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Well I had finally reached my breaking point with my cabin fever this winter so we decided to take advantage of the lower off season hotel rates in Moab.  April and I arranged sitters for the kids and headed south early Saturday morning. We were pretty shocked to see how much snow was on the ground in Price and the north end of the swell.

First hike of the trip was out to False Kiva, we put on our snow pants and made our way down the trail that was covered in 6-12″ of snow.  Luckily someone had made the hike a few days before us and did most of the dirty work of breaking trail. We were very pleased to see that the steepest section of trail was only muddy rather than snow covered. We spent about an hour shooting photos at the Kiva before we hiked backup the hill to the car, round trip the hike was under 3 hours.

Next hike was Aztec Butte where there was at least 8-10inches of snow. The first 1/4 mile or so was packed down nicely but we had to break quite a bit of trail to the slick rock and across the top of the butte to reach the ruins.

We made two quick stops to walk around the Green River Overlook and hike the Mesa Arch loop before we headed off to Dead Horse Point for sunset.

Mesa Arch

Dead Horse Point

Sunday morning we got an early start and headed directly to the Devils Garden in Arches.  Again 8-12 ” of snow covered the trails but at least this time the trail was packed down and well traveled all the to Landscape Arch.

What was once Wall Arch (right side).

Navajo Arch

Partition Arch

Beyond landscape Arch the trail became a bit epic near the now fallen Wall Arch and on the fin leading to Double Arch.  Once we reached Double Arch I was post-holing well above my knees and there were no tracks headed out to the Dark Angel or on the loop towards Private Arch.  We had plans to travel the entire primitive loop but without snowshoes we were not about to break that trail so we gave up and headed back the way we came.  The hike to Double Arch and back with exploring all spur trails took us just under four hours in the snow.

Double Arch

Garden of Eden

After hiking and slipping for 5 miles or so with a side of sunburn we were pretty beat. We made a quick stop at the Garden of Eden view point then headed back to the hotel to shower and eat.  We made a short hike up Millcreek before we headed back into the park just after sunset.

With our packs stuffed with down coats and camera gear my wife and I started our hike up to Delicate Arch about 15min after the sunset.  We got quite a few strange looks from more than a few of the 40 or so people that were hiking down from the Arch. A few of them even stopped to warn us about the snow and ice on the trail above. We passed the last person we would see on this hike just below the slickrock and were forced to turn on our head lamps soon after.  Between the large slick rock ramp and the bowl was the real tricky part of the hike because the puddles were starting to freeze over and in the dark it was hard to tell what was water, ice, or snow.   Of course the most slippery, snow and ice covered portion of the trail was also the most exposed area just before the Arch. We made it to the Arch with only a few “oh shit” moments and dry feet but best of all we had the entire amphitheater to ourselves to take photos and enjoy before we headed back down to the car.

Cell phone shot of the icy trail on the hike down.

Before we left the park we stopped at Balanced Rock and Park Ave to shoot a few star trails under the new moon.

Next morning we just made a quick hike around primitive loop of the Windows before we headed home.

Day1: Camping and Hiking in Onion Creek.

We arrived at onion creek in mid afternoon and completely lucked out by getting one of the best (and last) campsites in the canyon. ATVs were constantly driving up and down the dirt road but that is pretty much expected when camping around Moab. The kids were stoked to have the creek running just below our camp site and spent their first hour in the canyon making mudpies and getting wet.

After setting up camp we drove back down the canyon to spend the rest of our day hiking along Onion Creek. We parked and started hiking up a much dryer fork of the main canyon and passed though some interesting narrow sections. Due to fading light and everyone’s desire to hike the water we turned around shortly and starting hiking in the creek down under the bridge in the main canyon.

There was much more water in the main canyon near the bridge.

By the time we finished our hike Bowen was pretty wet and cold. We got him into some warm dry clothes and drove back to camp to eat some mac and cheese. When dinner was cleaned up we drove up to the top of the Onion Creek road and scoped out some campsites for future trips to the area.

After the sunset the night sky was incredible with the milky way, very little light pollution. I love camping under a new moon.

30min star trails

Day2: Fisher Tower, Moab, and Arches

After a quick breakfast we were packed up and on the road before 8:30am. We made our way to the Fisher Towers trail head and were hiking along the trail. The spires really don’t seem that impressive from a distance but they are an amazing sight to see up close. We spent about two hours hiking with the kids before we headed out of the area.

blanket head attacks

The Titan is 600′ tall

We ate lunch and snacks and we drove down the Colorado river to Arches National Park. We went directly to Sand Dune Arch and let the the boys play with their shovels and buckets in the sand. There were massive amounts of people at Sand Dune, more than I had ever seen in the past. I did not take any pictures of the Arch because there was always some group of yahoos climbing on top of it.

Some of the crowd on Saturday afternoon.

Sick of the madness at Sand Dune we took a 4×4 road out to Eye of the Whale Arch and as always, there was almost no one out there. We spent about an hour climbing around the arch and driving tractors in the sand and only saw three people.

Later that Saturday afternoon April and the boys stayed back at the hotel while I set out to shoot photos and hike Arches under the new moon. I made a few stops along the road at Balanced Rock and the Garden of Eden overlooks as I waited for the sun to set.

After the sun was down I made my way to the Delicate Arch trail head. I started up the trail and could see the flashes of cameras and large crowds of people around the Arch and hiking down the trail. I counted up to 127 people hiking down before I gave up, 25min later I was sitting near Delicate Arch waiting for the last of the crowds to leave. I started taking long exposures of a group of BYU students as they hung out under the arch taking photos with their cameras.

After they left I pretty much sat in the same spot, shot long exposures and hand flashed the Arch for over an hour. There was only one other photographer shooting the Arch with me. We talked, exchanged emails, and hiked down the trail together.

My next stop that night was for a hike around the North/South windows and Turret Arch. Hiking around these Arches in the pitch dark under the light of the stars and milky way was one of the most awesome experiences of my life.

Last stop of the night… Balanced Rock

Day 3: Half Marathon and Arches

April left the hotel early to catch a shuttle bus for her race while the boys and I slept in and met her at the finish line and as always she kicked butt. After the race we swam, ate lunch, stocked up on camping food and drove to our reserved campsite in Arches. The Arches Devils Garden Camp ground is by far the coolest paid camping area I have ever been to. There was cool slickrock fins and a few arches within easy walking distance for the kids. After camp was set up April and the boys drove to Sand Dune Arch while I hiked out to Broken and Sand Dune to meet up with them.

Broken Arch

Our Private Sand Dune Arch (sunday afternoons FTW!)

Sunset from the sandstone fins above our campsite.

Skyline Arch

Inside Skyline Arch

Night shot and star trails from camp

Day 4: Camp, Double Arch, and Home

The boys were up early and sunrise from campground was spectacular. Lanik and I hiked up on the fins to take a few photos before we packed up our camp to meet Alene and crew at double arch.

Double Arch

April working the wide angle

Awesome end of the year trip… now I am ready for snow.