Hello there, and thanks so much for joining us here! You are probably wondering what this podcast is all about? In this podcast, we will talk about all sorts of outdoor adventures, but primarily, for now, we will focus on hiking and backpacking. No other outdoor adventure is so accessible to so many people! So please join us as we talk about how to hike/backpack and learn how to hike any length trail from your local neighborhood parks to those long trails such as the Appalachian and others worldwide! Remember... "in every walk with nature; one receives far more than he seeks... - John Muir " See you on the trail!
Join me, Craig the Natural Medic, as we embark on an adventure through the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park, where nature's artistry is on full display. Ever wondered what makes the landscape of the Needles so captivating? Prepare to be amazed by the mesmerizing formations created by sandstone sliding under a salt layer, forming parallel cracks that have been shaped over time into the iconic needles. Our journey kicks off from the Big Spring Canyon Overlook, offering a spectacular view of the confluence of the Green and Colorado Rivers—a geographical marvel first mapped by the Macomb expedition in 1859.
Our exploration doesn't stop there. Venture with me along the challenging Confluence Overlook Trail, where the raw power of nature is on full display through breathtaking vistas. Discover the rich biodiversity of the Slickrock and Pothole Point Trails, where seemingly barren potholes come alive with snails, beetles, and shrimp—creatures that thrive in the unique desert habitat. Learn about the significance of protecting the cryptobiotic soil crust and the fascinating story behind the mushroom-shaped rocks that evoke memories of classic video games. This episode promises an immersive and educational journey that captures the essence of one of America's most extraordinary landscapes, leaving you inspired by the wonders of the natural world.
Hi there, this is Craig the Natural Medic. I am in the Needles District of Canyonlands National Park. Canyonlands National Park is unique because it's divided by the confluence of the Green River and the Colorado River. There are a bunch of canyons, hence the name. It's divided into three districts the northeastern district called Islands in the Sky, which we'll be visiting later today. This one is called the Needles, probably the second most remote. Just coming through and checking it out today, going to try to make it to the Islands in the Sky district later, I hope you'll follow me through Canyonlands National Park Needles District.
Speaker 1:
I'm at the end of the park road here at the Big Spring Canyon Overlook. You can hike down here from this spot to the confluence of the Colorado River and the Green River. But not doing that today. I just want to give you a good overview of this area. Lots of desert vegetation here you have some Mormon tea on the ground, pinyon pine, lots of junipers and weird-looking mushroom-shaped rocks. Reminds me of something in Mario Brothers Showing my age here. But we're going to backtrack to the front of the park and go out. Follow me the Confluence Overlook Trail. You can look a thousand feet down to see the joining of two great rivers the Green and the Colorado. The Green and the Colorado was first mapped in 1859 by the US topographical engineers of the Macomb expedition. They only viewed it from a place above. We're imagining the power, but you can actually hike there. It's an 11-mile round trip. It takes five to six hours. Now, depending on what time of year you go, it could be pretty extreme, but I definitely want to do it sometime. Okay, on the slick rock trail, just going to the first viewpoint here, I thought it was a nice viewpoint for everybody to check out the lasal mountains which are right there by moab are. That way you keep going to the north, northeast that's going to be towards the rivers got a lot of potholes down here on the ground. That's pretty neat, but I definitely want to share this viewpoint, as you can see, almost 360.
Speaker 1:
For our next trick, we're going to walk on pothole point trail, which is a 0.6 round trip trail, 45 minute, and it's so named because of these potholes which form after rainwater falls and different animals collect in there, like snails, beetles, worms, shrimp, which can form from eggs or kind of come alive from dormancy. Let's go check it out. Let's go check it out. Interesting feature of this trail is the mushroom rocks. The harder rock on top is more of the capstone. The underlying rocks are a little bit softer and erode or weather more easily, forming this mushroom-shaped rock. There's another one right here. Isn't that cool? Feeling like I'm in a Super Mario game.
Speaker 1:
You can see some really large potholes over there. Just some plants, rocks and ice. It's cold enough that there was ice in these pools last night. The idea is, whenever they're dry, dry, you should not walk through them, because they could have organisms lying dormant. In this case, you have this cryptobiotic soil crust, that little crunchy looking stuff. You don't want to walk on that anyway. Perfectly okay to walk on the rock around them. Lots of potholes that could form here when it rains. Watch your step, try to walk through the holes, but look at all these cool rocks.
Speaker 1:
What a visit to the Needles District of the Canyonlands National Park. How would it be complete without seeing the needles themselves? The needles were formed. As you see down on the bottom diagram. Sandstone was gradually sliding under a layer of salt toward the Colorado River, which is to my right, as I'm standing here filming this, to my right, as I'm standing here filming this. That caused the sandstone to fraction, to parallel cracks, and then they formed what we call the needles.
Speaker 1:
Today, erosion continues. Gonna be hard to see them, but I'll try to zoom in. There they are. Don't have time to drive down to that particular spot, but I wanted you to see the needles Pretty cool. Okay, it might be hard to see, but standing at the overlook for the wooden shoe arch and it is straight out, this way you can see it on top it looks like a wooden shoe. Is it a wooden shoe? Probably not. I don't think a giant Dutchman left his shoe up there. But we use our imaginations to form these shapes for different things that we see in the landscape. This is called Wooden Shoe Arch. The sea flooded the area, left behind lots of layers of salt, sand, sediments. The red and white layer hardened and then, over time, it weathered and eroded and formed this shoe-looking arch. Pretty cool, huh? Okay, probably our last stop on this trip.
Speaker 1:
We're going to check out what's called the Stone Storehouse, which is a short walk from the road, about a .3 round trip. It was an indigenous spot where they stored their local foodstuffs. Let's check it out. If you look up in here, there's the stone storehouse. It's a cylindrical storage area. The door is on the roof. Sometimes the doors were on the sides and they're covered with rock slabs. It's not really known what this was used for exactly. We know it was a storehouse for something, but they don't know what exactly was stored in there. Was it ceremonial items? Was it foodstuffs? Who knows? Whatever was in there was removed by looters before this was a park, or was eaten by rodents. Pretty much what you find in there now is just pack rat droppings. Places like this usually were built in inaccessible areas to protect the contents of whatever was in
Speaker 1:
there. The narrowleaf yucca is one of the plants they talked about, several plants on this trail. The tribes use every part of that plant the spines on the end of the leaf. Here they use those as needles. They made the fibers into cord and rope and wove them into sandals and mats. The flowers and fruits can be eaten and the roots yield saponin, which was used as
Speaker 1:
soap. When you're in the southwest, there is a thing called cryptobiotic soil. Make sure you stay on the trails that are already blazed. This one's pretty well laid out, with a rock pathway, but just off of the path you have this cryptobiotic soil which can be harmed and can cause deficits to the plants in the area if you step off that and crush that. So don't do that. Yeah, so the Needles District of Canyonlands definitely deserves more exploration. Next time I'm over that way, hopefully we'll be able to explore some when the weather is better and I have more time. I hope you enjoyed this video. If you did give it a thumbs up, let me know that you approve and it gets out to more people on Facebook. Any questions, comments about what you might have seen in the video, leave them below Until next time. See you on the trail. Goodbye.
