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Thread: TR - Chesler Park Loop and Joint Trail

  1. #1

    TR - Chesler Park Loop and Joint Trail

    The "fam" and I just completed an 11 mile hike yesterday in Canyonlands. Inspired by DiscGo, we completed the Chesler Park Loop and spent alot of time in the Cracks on the Joint Trail. The wife and I have both been there before but it has been quite a while. We wanted to go back and take the kids to the Cracks. Chesler Park is one of my favorite places on the entire planet. During the hike we experienced rain, hail, snow, wind and sun. But it was never so bad that I had to put on a jacket. It was the perfect day for hiking in the Needles. We kept the 7-year old motivated by telling him that we might see some dwarves or hobbits and that we were going to the Cracks of Doom to destroy the Ring. We had several huge crows following us so they fit in nicely to the story as well. Sure, he'll need therapy later in life to overcome the lies his parents told him but at least he can say that he has visited the Cracks of Doom. Seriously, he really did well and hardly ever complained except to say that he was hungry.

    Most people simply hike to the Chesler Park viewpoint and then turn around (which is a beautiful and sometimes challenging hike in and of itself). However, if you can muster the energy to hike 4 or 5 more miles, a visit to the Cracks on Joint Trail is well worth it.

    To get to the Joint Trail you can either go down the East Side of Chesler Park or the West Side. The East Side trail is a nice and easy stroll across the valley and is the easiest. The West side trail is quite a bit more rigorous but it offers some of the best views of Chesler Park and the Needles.

    If you are trying to visit the Cracks on the Joint Trail and do it as quickly and easily as possible then use the East Side trail to get there and to get back again. When you get the the South Side of Chesler Park watch carefully for the trail markers that lead you to the Joint Trail. It can be easy to miss.

    If you want to complete the whole Chesler Park Loop then it might be best to take the West side trail first and then return via the East side trail. That way you have an easier return trip.

    The Cracks themselves are some great narrows that you can spend an hour or so in. Many of the narrows cross at right angles and resemble a street system. If you are small (kid small) you can get lots of places. Adults can also find lots to do there as well. One interesting part of the cracks is what we called the "Cairn Cave". A Subway type cave that contains a couple hundred cairns. It is really quite cool.

    After completing the 11-12 mile loop (which included lots of playing around in the cracks) we decided that the next time we would backpack into Chesler (CP 3, 4, 5 looked like the best backcountry sites) and then explore from the basecamp. Doing the whole loop in one day is a bit rough, but the kids did much better than I expected.

    Of course, if you have a high clearance vehicle you can go over Elephant hill the the beginning the Joint Trail. We saw quite a few people who did that. I've been over Elephant Hill this way and it is alot of fun but has some rough spots. The Devil's Kitchen campground would be the place to camp if this was your mode of getting into Chesler.
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    The gostak distims the doshes.

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  3. #2
    I was there on Saturday also. The kids are 5 and 3 so we only went a mile up the trail then came back. One of these days I'd like to hike all the way in. We had fun driving elephant hill anyway.

  4. #3
    Looks like a great family outing, were there many people around?

  5. #4
    Bogley BigShot
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    Look at those smiles on a death march!

    Those are pretty pictures!

  6. #5
    Great pictures. I did that hike about a month ago and there were not nearly as many desert flowers. I thought those pictures were really cool!
    "My heart shall cry out for Moab..." Isaiah 15:5

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