Yellowstone 1
Blah!
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2012
- Messages
- 601
A couple buddies and I went down to Arches this past weekend to do some camping and hiking. Despite the weather reports it was pretty good for the most part. We stayed at the Devils Garden Campground at a site that actually was a little secluded because it was below the road and the tent sites were behind a fin. It was pretty nice and unusual for a non primitive campground. We made reservations because we didn't want to chance not getting a site. We left early on the 16th and arrived in Moab around ten. Our original plan was to hike to Corona Arch, but we couldn’t find the cover for the back of the truck. We opted to skip it so our equipment didn’t get snatched and went to town for lunch at Moab Brewing Co.
After lunch we went to camp and set up. The wind was just starting to pick up at this point of our trip. After a bit we decided to stretch our legs on the Broken Arch Trail. I was breaking in a new camera on this trip so some pictures might not be the greatest.
Broken Arch Trail
La Sal Mtns in the Distance
Tapestry Arch
A closer view of the arch
After making our way over to Broken Arch and hoping to take some afternoon photos of it we were derailed by two couples who thought they owned the arch and all that surrounded it. They would not budge from their perch for the life of them. We decided to go over to Sand Dune Arch and the story was the same. Obviously these arches need to be photographed in the slow season or early in the morning or evening. I have photos of these arches already, but it stil pissed me off. We bagged our adventure for the rest of the day. The next day the 17th Happy St. Patricks Day we woke up and headed over to the Delicate Arch Trailhead hoping to get some pics before the crowds got large. We got there a little later than I wanted, but still early enough to beat the crowds.
Taken from the trailhead ( not sure what arch this is)
The Wolfe Ranch Petroglyphs
I've never actually hiked to Delicate before and it seemed alot easier than people have told me.
The wind at this point was howling and when we got to Delicate Arch it was like hurricane force.
You had to be real careful on the ledge it was that strong.
From the ledge looking down
Delicate Arch
After our windburn at the top we headed back and the flood of people were on their way up. Thankfully we reached it at the right time. It was about lunchtime so we headed to Moab to Eddie McStiff's for lunch. We had intended to stop and take pics at the pullouts etc, but to many damn people, so we opted to head back and relax for a bit. Relaxation was brief and we walked over to the Devils Garden Trailhead to explore. At this point the wind was crazy and people were bailing at the campground.
Landscape Arch
I would have loved to photograph this in the morning. After this we didn't bother with the side trip arches and headed back to camp. We were going to stay the night, but the wind was making mini sand dunes in our tents and the camp host pretty much said we would have to put the fire out soon. We talked it over and decided it wouldn't be much fun to hangout on St. Patty's Day without a fire and sand blowing in our tents all night, so we bailed and I'll never know how the weather went after that except on the way home. WINDY WINDY WINDY.....
After lunch we went to camp and set up. The wind was just starting to pick up at this point of our trip. After a bit we decided to stretch our legs on the Broken Arch Trail. I was breaking in a new camera on this trip so some pictures might not be the greatest.
Broken Arch Trail
La Sal Mtns in the Distance
Tapestry Arch
A closer view of the arch
After making our way over to Broken Arch and hoping to take some afternoon photos of it we were derailed by two couples who thought they owned the arch and all that surrounded it. They would not budge from their perch for the life of them. We decided to go over to Sand Dune Arch and the story was the same. Obviously these arches need to be photographed in the slow season or early in the morning or evening. I have photos of these arches already, but it stil pissed me off. We bagged our adventure for the rest of the day. The next day the 17th Happy St. Patricks Day we woke up and headed over to the Delicate Arch Trailhead hoping to get some pics before the crowds got large. We got there a little later than I wanted, but still early enough to beat the crowds.
Taken from the trailhead ( not sure what arch this is)
The Wolfe Ranch Petroglyphs
I've never actually hiked to Delicate before and it seemed alot easier than people have told me.
The wind at this point was howling and when we got to Delicate Arch it was like hurricane force.
You had to be real careful on the ledge it was that strong.
From the ledge looking down
Delicate Arch
After our windburn at the top we headed back and the flood of people were on their way up. Thankfully we reached it at the right time. It was about lunchtime so we headed to Moab to Eddie McStiff's for lunch. We had intended to stop and take pics at the pullouts etc, but to many damn people, so we opted to head back and relax for a bit. Relaxation was brief and we walked over to the Devils Garden Trailhead to explore. At this point the wind was crazy and people were bailing at the campground.
Landscape Arch
I would have loved to photograph this in the morning. After this we didn't bother with the side trip arches and headed back to camp. We were going to stay the night, but the wind was making mini sand dunes in our tents and the camp host pretty much said we would have to put the fire out soon. We talked it over and decided it wouldn't be much fun to hangout on St. Patty's Day without a fire and sand blowing in our tents all night, so we bailed and I'll never know how the weather went after that except on the way home. WINDY WINDY WINDY.....
