Arches National Park – 2010, Day 1

Arches National Park is truly a landscape of wonders.  We visited the area last year while traveling with Hoyt and Bernice Odom.  Did some hiking then, but promised ourselves to return, and we have.

We chose the hike to Landscape Arch for today.  On the way, we spotted Sand Dune Arch near the road. 

Landscape Arch is in the Devils Garden section of Arches National Park.  As the world’s longest span natural sandstone arch, Landscape Arch is one of the world's greatest natural wonders.         

Along the trail to Landscape is a short side trail to Pine Tree Arch and Tunnel Arch.

Pine Tree Arch and beyond

   Tunnel Arch (actually two arches)

The trail is relatively easy to Landscape, and very scenic.   

And then you arrive at the famous Landscape Arch. 

It is hard to believe that a piece of rock like this can exist. In its thinnest section the arch is only 11 feet thick, yet it supports a span of rock approximately 300 feet long.

This arch could collapse at any time. On September 1, 1991, a 73-foot slab of rock fell out from underneath the thinnest section of the span, reducing the thickness of the span from 16 feet to 11 feet. On June 5, 1995, a 47-foot mass of rock fell from the front of the thinnest section of the arch, followed by another 30-foot rock fall on June 21, 1995. The short loop trail that went directly underneath the arch has been closed because of government liability should more rock fall.  Another arch, Wall Arch did fall recently, in 2008.  Prior to its collapse, it was the 12 largest of the park’s more than 2000 arches.

The trail continued on, but the wind was getting strong, and the next stretch would have been over slickrock, where we really have been exposed to the wind, so we called it a day and returned, for a total hike of about 2 miles.

For more photos from the drive and hike, click on the photo below: