Showing posts with label Arches National Park. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arches National Park. Show all posts
Friday, May 28, 2010
Arches National Park :: A Few More Views
These pictures were taken on the morning of May 17th on my final drive-through of Arches National Park. It was another beautiful day!
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Arches National Park :: Sharing a Site
After completing the Devil's Garden Trail and eating lunch, I headed back over to the campground. There was a site available and because there was space for two vehicles, I agreed to share the site with the older gentleman who had arrived that morning at the same time that I had. He seemed like a nice guy. It's not uncommon to share sites with people you don't know. I've done it several times before. However, there have been a few times that I have declined to share my site, usually because I just don't feel “comfortable” with that particular person.
Anyway, about half an hour later, the gentleman arrived at our site. His name was Hunter. He was 82 years old, from California, traveling by himself, hiking and getting around like he was 30 years younger! An amazing man. And very nice. He set up his tent over a ridge toward the rear of the site so he would have a good view of the sunrise the next morning. We sat at the picnic table and talked. We sat in silence and read our respective books. We talked when we had something to share. It was rather nice.
There was a trail off the south side of the campground and about 5:30 I decided to see where it went.
The La Sal Mountains in the distance.
They called this one Broken Arch because there is a crack running down the middle, just to the left and above where the man is standing.
This huge rock formation reminded me of the statues of lions guarding the gates, but these seem to have lost their heads! The trail was fun. Easy in some places and not quite so easy in others, with a bit of scrambling over rocks and squeezing through several tight spots.
These arches were on a short offshoot from the main trail. This was as close as I got, that trail went no further. It would have been interesting, I think, to walk through and in them.
It is difficult to imagine the scale and size of these formations even when there are people included in the pictures. They are huge and the variety of shapes and sizes and colors are amazing and fascinating. It is a weird and wonderful place.
Anyway, about half an hour later, the gentleman arrived at our site. His name was Hunter. He was 82 years old, from California, traveling by himself, hiking and getting around like he was 30 years younger! An amazing man. And very nice. He set up his tent over a ridge toward the rear of the site so he would have a good view of the sunrise the next morning. We sat at the picnic table and talked. We sat in silence and read our respective books. We talked when we had something to share. It was rather nice.
There was a trail off the south side of the campground and about 5:30 I decided to see where it went.
The La Sal Mountains in the distance.
They called this one Broken Arch because there is a crack running down the middle, just to the left and above where the man is standing.
This huge rock formation reminded me of the statues of lions guarding the gates, but these seem to have lost their heads! The trail was fun. Easy in some places and not quite so easy in others, with a bit of scrambling over rocks and squeezing through several tight spots.
These arches were on a short offshoot from the main trail. This was as close as I got, that trail went no further. It would have been interesting, I think, to walk through and in them.It is difficult to imagine the scale and size of these formations even when there are people included in the pictures. They are huge and the variety of shapes and sizes and colors are amazing and fascinating. It is a weird and wonderful place.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Arches National Park :: Devil's Garden
It was early on Thursday morning (May 13th) when I arrived at Arches National Park, which is north of Moab, Utah. And the awful weather of the previous two days had finally drifted away! It was a beautiful day. The campground is 18 miles from the entrance station and visitors center. Bypassing the latter for the time being, I drove on out to the campground in hopes of getting a campsite for the night. I was dismayed to discover that this year the campground was switched to a reservation only system.
This meant that I “might” get a site if someone canceled or was a no-show. There was an older gentleman who arrived at the same time I did. The camp host was very nice in explaining the situation to us and, luckily, said that it was likely that “something” would be available later in the afternoon. He suggested that we go take a hike and return about three o'clock.
So, that's what I did. The Devil's Garden Trail was just down the road and since it was still early (about nine o'clock) there was plenty of parking available. This trail is the longest of the maintained trails in the park and goes to eight arches with views of several others. It is actually a series of trails with a total length of 6.2 miles round-trip. It wasn't “easy” by any means, but overall it wasn't all that difficult with the exception of several crucial spots that involved scrambling over rocks and walking along the tops of fins (large, very long, sometimes narrow rocks).
Pine Tree Arch.
Tunnel Arch.
There were several groups of school kids on the trail.
Landscape Arch, taken at an angle to get the entire length in one shot, even then I didn't get the ends of it completely. At 310 feet long (with a 290 foot span), it is reportedly the longest freestanding natural arch known to exist. At its thinnest point it is only six feet thick. When I visited the park in 1979 there was a trail where you could walk under the arch. (Somewhere, I have a photo from that trip that shows someone walking on the arch!) It has become more fragile with age, and several large chunks fell off in 1995, so for safety reasons and to help preserve it a little longer they closed the trail that went underneath the arch.
There was a bit of a bottleneck with the school kids traversing the rocks. The trail split a short distance ahead. They went one way and I went the other!
A southwest view of the valley from near Navajo Arch.
The valley view through Partition Arch, looking east.
A portion of the trail went along the top of a fin, with the “added bonus” of several rocks on top, which provided challenging obstacles. It was about 25-30 feet to the ground.
Fins alongside the trail.
This meant that I “might” get a site if someone canceled or was a no-show. There was an older gentleman who arrived at the same time I did. The camp host was very nice in explaining the situation to us and, luckily, said that it was likely that “something” would be available later in the afternoon. He suggested that we go take a hike and return about three o'clock.
So, that's what I did. The Devil's Garden Trail was just down the road and since it was still early (about nine o'clock) there was plenty of parking available. This trail is the longest of the maintained trails in the park and goes to eight arches with views of several others. It is actually a series of trails with a total length of 6.2 miles round-trip. It wasn't “easy” by any means, but overall it wasn't all that difficult with the exception of several crucial spots that involved scrambling over rocks and walking along the tops of fins (large, very long, sometimes narrow rocks).
Pine Tree Arch.
Tunnel Arch.
There were several groups of school kids on the trail.
Landscape Arch, taken at an angle to get the entire length in one shot, even then I didn't get the ends of it completely. At 310 feet long (with a 290 foot span), it is reportedly the longest freestanding natural arch known to exist. At its thinnest point it is only six feet thick. When I visited the park in 1979 there was a trail where you could walk under the arch. (Somewhere, I have a photo from that trip that shows someone walking on the arch!) It has become more fragile with age, and several large chunks fell off in 1995, so for safety reasons and to help preserve it a little longer they closed the trail that went underneath the arch.
There was a bit of a bottleneck with the school kids traversing the rocks. The trail split a short distance ahead. They went one way and I went the other!
A southwest view of the valley from near Navajo Arch.
The valley view through Partition Arch, looking east.
A portion of the trail went along the top of a fin, with the “added bonus” of several rocks on top, which provided challenging obstacles. It was about 25-30 feet to the ground.
Fins alongside the trail.