devil's garden loop

i've now hiked every trail in Arches.  by sheer dumb luck i am pretty sure that i hiked in the perfect order as well.  by far my first hike to Delicate Arch was the most crowded and it seems that as i moved from hike to hike the number of people i encountered lessened.  my last day of trekking around i did about 12 miles and my legs sure as hell feel like it.  over half of that distance was spent on one particular loop trail that took a little over 2 1/2 hours of straight hiking, only pausing to catch a breath here and there.  i've been in Arches for a couple few days now but it wasn't until i hiked the Devil's Garden loop that i've actually been in the canyons that make up canyon country.  it was incredible.  the parallel rock protrusions that reach up to the sky are called "fins" and this loop trail took me through, up, over, and on countless of these fins.  there were a few treacherous parts and my uncomfortability with heights also made some points more harrowing than they had to be but goddam it was amazing.  a totally unique experience.  i've hiked a lot of parks and a lot of places but i think that Arches may be the most beautiful.  a bold statement i know, but what it has to offer is something that i've never seen before.  even while hiking through the redwoods, which is incredibly humbling, you are still hiking through a forest.  there are familiar things to cling to while you are being awed by the unfamiliar things.  out here is just overwhelming.  at least for me.

i spent about 7 hours in the park, put in a lot of hiking miles, came back to camp, ate meat and potatoes, and crashed out for a well earned sleep.

also, thanks mom for the new shoes.  i'm pretty sure i'd still be trying to scramble up a cliff-side if i didn't have'em.

a quick note on "slickrock".  this is one strange substance to hike across and climb/scramble.  as the name implies it is not a particularly stable rock for footing and yet it is sandstone.  this means that while it gives way easily underfoot it also gives good grip.  it's definitely weird and i'm pretty sure that i'll end up with bloody knees before leaving here because i put too much faith in one of my steps.  i guess the best way to describe it is like walking on a hill of sandpaper:  great grip... until it gives way.

here's some pics of the Devil's Garden loop trail.

and now into the garden itself:

finally made it to the top of the fin:

and now just 3 1/2 miles through this back to the truck: 

this is such an awesome trip.  whenever i sit down to do one of these blog posts i keep thinking something is wrong with my camera because these pictures do the landscape no justice.  for a passable representation please view these photos on a movie theater screen.