Arches National Park, Utah
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Devils Garden ~ Primitive Loop Arches National Park, Utah |
April 21, 2021
Well, eight people started, but only four people finished.
Getting organized
There it is
Landscape Arch, 290' long, 6' wide
Considered the world's second-longest arch and fourth-longest span;
the others are in China
Most walkers stop here at the terminus of the bunny trail.
Now the fun begins. Half the group thinks there is a better way to go
Extracting Ti from the crack
Extracting Brenda
Extracting Mary
Extracting Dave
Eileen and Paul follow me up the rock
Obligatory scenic detours
Navajo Arch
Partition Arch is a double
Starting up The Fin
View to the west
View to the east
Admittedly, this is not a lot of fun in a strong breeze
Black Arch Overlook
This is where we figure out that Dave is missing. Paul and Mary retrace the fin to find him, and eventually I backtrack alongside the fin to see whether another route is doable. Finding one, I entreat Dave to slide down the rock here, out of the wind.
This is the only obstacle
Unfortunately, the piled logs have minds of their own, causing Dave to injure a thigh muscle; he will do well just to get back to the car. Paul and Mary decide to return with him.
Ti, Eileen, and Brenda opt to continue the loop with me
Double O Arch
There are interesting views from the other side, but nobody goes there
Start of the Primitive Loop
That's the Dark Angel on the left
Top Story Arch
Pacific Black Snakeroot
Desert Rhubarb
'Topknot Rock'
My camera battery dies at this moment, and my spare one doesn't seem to have been recharged. Stupid. Now I am compelled to dig out my backup camera (perhaps not so stupid after all) for the remainder of the trek.
A well-worn passage
We have reached what I always had considered the crux of the mission —
one that my companion refused to attempt on my previous visit — namely,
an angled worn-smooth slab that must be traversed by relying solely upon boot
traction. Unfortunately, it already is known that my boots are not doing their
job today; so this is a bit scary, but I do manage it without incident. The others
seem to have no problem with it at all, and kudos to them for that.
Not as easy as it looks from here
Back in fun-land
Paintbrush
Hello. Something unexpected is happening just ahead.
And I thought that the excitement was behind us
A big shallow pool of water is blocking the route, leaving two choices: either plan to get wet, or scramble around the pool on the rock in one of two ways. Numerous other hikers are here as well, assessing their options.
One man tries the low route beside the pool, but loses his balance and ends up
knee-deep in the water. Brenda, however, decides to try that approach as well,
and succeeds!
Eileen opts to climb the rock instead, utilizing a thin crack for potential
handholds, of which there are none. A man standing beside me observes,
"Wow. Look at her go!" I respond, "Yeah, and she's eighty years old, too!"
When the man gazes at me somewhat disbelievingly, I follow up with, "No joke; I'm
nearly seventy-nine myself."
Eileen scrambles up the crack in the rock
Ti follows
Being a younger person,however, does not avail me in this case; for my boots simply will not stop sliding on the rock, and I don't get that at all. I immediately give up on Brenda's route, and cannot even get started safely on the crack.
My undignified dilemma is duly recorded
Finally, I enlist the help of a man above, who pulls me up part of the way at the end of my extended walking stick. At least now I won't have to get wet. Those hiking in the other direction might have an easier time of it, by sliding slowly down the crack in the slab.
Perseverance prevails
We really could have used my rope today; but at the trailhead, I couldn't locate it in all the luggage. I could have helped some of the other visitors as well.
Easy going from here
Closing the loop at Landscape Arch
Where we were
End of the line
§: Well, despite our group injury and other anomalies, this remains
the best hike in Utah. I cannot give it a top rating, however, unless
all the attractions are visited and everyone remains healthy.
Dave will hike again, but not for a while. I feel guilty for not having warned him of the precarious nature of the footing that I encouraged him to utilize.
| Scenery |  |
| Difficulty | |
| Personality | |
| Adventure |  |
| Flowers |  |
This map is from 2014. We did not do the spurs to Pine Tree/Tunnel Arches
or Natural Arch (aka Private Arch)
ADDENDUM
Here are some photos from prior visits, showing some of what was missed today:
One crawls through the little "O" to get back here
⇔⇔ CLICK ME
Sometimes that pool isn't such an obstacle
We walked right by Box Arch without noticing it
Private Arch would have involved more than half a mile of additional detour
