Arches National Park, Windows and Fiery Furnace

We started our second day at the Arches National Park by heading to the Windows section. After hiking to the enormous Double Arch, we followed the trail past the Turret Arch and the North and South Window arches. The primitive access trail on our way back revealed different views of the North and South Window arches and beautiful vistas of the valley below and La Sal Mountains in the distance.
















Our next adventure was the hike up to the Delicate Arch, one of the most popular hikes people do at the park. After a few switchbacks the trail led up a giant rock. From a distance the hikers looked like little ants climbing up this hill. Eventually the path leveled, and the Delicate Arch revealed itself just around the corner.

The best time to view the Delicate Arch is supposed to be at sunset, but even in the middle of the day when we got there it was a magnificent sight. Perched on the edge of a cliff, the arch turned out to be a lot bigger then I imagined it to be. Honestly I could not have imagined the real grandeur of many arches we saw without standing underneath them or seeing them in relation to people standing nearby. The enormity of these rock formations is hard to comprehend. The snow on the peaks of the La Sal Mountains shined in the distance behind the Delicate Arch.

After hiking to the Delicate Arch we took a break before a three hour and approximately 2.5 mile guided hike through the Fiery Furnace. We spent our time driving through the park, stopping at various pull outs to enjoy the views, and strolling around the Balanced Rock formation.

We decided to take a guided tour because the Fiery Furnace rocks form a maze of sorts that is very easy to get lost in. At 4 pm sharp we were standing at the Fiery Furnace viewpoint ready for our guided tour. We were part of a group of 25 people following a park ranger. On the hike we learned that apparently the mormon tea plant is of the ephedra family, and ring tail cats have been sighted regularly in the Devil’s Garden area of the park. The ranger also helped us through some of the more difficult parts of the trail.

With just a couple hours of light left, we hiked half way up the Park Avenue trail and returned to the Courthouse rock formation when the sun was almost gone. This sunset was our first and last in the park for now, and it was sad to leave. Despite all the crowds the rock formations felt inspirational. We will have to return here again one day.