Moab and Arches Part 2

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We’re half way through our 12 night stay here in Moab Utah and things have been going well but there is so much more we want to do. Arches National Park claims to have over 2000 arches in the park, so we have no delusions of seeing them all, but we do have several more we want to visit. The remaining ones on our list cannot be reached by car and will require a couple of hikes. The first one we go visit is Delicate Arch. This is located off a side road in the park we haven’t ventured down yet that heads out to Wolfe Ranch. The hike to the arch is just over three miles round trip with about 500 feet of elevation. The hike starts at the parking lot near Wolfe Ranch, named after a man that mover here in the late 1800’s to raise a few cattle. One of his cabins still stands nearby. The parking lot is large with room for well over one hundred cars. Even so, it was rather crowded when we arrived. I guess we weren’t the only ones willing to hike the three miles to see this arch.

Our Selfie at Delicate Arch

Much of the hike is on bare red sandstone. And while it looks like it could be slick in some weather conditions, the traction is great when it is dry. We tended to pass many of the people heading up this way. I suspect this hike was their “stretch” goal for their visit to the park. It is a pretty hike and none of the terrain makes it too tough to get up. There is one section of a ledge near the end of the trail that needs to be followed for a few hundred feet, but it is plenty wide and most people seem to be handling it without problems.

A Line of People Heading to Delicate Arch

Follow the Rock Cairns

Pretty View Just Before the Arch

The last 300 feet over to the arch requires walking along a rather steeply sloped section of the rock that drops down into a large bowl to the side of the arch. Chris managed to get Part way over but decided to find a safe place to sit while I explored closer to the arch. It’s easy to see why this one is named Delicate Arch. It is a completely free standing arch with one leg that had eroded down to a rather narrow joint. The opening in the arch is 46 feet high and 32 feet wide. There was a line of people waiting to take their turn posing underneath the arch while somebody else took their picture. It was interesting to check the arch out from various angles while keeping an eye out for just how steep the rock surface is to avoid an unfortunate fall.

Large Group Near Arch

Delicate Arch

Side View Shows Precarious Spot of Arch

Distance View at Arch

I headed back to Chris’ spot and we had a snack before we headed back to the car. Based on the constant stream of people, it would appear that this is one of the most popular hikes in the park. Once back near the parking lot, we did the short side loop to check out the petroglyphs. There aren’t very many and it appears to just be one section of rock that has them, but they are in very good shape. We also did a quick look in the cabin at Wolfe Ranch.

Petroglyphs Near Wolfe Ranch

Old Cabin at Wolfe Ranch

From the Wolfe Cabin parking lot, we drive east about a mile to the Delicate Arch Viewpoint parking lot. This is where people that cannot hike to the arch, or don’t have the time to do so, come to see the arch. The lower viewpoint is handicap accessible but bring along binoculars or a long telephoto lens since the arch is 2/3 mile away. The upper viewpoint will required a half mile hike uphill (one way) and gets you about 0.4 miles from the arch. Still a good distance away but using my 200 mm lens I could see people milling about up by the arch. I guess it’s better than not seeing Delicate Arch at all, but not by a whole lot.

Delicate Arch from Upper Viewpoint

From here, we have a mission to go on. Most visitors to Arches won’t venture down Cache Valley Road which comes off the viewpoint parking lot. It is a rough dirt road with signs at the entrance stating “no outlet - 4x4 required” and “impassable when wet”. Why are we inclined to drive down this road? There is a geocache hidden up a wash just outside the national park boundaries. We figured it was about 3/4 mile along the road and then another 1/2 mile hiking up the wash to get to ground zero. We had no trouble driving out the first half mile and found a place to park figuring we could hike the rest of the way. It wasn’t long before we came across a gate and the road definitely took a turn for the worse. We saw a couple Jeep Wranglers drive past but even they were moving slowly to negotiate the large rocks that make up the “road”.

Our Cache is Somewhere Up There

We had seen the wash we wanted to head up from an aerial view of the area, but in person it didn’t look quite so inviting. There are large rocks and lots of small trees and shrubs growing in and near the wash. It was slow going but we managed to find a route that wasn’t terrible. The views were rather incredible and were more or less ensured we wouldn’t be running into anybody. We got to the cache location which was in a red rock area with a large outcropping towering above our heads and managed to quickly find it and sign the logbook.

The Start of the Wash

Continue Up This Way

Getting Closer to the Cache

Great Views

More Slick Red Rock Formations

We decided to not simply backtrack our route in but instead thought the wash that proceeded down from our location would be a better route. It turned out that we were wrong about this. There were some remarkably large, water carved potholes all along the wash and each one was difficult to navigate around but we eventually got back to the road and the car. As we drove from the dirt road to the paved parking lot, people were looking at us wondering what we had been doing back there. They don’t know what they are missing out on.

Large Potholes Along Wash

Somewhere along the way, somebody had mentioned how pretty the drive was through the La Sal Mountains just to the east of Moab. So we plotted out a course that made a loop and set off to go explore. Initially the scenery looks a lot like the rest of Moab with red rock and interesting shapes in the rock formations. But as we gain elevation, the landscape changes and the mountains are completely covered with trees - predominantly evergreens. When looking further up the mountains, it is clear to see that they rise high enough to be above the tree line. It looks like there would be some good hiking up here but we didn’t allot enough time for more than a pleasant drive. I’m sure we will make it back to the area and can see more of the sights.

Rugged Mountain View

Forest Covers Most of the La Sal Mountains

At one pullout, the view of the valley below was rather striking. The red rocks and unique formations were on full display. At first, we didn’t know whether the planned route would take us even near the area we were seeing, but as we headed back to lower elevations, it looked promising. Turns out this area is called Castle Valley for the castle like buttes that stand out in the geography of the valley. We stopped several times along the drive to take in the great views. We eventually came back out to Route 128 along the Colorado River and made our way back to camp. This was a very special drive and would thank the person that suggested it.

First Glimpse of Castle Valley

Getting Closer

Roadside Flowers

The next day would take us back to Arches for a hike to see some more arches. The few times we have driven past the parking area for the hikes from Devil’s Garden, we knew the parking area fills up and it can be tough if not impossible to find a spot. We headed out early and found plenty of places although there seemed to be a steady stream of cars coming in behind us so our timing was good. There are seven or more arches along the trail here but Landscape Arch is definitely the main draw. I suspect well over half the visitors coming to this location only complete the 1.6 mile round trip walk to this arch and while it is definitely a “must see” spot in Arches National Park there is a lot more of you have the energy for some additional hiking.

Striped Rocks

At the quarter mile point along the trail, there is a side spur that heads to two other arches. It will add about 3/4 mile to the walk but should be considered worth the extra time and distance. Tunnel Arch is high up on one of the fins and appears to be rather deep possibly giving the arch its name. It isn’t an arch that can be closely examined but worth a look. Just down from here is Pine Tree Arch so named for the tree growing just beyond the arch opening.

Tunnel Arch

Pine Tree Arch

Back on the main trail, in about a half mile will be the split for a primitive trail on the right. We planned to do the primitive trail which forms a big loop starting beyond Landscape Arch and returning at this split. We opted to compete the loop in a clockwise direction. In hindsight, it might have been wiser to hike the loop in the opposite direction but more on the reason in a bit. Landscape Arch is just a short distance from the split. It is a long (290 feet wide) slender arch that doesn’t seem like it should still be standing. There were some large sections of the arch that fell back in the 1990’s and visitors are no longer able to walk underneath it. Even so, it is quite the sight and a being an easy walk to this point, it should be considered a must do at Arches.

Landscape Arch

A Better Angle of Landscape Arch

Just beyond this arch is the other end of the primitive trail. Signs here warn of the difficult nature of this trail and probably should be considered accurate. The trail starts out going up between a few of the remaining fins in the area. It isn’t too tough as long as you don’t get too close to the edge. In about 1/3 mile will be a side trail back to two other arches - Navajo and Partition Arches. They are both worth the 3/4 mile distance that gets added to the hike. Navajo Arch is hidden fairly well behind some tree so watch for the signs or you may miss it. The way the arch frames the trees makes for a very special view. Partition Arch has a small window to the side of the arch and gives a great distance view thru the arch.

Climbing Between Fins

Navajo Arch

Looking Thru Partition Arch

Back on the primitive trail, we work ourselves up in elevation and across another fin that provides a great view of a small valley down below. The trail is a little narrow here so Chris is extra careful to walk and watch the trail or stop to look around. Walking and looking around could be bad news.

Beautiful View of Valley

Just a short distance from here, we arrive at the Double O Arch. This one is really neat because there are actually two arches - one on top of another. The picture I took of the two openings might be deceiving. The upper one is obvious since there is blue sky behind it. The lower opening has some trees or shrubs behind it and one may look at the photo and just assume the shrubs are in front of the base of the fin but in reality you are looking thru the lower arch.

Double O Arch - Pay Attention to Second Arch Below

Looking Thur Lower Arch of Double O

Having this much effort invested in the hike so far, we figure the extra 0.8 mile required to go out and back to something called the Dark Angel would be worth it. Dark Angel is a 150 foot tall sandstone tower that has desert patina covering it so it is mostly a dark brown instead of the reddish brown color seen in most of the rocks. On the way back from Dark Angel, we get a good view of the backside of the Double O Arch.

Dark Angel Pokes Out

Closer to Dark Angel

Backside of Double O Arch

The primitive trail continues on and at roughly the halfway point of the loop, is another side trail. Yes there are a lot of side trails on this hike, but they have all seemed to be worth the extra hike. This trail heads back to something called Private Arch. The path of this trail is lined up with the orientation of the fins and provides an interesting view even before getting to the arch. This arch is at the base of the fin and is positioned to the far side of the fin.

Small Opening in Large Fin

Lined Up with Fins on Way to Private Arch

Private Arch

Another Private Arch View

Back on the primitive trail and and on the second half of the loop we run into our only real challenge. First, the trail wasn’t marked very well so we were wandering around on one of the fins trying to figure out which way the trail went. With the high vantage point of the fin, I could see the trail down below to the side of the fin but it wasn’t obvious how to get there. Then we realized our dilemma, the trail went down the steep side of the fin. Originally we had discounted that option because surely they wouldn’t have the trail go down the side of something so high and so steep, would they? I started down what appeared to be route and was having all sorts of problems. Even the the traction was good, the steepness was a bit more then the traction permitted. I stopped to re-evaluate the options. I knew if I was having trouble with the heights and my fears, I suspected there would be little hope of getting Chris to make it down. But we were well over halfway around the loop, turning back now would make for an even longer hike. I warned Chris she was not going to like this part of the hike and she would need to overcome her fears and just take it very slowly. It took awhile but we made it with minimal whimpering.

View While Searching for the Trail

Chris Holds Her Breath and Closes Eyes, but Makes It!

Continuing Between Fins

When it was all said and done, the hike was a bit more challenging than we had planned on. It came in at just over 9 miles with 1300 feet in elevation which by itself isn’t too bad. If the park just sent out a work crew with some chisels and hammers, they could easily put some footholds along this steep section to give some means of slowing down and unexpected slide over the side of the fin. Was it a worthwhile hike, with some excellent views? Definitely! So here are two pieces of advice if you choose to take the primitive loop: either go in a counterclockwise direction which would make this very difficult part be uphill or go clockwise but after viewing Private Arch, simply reverse course and return the way you came.

Our Devil's Garden Track with Arches Marked

We planned on using our stay in Moab to visit Arches National Park and our upcoming stay at Dead Horse State Park to check out Canyonlands National Park. However, Canyonlands is a very big park at nearly 340,000 acres - more than four times the size of Arches. Canyonlands is split into three main units or districts by the Colorado and Green Rivers and travel between the units isn’t possible. The Needles district is in the southeastern portion of the park and has its own entrance and visitor center but it is much closer to our campground now than it will be next week. However, it’s not really that close at nearly 70 miles and a 90 minute drive, but we head out with the hopes it will be worth it. About 20 miles before reaching the park, we come across Newspaper Rock. It is at a small parking area right next to the road, so other than the time to stop and look, it doesn’t increase the driving distance measurably. What we find there is a large rock covered in very well preserved petroglyphs. The ancestral people used this place to tell a story, probably lots of stories. It’s worth a ten minute stop on the way to Needles.

Newspaper Rock

Before getting to the park entrance, there are some beautiful views along the road. I needed to stop to get some pictures of the twin buttes. Named North & South Six-Shooter Peak, they are about 2.5 miles from the road and tower nearly 1000 feet up.

South and North Six-Shooter Peaks

South Six-Shooter

North Six-Shooter

Once in the park, we stopped at the smallish visitor center to get a handle on what there is to do. Admittedly we really hadn’t done any research to even say what we wanted to see while here. But the ranger was helpful in describing what was available if we are spending the rest of the daylight hours here. His recommendation was to drive out towards the campgrounds and turn on the road to Elephant Hill. It’s a rough and winding dirt road but is accessible to low clearance vehicles. Just over 2.5 miles out will be a parking lot and the trailhead. It was a pretty drive and we stopped multiple times to take in the scenery. I’m not positive I would have classified this road as being okay for low clearance vehicles, but we had no troubles in the Jeep.

There were more cars parked here than I was expecting but there was still plenty of room left to find a spot. Elephant Hill Road continues on beyond this point, but it is strictly for serious off road Jeeps. No ATVs are allowed and one must even get a permit from the visitor center to come out on the road. From the little we saw of the road, it looks like the type of drive where a spotter is needed to guide the driver over and around the boulders. But we aren’t here to see what our Jeep could do, we were here for a hike. There are several trails that start from this location. We were following the ranger’s recommendation and going to do the Chesler Park Trail. The complete trail goes out about 3 miles before splitting into a five mile loop making for a total of 11.6 miles. We didn’t have the time nor the right gear for that major of a hike, but the ranger told us the scenery was the best in the section of the trail prior to the loop, so we were following his directions and looking to get in just over six miles of hiking.

Layers Exposed

View from the Trail

Large Balanced Rock

The day was mostly overcast but rain wasn’t expected. Even so, it was an absolutely gorgeous hike. We were careful to stay on our trail at the various intersections with other ones. At times, we were walking in between the needles or fins. While some of the slots were narrow, we didn’t need to call upon any of our skills learned while doing the Fiery Furnace hike a few days earlier. It seemed like there was some new incredible rock formation around every turn. And some trees and shrubs growing in the most unlikely of locations.

Path Narrows

Even Narrower

Trees Growing Between Fins

A Tree With a View

The formations would change from well weathered smooth rocks to lines the of sharp surfaced rock spires. Consistent in all of them was the alternating layers of red and tan sediment layers. By the time we got to a high point overlooking the next stage of this trail near where the loop starts, we could see the terrain beyond wasn’t nearly as intriguing. We enjoyed a snack while resting and then turned around and made our way back. Along the way, the clouds started to part and we got to see glimpses of the sun. In all, it was an excellent hike at just over 6 miles with 1100 feet of elevation along the way. I wish we were here for longer because there were lots of other hikes that sounded interesting like the one to Druid Arch. Maybe on some future visit?

Views Near Turn Around Point

Chesler Park Hike Tracks

This hike wore us out enough that we only did a little more sightseeing but almost all from the car. On the way out we stopped to give the Wooden Shoe Arch a look. It’s 3/4 mile from the road but is uniquely shaped so it’s easy to spot. As a woodworker, I would call it the Wooden Plane Arch, but that’s just me. This was a fun trip and very glad we made it.

Wooden Shoe Arch

The next day we wanted to drive to the ghost town of Cisco Utah. It’s about an hours drive but it would be along Route 128 which is a pretty drive along the Colorado River. We had only drive 25 miles or so, when I spotted some really cool looking rock spires in the distance. There was a road back to what is called Fisher Tower. We realized there were a few geocaches near there as well, so we drove the mile or two out to the parking lot and picnic area figuring we would get a quick look and then move on. It turned out there are hiking trails around the towers and since it was such a pretty area, we changed plans and decided to skip the ghost town and just do a hike here.

Approaching Fisher Tower

Nice Puffy Clouds

The hike turns out to be a rather rugged one but not too bad. There are lots of ups and downs as the trail crosses some of the small valleys that come off the towers. A few other people are out on the trail and we had several of them complain about missing a turn. As we continue on, we didn’t run into any real problems. We hadn’t checked out the trail map so it wasn’t perfectly clear how long the trail was. Apparently, Fisher Tower is a very popular climbing destination. We didn't spot anybody up there during our short hike but it would be fascinating to watch. We headed out close to 2 miles before deciding to turn back and just head back to camp after an unexpected diversion.

Apparently the Peak in the Center is Climbed!

Moab is known for its mountain biking but we hadn’t gotten around to trying any riding yet. Which the help of the Trail Forks app, Chris found an area just north of town that had lots of trails that are rated as easy. We have been at many other areas where the trails are rated at a much more advanced level and we know they won’t be good for us. The North Klondike Bluffs area we picked out is about 20 miles north of the entrance to Arches NP so it isn’t super close. It is also a BLM area and we saw a few RVs boondocking. As we drove into the area, there was a dark cloud approaching and it was clear it was dropping some rain. We hoped it would stay north of us and for the most part it did. There is a trail map and even a pit toilet at the trailhead. We pick out the route we plan on taking and head out. While the trail wasn’t excessively steep, it was fairly rocky making the line you pick rather challenging. About a half mile into the ride, Chris decided this wasn’t fun for her. She headed back to the car to read the book she had brought along just in case.

Clouds Threaten the Start of the Ride

Nice but Desolate Area

I continued on the trail. At each intersection, there was a map showing where I was which allowed me to pick which way I was going to go. Since I didn’t have any real destination in mind, I just headed the way that looked good. At one point, I realized I was within half a mile of a geocache so at least I now had a destination instead of just meandering around. I needed to change trails a couple times in order to head towards the cache. At one point, it was clear the cache was hidden down one of the multiple Jeep trails in the area. I didn’t see another human being around so traffic wouldn’t be an issue but the “road” has some deep sandy spots and lots of short, steep ups and downs. At times I found it difficult to ride the bike along the trail, it’s hard to imagine what it would be like to do this in a Jeep. There was on particular boulder along the way that had numerous scrape marks on it from guys that thought they had enough ground clearance, only to discover that wasn’t the case.

My Trail Heads There

Rough Terrain

The cache was hidden near a large expanse of slick rock that continued on up a slight grade. There were small piles of rocks arranged in circles on one section of the slick rock. Upon closer investigation, the rocks were circling dinosaur tracks left in the rock many thousands of years ago. I’m glad they were marked otherwise I probably would have completely overlooked them. After finding the cache, I figured I should head back since Chris was waiting for me. I tried one of the intermediate trails that headed towards the parking area but after a mile of it, I grew tired of the pounding from the rocks that must be negotiated. I cut over to the Jeep trail and other than some sandy sections was a fairly easy ride back. I ended up getting in a 12 mile ride and Chris managed to read a lot of her book. Next camping stop will be a very short drive to Dead Horse Point State Park.

Dinosaur Tracks

Close Up Dinosaur Track