Arches National Park
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Tower Arch Arches National Park |
April 18, 2011
Climate-wise, this is an off-day. It is overcast, quite windy much of the time, and rain is a possibility. I have been filling the hours with little walks here and there. I don't know whether the weather will cooperate, but to finish the day I will drive up the Salt Valley Road for ten miles and take my chances on another hike.
The destination is Klondike Bluffs
I attempt the 4WD option which should take me to within a quarter-mile
of the arch, but at the first hill the road becomes so bad that I and my Outback
abandon the attempt and return to the standard starting point.
There are two other cars at the trailhead, which is good. I would not care to be the only person braving the elements way out here. The route starts out steep and rough. Early on, I take a wrong turn, veering too far left; this gets me to the top, but with difficulty. Now I can see the real trail heading downward in a more gentle fashion.
Trailhead
Rough from the start
From here the path leads slowly downhill and across a wide space. I assume that the destination is somewhere in the distant wall of rocks.
Nice scenery
Other hikers!
Northwest Indian Paintbrush
A mini-arch overlooks the trail
A row of four sandstone columns catches my eye, as does a cairn of highly unusual configuration. The trail leads straight up a sand dune, then turns right toward the big rocks.
The Marching Men
A curious cairn
A beautiful amphitheater beckons
Almost without warning, I am there! This arch is incredible! I had seen pictures, but they left me unprepared for the actual spectacle. It so happens that this was the first arch discovered in the area, or at least the first one about which information was published.
Tower Arch: 92 feet wide × 43 feet high
The arch opening's dimensions aren't so great as local formations go, but this nevertheless feels like the biggest rock that I ever have stood under.
This is why I go hiking ⇔
As I watch, sixteen hikers in two groups descend a slab behind the arch, then reconnoiter at the bottom, cluttering my view. Inexplicably, I decline to explore that stairway to the rooftop; nor do I bother to ask what I might find up there. Shame.
Hikers are appearing from nowhere in droves
There is no age limitation
This archlet is but two feet wide
I decide to leave just before the crowd does. Immediately I spot a piece of rock worth exploring. Surely enough, as I get closer I begin to see more sky in the opening.
Is that another arch? I had better check it out
Yep. This is Parallel Arch ⇔
Actually, there are two arches here. The Park Service refers to them as Parallel Outer and Parallel Inner. As I stand beneath this substantial structure, I watch all those other hikers marching by just a hundred feet away. Not one of them so much as glances toward me or the rocks, so they surely don't know what they are missing.
Bristly Fiddleneck
Nifty rock
The Marching Men reappear
Desert Madwort
Desert trail-marker
At the top of the hill I take a final look back. Then I opt for the easy route to the base of the hill and the trailhead.
Tower Arch is just left of the tall turret in the center of the photo
The two large groups are just leaving
§: Despite my reservations about doing this hike at all,
I ended having a wonderful time; and the overcast sky enhanced my
photographs. Excepting the initial slope at the trailhead,
the going was a virtual breeze. This delightful walk to a
sublime setting is not to be missed.
In retrospect, trying to shortcut the trail was misguided; it would have been a shame not to have experienced that delightful little walk.
When I return to this park, I definitely will revisit Tower Arch and explore the interesting ramp behind it.
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