We left Thursday after work and went directly to Island in the Sky with plans to shoot stat trails at False Kiva followed by a Mesa Arch sunrise.   We grabbed the last site in the campground and drove out to the False Kiva trail head and began hiking just after sunset.  We rushed down the trail and got the cameras setup just in time to catch the last trickle of day light.  I forgot my flash in the car so I used my black diamond orbit lantern to  illuminate the the Kiva and alcove and it worked out pretty well. We spent a few hours in the dark shooting then hiked out from False Kiva and drove back to our camp site.   After setting up our tents we went for a walk to the green river overlook where it was so  dark you couldn’t see anything but stars.

Friday morning we were up before sunrise and headed to Mesa Arch.    To our delight only 8 or so other photographers there. I’ve  heard at times it can be a real nightmare of people trying to capture this iconic shot so we were pretty lucky to have such a small crowd.

After sunrise we made the short drive back to camp and got ready for the day. We left everything setup in our  Island in the Sky campsite then drove to Moab for a fanstaic breakfast at the Jail House cafe.

Something had gone horribly wrong with my left boot so we stopped by gear heads to make an emergency shoe purchase before driving out on the Kane Creek road to hike Funnel / Cable Arch.   The hike to the arch was short, sweet,  and involved a bit of scrambling.  Funnel Arch is often referred too as Cable Arch due to a large metal cable leading up a fin slightly to the  north. We scrambled up the cable and wandered around for a few hours before heading back to the car.

Watch out, that cable bites hard.

Clint standing on top of the cabled fin just north of Cable / Funnel Arch.

After our hike we made a quick stop in Moab for some ice then made a short uneventful hike up lower Couthouse Wash. We then drove into the main park entrance and scrambled up the crack to the area above Park Ave.  I’ve be wanting to do this hike up above Park Ave for a few years now but it never really seemed to work out.   Such a cool area,  maybe my new favorite place in Arches with some very unique views of the park.

The sky was completely clear and sunset was a bust so we drove back to Island and the Sky. I shot a half dozen star trails around our campsite and the Green River overlook but nothing special.

Saturday morning we were up early and headed home first thing from our short but fun trip. I love getting 30mpg but not having a 4×4 in the Moab area really limits camping options.

False Kiva

Baby Parkers first desert hike

We spent a while soaking in the views at False Kiva before heading up the trail and back to the car. We made a short hike to Mesa Arch and then hung out at the Green River overlook for an uneventful sunset.  As soon as the sun dropped below the horizon it became windy and very cold so we piled in the car, drove to Moab, and checked into our hotel for the night.

Mesa Arch

Sunday morning I was up early and driving back to Island in the Sky to try and catch a sunrise with Mark, Tyler and Britnee. The light was totally flat and there really wasn’t a sunrise at all.  We made it back to the hotel, rounded up the rest of our group and headed into Arches to hike around in the Devils Garden.  We hiked out to Navajo Arch together as a group then a few of us completed the full primitive loop and we all met up back at the cars.

Next up was a short walk to Sand Dune Arch before the wind and rain picked back up and we headed back to the hotel. Whitney, Tyler, and I headed back into the park for sunset but were skunked yet again.

I lugged my 5lb crystal ball around the entire weekend.

60 second sunset.

Monday morning once again I was up early for sunrise and captured the first decent light of the trip. I waited in the cold for the first light to hit the north window, took a few shots, then drove to the courthouse towers to catch some reflections in the puddles that formed overnight.

We checked out of the hotel then made one last hike up to Corona where we only saw 1 other person on the trail. Gotta love Moab in the winter, it may be a bit cold but the trails and parks are so empty it’s always worth it.