Summer time is approaching and all I can think of is the endless possibilities to explore. A friend of mine recently went out West and sparked my memories of the trips I have taken. One of those trips was in Utah. In general, Utah is an underrated state. There is so much to do and so many cool national parks.
One thing about Utah, you can find many arches. You know…the rock sculptures that form natural bridges. There are over 2000 natural stone arches in Arches National Park alone, not counting the myriad of those found throughout Utah. After about 20 arches, you get the idea. You see so many in one area over and over you become a little too familiar. But they are awesome to see. You have to snap out of it and realize that you don’t see this type of scenery ever. With that said, my friends and I had a plan to hike to three very different arches that a each had a different and unique perspective. First, we would hike to Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, the most popular to visit in Utah. Second a hike to Corona Arch, just outside of Canyonlands National Park, this is popularly known for adventure junkies that try to rope swing through the arch. There are many vids on YouTube, check this out. You could not pay me enough. And finally, Mesa Arch, located in Canyonlands National Park's Island in the Sky District.
The first stop was Arches National Park for the Delicate Arch. The hike was about 3 miles round trip over exposed open rock that was quite slick. The trail begins at a large parking area near Wolfe Ranch. On this day, the wind gusts were up to 55 mph as you got closer to the arch. Not a smart decision to wear a hat. In addition, debris, sand, sunglasses, you name it was flying around. This is a very popular hike so the top was super crowded. Due to the popular photos you can take here, this will be a populated area most of the time. We had to wait in line in order to get a picture in front of the arch. For the view, it was definitely worth it. The trail is well marked with cairns. The hike isn’t that difficult and it’s a must when you are in the area.
Next on the arches list was the Corona Arch. The trail head of this hike was on the bank of the Colorado River. This hike was far more desolate. We may have seen a hand full of people on the trail. This is a very cool hike with some fun parts of climbing as you approached the arch. Round trip you are looking at about 3 miles also. As I mentioned above, some people actually climb the arch and will rope swing through it. We got lucky that day and ran into a group of crazies from Seattle who were doing just that. It was pretty intense to see in person. I would have never expected to actually see this in person. We had a chance to speak with them and they mentioned they tested the rope with a bag of rocks and the rope didn’t work. Yet, they went ahead and did it anyways! My buddy Corey actually filmed some one of the swings and swapped contact info with guy who did it. The west is indeed wild.
Lastly, we set out to see the Mesa Arch. Most people who visit Canyonlands National Park make the 0.5 mile hike out to the Arch, especially around sunrise. However, we were slackers on this day and got there around sunset time. The arch is off the edge of a 500 foot cliff, part of a 1,200 foot drop into Buck Canyon. Not much to say about the hike since it was so short. It is fairly easy, well-marked and the terrain is slickrock. Nevertheless, the views at the Mesa were incredible. You can get a keyhole view of White Rim country. Endless pictures were taken for sure. Utah has an unbelievable amount of must see landmarks and countless outdoors space to discover. If you make it out west to Utah, make sure you check out some arches. You won’t be disappointed.
HIKING FOR DONUTS
A blog for the outdoors foodie enthusiast
Hi, I’m Mark. I live in Connecticut. I take new trips every chance I get. A good trip has a great hike, great food, and something fun to do. My goal is to search out new trips and share them to inspire others to try something new and exciting.
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