A Night Hike to Delicate Arch

"Upon arrival, we could see Delicate Arch only a few hundred feet away bathed in moonlight under a sky filled with a number of stars only possible when you are miles away from civilization."

I had been to Delicate Arch before but it was nothing like this. The wind that on my last trip had claimed countless sunglasses and hats, was no where to be felt. The endless line of people hoarding into the amphitheater that had ruined any chance of peace and quiet and a good picture last time were now gone, replaced with a calm, tranquil scene.

Since this was my second trip to Southern Utah I was attempting to do and see different sights than I had on my first visit, while at the same time making sure the not-to-be-missed sights could still been seen by my new trip mates (Patrick and Kendrick) and since Delicate Arch is a staple, and I had already hiked it before I figured what better way to satisfy all of us than to do it at night. That's what she said. 

Stand alone.

Patrick was a little skeptical at first, worrying about cougars and boogie monsters but after hiking a few hundred yards and with our night visioned honed, we were all ready and comfortable with making the moonlit three mile round trip to Delicate Arch.

Night vision is key. You can do a lot more in the dark than you realize so long as you let your eyes adjust to the available light. Most people don't realize this and it's for that reason that when we made our way up the side of the slick rock incline we passed by multiple groups of people feeling the need to shine their flashlights in our face and state how they couldn't believe we were hiking in at night, so far away from the McDonalds and hotel pools that awaited their arrival back in town. The company was short lived though and as we left the parking lot in the distance it was only the moon and the dimly lit red rock to keep us company.

Stargazer.

I know i've said this before but Cairns are amazing. Besides being so photogenic they provide an unmeasurable amount of help in trail finding. I've been grateful for their guidance on foggy hikes, and hikes across open rock, and for finding the trail along the Great Divide, but I was now grateful for their help in navigating through the twilight. Every cairn along the way was separated by no more than 20-30 feet and within a half hour we had found our way up the final steep approach to the arch.

Delicate Arch is an important landmark for Utah, it's something like New Hampshires' Old Man on the Mountain. It's facade is on countless souvenirs and billboards and signs across the state, and it will someday have the same fate as the Old Man did. But don't let this kitschy, touristy front fool you, it is something to behold. Honestly, it makes no sense. How can a huge arch made of rock standing independently hundreds of feet away from anything else exist? It's an extreme example of weathering and erosion on a time scale that eludes comprehension. Even if you are not into the touristy spots on your trip to Utah, this is still worth your time, the hike is short and the reward is huge.

10/10.

Upon arrival, we could see Delicate Arch only a few hundred feet away bathed in moonlight under a sky filled with a number of stars only possible when you are miles away from civilization. All conversation stopped and the word, "Shit." was uttered by each of us. This is why I came here. This is why I bought plane tickets to Denver, rented a car and drove 6 hours. Why I spent so much time planning and fantasizing in my head over this trip. Why I packed and repacked my bags and made sure my camera was working and ready to take a billion pictures. Because for a few short days my eyes would be treated to indescribably beautiful views like the one laid out before me. There are too few times in your life where you feel lost in your surroundings, where you suck up every last bit of the scene in front of you hoping to hold on to that view forever. Views that years later you remember and that take you back to that place. I could give a two hour lecture on this view alone, I want to grab everyone by the shoulders and shake them and explain why they need to go here and see it, and all the west for that matter, for themselves. It's moments like this that help you get through the months between trips, they reset your battery and allow you to look at cubical walls and the ass end of the car that just cut you off without slowly going crazy.

Check It Out!

We spent about an hour taking pictures and just laying looking up at the stars before we headed back down the trail to our car. We decided last minute to take a walk down to the base of the arch with our flashlights while I had set up the camera for a long exposure to catch the entire trip down and back. As is the case with most of my last minute/impromptu pictures, the resulting image (cover image) is one of my favorite pictures to date.

Thanks for reading along! Much more to come.

Mileage: 3 Miles

Silhouette. 

Star Trails.