Virtual Vacation! Arches National Park, Utah
October 2011; Arches is well named, there are over 2,000 natural stone arches in the park. We spent 2 days in the park, the first day doing some hiking, seeing some of the arches. The rock is the typical red sandstone in this area.
The arch in this picture is called Delicate Arch.
I think this one is called Spectacle Arch.
On the second day we went on a ranger guided hike to the Fiery Furnace. It isn't named that because it is so hot, but because when the setting sun shines on the rocks they glow. This is the trail head. Everyone is told to bring a litre of water. Everyone on a hike guided or not must sign in at the trail head.
It is an area of narrow sandstone canyons, with sandy washes (where water flows when it rains), there are numerous dead end canyons, canyons so narrow that hikers must go single file, climbs over some of the 2 foot wide canyons, some are very deep.
Children under 5 are not permitted. Each child 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult.
Visitors are not allowed into the Fiery Furnace without a ranger, unless you have a hiking permit only available to people who have participated in an orientation session. There are no trail signs or markers, and GPS units frequently fail to find a way through walls and canyons. Everyone in a non guided hike must attend the orientation session.
This photo is on the edge of the 'furnace'.
The day we hiked, the ranger said it wasn't uncommon for people to get lost and end up spending the night in the canyons. If they have not signed out by morning at the trailhead a search party is sent to look for them. The trail goes from left to right across the picture and then down between the pillars.
The hike goes up the hill at the bottom of the picture, between pillars to the viewpoint in the distance.
It isn't a large area, but it all looks very similar, and it is easy to become disoriented or lost. There are many native plants, and the soils are fragile stepping in or on the wrong place can destroy soil that has taken 100s of years to accumulate. Or kill the delicate plants that grow in the soil. The rule is walk on the trail, on the rock or in the wash.