Petapixels

It's almost bedtime for my third night here in Moab and again I'm posting from the cool, pleasant and breezy confines of a picnic table in (almost) complete darkness. Most places in town have free wifi as well -- I'm not sure how they get effective high-speed internet to such a remote place; it must be microwave repeaters or something. Anyway.

Finished off today with the ranger guided hike into the Fiery Furnace area of Arches NP. It capped off a full two days in the area, and there's so much more that Moab and the area south has to offer that I can foresee returning here at some point (ATV/4x4 offroading, rafting, etc.) Tomorrow I'm off bright and early and I still havent decided whether to venture into Canyonlands for a quick hike (Aztec Butte is recommended by many people here) or defer that to an eventual future trip. Either way, tomorrow I'm off, either to Canyonlands or Escalante/Capital Reef/Grand Starcase area. The car is stocked up on gas, gatorade, granola bars, and gorp so I should be set for another few days of random direction.

Petapixels;I'm sure that visitors to Arches generate more pixels per day than almost any other place on earth. It is apparently the most photographed natural/landscape area in the world, and these days EVERYONE has a digital camera, or two. I certainly took my fair share of them as well and I hope they turn out (I haven't cull/processed the collection yet -- will post when available.) In cases like these it's difficult to strive for originality; you're bound to stick on the trails, for the most part, so there's only so much creativity available -- it all comes down to framing and lighting, and I certainly hope that my collection will be a good enough memento for my future self. I was up early(ish) to the famous Delicate Arch. Aside from a few keen tourists, the trail/site had at least a dozen "pro"-level enthusiasts, with gear and a keen eye to traipsing around for different angles.

I was certainly among them. The Delicate Arch site certainly merits its reputation as a world-class must-see natural wonder. The trail leads directly to it, and you don't know you're there until you walk around a corner and... it's just there in all its wonder. That corner, of course, is a cliff-side ledge trail with about a 100' droppoff so you're already somewhat in awe.

By the time I (we) headed down after the morning light dissipated, the trail was "packed" in the sense that a person or group was on the way up every 20-30 feet. Arches is in the Top Three most popular parks in the US, apparently, despite it's relative isolate (4 hours from nearest major center.) Mid week, after the start of school, and the place was still absolutely packed. The park is designed for auto-touring, with most of the hikes short and simple, so things can get congested. If you're not a viewpoint/trailhead by 10am on a nice day, everything is packed. I can certainly see why at some places like Zion visitors *must* use the park shuttle service.

In the end I was glad I extended my stay here a bit longer than planned. The Fiery Furnace hike, which has challenging sections but accessible to anyone with reasonable coordination and no joint problems, is well worth it. In this case the Ranger (Matt Smith -- a prototypical grizzled, pnytailed veteran) excelled at clear and interesting narration of the locations we visited, experience and detail in answering questions, and an excellent rapport with the group (23 people.)