Travelling from Green River to Moab in the early morning, we passed several herds of wild donkeys, in all colors imaginable. It was obvious that these animals travel together (probably for safety) as these groups numbered in the dozens! I could not find a place to pull over but it is hard to find safe parking on an interstate for a Motorhome!
After arriving in Moab, we set up camp at Spanish Trail RV Camp, about four miles south of the town. We drove to the visitor center to get some hiking and running information. We lucked out and the gentleman I spoke to was an Ironman athlete. He recommended the Kane Creek trail for me. He warned that I should be on the trail at 5:30 a.m. and off no later than 9:00 a.m. There have been five deaths so far this year due to dehydration and heat. It has been in the low 100s during the day! I hit the trail at 7:00 with temperatures hovering at about 80 degrees. I did not feel like getting up at 5:30 as I was not planning on a long run. Below is the sunrise on the cliff above the trailhead.
Running up the canyon, I came across this rock, loaded with different styles of art, dating from the Archaic to the historic Ute period, including the Abajo-La Sal style that is unique to the Canyonlands region. The Abajo-La Sal style features broad-shouldered anthropomorphs (human figures) with short arms that extend straight out from the shoulders. Anthropomorphs may also have arc-like arms or no arms at all. Other images common to this style include animals, tracks (including bear tracks), and linear geometric forms. All of these can be found on this one rock!
When descending a switch back section (very narrow with shear drop offs), I had this view of the riparian below.
At the bottom of the switch backs, the trail flattened out and I saw this spring, where some of the climbers and dry campers who use this area get their water.
Here is the view from the canyon floor, along my run.
Heading back up the switch backs, I took this shot on the first rise.
Below is a balancing rock across the canyon. If I had the time I could have gone out on a thin, knife-edge rise to this feature, but the sun was rising, along with the temperatures. I half-expected to see a mountain lion or deer/elk on this run, as it was early and I was alone. They both inhabit this area but, if the cat was not moving it would have blended in and I could never have spotted it, although I believe they may have been watching me! Oh well . . .
When Cathy picked me up at 9:00 at the trailhead, I had finished over eight miles. I can see how you could get into trouble here, every turn led to another great scene and I wanted to keep going! Considering the base elevation of 5,000 ft and the amount of elevation change, I still felt pretty good as the scenery and seclusion was spectacular!
We drove back to camp, had breakfast and headed to Arches National Park. Most of the “arches” were covered with tourists so I did not take any shots. I asked a ranger when I could get a shot of Delicate Arch without the hordes of people. He replied, “the off-season”. We did take a four-wheel drive trail upstream from the Delicate Arch trailhead and we were by ourselves, but could see the crowd heading up the hill. They appeared like ants in the distance!
We stopped at this formation and walked around it. It was midday and very hot so we could get a shot without others in the view. (Other than me, that is.)
Looking out towards “Double Arch” and the “Parade of Elephants” features. Again, hordes of people (and extreme temperatures) kept us at bay.
“Balanced Rock” was a photo opportunity as I could shoot over the heads of the onlookers.
Here is a misc. feature as seen from the Balanced Rock viewpoint.
Returning to Moab we decided to take in the Friday Farmer’s Market and enjoy the last of the series Free Concert. We managed to find a spot in the shade to enjoy the musicians. This trio was from Minnesota!
With some daylight left, I took Cathy for a ride up the canyon I ran earlier. We came across this rock, out in the middle of nowhere, amongst a jumble of similar boulders.
Looking across, this formation was getting the afternoon sun.
Travelling with the Schinglers 