Friday, September 9, 2011

THE Trip, Arches National Park, The Last Hike, Broken Arch, The Final Steps

CABS for Reflections From the Fence

After my little excitement of sliding down the Broken Arch, and a little bit of a rest, Man and I set off to hike the rest of the loop trail, back to Big Butt.  Along the way we have two interesting encounters with other hikers.  The first was with a lovely couple from Germany, they were hiking the loop in the opposite direction, and, doing so, they had actually scampered UP the Broken Arch.  We chatted with them both times we met, and enjoyed both discussions.  We also were passed by a class of young kids with a lot of adult supervisors on a field trip.  I cannot be sure that they were on the same hiking loop we were, as there was another trail they could have been on.  I wondered, did they really slide down that huge rock?  I can tell you that they caught up to us while we were climbing a long incline between some fins (very cool, very cool!!!) and they practically ran up that long incline.  Ah, to be young again, eh??

Below: a photo of Man on that "fin" climb, the afternoon sun was really setting off glares and the tall fins were casting off deep shadows.  It was fantastic!


Below: another photo, as we climbed further into the fins, no, there are not enough photos in the world to capture all this beauty.


Below, photographic proof that sometimes even Man had to work to get to the next level of the hiking trail.  All I can say, is thank goodness for Utah pines!


In any event the last part of our hike was filled with more beauty, every corner you turn brings more interesting and stunning red and white rock formations, different shapes to continually excite one's soul.



And, thus ended our 11 nights stay in Moab Utah, it is time to move on, 2 days drive from here is Bryce Canyon National Park.  What wonders await?  Stay tuned.  It will be an adventure, lots of views, a hunk of weather, a couple of sensational hikes and a bit of really bad electric service in one of the campgrounds.


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2 comments:

Malia's Miles said...

I know what you mean about how cool it is to chat with other hikers when you're out and about - I enjoy that so much, too! Arches and Bryce are two of my favorite national parks. I visited them before I started Malia's Miles so never wrote about them, so thanks for the beautiful pix and bringing back great memories!

Michelle Goodrum said...

Like you keep saying, words and Sony just can't entirely capture the beauty. I'm glad you, your rear and your jeans survived the slide down. Frankly I want to go on that trail. Just can't decide whether I'd rather climb up the one part or slide down. hehe