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Show Behind the Reefs s" to Pritcheft qain Attracts Safari Entrants 5 Offered to participants the Moab Jeep Safari 'ery year since its incep-n, incep-n, the Pritchett Arch a-il is unique in the view offer of "Behind Ths cks" country. This wild vize of stupendous fins d domes of Navajo sand- stone, deep gorges and canyons, and crazily-tilted and distorted rock strata lies just beyond the high cliffs that loom over Moab Valley to the southwest. The trail, itself, begins near the summit of the U.S. 163 pass about twelve miles southeast of Moab. Although a graded dirt road which starts here also al-so goes to within two and a half miles of Pritchett Arch, and travels through equally spectacular country, coun-try, the jeep trail offers Continued ion Page B-8 ilAri'' h-rTl T ITT:. ' " - 1 Pritchett Arch is only One of several large spans that can be seen along the Pritchett Arch Trail. A short hike leads ' to the massive span. Just a little beyond the arch is a viewpoint overlooking Pritchett Prit-chett Canyon and three other arches, one down in the canyon, the others opposite op-posite Pritchett. Pritchett Arch Trail - - - Continued from Page B-l Safari participants a tru. ly intimate look at thi3 wilderness area, and a continuous challenge, to driving ability. Two arches are visible from the trail long before reaching Pritchett Arch, and at one point, where (the main trail crosses the Hunter 'Canyon drainage, a spur trail goes down the right rim of that canyon. A few hundred yards along al-ong this spur is a viewpoint view-point down onto a very large pool of water. The pool lies at the end of a deep box-end gorge overhung over-hung by high rock ledges, and is fed by springs that seep from strata below the rim. From a parking area near the arch, a foot trail leads up a low cliff, then along an easy but very interesting in-teresting ledge trail to Pritchett Arch, itself. This huge span is only one of several natural arches in the area. Two others can . be seen in the canyon wall opposite Pritchett, and still another is visible from the Pritchett Canyon viewpoint view-point a few yards beyond Pritchett Arch. The highlights of the afternoon leg of the journey jour-ney are a tall "chimney rock" which stands out from a high cliff, then the climb over a steep rim and, finally, the trip down rough and tortuous Pritchett Prit-chett Canyon. The trail goes by a number of outstanding out-standing scenic features, and between miles of colorful col-orful canyon walls, before .'finally reaching paved Cane Creek Road and the Colorado River. From there, it is a short, pleasant drive along the river, by Miller's "egg mine," where chickens live their productive years in the cool vaults of an artificial arti-ficial cave, past a lovely arch just below the rim of the opposite cliff, then through the soaring, colorful col-orful walls of "The Portal" into Moab Valley. |