CANYONLANDS NATIONAL PARK, UTAH
Just when I thought maybe I was adjusting to the altitude, this hike told me otherwise.
Situated in central Canyonlands National Park, Gooseberry Trail is the steepest hike in Canyonlands, starting at the rim and dropping sharply 1,000' down the side of the canyon in less than a mile.
Once you get to the bottom of the canyon, you follow a gulley for what seems like miles - far enough, anyway, that I wondered what I was hiking to and whether it would be worth it. And then, finally, you arrive at the edge of another incredible canyon. And then you know the hike back up that 1,000' cliff is worth it.
Here is a video of the climb down, plus a view of the second canyon I hiked to. The video makes the descent look steep and the canyon look huge. In real life, the descent is steeper. And the canyon is ... huger (?).
I tried to take pics, but Apple just isn't able to capture how big and deep and steep and incredible canyons are. Here are the few shots I got:
This is how most of the trail into the canyon looked:
Here's a view from inside the canyon:
Total miles = 5.27
Total elevation gain = 1,472'
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