Tuesday, June 14 - Arches National Park, UT - 73.4 miles, 9990.0 for the trip
I got a fairly early start this morning & headed into Arches. Visiting Arches is probably the main reason for this trip. In 2004 my wife Carol was feeling bad & we decided after Zion to head home without stopping. I've always wanted to take more photographs of Arches, so here I am!
I used part of the morning as a scouting trip for Delicate Arch. The best time for photographs is late afternoon, so I wanted to choose which lens made the most sense & only take one during the hot afternoon. Looks like the 24-70 wins.
I also did the same for Mesa Arch in Canyonlands. A beautiful photograph is possible at sunrise at the arch. Of course since sunrise is at 5:55AM tomorrow & it takes around an hour to get there from the campground, it means an early day. I'll try! By the way, I really couldn't decide which lens, the 17-35 or the 24-70 worked best at Mesa Arch, but since it is a much shorter hike (and cooler) I'll take both.
I took a few different angles at Balanced Rock because it looks so different depending on where you are on the trail around it. Although you can see the Delicate Arch from a short walk from the road, it takes a telephoto lens (in this case a 200mm) to shoot it & it isn't all that interesting an image. To really shoot it you have to take the trail to the arch itself, a 3 mile hike with a 480' gain in height. Not as bad as Angel's Landing in Zion, but a good climb over slickrock. The heron was at a pond at the trail head for Delicate Arch.
All the other arches are fairly short hikes in from the trail heads. I'm not sure how Don managed to get into Skyline Arch for the photo I took on our 1996 trip, but he did. No one was there today!
Anyway, here are today's photos:
The Three Gossips, Arches National Park, UT
Balanced Rock, Arches National Park, UT
Balanced Rock, Arches National Park, UT
Balanced Rock, Arches National Park, UT
Delicate Arch From the Distant Viewpoint, Arches National Park, UT
A Great Blue Heron , Arches National Park, UT
Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, UT
At Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, UT
Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, UT
Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, UT
Delicate Arch Through the Window, Arches National Park, UT
Delicate Arch Through the Window, Arches National Park, UT
Skyline Arch From the Campground
Skyline Arch, Other Side
Sand Dune Arch
Rocks
Double Arch From Back
North Window From Front
Turret Arch From Front
Turret Arch From Back
Double Arch Through Turret Arch
Double Arch Through Turret Arch
Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park, UT
Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park, UT
Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park, UT
Well, I did go back for the late afternoon sun & it was a definite improvement. I also decided to take a new route to the arch (alright, I admit it I somehow lost the trail). In any case, the first two photos of the arch from the edge are from the "new" location. I also added a photo of the slip rock portion of the climb to Delicate Arch. I don't think it is the hardest part of the climb - I hate the stairs, but it is impressive. It is also where I got off trail.
Delicate Arch on Edge
Delicate Arch on Edge
Delicate Arch
Delicate Arch
Delicate Arch
Delicate Arch
Delicate Arch
Delicate Arch
Photographers Waiting for the "Light"
Delicate Arch Through Another Arch
The Slip Rock Part of the Trail
A quick stop at the City Market for pre cooked chicken & a salad and it's home for dinner. I'm not sure I will manage to get up at 4:15A; I'm a bit beat from all the hiking, so if not, Mesa Arch will have to wait until Thursday.
