It was evening in Arches National Park and hiking was not really what was in my mind. Having planned the night stay at Lady Lizzard hostel, as camping seemed lame after 3-weeks of of sporadic showers and lack of internet access, watching sunset was the only goal for the day.
Casual walk in the park towards Double Arch and Windows was breathtaking.
This park is photographer’s paradise with over 2000 known arches. Even though it is entirely possible to drive through the park stopping at every view point in one day, no justice can be done to the park without hiking at least a few trails.
Colors at sunset time was just magical. Sunset seemed really short and positioning oneself with the best view well before sunset starts to go down is important if you want the best color and shapes. I didn’t prepare well enough. So, I took picture of whatever the arch I was able to find with golden color.
Lady Lizzard hostel in Moab is pretty basic but for the price paid, no complaints.
Next morning, we were hoping to wake up early and do the delicate arch hike, but by the time we hit the trail it was almost 11AM. This 3m hike was pretty straight forward and well worth it. If you have to choose one trail to hike, I would recommend delicate arch.
And a customary visit at balancing rock to take a picture.
Tips for planning:
– Plenty of campsites available in the park, but for those on budget and yet want some warm shower and internet check out the hostel.
– One can easily spend one week hiking the trails in the national park. But, two days seemed sufficient.
– It gets really hot (DUH !) and make sure to hydrate well.
– With wide variety of unique geological resources and formations, you will not easily run of photo opportunities.