End of the Arches, Arches National Park, UT

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Today Gloria and Ivan once again gave up their busy day and took us hiking. They are the best tour guides. We went to a trail called Devils Garden. It is at the very end of Arches National Park. Probably 20 miles in from the start. Even if you are not a hiker the drive through the park is spectacular. The trail we went on, which was a loop, was 7.2 miles long. We opted out of one of the side trails called The Dark Angel so that cut off approximately a mile.

We came across so many arches. So many beautiful overlooks. Such unbelievable scenery. It was challenging and very rough at times but so rewarding when we finished. If we keep this up we will definitely lose 25 lbs.

We left the temporary housing unit around 10:15 and hit the trail around 11am. By the time we finished the loop it was 3:30pm. It took 4 1/2 hours to hike a little over 6 miles. We climbed rocks and scooted down slick sides of rocks on our butts. We walked along a 'fin'. A fin is a rock that is part of your trail and you have to walk along the top of it. Usually it is narrow and long. This fin WAS narrow and long. It was an incredible feeling to be so high up and so not anchored in to anything around you. The potential for accidents or death is everywhere around you, and yet you cant help but keep on climbing. It is truly UN real! I took alot of pictures and I really hope that you can see the depth of where we were and what we were challenged with.

Part of the trail was down in valleys between massive red rock and part of it was out in the open in 7 inches of sand for almost a full mile. Walking in thick, hot, red sand for almost a mile is a work out in itself, but we had to do it uphill. We consumed copious amounts of water and therefore PJ could not accompany us.  There was not room for him in the backpack/cooler.

After the trek we once again went to the Moab Brewery. Today was $.15 wings and $10 pitchers. Since I'm not a big fan of beer there was more for the other guys, which I'm sure made them happy. We ordered 60, yes sixty, wings.....what a bunch of pigs. I think Tommy and Ivan ate at least 20-25 wings each. Needless to say, no chili again tonight!!!

Tomorrow the plan is to leave Gloria and Ivan alone and take Sire to Mills Trail. It is a trail that puts us in and out of the river 8-10 times which means we do not have to carry water for Sire. Are you aware that one gallon of water weighs 8.333 lbs?  I'm hoping this makes room for PJ to come along.

Its now 7:43pm here and we are wiped out...see ya tomorrow! Thanks for reading.

Behind the Rocks Trail, Moab, UT

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Yesterday the winds were too powerful to do much of anything here. They had 53 mph sustained winds with 75 mph gusts. Tommy and I took a ride into town and putted around most of the afternoon. We also took a ride along highway 191 and took some pictures of how people live within the rocks. They are squatters and the rocks now belong to them. Its pretty ingenious how people can take nothing but sandstone and make a home out of it. It was a nice day out even though we ended up with an inch of dirt and sand in our hair. You can actually see the sand in the air.

We also passed a park that had this needle like passage that you can climb up into. You are in between two huge rocks for about 100 feet and it is only 4-5 feet wide. On the outside of the same rocks are petroglyphs. Very cool. Very old. On the ground you can physically see the cotton from the cottonwood trees. They are in full bloom and my allergies do not like them at all.

Today was the first hike Tommy and I have done since a year ago. Ivan and Gloria took us out to 'Behind the Rocks Trail'. This was a new trail for us. It is endless, the amount of trails you can either hike or jeep here in Moab. Endless.....

We left home at 10am and ascended approximately 1000 feet within 2 miles. The beginning of the trail is pretty rough. I cannot believe that jeeps actually climb these 'steps'. That is what they call the rocks that contort your vehicle into almost a vertical position while continuing motion. CRAZY!!!!

We walked the trail. After getting over the hard part the rest was all uphill but relatively easy. Once on top we sat for a while and ate our celebratory green  and red apples. The weather was in the high 80's and the sky was so clear. Not a cloud in the sky. The LaSalle mountains in the background were so crystal clear. The sky deep blue, the snow pure white and the trees a deep hunter green. Absolutely beautiful. I hope the pictures portray what we witnessed.


Along the path we passed two arches. One, the littler one, looked a lot smaller than we thought it was. We wanted to go off the beaten path and climb the rocks up to it but we could not figure out how to approach it. We discussed it and we might try another path on the opposite side of it later on in the week.

On the way down we stopped to see a pretty lizard who had the most beautiful colors. He allowed me to get pretty close to him for some great pictures.

After the trek back down to the jeep we headed to the Moab Brewery. One of our favorite places here. PJ came with us all day and he enjoyed his beer  and nachos along with us. (he had it easy, he stayed in the cooler/backpack the entire trek up the mountain.)

We then headed home, napped, showered, and headed over to Gloria and Ivan's for dinner. Tommy had made his famous chili and that was on the menu for dinner but we were all still so full from the brewery that Gloria stuffed some jalapenos and made shrimp to snack on that we never ate the chili. Maybe tomorrow.

Tomorrow  we plan on going out to the Arches National Park and doing a trail called the end of the Arches. It is 6-7 miles long and were excited. PJ will stay home. On a trail that long we need to pack and carry several bottles of water each so he wont fit in the backpack.

I hope the pictures come out as nice as the scenery truly is here. thanks for reading.