While our first attempt at checking out Arches leading us to Canyonlands, my friend and I were not about to give up that easily, especially since my traveling buddy had never been. As per our conversation with the always-friendly park ranger (my love for them is never-ending), we planned to arrive at the break of dawn. With the sun just beginning to peek up from the horizon and the moon still high in the sky, we made our way to the trail leading to Delicate Arch.
I’m not going to lie. I kind of scoffed at the description of difficult in the visitor guide. It's 480 feet up in 1.5 miles. What they don't tell you is that you climb most of those feet in a very short distance. Halfway up the giant mound of rock before us and I was seriously doubting myself, wondering if the burning in my bum muscles was worth it. The obvious answer is - YES. Delicate is one of the most popular sites at Arches and for good reason. The freestanding 65 feet tall arch etched into the sandstone is mesmerizing to behold. Better yet, due to our sunrise climb, there were only two other people there which provided some peace and quiet to take in the epic views as well as explore a bit of the area.
After a bit of neighborly chats, photo taking, and breakfast munching, we set our sights on scurrying on over to the northern end of the park to Devil’s Garden. This was the only part of Arches that I had previously explored (by foot) and it was just as lovely as I remembered it to be. Oodles of arches and just enough scrambles to keep it interesting without questioning one's sanity. The last time I was here, my friend and I ended up hiking with a father/son duo and chatted about life all along the primitive trail. Once again we ended up chatting with a new hiking buddy the whole way back along the primitive trail. I don’t know exactly what it is about this park but it truly brings out the best in people. Or maybe the friendliest people visit? Is it something in the water?
My return to Arches has only further solidified my love for this region and the desert in general. While before this trip I may have mentioned my love for Utah and its red rocks at appropriate times in conversation, I am now at the point of awkward proclaimer of my undying love. You may want to chat about the impact of Brexit on the world economies - you know what else has an impact? Southern Utah. On my heart. Oh yes friends, this relationship is just getting started. Return trip planning is already in the works.
notes:
arches can get incredibly crowded during the summers and over holidays (there’s even a handy graph). we left the park around 11 am on a monday and there was already quite a wait for parking at the devil's garden trailhead. also, it’s the desert. by the time 10 am rolls around, it is getting hot and shade is hard to come by. if you’re not up for sunrise hiking, i would be sure to get to the trails by 8 am at the latest and carry plenty of water.
we covered about 13.5 miles or so in 5 hours as we found the trails at arches to be less strenuous for us than what we encountered at canyonlands. that being said, there are a number of places where you could very easily slip off the side of a ledge so mind your feets.
i really wanted to check out fiery furnace this time around but was pretty foolish and didn’t think to reserve us spots in advance. if you are up for some ranger-led scrambles in the middle of arches, be sure to make a reservation.
along the lines of the previous point, i also didn’t reserve a campsite because devils garden has some first come, first served spots? so let’s just wing it? we ended up sleeping in big bertha at a turn off near the 128/191 intersection by the park entrance. just an option to keep in mind should you find yourself in a similar situation.
the entire time i was at arches, i could not get this song out of my head. (i'll leave the surmising about why that song would be on repeat in my noggin for debate on another day.) now for the disclaimer - we here at the lupine blog do not condone violence regardless of whether it is endorsed by your mother. glad we cleared that up.