. What if I fell and busted the light? Out all night with an expected temperature in the 30's and no warm clothing. Dumb. Plus, little did I know then that you can't distinguish depth worth a damn with only a single headlamp. You need at least two lights on the bike. Thus, while I could see a pothole in the road coming, I had no idea how deep it was. So I ended up going really slowly, and managed to arrive back at the car around 1am. Get proper gear for the occasion!
Photo Gear: If you go late in the day, take a tripod. The sun fades quickly and the best shots are usually in low light.
Refs. The park maps are adequate for most hikes (request information on back-country trails).
Disclaimer: The goal of these trip notes is to point out good photographic locations. These paragraphs should not be used as a canyoneering guide. Seek out good maps and detailed information, and go properly prepared.