We had read that the national parks are seeing a record number of visitors this summer. It seems that the American people are following corona virus protocol to social distance and be outside by going to the national parks. The ranger at Arches National Park knew all about the crowds. So he suggested a hike outside of the park that would be less crowded. Instead of making a right turn into the park, we took a left turn and drove the road along the Colorado River this morning.
We had meant to get up early this morning, but it was hard to convince ourselves to get out of bed at 5:30 a.m. So we didn't get to the trailhead until 7:45.
This trail has several sections that might make some hikers uncomfortable. For example, there is the steep section that requires using a chain.
Then there is the ladder section that aids in getting over another tall incline.
Finally, there is a chain section that keeps hikers from sliding off another steep incline.
It was a 1.5-mile hike this morning to get a glimpse of our first destination. "Corona" has been tied to a nasty virus for the last year, so it's nice to find a more pleasant use for the word. Welcome to Utah's Corona Arch. The sun is climbing in the sky behind the arch, and we has just arrived under the arch.
We got a much better picture of the Corona when we walked through the arch and had the sun shining on it.
We love those red arch and blue sky pictures! It's so nice to be out of the smoke today!
Even though we aren't in the national park today, these sturdy arches are found in several places in this part of Utah.
This hike should be called "The Triple Arch Challenge" because we have the option of hiking to three arches today. The second one was an easy detour to Bow Tie Arch.
Looking straight up, we got a nice slice of blue sky through the Bow Tie.
It's a 1.2-mile detour to the third arch, and it is certainly warmer by this time. But we did the longer hike to Pinto Arch.
It's quite high off the ground, but we didn't take a panorama picture because a group of hikers were congregated under the arch. Note to self: don't ruin everyone else's photo opportunities because you decide to take a thirty-minute break in the most picturesque point of a landscape. That's just a little pet peeve of ours.
By now it is 9:30. It's quite warm and we were wishing we had gotten out of bed sooner. But we did make the triple-arch challenge, and we can confirm that there are wonderful arches to be found outside of the national park (and across the train track).
We haven't done that hike... yet!
ReplyDeleteIt was a good one! We try to look at your blog for hiking possibilities too!
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