Hiking Arches National Park

So, it happened.  Its been coming.  It finally happened.  Thirty!  I’m still getting used to wearing Thirty but now that it’s on, it’s not coming off anytime soon; ten years I suppose.

The best thing about turning Thirty was the amazing solo guided hiking trip in Moab, UT with Southwest Adventure Tours.  Check out the highlights and photos posted here.

Day 0 – I flew to Salt Lake City, UT from Redmond, OR around 3pm-ish on Bday.  Mom and Brother stayed over at my house the night before to celebrate my birthday.  Then I drove to the airport mid-day to board the 5th and 6th plane ride that week. Earlier in the week I flew to and from Las Vegas for work so I was ready to be somewhere different for the next 5 days.

As I was boarding the plane from Portland to Salt Lake City, the guide who was running the adventure trip called to setup the time to meet up the following morning.  I casually asked how many other adventurers were signed up as I was really looking forward to meeting folks who like to hike and go on adventures too.  He replied, “no one.”  I was SHOCKED!  The first thing that went through my head was, “should I get on the plane?” but then the second thought was, “sweet! solo guided adventure tour!”

Day 1 – The guide picked me up and drove me from Salt Lake City to Moab.  The trip was basically all inclusive.  The guide company provided transportation, guide, breakfast, lunch, 4-hour ATV tour and hotel room for the entire week.  I booked the trip back in May after seeing a special offer on Living Social.  Great value for the cost.  Anyway, the guide picked me up and we drove the 4.5 hour drive down to Moab.
As soon as we entered Moab we stopped into the first park, Arches National Park, that we were set to hike later in the day after grabbing lunch. The guide was really excited to pick up a hiking permit for the Fiery Furnace area of the park which is a area you can only enter if you’re with a park ranger or have a permit.  Upon requesting the pass we learned that the National Parks were in jeopardy of closing the following day.  Apparently the government budget hadn’t been approved by congress and the National Parks were at risk of closing.  This pretty much was a sign that we needed to do as much hiking in Arches that day in case the parks closed.
After lunch we entered Arches National Park.  I was taken aback right away as we drove the 9 miles to the first stop to Windows, Turrent Arch, and Double Arch.

Then we drove another 5 miles out to Broken Arch.

Ended the day at Delicate Arch.  A quick 3 mile hike gaining about  500 ft elevation. This was the first time I’ve hiked on slick-rock.  The best part about slick rock is watching for the rock cairns.

All in all the first and only day in Arches National Park was breathtaking.  The government did close the next day and Canyonlands has yet to be seen.  Check back to see what I did after the parks closed.

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One comment on “Hiking Arches National Park”

  1. Shawna Duvall says:
    October 25, 2013 at 4:02 pm

    Love this! Can't wait for the next adventure. I can live vicariously through you 🙂

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