Utah: Arches National Park

180mi northeast lies Moab, a small Mormon town and the defacto overnight stop and the unofficial gateway to Utah’s Arches National Park. Of the 80 or so designated arches of different sizes and shapes that lie in the park, Landscape Arch and Delicate Arch are the most spectacular and most assessable arches in the Park. While a multitude of arches can be seen walking the 5mi loop through Devil’s Garden, the most amazing one is the Landscape Arch which is the world’s longest natural arch at a length of 89m (291ft). Under the afternoon sun, it is a long 0.8mi hike to the arch, but nonetheless manageable and difficult enough to turn back and miss the other less spectacular arches farther down the trail without much guilt.

Delicate Arch, the other famous arch, stands some 65ft high and 35ft wide, and is “delicately” balanced on the side of a sloped plateau. Although Delicate Arch was part of the backdrop in the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, we decided to pass on the trail that is easily a day-long hike to the arch. For the uninitiated, you are left with an unimpressive view of the arch at a distance of no closer than ½ mile. The trail, well worth it if you have the stamina and strength, leads you right under the Delicate Arch. From what I hear, the amazing part of the hike is that arch lays hidden from you all the way through the hike until the very last moment. You are able to run though the whole gambit of emotions from anticipation to doubt to frustration before you become overwhelmed with a sense of accomplishment and amazement when all of that emotion is all at once released when you look straight up to see the arch arching over you.