Hiking Arches National Park

        When I was a teenager, I went hiking for about an hour in Arches National Park with my older brother.  We did not see any arches.  I was disappointed.  But, with a camper full of his kids waiting for us, going on one of the cool hikes wasn't an option.

        Delicate Arch is the most photographed and famous arch in the world, and I was determined to see it on my own.  This was my main reason for my trip to the Moab area.  Arches is home to more than 2,000 arches, most of which are off limits to the public.  But what we can see are pretty spectacular.  The park is also filled with fins, pinnacles, spires, towers, balanced rocks, and petrified sand dunes.
 
        As pictures are worth a thousand words, I will fill most of this post with them.

Petrified sand dunes

One of many balanced rocks

 

 

The Amazing Arches

 

 

North Window

South Window

Two views of the Windows.  You must be a bit far from them to get this view as the rock is curved and they can't be seen together up close.

The next set of arches are Turret Arches, which are near the Windows.

Across the parking lot, and down a small arroyo are the Double Arches.

Wolfe's Ranch and Delicate Arch

     John Wesley Wolfe left his home in Ohio, and settled in a remote homestead near Delicate Arch with his eldest son, Fred.  A Civil War wound prompted John Wolfe to move to a drier climate, and he found just that.

     His second cabin is still standing, along with the corral he built for his few cattle. He lived on the ranch for about a decade, returning to his home state of Ohio. He lived well into his 80s.  He died in Etna, Ohio in 1909.

It is from Wolfe's Ranch, that the hike to Delicate Arch starts, about three miles round trip.  Much of the hike is on slickrock, so appropriate footwear is important.

 

      Part of the hike is on blazed trail through dirt and sand.

 

 

A good part of the hike is on slickrock, and this is where accidents can happen, as the rock is slick, and it is steep.  Coming down is much more difficult than the ascent.  When people feel sore the next day, it is from using muscles to brace themselves as they descend the slickrock.

 

It looks easier than it is to climb and descend.  But, one thing is clear, hiking the slickrock is the only way up to the arch.

 

 

       There is more slickrock near the top and near the arch, and the trail is not wide.  Here are some views from across the cliffs:

 



 

The final destination - Delicate Arch