At the beginning of our Alexander type “no good, very bad” year, we planned a trip to Arches. I plastered pictures of my “goal hikes” onto the refrigerator and smiled at them each time I walked by. An unfortunate series of events led us to reconsider our living arrangements. We traded our Arches trip for an exploratory could-we-live-here trip to New Hampshire in June. After this decision, life events fell, one after another, like dominoes across a treacherous and crazy path.
It's been a crazy ride and we’ve been anxious to get off this weary path. Arriving in Moab nine months later felt like a pivotal moment in our journey. Here we are, my soul screamed. We finally made it.
Unfortunately, the wind and cold weather (that we simply cannot escape) made this moment a little less impressive. We chose the same campground we had previously booked, but the appeal of the location was no longer there. Our campground was situated next to Green River Valley State Park, but the allure of this state park is water activities that are a little out of reach when it is snowing.
Arches was also a touchstone moment in our journey because it included more rigorous hiking than I’ve yet encountered. With over 2,000 natural stone arches and countless other amazing geological structures, it can be hard to chose which to experience. We took a “slow approach” to Arches, going on singular hikes across multiple days.
An overcast sky greeted us during our first visit to the park. As we snaked our way through the park by road, we had a very unique view of the snow covered pinnacles and fins. While the snow was barely falling, we explored the little trail that circles Balanced Rock. We marveled over the erosion that caused Balanced Rock to sit precariously atop a spire, but the rock is just a tot compared to Bubble Rock (Acadia National Park) which we marveled over in 2020.
We decided to take a tiny path to see Sand Dune Arch as the snow picked up. The path was very icy which made the extremely short trail stretch on in our minds as we carefully chose each step. Snow began sticking to our eyelashes as we warily slipped through an opening in some fins and out into a magical realm. Tucked between large rock structures, Sand Dune Arch feels like it is enveloped by the walls around it. Covered in a thick layer of powdery fresh snow, the result reminded me of Dora and the Crystal Palace. There was a small part of me that kept scanning the environment, expecting to see an ice princess appear.
Riley threw the first snowball which landed squarely on John’s shoulder. A small snowball fight erupted which was one of my favorite moments of our trip. The only sounds from our winter wonderland were the echo of laughter across the walls and the whistle of wind as it whipped the snow across our faces.
Our next trip to the park included blue skies and snow-capped arches. Double Arch is the tallest and second longest arch in the park. John and the kids had the opportunity to climb up under the arch and reported that the view through the “second arch” were superb.
A short trail in the opposite direction took us to the Windows. The trail first took us to North Window. From this vantage point, one can turn and see a lovely landscape through turret arch. The hole from turret arch resembles Africa from one angle. A short path around the corner provided views through South Window (which aren’t quite as spectacular).
From North Window, Kaeli and I watched the sunset next to turret arch. The skies came alive as we huddled together, shivering. The views were worth it, but we were super relieved when it was time to warm up!
We did not hike Fiery Furnace since one needs a hiking permit, but viewed the hoodoos from the parking lot.
I really enjoyed the hike along Park Avenue. Park Avenue has massive fins lining either side of the path. After descending a flight of natural stairs, the path is pretty straight. As this is not a loop trail, John moved the truck to the other end of the trail and hiked back to meet us. The second half of the path took us over large flat rocks and you can see where the water has etched out large crevices. The rocks beneath our feet were marked by wind and water and look like veritable works of art. Near the end of the trail, we saw the shadow of one rock wall appearing on the other side. We also saw several places where windows and arches were forming.
Our trek to Landscape Arch was messy! Still complete with patches of ice in shadowy areas, most of the terrain was painted in mud. There was no escaping the mud. There were sections that were slick (we saw one woman with cleats fall) and sections that were thick, where it felt as though your foot would be sucked down into the ground. I found mud walking to be much more challenging physically than typical hiking and experienced a mental drain at the end of the day after carefully selecting each step for so long. The .9 hike out towards Landscape Arch slopes up and down and you are met with striking views of Devils Garden across the path. Landscape Arch, the largest stone arch in North America, was one of my favorite arches in the park. We intended to continue up a challenging climb to Double O Arch, but our efforts were thwarted by the weather. After watching various seasoned hikers with traction turn around and report unsafe icy conditions, we decided it wasn’t our best choice.
On our way back, we took an off-shoot trail to see Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch. Tunnel Arch didn’t impress us much, but Pine Tree Arch was exquisite. I loved seeing a background through Pine Tree Arch. We took long, hot showers that night.
Delicate Arch, the most famous arch in the park, can be seen both in the distance from the road or up close via challenging hike. We rented snow cleats this time, determined not to be deterred by reports of ice around the narrow passage of this hike where one is hugging the mountain. The very beginning of the trail is flat and home to both an early settler’s cabin and petroglyphs. This region is considered the northern edge of the Ancestral Puebloan territory. As the ancestral Puebloans left the area, nomadic Shoshonean people (Ute and Paiute) entered the area and remained in this area to meet the Europeans. The Petroglyphs we saw are believed to be Ute as they contain images of people on horseback which is something the Utes adopted quickly from the Europeans.
After the Petroglyph offshoot trail, the rest of the trail is all uphill until one reaches Delicate Arch. The first third of this section is more of a steep, dirt path. It reaches peaks, then begins to slope down very slightly before going uphill repeatedly. The middle section of the trail is up a rocky, yet mostly smooth trail. It is a rugged climb and is scorching hot in the middle of the summer without any cover from the raging sun. The view from the top is incredible. Once at the top of the rock, the trail changes direction and the final leg of the journey winds around the mountain. At the very end of the trail, the path becomes narrow and there is a drop off into oblivion beneath the path. The path is narrow enough that I was uncomfortable when people attempted to pass us; however, this section was not long so I was able to power through it watching the head in front of me. I’m very happy to report that the ice had melted earlier in the day and we didn’t need our ice cleats. While the children were disappointed by this, I was extremely relieved after seeing the area we would have needed to traverse with them on.
As soon as you come around the last bend, you can see the breathtaking view of Delicate Arch. While it does look dainty and fragile, the piece that makes the arch amazing is its location and view. The rock leading up to arch is sloped and gradient; I likened it to a toilet bowl. I know that’s not the most beautiful image, but it gives you the shape of the rock formations there. While one is climbing closer, it feels as if gravity is pulling your body down the drain. We had originally intended to watch the sunset from this vantage point, but quickly changed our mind. This area was quite cold and windy and there was little shelter from the wind. The wind was intense enough that we wanted cover from it more than the sunset view. Then, there was also the lens case incident. While perched atop the toilet bowl section leading up to the arch, my lens case was knocked off my bag and the wind pushed it out onto the rock where it began rolling, quickly picking up speed. I was watching as it was rapidly approaching the drop off without any true recourse. Chasing after it would have been futile and likely caused any one of us to lose our balance. Luckily, it rolled passed a young man who reached out and grabbed it at the last minute. As the wind’s strength rocked my body, it felt nearly impossible to sit still without moving under its pressure. I decided to hightail it out of that area before I met a similar fate. After a few more minutes with more secure ground underneath our feet, we decided the wind was just too strong to really enjoy anything further and began our descent. We made it back to the steep rock in time to see the most vivid colors in the sky.
By the time we made it down the steep rock portion of the trail, it had grown quite dark and we were very glad we had not stayed at the top and navigated the rock in the dark. All in all, it was an incredible experience.
While arriving in Moab felt like a victorious “completion,” leaving felt a little sad, knowing it was the “turning point” in our travels.
