Today by the Numbers:
Number of pictures and videos Jen took of the inside of her pocket: 65
Number of natural arches seen: 5
Number of miles hiked: 5.26
Number of steps for the day: 17,500
Arches National Park
We had another early start this morning and headed back into Arches National Park. Like yesterday, the park did not feel crowded and we made our way deep into the park to the Devils Garden Trailhead. Yesterday, we decided that today we would make the hike to see the Double O Arch.
The below sign was a frequent one along all of the trails in Arches NP. This is because the desert soil forms a cryptobiotic crust that helps stabilize the soil. This crust is a living organism. If you step on the soil, you kill the crust and it has to regenerate. Today’s Trivia: How long does it take for the cryptibiotic soil crust to regenerate? And, as usual, the answer is at the end of the blog.
The hike is described as a 4 mile out and back along rugged and rocky terrain with steep drop offs. The description was spot on! The first mile or so of the hike was paved with little elevation gain. We took a side spur to see Landscape Arch, the largest of the arches in the Devils Garden area. With a span of 306 feet, it may be the longest stone span in the world!
From there, we continued on a paved trail….until it was no longer paved. Some sections of the trail are steep and we would describe it more of a scramble rather than a hike! The farther up we went, we saw fewer and fewer people. We reached our destination in about an hour and 13 minutes and we hiked about 2.25 miles with an elevation gain of 683 feet.
The Double O Arch is the second largest arch in this area of the park. It is an unusual rock formation where one arch is on top of another. The top arch has a span of 71 feet, and the lower arch has a tiny span of just 21 feet.
After taking in the views, we started the trek back down. On the way, we took another side spur trail to the Navajo Arch. There was yet another arch on another side spur, but a bathroom emergency required a quick descent! The video below shows some of the trail on the way down that followed the narrow ridge of a rock formation.
Once back at the trailhead, we did a quick shoe change, had a snack, and headed down the road towards the park entrance. We made a stop at the Fiery Furnace viewpoint. We were not able to get a permit for the Fiery Furnace hike 😢, a technical maze-like trail that goes through narrow sandstone canyons. From there, we continued towards the park entrance, but took the Willow Springs OHV Road to exit the park. The road connects Arches NP to the brand new Utahraptor State Park via BLM land.
The 7.2 mile road was bumpy, but relatively easy to navigate. Along the way, we stopped at the Dinosaur Tracks. 165 million years ago, three-toed Therapods roamed the area and left footprints in the mud, which eventually turned to stone. We also saw cute desert Prickly Pear with bright pink and yellow flowers. At the end of the road, we passed through the dispersed camping area and ended at the brand new Utahraptor State Park visitor center. It is so new that it isn’t officially open yet and some of the displays aren’t quite finished!
The video below shows the part of the Willow Springs OHV trail within Arches NP.
The next video shows a more challenging part of the trail just past the dinosaur tracks.
On the way back to camp, we stopped at the store to replenish the RV’s pantry and gassed up the Jeep. We made Irish Car Bombs and did some clean up. Dinner was hot dogs and blue box mac and cheese! If that doesn’t scream stereotypical camping meal…
We did some camp clean up as, sadly, this is our last night in Moab. While the whole trip so far has been awesome, we both agree that Moab has been the best and we look forward to coming back! Tomorrow we pull out of camp and head to our next stop – Page, AZ.
Trivia Answer: The cryptobiotic crust can take anywhere from 20 to 100 years to form. (https://www.coloradotrailhiking.com/blog/14577/Understanding-Cryptobiotic-Soil)
I would love to go back to Moab with you and your jeep – didn’t realize how much more you can explore off-roading! Was that trail on as narrow of a ridge as it looked? 😯