Day 16
15230 mileage
8:17 A.M.
17054 steps
$60 All Access Pass Savings
Got another email this morning. This time to say that the credit card company had shipped my new card three weeks early. Can you believe it? Certainly didn't want that hanging out in the mailbox for those pesky raccoons to walk away with. Katie said she'd go and pick it up. See? Best!
Reading up about Arches National Park, the most popular hike is out to Delicate Arch, the one modeled on the state license plate. The instructions list this as a 'Moderate' hike that is a 3 mile round trip across uneven ground including 'slick rock' with an elevation change of 610 feet. They also explain that you should bring plenty of water. Totally pay attention to that last suggestion. The rest of it is up for subjective review.
As you stand at the trailhead and look off into the distance, the first thing you notice is these tiny dots moving along the rocky salt wash. It takes a moment to realize that those dots are people. As you head out to join them you feel the heat pounding down on you from above. 3 miles is going to seem like a lifetime.
There are signs marking the trails pounded into the rock. Other than that you are on you own in figuring out which way to head. Thankfully there were plenty of people coming and going that you just had to follow the crowd. We were already rising up and had broken a sweat when we met a mother and young daughter headed back to the parking lot. We asked how close we were. The mom said, "Yeah, we only made it to the stairs and then turned around. Too much for us."
Those stairs are carved into the bald rock about half way to our destination. When we reached them, we knew we were in for it. Sucking down on water we decided to continue. You head up and around the rocks and past some scraggly trees to trek through a few sand pits. You notice your first arch on a thin path where one side is sheer rock and the other is a sheer drop down into the canyon. You have to shimmy up the rock face with few toe holds to reach the arch in order to see what's on the other side.
Looking through this huge hole in the rock you get your first view of the Delicate Arch on the other side of the cliff. You then have to shimmy back down hoping and praying you don't slide off into oblivion to continue on the path out and around a bend to get a full view of the state's icon. As you can probably tell I didn't fall off, but I did rip a huge hole in my shorts. Thankfully it was not very noticeable.
The reviews suggest going early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid the massive groups of people climbing all over the arch itself. We hit it just right and were able to get enough great pictures without having to wait for too many people to move out of the way with their Selfie Sticks.
Sitting here thinking about the amount of time necessary to create such a fragile piece of art makes you wonder how much longer can it actually stand. The constantly changing landscape is prevalent in the views around you. You can see evidence of water and wind eroding new arches and removing more layers of the ones already created. Awesome power, this.
The return trek wasn't as bad, however make sure you pay attention to where you are stepping. Gazing off to admire the views is not recommended unless you want to roll an ankle. I know.
We headed out to Landscape Arch next which has a much more defined path through some incredible slot canyons. Today it was windy. Well, not just windy but sand-pelting-your-body-like-bullets windy. There were enough breaks in the gusts that we were able to make it out to Lansdscape.
On our way back we did the side trail for Pine Tree Arch.
Windows Arch and Balanced Rock are two easy hikes to get to as you drive through the park.
We went back into town for lunch at Zax and then headed out to Canyonlands National Park. There are tons of hiking trails available, but the road takes you around to some overlook and vista views. G thought there was a road that would take you right down into the canyon, but there wasn't one there. We headed out to the Islands in the Sky and then onto the Grand View Overlook. We were feeling pretty wiped and headed back early.
If you drive anywhere in Moab you are bound to notice the Sunset Grill perched on the cliff above the town. We made dinner reservations there for 8 P.M. We were a little early and sat outside in a neat seating area and we could see the sun beginning to set. We opted to sit inside because there wasn't much available outside. My advice is to NOT CHOOSE THIS OPTION. Inside is actually the living room of the 'Uranium King,' Charlie Steen. He was a geologist and farmer who put Moab on the world map for discovering a uranium rich mine, a mineral that in the 1950's was still pretty rare.
The large living room windows look down on the town and not really at the sunset for this time of year. We had to crane our necks in order to see a sliver of the sun as it set behind the cliffs. I kept going back out to the seating areas to take pictures. The dinner was okay and the waiter was brand new, so the overall dining experience was not the greatest.
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