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Show 8 Recreation & Tourist Guide, May, 1986 Arches has resplendent beauty By CHUCK ZEHNDER Managing editor Without a doubt Arches National Park near Moab is the most popular national park in Utah. And, coincidentally, it is the most improved. But what makes it even nicer for those of us who live in Carbon County, is the fact it is only a couple of hours away. I enjoy the park and try to visit it at least once a year. It usually isnt a problem since we have guests from back east visiting and it is something that always astounds out- siders. There are some areas of the park which are quite remote. A ranger down there once told me he suspected there are still arches waiting to be discovered in some areas of the park. Just stay on U.S. Highway 191 heading south and the entrance to the park is well marked just four miles this side of Moab. Be sure and stop at the visitor center and watch the slide show and pick up additional information on the park. There are many areas to visit, but if your time is limited, be sure to get at least to the Balanced Rock and the Windows section. Its just 9.2 miles from the visitor center on an excellent blacktop road to the turn-of- f to the Windows. Just 2.5 miles from that turnoff is the parking areas of the Windows. At the Windows is Double Arch, Turret Arch and North and South Windows. There is also a formation there called the Parade of Elephants. There are comfortable hiking trails to each of the arches there, but the easiest is to Double Arch. That trail takes off from the second parking area instead of the first. If you are only going to walk over to one of the arches in the Windows, it really should be Double Arch. The distance from the visitor center to Devils Garden at the top end of the blacktop road is 19.2 miles. There are many pull-ouand side roads and ts trails along the route. A map you will receive at the entrance to the park will give you mileages to all these points. Just 11.7 miles from the vistor center is the road to Delicate Arch. One must travel 2.5 miles down a gravel road to the Wolfe Ranch and then hike up the slickrock for 1.5 miles to the arch. Beyond a doubt, this is the most photographed arch in the world and certainly is, very literally, breathtaking as you round the corner of a rock ledge and suddenly are confronted with this rock formation. Back onto the paved road, it is just 7.5 miles on to the Devils Garden trailhead where one can hike to Tunnel Arch, Pine Tree Arch, Landscape Arch, Partition Arch, Wall Arch, Navajo Arch and Double 0 Arch on a single trail just 1.9 miles long. The most spectacular arch of this group is Landscape Arch. This long, slender arch is 105 feet above the ground and spans 291 feet! It is magnificent, to say the least. At Devils Garden is the campground. There are 50 camping spaces with water and flush toilets available on a first come, first served basis. There are also two walk-i- n group sites avaible by reservations. These two are limited to tent camping and groups of ten or more. Once the weather begins to freeze every night, the flush toilets are replaced with chemical toilets and the water is turned off. From then on there are no fees for camping and the park is open all year. There is an area which is limited pretty much to drive vehicles called the Klondike Bluffs. It is remote but offers arches and rock formations seen by very few people. There are more than 200 arches in the park, even though your map will only show about 19 arches. Part of the fun of Arches is hiking the trails and finding new arches which you have never seen before and are not noted on maps. Turret Arch is in the Windows section of Arches National Park. It is the section most easily accessible with five arches which can be visited just a few feet off the highway. The best time for pictures at the Windows is near noon as both Double Arch and the Windows will be able to photographed with the sun at the right angle. four-whe- el Backpackers can hike throughout the park but free Pine Tree Arch is on the trail from Devil's Garden which leads to no less than seven named arches. The trail from Devil's Garden is an easy hiking trail which is just under two miles long. There are more than 200 arches cataloged in Arches National Park. backcountry permits are required from the visitor center in an effort to know how many people are in the backcountry. This is the perfect time of the year for a trip to Arches National Park. Double Arch is in the Windows section and is at the second parking area. It is the easiest to walk to and the hiker will pass the Parade of Elephants in the short walk to the arch. |