A 21-mile out-and-back overnight backpacking trip on Lathrop Trail in Canyonlands National Park, Island in the Sky district.

For my birthday weekend this year I decided that I wanted to do a little bit of backpacking. Michael had zero problems with this idea, so we requested off from work and started looking into backpacking options in Canyonlands National Park.

Permits

Airport Tower

We were a little late in the game getting backcountry backpacking permits, so our options were limited for the weekend we were going. However, we lucked out at got permits for the Lathrop Trail in Island in the Sky. April is a very busy time in Canyonlands and Arches and I was so happy that we found something!

Lathrop Trail is a 21-mile out-and-back trail from the top of a mesa down through canyons to the Colorado River. There was a total of about 2100 feet elevation gain/loss.

The last time Michael and I went to Canyonlands was January 2017 (it was our third date!) and we backpacked to Chesler Park in The Needles. We didn’t need to reserve permits in advance since there were approximately 5 other people in the park.

Moral of the story, if you are planning to go backpacking in Canyonlands during peak times, plan ahead and book your backcountry permits months in advance! Probably three months at least.

With that said I was not at all disappointed in the Lathrop Trail.

Here is more information about reserving a backcountry permit in Canyonlands.

Gear

The goal was to pack as light as possible to keep it as easy as possible for me and my heart. In order to do this I needed to swap out some gear and invest in some high quality, ultra light items. I feel very, very fortunate that I received some items as gifts and that I was able to splurge on some things for myself.

The primary swap was the pack. I went from the REI Co-Op Flash 60 (3lbs 5oz) to the Pa’lante V2 pack (1lbs). This lightened my load by 2lbs 5oz. Unfortunately I also lost 20 liters of capacity, but everything I needed fit fine in the Pa’lante Pack.

I also switched out my Feathered Friends Egret UL 20 sleeping bag for the Katabatic Palisade 30 sleeping quilt, which was an amazing birthday gift from Michael. He spoils me. This saved me about 9oz. I still love my Feathered Friends bag and will use it for chillier nights.

I finally remembered to do a gear overlay picture!

• What I wore: Voormi River Run Hoodie, Athleta Speedlight tank, Champion sports bra, Oiselle Roga shorts, Altra Timp trail runners, Dirty Girl gaiters, Injinji socks, Feral Mountain Co hat, UV Insect Shield Buff, Smith sunglasses
• Gear: Pa’lante V2 pack, Katabatic Palisade 30 sleeping quilt, Black Diamond trekking poles,  Therm-a-Rest NeoAir XLite sleeping pad
• Clothes in my pack: Melanzana hoodie, Patagonia rain jacket, leggings, 1 pair underwear, 1 pair of socks
• Other things: Sea to Summit spoon, empty Talenti container, tooth brush, toothpaste, sunscreen, poop shovel, wet wipes, hand sanitizer, bandana, phone charger, iPhone, a few Hyperlite stuff sacks, Platypus bottle
• Food: 1-liter Smartwater (x4), a variety of bars, beef jerky, ramen, and oatmeal

Things you don’t see – the tent, because Michael carried it and a stove, because we decided to go stoveless and cold-soak our food.

Since we were hiking in the desert and had no opportunities to filter water (aside from the Colorado River, which is really silty and would probably ruin our filters) we had to carry all of our water with us from the start. Each of us had 6 liters of water (4 1-liter Smaterwaters and a 2-liter Platypus bottle). The water alone was 13lbs for each of us! Typically we’d carry 2 or 3 liters at a time while backpacking and filter water at streams along the way, so this was a lot of extra weight.

Backpacking Day 0

We got into Moab on Saturday afternoon and got a hotel room. We stopped at Moab Brewery for beers and food, went on a hunt for some Old Trapper beef jerky and a few other last-minute supplies, re-organized all of our gear, hydrated like it was our job, and got a good night of sleep.

Backpacking Day 1

After a quick continental breakfast at the hotel we hit the road to Island in the Sky. First stop was the Visitor’s Center to pick up our permits and hear all the rules, most of which we already knew – only sleep where the permit allows, leave no trace, don’t bust the crust, no dogs, have fun, etc. The staff was very knowledgeable!

Afterwards we took off to the trailhead and officially started our backpacking adventure on Lathrop Trail!

The trail starts out at about 6000 feet. The first few miles were spent walking through grassy flat land. I believe this was called Gray’s Pasture. I was a little nervous to be backpacking, so I’m glad we started out nice and easy so that I could calm some of my nerves!

First view of the La Sal Mountains

About a mile in the trail then turns into slickrock and we start heading towards the canyon rim. Here we catch our first views of the Colorado River and Airport Tower.

Then we start the big drop! The trail goes into a series of switchbacks down the side of the canyon and drops about 1500 feet in 1 1/2 miles. Oh boy my legs were shaking by the end of that descent! Trekking poles were a huge help here.

We hiked all the way down from the top of that!

At the bottom there was a nice, flat spot with some good looking sittin’ boulders, so we stopped to take a snack break. Snack breaks are the best.

From there we walked on a little ridge and then dropped down into a dry wash before hitting White Rim Road, which was about 6 miles from the trailhead.

This is where I discovered that my legs were getting FRIED by the sun, so I added more sunscreen.

We then crossed White Rim Road and headed down into Lathrop Canyon to the Colorado River. This section was less of a trail and more of an unpaved four-wheel-drive road.

Over the next 4ish miles down to the river we kept our eyes open for camping spots, since this was the only area we were permitted to set up camp. Everything was at large, so there were no designated spots.

I won’t lie, by this time of the day I was starting to get pretty pooped. The sun was blazing and my pack felt heavy with all the water I was carrying. I think Michael was worried that I wasn’t having a good time, because I was getting quieter. I was having a good time – type 2 fun, obviously – just a little tired. My body wasn’t used to doing this type of stuff anymore. We came across a shady area, so we stopped there for a longer snack break to rest, hydrate, and eat some beef jerky. As I mentioned before, snack breaks are the best! I felt revived after this.

From there it was only about 2 more miles to the Colorado River. I could tell we were getting closer because we started to see a lot more trees and greenery. We kept walking, turned a corner and there it was – the Colorado River!

We stopped to rest here for just a little bit. There was a vault toilet and a picnic table. Also, by this time my legs were so sunburned. I did a terrible job putting on sunscreen, not at all balanced. The back of my legs were completely red, my knees were white, and the rest of my legs were red and white streaks. It looked like they were tie-dyed. #fail. I was so glad that I purchased a Voormi River Run Hoodie right before the trip, which was a light long-sleeve merino wool shirt with UV protection. Otherwise my top half would have matched my bottom half. It didn’t make me feel too hot, so that’s another bonus.

After snapping a few more pics we turned around and started to make our way back about 3 miles to the campsite Michael had scoped out. Michael played some tunes on his phone to keep us pumped up for the next hour of hiking. He could tell I was dragging a bit and offered to carry my pack for the last 1/2-mile. I definitely could have carried it and been totally fine, but I didn’t deny his offer. He’s the best.

We set up our tent as soon as we got to the campsite.

In total we hiked about 13.5 miles total, which is the longest I have hiked since July. My endorphins started to kick in shortly after we stopped and I felt AMAZING.

We reorganized our stuff a little bit, had a snack, and sat in the tent listening to Backpacker Radio. Michael fell asleep in about 4 seconds while I laid there awake, listening to the podcast, and feeling my legs throbbing from sunburn.

After some down time we made dinner, which involved soaking ramen packets in Talenti containers and adding a few packets of Taco Bell hot sauce. This was the first time I ever ate cold-soaked ramen and I was pleasantly surprised at how tasty it was!

It was such a lovely evening – nice and cool with beautiful views. We were the only people there.

A little bit later we decided to call it a night a hit the hay. Again Michael fell asleep in about 4 seconds (I don’t think he is ever happier than he is while he’s sleeping in a tent) while I laid awake watching the stars come out and eventually fell asleep.

Change of Plans

Mid-way through the first day of hiking we started to think about our agenda for the rest of the trip. Our original thought was to backpack 3 days/2 nights. We would hike down to the Colorado River the first day and camp about 2 miles back towards White Rim Road. The second day we were thinking we could hike another few miles up and then spend the day exploring side trails and slot canyons. The third day we would hike back up the canyon and to the trailhead. However, there weren’t a lot of side trails and slot canyons to explore. Our only option was to walk along White Rim Road, which is more of a Jeep and mountain biking road, so it wouldn’t be super exciting.

Since we had made good time the first day (we didn’t really know what my body would be able to handle) we decided to cut the trip short and hike back to the trailhead the next day. We toyed with the idea of getting a car camping site and exploring other areas of Canyonlands, but it was looking as if it was going to be pretty chilly, windy, and overcast. In the end we decided that we would just drive back to the Denver. We both had Tuesday off of work so we would still be able to have a fun day together.

Once we made this decision we started drinking a lot more water. Now our 12 liters only had to last us 2 days instead of 3. Looking back I don’t think we would have made it through 3 days with enough water. We were so thirsty that first night!!

Backpacking Day 2

We woke up the next day at about 7:30. We wanted to get an early-ish start so that we could hike back up the canyon before the sun made us too hot.

We ate a bar for breakfast (didn’t want to use any of our precious water to make oatmeal), packed everything up, and headed out.

Since it was an out-and-back trail we did the same exact hike as the previous day, except opposite. All of day 1 was downhill, which meant that all of day 2 was uphill (approximately 2100 feet of total elevation gain/loss). So great. Fortunately, we had 3 miles less to hike since we had already backtracked a little bit the day before, it was slightly overcast and not as hot, and our packs were lighter due to the food and water we consumed the previous day.

The view down into Lathrop Canyon from White Rim Road

I am currently not supposed to get my heart rate up above 140bpm in order help prevent it from going into any weird rhythms, specifically ventricular tachycardia. (side note: I am going back to Mayo next week and hopefully they will tell me that my blood clot is gone and that I can get the ablation done so that I can be fixed and not have to worry about this anymore. HOPEFULLY.) This means that when going uphill I have to take it pretty easy and move at a slow and steady pace.

The first part of the hike back up to White Rim Road was a little steep, but nothing too bad. Then we had a flat section with some rolling hills. We took it pretty easy and stopped a lot to take pictures. AKA I stopped a lot to take pictures while Michael stood there waiting for me… or taking them for me.

We even spotted a little big horn sheep! Their camouflage is so impressive.

Do you see it?

Then it was time to hike the 1500 feet back up the canyon! But first, we took a Haribo gummi bear snack break.

My pack was much lighter at this point than it was when we were hiking down the canyon the previous day, but obviously it’s more cardiovascularly tolling to hike up than it is to hike down.

The ridge we hiked along

I took my time hiking up. Michael is always so patient hiking behind me. He probably could have hiked up and down and back up again in the same time it took me to hike up once, but he always let’s me set the pace and never complains that I walk too slow.

I did have to stop a few times to let my heart rate drop a little. Fortunately, everything was totally fine and we made it back to the canyon rim.

Luckily Michael helped prep me for this with his seven Sanitas summit challenge.

From there it was a couple miles back through the slickrock and the grassland. Then we were back to the car!

We immediately started chugging Powerade, then changed clothes, slipped on some sandals, and rinsed off our hands. What a glorious feeling! A few minutes later we were on our way back to Denver.

Obviously there was a stop at Slope & Hatch in Glenwood Springs. They have the best tacos.

Side Notes & Comments

• Up until about 7 miles into the trail we saw 0 people. I was expecting to see a lot more since April is such a busy time in Canyonlands. We came across a couple mountain bikers and people in jeeps (5 total) closer to the Colorado River and spotted one other hiker after we had set up camp. The second day we saw 2 hikers near the canyon rim and some day hikers closer to the trailhead.
• Here’s a Youtube video of the entire trail (I didn’t make it). I watched it before leaving for our trip. It was fun to see a little preview!
• The desert is such a magical, mysterious place! You see a fossil and think, “Hmmm… how did that get here?” Then you see all these layers and textures and realize that there is so much history showing through the landscape.
• Per usual, I packed too much food.
• I will now forever be paranoid at how I apply sunscreen to my body in fear that I will end up looking tie-dyed again.

It felt so good to get away with Michael for a long weekend, to explore a new place, to sleep outside, and to learn that I can handle backpacking. Overall, it was a wonderful trip and a great way to spend my last few days as a 30-year-old.

And, of course, a few more pictures…