Three National Parks and Moab

So far, I've kept to my New Years Resolution!  Since beginning this blog, I've gone on a hike every weekend, and added a few new places to my list of solo adventures.  I also bought a new camera, so I got to use it for the first time on this trip.

Moab.

I've been to Moab before as a child, but not through all of the parks.  So this trip was lots of fun exploring.  AND, somehow I happened to make it to each National Park while the attendant was away, and the signs on the windows said no admittance fee!
Anyway, I digress.

Arrived Friday afternoon at Dead Horse National Park, and had reserved a camp site.  Lucky me - it snowed just mere days before!  So my camp site was covered in snow.  That's ok... snow makes for insulation.  After stomping down the snow with snow shoes, up went the tent!
It was incredibly cold and breezy, but once the tent went up, the sun did it's job and got it warm inside.  So, it was nice to get a brief reprieve before heading up the road to see the park.

Cold, but comfy

Got in the car and drove up the road to the top of Dead Horse NP, and did a little bit of the hike up there to see the panoramic views.  Definitely worth walking around.  The snow and red rock with snow capped mountains in the back were in a beautiful contrast to each other and gave the park a stunning depth to it.  Also caught on camera a big ol crow as he landed on a dead tree overlooking the park.  Was just too perfect - like he posed just for me.

Dead Horse National Park at Sunset

 Dead Horse Canyon Overlook

Crow on a dead tree in Dead Horse

That night consisted of a nice fire and cooking steak/chicken/shrimp skewers before crawling into the tent at 7:30pm because my fingers were going to fall off from the cold.  The firepit was full of ice, so it was hard to keep the fire going well enough to stay warm.  Later on, I peeked out the tent and watched the stars for a few minutes before it got too cold to even do that.  Nothing quite like a moonless sky with all the stars staring down at you to make you feel so absolutely tiny.  

Then, woke up to frost inside the tent. haha whoops!  Forgot to vent all the layers.  Lesson learned.

After a quick breakfast, it was time to spend the day hiking.  

First up - Canyonlands National Park.  First stop - Mesa Arch.  This was a pretty easy hike, but completely snowed and iced over - so the crampons were necessary to keep from slipping.  Got to tell ya, those things are lifesavers!  Didn't even think twice about where I was having to step.

The arch was not what I expected.  Massive, but low to the ground.  It was easy to walk around it and get a great view from multiple vantage points.  There weren't too many people around either, so got to really soak it in.

Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park

After Mesa Arch, it was on to Arches National Park.  The drive has lots of pullouts and views.  Honestly, words and pictures don't give it justice.  It's just one of those things you have to see for yourself.  But I'll do my best.
Again, I found moments where I was just laughing at the absurd beauty of it all.  The spectacular views definitely make you feel insignificantly small.  The energy is clean and vast - and I felt like I had fully recharged my core just standing in the middle of it all.  Breathing deeper than I had since the last trip on the coast.  With that lackluster description...here are the pictures :)

Balanced Rock was first.  A brief walk around the rock really makes you appreciate the wonder of geology.

Balanced Rock

Panoramic near Balanced Rock

And then it was on to Delicate Arch.  I was hesitant about this hike.  The guidebook calls this hike difficult.  And with my knees being crappy still, I wasn't sure what they were considering difficult... terrain, or typical Summer heat.  Turns out, it was not the terrain.  The 1.5 mile hike was a constant incline, but it was easy enough.  And warm enough.  Only a couple of icy spots - and an end goal with spectacular views!  Once I reached the top, I realized you could actually see the arch from the parking lot - so when I came back down, I decided to use the 160x zoom on my new camera...I was amazed at how well it picked up the arch from that far away!

Wolf Ranch at the beginning of the hike

Petroglyphs at the beginning of the hike

Delicate Arch

Panoramic View at Delicate

160x zoom - 1.5 miles from the arch, in the parking lot.  I should have used a tripod to prevent the blurriness from shaking.

After hiking Delicate, it was time to head back to camp.  Unfortunately - it was freezing cold and staying in the tent another freezing night was not appealing... so, broke camp and went into Moab for dinner and a hotel. hahaha
Lessons learned:  Fires don't burn well on ice.  When you're cold, it's impossible to get warm while it's freezing outside.  Vent your tent.

After a nice restful night in the hotel, and a hearty continental breakfast - going home wasn't really first thing on my mind.  So, went back into Arches for a few more hikes.

This time it was Turret Arch, North and South Window Arches, and then a short jaunt over to Double Arch.  Since they are all in the same basic circle, it only took a couple of hours to see them all.  Easy hikes, not too many people... and again... wow. The views!

Panoramic with Turret Arch in the center

Turret Arch - you can see part of the North Window Arch behind it

"The Spectacles View" - North and South arches form spectacles sitting on a nose

The North Window

North Window straight on

South Window

Double Arch

Sitting inside Double Arch

Next on the path, Sand Dune Arch and Broken Arch.  Sand dune actually had a sign stating it was dangerous to go near the arch.  Sadly, chunks of it have been flaking off.  But, I guess weather will always prevail.  Amazing how the dullest tool (water) can be the most destructive force.  You can see in the picture below, on the upper left section of the arch itself is a little light patchy area - that is where the flaking is happening.

Sand Dune Arch

Broken Arch

After all the hikes and all the arches - I felt ready to drive home.
Total this trip:  3 National Parks, 8 arches, 17 miles of walking, 1 cold night, 1 warm night - and lots of lessons learned.

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