4 October 2017, Wednesday
Goose Island Campground, Devil’s Garden
It is dark and the stars are bright at 5:45 am. O and I are soon dressed. We arrive at Eklektica at 6:30. Unfortunately, they don’t open until 7. Instead, we drive down Main Street to Red Rock Bakery and Cafe where we have pastries and coffee and order a sandwich to go for lunch. We arrive at the entrance to Arches between 7:30 and 8. At this time of day, not only is there no line to get in, there’s not even a ranger to check geezer passes. After a stop at the visitor center to refill water bottles, we drive 18 miles to the end of the park road. Here we find the Devil’s Garden trailhead. There are signs at the entrance to the trail warning that , although the first mile to Landscape Arch is an easy trail, beyond that the trail becomes more difficult. At the end of the difficult trail in just over 3 ½ miles, the trail becomes “most difficult” and primitive – in other words, marked by cairns and traversing slick rock.
O and I set out, arriving quickly at Landscape Arch. The arch is one of the longest spans, if not the longest span, in the world. As we hike beyond this arch we meet some young hikers who have turned back. “Too much bouldering,” they say. O and I continue up the trail, scrambling up and down slick rock in places, but making good progress. We pass more scenic arches. I eventually stow my trekking poles in my pack, as does O. We need both hands free for climbing.
Arches tend to form in fins, vertical narrow walls of rock. As we follow trail markers for Double O Arch we find ourselves traversing the top of a fin. I admit to some palpitations here, especially when two hikers come back across the fin and tell us this must be the wrong way as the trail does not appear to go anywhere. O and I turn around. At the end of the fin, I sit down and read the trip description which I had photographed before beginning our hike. The trail does, indeed, cross the fin. We retrace our steps and find cairns at the end directing us down the slick rock. Soon we find the sandy trail to Double O Arch.
From Double O we must choose whether to return the way we came in, or complete the loop by following the primitive trail. The decision is easy for me. I do not want to recross the fin. O and I hike a bit further along the primitive trail and find a sun dappled, slightly shaded spot beneath a pinyon pine for lunch. We enjoy our sandwich and then proceed down the trail. There are a few small groups also hiking this route: a bunch of young men from Great Britain, a family from China – parents and a little girl who appears to be 8 or 10 and who has a whistle on which she plays “Mary had a little lamb,‘”some French speakers and some other young people whose language I do not recognize.
At times O and I lead, finding cairns across the rocks, at other times members of the other groups find the way. We soon come to a cairn that seems to indicate we should go right over a fin and down a cliff. We realize that the trail traverses the edge of the fin. The “trail” is barely wide enough for one boot. I take a deep breath and follow the British group across. My Salomon boots maintain their grip on the slick rock and I make it across. O follows behind. By this time O and I appear to be alone again.
We come to a trail juncture and follow a sandy trail along the bottom of a cliff, only to meet the Chinese family returning up the trail. “Wrong way!” they say. The only other option is across a pool-sized pothole with a steep rim to the right, a high sandstone slick rock hill to the left and a floating log in the pool, not suitable for crossing. What to do? By this time other groups have caught up with us. The French group runs at the slick rock hill to the left and manages to get to the top and over. The Asian father does the same, waiting at the top and coaxing his daughter to try climbing in her bare feet. She finally makes it up with a helping hand from her father. Mom picks up the girl’s sneakers, ties them to her belt and follows suit.
O watches carefully and manages to slip around just above the water on the left. The Frenchman gives him a hand. No way am I trying that! I have visions of splashing down into the pool. The young men of language indeterminate arrive. One of them runs full speed at the rock wall to the right and manages to use centrifugal force to maintain his footing. He successfully rounds the pool to enthusiastic applause. I attempt to climb the slick rock on the left, but I slide back down. O waits patiently on the other side of the pool. The other parties have lost interest and gone on ahead. Ever sensible, I pack my camera in my backpack, tie my boots and socks on top and zip off my pant legs. I walk carefully around the edge of the pool in my bare feet. The water is quite murky, the bottom is obscured, but the bottom is sandy and the water is barely knee-deep, cool and refreshing. I’m feeling a bit silly for waiting so long to figure out such an easy solution. It would have been much safer for everyone to just walk through the water.
The pool is our last major obstacle on the way back to the trailhead. We rejoin the main trail at Landscape Arch, take a short diversion toTunnel Arch and Pine Tree Arch and are soon back at Vincent. Back at camp we clean up and cook a wonderful dinner, enhanced by a Moab Brewery Scotch Ale.