Difficult and varied weather is precisely the reason Arches and Canyonlands national parks are so beautiful. Bring all of your outdoor clothes and a burgeoning sense of wonder!
Air
I crept slowly up to the edge, leaning hard into it. I dropped to my knees as I got closer, taking advantage of my kneepads on the sharp dusty rock. My hat blew off my head; not a problem - it was attached by a neckstrap. I squinted into the wind, testing the slipperiness of the slickrock under my boot. The last thing I wanted was to trip over a crack or slip and fall while I was out on this ledge, all alone. They don't call it "slickrock" because of its great traction.
The canyon bottom looked like it had been hit with a sledgehammer.
Finally, the wind let up enough to let me hazard a look over the cliff. The rock fell away rapidly from the edge down to a small meandering riverbed a couple of hundred meters below, now dried and dusty. I dared not stand up for fear of being blown backward by the winds. Instead, I crouched behind a small rock and double-checked my footing. The canyon bottom looked like it had been hit with a sledgehammer; large sheets of rock lay shattered near the foot of the cliff and the river had carved a winding path that formed a sharp divide between the two canyon walls. I was rather surprised - I had thought I was at "ground level," but several layers of canyon floors were laid out before me.
Getting lost here would be a pretty bad idea.
It is hard to impress the sheer scale of the plains that lay before me. Beyond the canyons, the shrubby landscape stretched out as far as I could see in every direction. It was almost as if I were on a different planet, completely cut off from humanity. This wasn't far from the truth, really - cell reception was out of the question and we only occasionally ran across others around the canyon rim. Getting lost here would be a pretty bad idea.
A strong gust reminded me of my precarious position on the edge of the cliff and I retreated to the relative quiet of the trail once more. We needed to get moving if we wanted to stay ahead of the windstorm the weather service had predicted, especially if it meant the wind was going to be stronger than it already was.
Earth
"This must have taken forever," I thought as I peered up through the arches. There were two in this spot, one next to the other. Their formation was the result of relentless erosion over thousands of years, chipping away gradually at the weakest portions of the rock. It was easy to climb up through the bottom arch and have a look at it from the other side, where the entire valley appears through the arch as if in a picture frame.
I hoped the arches would not choose this specific moment to give way.
It was hard to believe that the natural forces had created these beautiful structures by themselves. Thin strips of sandstone connected across huge gaps, almost like my own creations as a child playing with Legos. My Lego structures always broke shortly after I had constructed them, either because the cat came along or because I thought it would be fun to see how they held up to a Lego Viking attack. I hoped the arches would not choose this specific moment to give way - they were delicate, but also huge.
After a long hike around so many arches, we finally found our way back to the trailhead. The sun was setting, and we were still out in the field. Strange rocks jutted out all around us, casting eerie shadows over us and the golden meadows. This was just what we needed to relax before hopping into bed - we would have an early start the next day.
Strange rocks jutted out all around us, casting eerie shadows over us and the golden meadows.
Fire
A sign warned us that the trail was difficult and barren, and that we should bring lots of water. Being the hardened hikers that we are, we strode past it confidently. Or maybe we had just missed it? No matter.
I was actually a little hesitant to take on the Delicate Arch trail at noon given that it was already 40° C and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, but it was our best option to avoid losing time going back and forth between the arches. The wildlife seemed affected too; a few ravens looked for scraps in the shade and even the lizards were hiding under rocks. I could almost feel my skin cooking.
Sunscreen poured into my eyes, forcing me to take a break and wipe the sweat off my brow. I really hate having sunscreen in my eyes. I put it right up there with having my teeth drilled. The others were a bit behind me, still making their way up the slickrock path. The rangers weren't joking about the lack of shade here - the slickrock was probably 80 meters wide and a couple of hundred meters long and allowed only a handful of small shrubs to eke out a meager existence along the way.
The rangers weren't joking about the lack of shade here. Only a handful of small shrubs were able to eke out a meager existence along the way.
I triumphantly reached the summit and promptly shut my mouth again. The view was spectacular. Delicate Arch stood tall at one end of what looked like a giant bowl. A ring of eroded rocks led the way to the arch, and looking that way from the entrance rewarded you with a fantastic view of the valley behind. I nearly forgot that I was being cooked alive.
The way down didn't seem so bad - we were in high spirits after having spent an hour or so at the arch. Either that, or going uphill in the sun was much worse than going down. We promised ourselves we would return to catch a sunset here before taking off...
Water
The dark skies seemed to have come out of nowhere. Before we knew it, we heard thunder and saw flashes just nearby. Would this be the day we get a great shot of some nice geology with lightning in the background? I got my gear ready as we drove up to the Balancing Rock viewpoint.
As soon as we got there the clouds opened up and we found ourselves swimming. It was still early in the day and the sun had not had a chance to warm up the rock, but I certainly didn't expect to be cold. Once my coat was soaked through, though, I was exactly that. I stood out in the rain with my miserable tripod hoping for another flash for what seemed an eternity while the others ran back to the car. I didn't see any more lightning, but I did get to experience the root cause of flash floods in the area. I might as well have gone swimming in the northern sea.
I certainly didn't expect to be cold. Once my coat was soaked through, though, I was exactly that.
I groaned as I got back in the car, desperately fumbling for the seat heater controls and rubbing my hands. Luckily, weather in the desert changes quickly, and I soon found myself rather dry and toasty under a bright sun in clear skies. You would not have believed that only minutes before I was standing under what amounted to a freezing waterfall.
That afternoon we made the trek up to Delicate Arch again. It would be our last day, and we wanted to end it on a good note. I found a quiet corner of the "bowl" to settle into and watch the colors in the sky. With such strong winds, big burly clouds sailed across the desert, some of them pouring water all around us. I noticed a round wet spot suddenly appear on the rock next to my boot. Uh oh.
I took stock of my position and decided I needed to move - I was crouching on steeply angled slickrock that curved downward into a valley a hundred meters below, and the rock was starting to get moist. If I stayed too long, I might not be able to get back up, or even worse... well, I just needed to get back up. I scrambled up just as heavy droplets started pounding and found a little shelter against the rocks in the outer ring with the others. We all stared at the angry black clouds, hoping the winds would press on and keep the rain moving before sunset.
The clouds danced and swayed in the fading sun, giving us the desert equivalent of Aurora.
As it turned out, having a bit of cloud cover as the sun hit the critical moment helped out quite a bit. As the light reflected off the bottoms of the clouds it took on a rainbow of hues. The clouds danced and swayed in the fading sun, giving us the desert equivalent of Aurora. As the rain let up we all flooded back out into the bowl and watched silently as the sun slipped away below the horizon. The last rays caught the very tip of Delicate Arch before disappearing again, leaving us in the dark. We turned on our headlamps. There wasn't much more to say on the way down.
