Moab
is a city of about 4,000 people in eastern Utah and is the closest city to
Arches National Park which is why we were there. The park boasts the greatest
density of natural arches in the world while spires, pinnacles and impossibly
balanced rocks vie with the arches as scenic spectacles.
The Devil’s Garden Trail was a leisurely
stroll revealing to us many arches and columns scattered along a ridge but the
five kilometre hike to Delicate Arch following was the show piece of the day
for sure. A more harrowing or dangerous hike I do not expect to ever undertake.
It wasn’t so much the hike itself as the circumstances and terrain we were
faced with once we reached the Arch that would haunt me for all of eternity.
Delicate Arch is an isolated remnant of a
bygone rock fin that stands on the brink of a canyon overlooking the dramatic
backdrop of the La Sal Mountains and is beauty personified. It rests on smooth,
rounded, barren rock with one side exposed to a sheer thousand foot drop and no
guard rails or restraints of any type and no warning of difficulty or danger. I
could not believe that people were allowed to roam freely up here amidst such
impending disaster. We did venture out to climb around the arch (probably the
most foolish thing we have ever done) and it instilled terror in our hearts as
we gingerly made our way along an almost non-existent footpath with nothing but
empty space and rock below. There was one point when Karen and I had to pass
Adam between us, as his legs were too short to reach the next foothold, and all
we thought about was “what if we fall?” Not for the faint of heart and, as I
alluded to earlier, not for anyone with any common sense or good judgment. I
hope if we return in years to come, there will be some regulation on how close one
can get to Delicate Arch.
Nevertheless, it was one of those moments
in life we could look back on and proclaim, “We survived despite our reckless
abandon and outright stupidity,” a moment that would be a cornerstone as we
built our lives’ amazing moments.
for more
information go to www.thatroadtripbook.com
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