Salt Creek this weekend

[TylerB]

Hi all....
At the recommendation of some people on other threads I finally have a trip planned this weekend to backpack salt creek (canyonlands needle district) with some friends. I've heard about this place for awhile and am excited to finally check it out.

This will be a leisurely 3 night trip my itinerary is:
saturday night camp @ SC3
sunday night side trip to angel arch...then camp at large at the bottom of the salt/horse zone
monday night camp at large closer to peekaboo

exit tuesday to car at cave spring.

I did find a good rough map here of ruins, rock art, and arches ...but any other advice people here might have about side canyons or things to check out are welcome.

Also curious about the water carries....just going to bring my 3L bladder and a couple of smart water bottles for me and my wife...but are there any long dry stretches that we should be aware of? It's going to be a hot weekend.

Any recommendations of great camp sites in the two at large zones?

Thanks! Tyler

 

[RyanP]

There is tons of stuff to do that first day, before you get to SC3; I would try to leave early so you can explore the various side canyons (that guide you linked to has some good stuff; you can kill a ton of time exploring places like Big Pocket). There isn't nearly as much good stuff North of the Angel Arch junction.

At the ending, I would highly recommend finishing at the Squaw Flat TH (via the peekaboo trail) instead of at cave spring. If you haven't done the Peekaboo trail before, it's one of my favorites.