The view of the Maze from a cliff close to our first campsite. Well drive down there the following day, (photo by Łukasz)
This was my third visit to the Canyonlands National Park and, I hope, not the last. The park is situated in the middle of a great desert, but its naturally divided into three distinct parts by the Colorado River and the Green River. The part, called Island in the Sky, is the most accessible one. It so happens I havent been there yet. The part is the Needles, I had visited it twice already and it was breathtaking. Now the time came for the wildest and the most remote part: the Maze.
Its the inaccessibility of the Maze that makes the trip so special. This part of Canyonlands is actually one of the most remote place in the entire USA. The entrance point is a small rangers station called Hans Flats. While the gravel road leading to the station is passable by regular cars, the closest town is 100km away. And it gets even more interesting beyond Hans Flats.
We left for the Maze on May 15 from Green River, where we had shopped for supplies in the only and rather sad grocery store (the avocados were not up
to California standards). We arrived at the rangers station in the early afternoon, where we obtained all required permits. However weird it sounds, apart from gun permits, USA is the country of permits. At least when to national parks one needs permits for every single activity. First, you need to book a campsite. In national parks it is illegal to camp in the rough: the campsites are fixed and must be booked in advance. Thus, one needs to plan ahead, when and where to spend a night. And when I say ahead, I mean months ahead. There are advantages too: virtually no other tourists and the campsites are flat and soft and in interesting spots.
The second permit is required to enter the park with a car. And Im not talking about a regular car, but a proper Just behind Hans Flats a 4x4 trail begins, where a proper car is a must. To be able to get into the Maze we rented a beautiful Jeep Wrangler Rubicon in Salt Lake City. A classic 4 wheel drive, high clearance, special tires, locking differentials, etc. Despite the fact that initially we drove very carefully and slow,
passing various obstacles, rocks larger and smaller, and steep grades was quite exciting. I must admit, however, that my excitement was considerably lower in the passenger seat. Furthermore, while we did have a we did not let some of the air out of the tires, so the ride was quite bumpy.
The following day, after driving a few dozens kilometers, we reached our destination: the Panorama Point. This stunning spot was the starting point of our 3 days hike. Now we were truly at the worlds end. And this is a good point to explain the name Maze.
As the name suggests, Canyonlands contains hundreds of smaller and bigger canyons, vertical rocks and cliffs in all shades of yellow and red. It is a desert only when flora is considered: flat, open surfaces are mostly bare, with very spiky plants or cacti here and there. On the other hand bottoms of the canyons are full of trees, bushes and grass, particularly in spots where water gathers. As long as the terrain if concerned, however, the Maze is a true labyrinth of canyons and ravines, which would be impossible to navigate through without a map.
spent the next three days hiking through the canyons of the Maze. As it was only the middle of May, the temperatures oscillated around 25C: the hike was very pleasant. When to the deserts, water is the key factor, obviously. Since one cannot rely on water sources within the canyons, one must carry it. to, say, Norway, one can leave a jacket behind, but instead must take a few kilograms of water. An additional attraction occurred at the end (and beginning) of the hike. Due to extremely steep or narrow passages we had to carry a rope, which we used to haul our heavy backpacks out.
