Off the coast of Peru are a group of islands which are home to many bird species. Every few years, a group of Peruvians go to the islands and harvest the guano for agricultural use. They collect millions of tons of it using shovels and sacks.

Hard, 9.7 mi out and back

1,446 ft elevation gain

Hiked 12/20/23

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At the far end of Elephant Canyon stands a massive, 150 ft tall arch known as Druid Arch, which rises 450 ft above the canyon floor below and belongs on the cover of an epic fantasy. Trail follows along a wash with a variety of easy to tough terrains as well as some scrambling and a ladder climb.

As noted yesterday, I combined this trail and the Chesler Park Loop into one mega-hike. A large section of this hike crosses sand and gravel and adding the loop onto it kind of turns this into a slog, so if you've got the time, it would be better to do as two separate hikes. Would also allow you to properly time a sunset as Druid, which I'd imagine is otherworldly.

Several hillsides of sedimentary rock with needle-like pillars frame a valley below. In the distance a snow dusted hill may be seen.

A layer of white sedimentary rock sits above a canyon of orange sandstone with a collection of spires rising behind it in various layers of the two.

In the foreground a spiked club tree limb while in the background a pillar forms the 'too much metal hand' towards the heavens. Various other pillars of sandstone may also be seen.

You can't see them, but there are three sea lions in the net feasting on the easy prey.

Hard, 10.4 mi loop

1,801 ft elevation gain

Hiked 12/20/23

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Video on Flickr of a few Mule Deer bouncing away with some sandstone 'needles' behind them.

A fun loop with a variety of terrains to cross; with some potential height and claustrophobia issues if that's not your thing. The trail takes you above, over, and through the various geological formations located in the Needles District. Sandstone spires and slot canyons abound in a visual specter.

I did this hike combined with the Druid Arch Trail, making a monster 19.1 mi hike; there may be a 14 mi version of this trail as well, but I am unsure. While thoroughly enjoyable, I would recommend doing them separately, as I was fairly spent by the time I got to Druid Arch and the return was rough, especially since its along a wash with various gravel and sand areas.

A few Mule Deer that I continually came across on the early portion of the hike. A small pillar of sandstone may be seen behind the various shrubs the deer were foraging around.

A crow sits on a small tree with several sandstone pillars/needles behind it.

The trail descends a narrow rock staircase before taking an abrupt turn into a thin canyon. A tree stump may be seen stuck in the upper canyon to help with a sense of scale. Enough to comfortably walk, but not wide enough for two people at side by side.

Loving the Lisa Frank vibes this lightweight rainsheet gives.

The Humbolt Current keeps the water cold enough for them to live there.

This springtail was about 1mm long. Lens: Laowa 25mm f/2.8 Ultra Macro 2.5-5X. two of the photos are focus stacked.

Gotten as a gift for the daughter. Despite it having no risk of being swallowed i assumed its still banned in the usa haha

Easy to Moderate, 2.6 mi out and back

456 ft elevation gain

Hiked 12/19/23 (sunrise the next morning part of larger hike)

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This short hike takes you up to a vantage point offering views of Elephant Hill as well as views of The Needles, spiky columns reaching into the air. These formations, like the nearby Arches, owe their existence to salt under the rock layers. Trail connects to Chesler Park Loop & Druid Arch Trails.

More information about the formation of The Needles may be found on this brief summary provided by NPS.

Sunrise from the Elephant Hill viewpoint, with what I believe to be Pinnacle Point spiking up in the distance.

A large pillar of cedar mesa sandstone rises up. Broken boulders of a whitish sandstone may be seen below.

Looking up at a large sandstone hillside/pillar, which may be what is considered 'elephant hill'. In the foreground are a variety of desert shrubs in green. I never quite figured out what the actual elephant hill was.