ARCHES Part 2Alright, let's see how smooth it goes this morning.
The next morning, we woke up before the sun and got an early start. We were hiking the "Devil's Garden", and the idea of getting caught out there in the heat was not attractive! As I said, it's all about time management, if you go this time of year. The mornings are beautiful, and so are the late evenings.
One neat thing was that our campsite would have all sorts of trails through the sand in the morning. Mostly from reptiles, as this appears to be.
Here are what is called "fins". These are mostly destined to become arches, but currently are just large, flat, well...fins.
There's some enhanced sense of adventure when leaving early and being one of only a few on the trail. I enjoy the mind game of convincing myself that, even though the trail is covered by millions, I am pioneering new territory and could come across practically anything. Making these trips exciting for the kids has a lot to do with that. Silly? yes. Fun? yes.
After "Landscape Arch", there is a sign that says something about the trail being primitive from this point forward. That it was. There were times that we lost the trail and had to search for kerns (stacks of rock to mark the trail), and times that got fairly steep, slippery and high.
This section took us up and over a fin.
And this may not be trouble for most that can push away from the dinner table.
๐We went all the way to the back to see "Double-O" arch. However, there was a point just before getting there that we decided the risk was not worth it. The trail climbs up on top of a fin. The trail is roughly 10' wide with drops on either side of, well, further than we wanted to fall! It would have been okay, except that the wind was so terribly strong, that it took great concentration to keep your balance and stability. A lady was coming back from the end and stopped to tell us that the trail doesn't get any easier. We decided this spot was a great payoff, and we didn't need to force the issue.
On the way back, we took the side trails to a few other arches, Navajo arch being one.
We're always asked for a favorite hike of the trip...I'm thinking that "The Narrows" trumps them all for coolness. After that, pick any, because they each had a uniqueness that can't be compared. This trail was exactly that, incomparable.