A nice mid February winter trip to Arches National Park. We were up and out of the house in the middle of the night in order to get down to Arches shortly after sunrise. After a small run in with the police, something about our rate of travel, we were delighted to be in the park very early. This was SuzAnn’s first trip to Arches, so there was much to share with her as we passed the monolithic stone towers on the way to Devils Garden.
Our plan was the classic Primitive Loop trail from Devils Garden. An 8+ mile hike when you take in all the side trails to view the arches along the way. I have hiked this trail 5 times and have many wonderful memories, as well as some hair raising experiences!
We were at the trail head by 8am, and being winter, we were able to get a parking spot right up front. This is usually a very congested area and difficult to find parking through the more popular times of the year.
As we began our adventurous hike, we were crunching through the hard packed frozen snow and ice on the trail. This was the first winter trip I have made to Arches, so it was a nice addition to the already dramatic scenery to have some relatively new snow still clinging to the red rock!
The trail starts out casual enough as it passes Pine Tree Arch and makes it way to world renowned Landscape Arch which has the longest span in the world at 290 feet and only 6 feet thick at its thinnest point. Immediately after passing Landscape Arch, the trail begins to get a bit more interesting as it climbs directly on top of a rock fin passing the now fallen Wall Arch. The trail used to pass through a narrow canyon below Wall Arch and did not seem quite as scary. But since it has fallen in 2008, the Park Service has rerouted the trail to avoid rockfall danger from the broken rock.
Once the top of the fin is reached, the trail eases off a bit and a side trail leads you to Navajo Arch and Partition Arch which is a nice place to take the first long break. Here you can sit with a great view through the arch, which sits high up on on the rock walls, and view the eastern parts of the Devils Garden area far below.
After the break at Partition Arch, the trail is relatively easy until it reaches a point where it climbs on top of another fin. This section turned out to be quite a challenge as there was snow and ice on the rock making for a harrowing climb to the crest. Once on the crest of the fin, the going was pretty straight forward. But those who fight with any bouts of vertigo, will find this section rather unnerving, as one side of the fin has some pretty big exposure to a large dropoff.
Upon exiting the fin, brought us to another slippery spot, with more unnerving snow and ice covered rock. Here there were a few groups of people moving very slowly trying to cling to the angled iced up rock. Once beyond this section, we were at our lunch destination at Double O Arch. We found some nice snow free rocks and sat down to bask in the sun and eat some of our trail food.
Double O Arch marks about the halfway point on the loop. But the second half is considered to be a Primitive Trail and entails some pretty rugged terrain. With all the snow that we were encountering, I was not too sure we would be able to get by some of the sections we would need to pass. But as I always say…there is only one way to find out whether we can make it or not! So off down the icy trail we went.
My biggest concern was a treacherous section, even on dry rock, where the trail angles down the side of a cliff following a series of ledges and pockets no wider than your foot! When we reached this point, hikers were all backed up and one gentleman was helping people across one at a time. We had to wait for close to a half an hour for our turn. I was happy to allow the nice man to help SuzAnn past this hair raising spot as this kind of hiking was all new to her. Once she was safely down, I graciously accepted the gentleman’s assistance as all the loose dirt on the ledge made me quite nervous as well.
When we reached the bottom we found out why everybody had been backed up and so nervous. There was a young lady, probably in her teens, that had taken a fall the entire way down the cliff. Probably about 100-125 feet! Somehow she miraculously survived with only some bad cuts and bruises! She was still in a bad case of shock, with eyes dilated irregularly, but she would be alright and have an experience I am sure she will never forget!
The balance of the hike, was thankfully, pretty uneventful as we made the 3 mile slog back to the trailhead.
Exhausted, but enlightened by our adventure, we made our way out of the park back into Moab for a great dinner at the Moab Brewery and then a restful nights sleep at a local hotel.
The following day we were up early again and back into the park shortly after sunrise. I decided to take SuzAnn on the hike up to see Delicate Arch. The famous arch that is depicted on the Utah license plate. The hike involved more ice covered ledges to negotiate, but after the ordeal the day before, this somehow seemed like no big deal! I did get the chance to get some shots from the large sandstone bowl located below the arch. I had always wanted to go down in there, and this time, with Su’s encouragement, I got to do just that.
All in all, it was a great trip to Arches, but then again, every Adventure In Arches is great!
