Hey everyone,

We just got back from a couple nights in the Needles District of Canyonlands. We started out at the Peekaboo Campground and explored the pictograph panel. This is one of the more popular panels in the park and it's a fun day hike to do the Peekaboo Loop.

Peekaboo Panel (2) Peekaboo Hand Prints Peekaboo Man Peekaboo Hand Negative

We also found what appeared to be some frog eggs and tadpoles. Kinda crazy to find this stuff in desert environments.

Frog eggs and tadpoles

From the campground, we hiked off trail up the canyon just east of the campground. There are a few potholes that hold water late into the spring. Our plan was to find one, set up basecamp, and then day hike into Horse Canyon.

We found a feature that looked promising, so we dropped our packs to scout it out. Success! We found water, now we just needed to find a flat spot to set up camp, ideally out of the sand. We climbed just above the pool and found a nice flat slick rock ledge to set up camp. Time to go grab the packs.

Pour Spout Landscape Pothole reflections Pour Spout Hiker Landscape

We also noticed just above camp that there were some pictographs in the distance. We climbed up to them and found a granary, including this ancient little corn cob. So freaking cool!

Desert-preserved Corncob

Back at camp, it seems that we weren't the only ones that thought this was a cool place to stay. As we looked around we found all kinds of pot sherds scattered on the ground.

Painted Ware Painted Ware Reverse

Since we were near water, we also saw a handful of wildflower species too. Always a treat to see flowers in the desert.

Cliff Fendlerbush - Fendlera rupicola Narrowleaf Stoneseed - Lithospermum incisum Easter Daisy - Townsendia incana Spectacle Pod - Dimorphocarpa wislizenii Golden Corydalis - Corydalis aurea

For sunset, we carried our dinner up a little higher to take in the views of the canyon and scout our route into Horse Canyon for the next day. This place is gorgeous.

Hiker Sunset Panorama

The next morning we had a beautiful sunrise and bluebird sky. We spent the early morning taking photos when the light was best, then headed back to camp to eat and head out for the day.

From our camp, we picked our way through the layers of rock as we climbed higher and higher. It's not always clear on a map what goes and doesn't, so it's like a huge puzzle you have to solve. It's super fun to explore your way through the maze.

Exploring Salt Creek Canyon(2) Exploring Salt Creek Canyon

Eventually we found a break in the wall and were able to pass into Horse Canyon. There are so many nooks and crannies to explore, you could be out here forever and never get bored. As long as you have water, that is.

  Explring Horse Canyon

We made our way down in the the canyon and across the wash. From there we walked over to explore Paul Bunyan's Potty Arch. Kind of a weird name, but a super cool feature to explore.

  Paul Bunyon's Potty Arch

The views looking out into the canyon are beautiful from under the arch. Also super nice spot to hang out in the shade during the heat of the day.

  Hikers Near Paul Bunyon's Potty

As we made our way back towards camp, we kept coming across other arc sites. We found another granary with a door and a structure of some kind with an old ladder leading to it high up in the cliffs. No idea how to get over there, but it seems these people had some serious climbing skills.

The following morning we had another beautiful sunrise. We ate and packed up early to beat the heat.

Salt Creek Canyon Sunrise

On the hike out we came across some mountain lion tracks in the wash. One day I'll get the chance to see one of these guys in the wild.

Overall great trip to a spectacular park. I look forward to exploring more in this place. Every time I do, I'm blown away!