John's definition of "Island in the Sky" is that it is where the Colorado and Green rivers meet, and it's at the edge of the uplift that forms the Colorado peninsula. But as a matter of general descriptions... if you imagine "Canyonlands National Park" as a "Y" formed by the confluence of the Colorado and Green rivers, Island in the Sky makes up the "V" part of the Y (north of the confluence), to the south east is the "Needles" district (east of the Colorado river), and to the south west is the "Maze" district (west of the Colorado river). Essentially, you can't get from one to any of the other districts because the river(s) are in the way. It is a very segmented National Park.
We are starting to categorize these National Parks as (a) Look ups; and (b) Look downs. This is definitely a Look Down park... we're on a plateau looking down 2000 ft at the river canyons below. By comparison, Zion is a Look Up (with options to hike up to Look Down) , Bryce is a Look Down (with lots of hikes to Look Up), Capital Reef is a little of both, with Overlooks and hikes in the canyon bottom both - and Island in the Sky is the first park where there really isn't a lot of options to look any other way than what it is... a Look Down.
The views are vast, the terrain is varied: from grazing land to sharp 2,000 foot drop-offs; from grassy desert terrain to desolate rock faces.
On Thursday, March 23rd, we did 3 very different hikes in the Park: (1) to an arch, (2) a rim hike around the canyon peninsula; and (3) a crater overlook hike.
1. Mesa Arch – John commented that this was the closest we’ve seen a natural arch – we’ve been viewing them from below and above, but never RIGHT THERE. I loved the view through the arch to the canyon below.
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| The view through the Mesa Arch |
2. The Rim Hike - provided lots of slick rock hiking (vs deep sand) which I really like. We’re getting used to following the rock piles (cairns) that that Park Rangers use as trail markers. They lay dead logs out to corral hikers a certain way, and you have to look ahead on the rock faces to see where the next cairn is to determine the trajectory of the hike! It’s a different way to hike, for sure. We’re used to just following well-worn foot paths in the forests in Alberta. This is very different for us.
John commented that there are five different plateau steps to either river.
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| The view from our lunch spot was about 300 degrees! |
We stopped for lunch at a viewpoint called "the Grand View" and it certainly was. Originally, the Colorado River was named the Grand River, so there are lots of references to "Grand" in the park... but in this case, it just seems like the right description! Views don't get much more panoramic than this one!
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| This is the point of the "V" above the Green and Colorado rivers |
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| No cairns required to follow this path! |
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| John, in front of the crater |
3. Our last hike was out to a crater that is about 2 miles wide and has unknown origins.One theory is that a meteorite struck the area, exposing deeply buried salt layers, and another is that a salt dome was naturally created and somehow exposed over the millenia - though the latter theory is widely disputed as the surface layers of this "crater" are buried miles below the ground everywhere else in the Park. So let's go with the meteorite theory...
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| Gorgeous colours in the rock |
This canyon (Schafer Canyon) was featured in the movie "Thelma & Louise" but was supposed to be the Grand Canyon. The road below was used in the final scene of the movie.
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| This would be one heck of a road trip!! |
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| Looking over Schafer Canyon |
We had a wonderful day in the Island in the Sky district of Canyonlands.
John's definition of "Island in the Sky" is that it is where the Colorado and Green rivers meet, and it's at the edge of the uplift that forms the Colorado peninsula. But as a matter of general descriptions... if you imagine "Canyonlands National Park" as a "Y" formed by the confluence of the Colorado and Green rivers, Island in the Sky makes up the "V" part of the Y (north of the confluence), to the south east is the "Needles" district (east of the Colorado river), and to the south west is the "Maze" district (west of the Colorado river). Essentially, you can't get from one to any of the other districts because the river(s) are in the way. It is a very segmented National Park.
2. The Rim Hike - provided lots of slick rock hiking (vs deep sand) which I really like. We’re getting used to following the rock piles (cairns) that that Park Rangers use as trail markers. They lay dead logs out to corral hikers a certain way, and you have to look ahead on the rock faces to see where the next cairn is to determine the trajectory of the hike! It’s a different way to hike, for sure. We’re used to just following well-worn foot paths in the forests in Alberta. This is very different for us.
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