Devils Garden Trail

The park host told Roger that we couldn’t leave Arches without hiking the Devils Garden Trail all the way back to the Double O Arch. So…………..this morning we set out at 9am and returned about 1:30pm – about 5-6 miles. Oh my goodness! Those of you that really know me will not believe I did it! I can’t believe it myself – but I have pictures to prove it!

There are 6 arches to see if you take all the side trails along the way.  The first part of the trail is easy to moderate. As we walked we saw people way in the distance climbing a huge rock edifice – Roger said “look at the rock climbers ahead.” When we got to Landscape Arch (about half way) the sign said “Primitive Trail Ahead.” We had been on two pretty strenuous trails with Carlos & Megan so we thought “how hard can it be?” Well, we went a short distance further, the trail disappeared and the “cairns” were leading us up this steep rocky area – the same place we thought people were experienced rock climbers! We studied it for awhile and I finally decided if I put my hiking poles on my fanny pack I could crawl on my hands and knees to the top. One of my poles slipped out and fell down the cliff – Roger yelled “don’t try to catch it” – as if I was crazy enough to let go! We made it to the top and figured the worst was over. I couldn’t let myself think about going back down until I the time came! The trail took us through canyons over cliffs and across one long fin of rock about 5 feet wide! It was scary but so much fun! The scenery was awesome! I actually followed Roger down the steep cliff on the way back and didn’t have to slide on my butt! But, didn’t find my hiking pole!

We were talking about how great our hiking boots were at “sticking to the rock” and not slipping when two guys went running/jumping by us with flip flops on! We were also amazed at how many people take their small children on hikes like this – 3-4 year olds running along! Even the ones carrying their kids in backpacks were frightening to me! We were glad we did it early in the day – the trail was really crowded on the way back and it was nerve racking having people pass us on narrow ledges! We stopped and let people go first and then took our half out of the middle!

We are so proud of ourselves!!!