Today, when we got up, the wind was gone and the sun was up! Time to hit the trail (all 11 miles of it)! The Chesler Park Loop and the Joint Trail is the signature trail for the Needles section, as it winds through Elephant Canyon and into deep fractures in the rocks. The large cracks give the appearance that you are in a slot canyon, but, technically it is just a place where the rock cliffs have cracked all the way through to the ground. If you have seen the movie "127 Hours," then that gives you an idea of what the Joint Trail area looks like.
There is really no way to describe the trail or the great views along the way (please check out the photos and videos when we get the map updated--it's a fantastic place). It made the eleven miles up and down rock walls all worth it--even the tiny slip I had which gave me a bruised knee and slightly jammed finger. I'd do it all again in a heartbeat, believe me! When we got back to our "bus", we had drunk almost all of our water and were pretty much spent. Luckily, we followed the direction on the route that the ranger had marked on the map for us, and had hiked the loop with the big climbs in the morning and had the easier walking at the end. We went back out to the BLM area, cooked some delicious Mexican Chicken & Rice for dinner, and got some sleep before deciding what to do on Friday.
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