Rest Day - Canyonlands National Park
First thing in the morning we meet the people camping in the site next to us (there are only about 6 people staying here, it's unbelievable how quiet everywhere has been for about a month now) and they show us the footprints in the snow (yes, there's a lot of snow lying around up here) and the scratches in the earth made, overnight, by a mountain lion! The couple are retired Park Rangers, so they'd know. Unbelievable to think one came so close to us in the middle of the night. We put it's appearance down to it being threatened by a new kid on the block: the couple have with them a 6 month old male kitten.
So after tracking it's prints for a bit, we laze the day away eating and reading, then visit a few overlooks of the incredible canyons here. The views are surreal. It looks like the backdrop for an old film, completely fake. We stand about 300 meters above the first plateau, which again drops a similar distance to the Green and Colorado Rivers below, like two massive sets of steps into the sky. What's amazing is that the depth of the Grand Canyon (which, remember, was covered in smoke from fire when we were there) is about 5 times as much as this!
This whole region is one big awe-inspiring visual lesson in geological history and erosion. We take in the views for hours, reflecting on the trip as we stare vacantly at the chasm below us. At night, we join our few fellow campers around a campfire, telling stories and keeping warm, delaying an early night in the sleeping bags.
So after tracking it's prints for a bit, we laze the day away eating and reading, then visit a few overlooks of the incredible canyons here. The views are surreal. It looks like the backdrop for an old film, completely fake. We stand about 300 meters above the first plateau, which again drops a similar distance to the Green and Colorado Rivers below, like two massive sets of steps into the sky. What's amazing is that the depth of the Grand Canyon (which, remember, was covered in smoke from fire when we were there) is about 5 times as much as this!
This whole region is one big awe-inspiring visual lesson in geological history and erosion. We take in the views for hours, reflecting on the trip as we stare vacantly at the chasm below us. At night, we join our few fellow campers around a campfire, telling stories and keeping warm, delaying an early night in the sleeping bags.
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