It’s been HOT here in Moab, Utah…100 degrees or more most days. We’ve been holed up in the RV during the afternoons with the AC on full blast.
The poor dogs can’t go outside much after noon because their paws get burned on the street and rock pathways.
So, we all try to get our important things done in the morning. We get up early because of the dogs; JayJay usually makes a fuss out of waking up around 5 a.m., which wakes up Baby, and she becomes a pest to everyone…so that we have to get up before 6 a.m. to take her out to pee and poo.
Then, the other two dogs need some relief, so we have to walk them. So, like I say, we get up early. The benefit is that it’s relatively cool outside and in the rig, so Charlie can get some work done and I can do chores or hike, if I’m lucky.
This morning we all got up early again. I was going hiking at Arches National Park, and Charlie was going to use my absence to deep clean the rig.
I love Arches; the landforms are so dramatic, and the red stone looks so great against the blue sky.
Today, I decided to re-take last year’s 7.2 mile Dark Angel hike. It is the longest hike in Arches, goes over some rugged but interesting terrain, and provides some great sights and surprises.
Along the way to Double-O Arch, I ran into some fellow Californians who were headed in that direction.
That’s them at the end of this slickrock section of the trail. His name was Tom and hers was Emily. They are from Costa Mesa and are in their late 30’s, I think.
Anyway, they were going to Double-O and then return to the parking lot via the Loop Trail. So, we walked ahead a mile or so to the Double-O.
At that point, I told them that the neatest thing on this trail was just past the end (Dark Angel), off the path, about a quarter-mile ahead: a trove of petroglyphs. They were excited about it, so we all headed to the secret spot.
I had been there last year, but the place is very magical. It’s hidden in some trees, and tourists don’t go there: it’s too far to go, the terrain is too difficult, and there are no maps that divulge the location. So, we had the place to ourselves and gawked at the petroglyph panels.
Needless to say, Tom and Emily were blown away. Tom took pictures to show his 4th Grade students (he’s a teacher).
Emily is a hard-charging hiker, and wanted to return to the parking lot using a “primitive trail” option. We agreed to try it, and it was tough, partly because the weather was starting to heat up. And, we had to walk down maybe 500 feet before we climbed out of the rock chasm. It was much tougher and longer than the slog to Dark Angel.
Again, as in the Grand Canyon and Zion, we observed scores of visitors hiking out into the desert, late in the morning, with no water. What idiots!
Two days later, I did some more exploring, hiking up to Delicate Arch in the National Park, and then driving out to Dead Horse Point.
The Delicate Arch hike is about 3 miles round-trip, with an elevation gain of about 500 feet. I hit the trail at a little after 7:30 a.m. and there were a lot of hikers ahead of me; it’s probably the most popular hike in Arches N.P. I got to the top at about 8 a.m., along with maybe 30 other souls.
Most of the rock up there is “slickrock” sandstone, which looks smooth and slippery, but isn’t…it’s sandstone, as in medium grit sandpaper. So, if you have good hiking boots (mine are Merrell Moab’s, which are made for this stuff), you get a great grip and can practically walk straight up a cliff.
So, with good shoes and gritty rock surfaces, hikers walk out to shear cliffs to pose for photos. It’s a striking location.
I took the following photos from the arch itself, with a 500′ drop a few feet away. You’ve got to watch your step. This is the arch from the side.
This one is looking through the arch toward a distant part of the park. If you look closely, up at the top of the arch “window”, you will see another arch in the distance.
On the way out of the park, I passed Balanced Rock. It’s hard to believe that the top doesn’t just fall off in heavy winds…
After leaving the park, I drove out to Dead Horse Point State Park. It is approximately 30 minutes drive up and onto a mesa, then out to a spot where there is a great view of the Green River making a tight turn in 2,000′ red rock canyons. This river joins the Colorado River a few miles downstream.
Looking to the left off of Dead Horse Point, one can see some large potash evaporation ponds in the distance. The chemically saturated water comes from wells drilled deep into the ground, and then it is evaporated in the hot Utah sun. The photo doesn’t do it justice…the ponds are super bright turquoise in color.
Although the area looks pretty forbidding, some things thrive out in this environment, including this tree (cedar?), which appears to grow right out of solid sandstone rocks.
We’ve enjoyed our time here in Moab, even though it has been pretty hot (100 degrees most days). Our next stop, Park City, is located up on a mountain, so the temperatures should be more reasonable…perhaps in the 70’s. We’re looking forward to cooling off.