For my 50th birthday my brother and best friend and I are going to head down to Needles District to do some camping, hiking (Druid arch), and wheeling (Elephant Hill) on the 25th of September.
If anyone will be in the area and interested in making it a two or three truck trip let me know. I'm planning on trying to get the passes asap.
Also looking for any advice on the trail from experience folks as I've never run it before.
Thanks!
Favorite area in the Moab area. I think I’ve done EHill 7 times in the 80 and twice in the 100. You might need a permit now. I wonder if Horse Canyon is open yet? You should check. That is a fun canyon. I’ll take pics of the guide pages if you call and it’s open. Man there were two arches down Horse canyon, Castle and Fortress. Castle is the prettiest arch I’ve seen. Both require short hikes (1/2 mi). Man that was a fun day.
Druid Arch is one of my favorite hike. But the hiking there is sublime. If you’re starting from the parking lot, I recommend making a loop out of it by going thru Chesler Park and dropping in to the drainage that Druid is in. That way you get to see Chesler and it breaks it up a bit. Come back the standard route.
if you drove out to the Joint Trail, you can cut a little distance off it by starting there. Great hike though. You’ll love it.
The private campground is really nice. They have showers. There was a decade where a batshit crazy woman and her husband ran it but it was still nice. The forest service campground is extremely nice but they fill up fast. There are 1/2 dozen dispersed campgrounds now that fill up with the “crackles”. The climbing in Indian Creek is extremely popular. The best odds for dispersed camping might be down Lockhart Rd.
