Elephant Hill
This was our first run for the 2004 Spring Moab trip and we were excited to get going. We decided to make another trek down to Canyonlands National Park. It was a little chilly but it warmed up throughout the day.
We paid our entrance fee ($10.00 at the time) and followed the signs to the trail. It's a national park so everything is very well maintained and easy to find. We aired down when the road first turned to dirt but we could have had an easier time if we just went ahead to the trailhead.
The trail started off well as we climbed up to the top. We parked at the first pull out to take pictures and check out how much we'd climbed already (we were directly over the other cars in the parking lot at the trailhead). It was already a cool trail and we kept on going up to the top of the hill.
After going over the first little steep slickrock hill of the trip (always fun!) we got to a sign with a Jeep and an arrow pointing down. Getting out of our vehicles, we walked over to the edge to check it out. It just went down and around a corner, and we had no idea what was in store. The hill was really steep, and really fun!
After getting to the bottom it was pretty mellow except for a couple rocky sections. There was a narrow section that was really fun because it was extremely tight (it would be cool to see a full-sized vehicle in here!). The Silver Stairs weren't anything to brag about, so it was weird they were named.
We took the Confluence Overlook section and hiked up to the edge. We climbed up one rocky hill, then down the other side. You could see a lot of the Colorado River from the edge and it would be a great place to have lunch if you don't mind hiking it in. It was worth the trip!
We kept seeing two stock Chevy Trailblazers on the trail which was pretty impressive. The vehicles had a lot of "pinstriping" on them the last time we saw them, and the undersides weren't looking too good, but at least they were out there.
The trip back ov
er Elephant Hill may have been more fun than the first time, because the big downhill was now an uphill. Coming off the trail was fun because we had an audience in the parking area. This trail was really fun, and any trip to Canyonlands should include it.
Reports from Other Days: 5
Use the arrows or dots to flip through the previews of the other reports for Elephant Hill. Click one of them to read more and see all of the photos from that day.
