Colorful Moab
Having just spent an exciting month of snowboarding in the French Alps, it was honestly a bit of a letdown to return home to southwest Colorado's thin and avalanche-prone snowpack this winter. With uninspiring skiing prospects and an unseasonably warm weather forecast, we decided to head out to the Utah desert for three days of backpacking instead!
With some flying around in Google Earth and cross referencing maps in Gaia Topo, I scouted out a zone near Moab that looked like an interesting place for some slickrock camping and exploring. Once we were out there hiking through the otherworldly canyon and sandstone landscape, I was elated and reminded of why I love living on the edge of the Colorado Plateau, with quick access to so much desert wilderness and vast spaces like this.
We found a nice flat spot to camp on a vast, undulating slickrock dome, the top of which offered a fantastic 360º view of the surrounding canyons, desert, slickrock fins, and La Sal Mountains beyond. Shortly after setting up the tent we were treated to a stunner of a sunset with fiery clouds that illuminated the landscape with an intense ruby glow. What a show! Then on the final morning the sky put on another glorious show for sunrise. Color galore!
Sunset light on sandstone formations with Mount Tukuhnikivatz (12,482 ft) and La Sal Mountains behind.
A fiery sunset over the canyonlands near Moab, Utah.
Awesome sandstone formations near Moab illuminated by intense dusk glow and blazing sunset clouds, with La Sal Mountains in the background.
Sandstone fins and Mount Tukuhnikivatz (12,482 ft) in La Sal Mountains illuminated by warm dusk glow.
A tinaja in the slickrock near Moab, Utah.
A blazing sunrise above an arch near Moab, Utah.
The weather was indeed quite warm during our visit, with temps in the upper 60's during the day and upper 40's at night. It felt more like March or April than the beginning of February in the middle of winter! But similarly to springtime the wind was relentless the whole time we were there. Fortunately I'd brought my winter tent which could withstand the gusts, and during the days and evenings we found nooks in the slickrock where we could relax sheltered from the breeze.
Usually we don't get our first Utah desert camping trip until March or April, so it felt great to get out there so soon and spend some time zenning out on the slickrock!
