My friend Allison always says, "I don't do arches," and for the most part, I agree with her. Yes, I think it's amazing how they form, but I'm usually not willing to hike out of my way to see one. But these arches in Devil's Garden... Well, I never knew I could be so excited about an arch.
Landscape Arch
I mean, seriously, how is this even possible??? The span is 290 feet, and, at its thinnest, it is only 11 feet wide. Parts of it fell down in 1991, so you're not allowed to hike under it. It may not be around for much longer.
The next stop was Partition Arch, two windows in a wall overlooking a gorgeous landscape.
Then came "Double O Arch," so I made an O face. (No, not that kind of O face... That would not be attractive.)
Next was Private Arch. ("Shh, it doesn't want anyone to know where it's hiding...) It actually was well-hidden; such a pleasant surprise when it suddenly came into view.
This hike continued on a "primitive trail," which was a lot of fun to hike. Then I came to a pool. The water was probably only knee-deep, but avoiding it was preferable. As I paused and contemplated my path, a group of boisterous college boys came up behind me. They chose to pull out some Matrix moves and run around the pool on a steep slickrock ledge. I could barely stand to watch! I opted to go high (up and over), and one of the boys was worried about me and helped me across. This started a conversation in which I was asked if I was on spring break and what school I go to. So flattering, especially as I am starting to notice wrinkles on my face from too much sun! As we chatted, a family approached the pool.
I had run into them earlier- parents probably around 40 years old and two young girls. They were super sweet, and I wondered how they'd get past this. The college boys encouraged them to run across the edge. The parents looked like, "no way," but the girls looked cautiously optimistic. Canyons are perfect for kids, when you think about it. They are naturally brave and playful and athletic. The older sister decided to go for it, and she flew gracefully across the slickrock as we screamed and cheered. The younger one gained courage from the older one and decided to go for it as well. We all gasped as she almost slipped, but she, too, was successful, and we all hooted and hollered as she made it across.
And now, it was Mom's turn. "Come on, Mom, just remember what it was like to be 25!" one of the college boys yelled.
"That was a LONG time ago!" Mom replied. She looked terrified, but she took a deep breath and went for it, making it across with no problem. We all cheered, her daughters jumping up and down with glee.
Dad REALLY did not want to do this (his beer belly showing that he is perhaps the least athletic in the family), but he couldn't get shown up by his wife and kids. A look of grim determination crossed his face, and he heaved the family backpack full of water bottles and snacks across the pool. "Honey, the camera!" his wife yelled as the bag was mid-air.
Although a bit slow and awkward, he successfully cleared the obstacle, and his family was so proud.
I realize this is a really long account of something insignificant, but I just thought it was such a beautiful moment- the little girls feeling like badasses, how proud they were of their parents being badasses, how pleased the parents were with themselves... This was a family vacation moment they'll never forget.
The rest of the hike was uneventful, except for when I saw another group of hikers stop on the trail ahead of me. I wondered what they were looking at and was startled to see an enormous arch. When I asked what the name of it was, they looked at me like I was nuts. "Um, it's Landscape Arch," someone said. "It's like, the main attraction of this whole trail."
I felt like an idiot. The trail had looped around and I was almost back at the beginning, where I was seeing it from a different angle.
Overall, this was a beautiful 7.5 mile hike! I would absolutely do it again and recommend it to anyone in the area.
Comments