Desert Heat

Do you remember those cartoons where the characters were so hungry they started to imagine their companion as a chicken leg or some other form of food?  Do you remember hearing stories about people having mirages in the desert where they would see an oasis where none existed?  I now know how that feels.  But let me start at the beginning.

The tipi is in fact a luxury tipi, meaning that there are cots and sleeping bags that are provided, and just a few steps away there are toilets (that flush), showers (where you have to pull a chain continuously to get lukewarm water) and sinks, plus you can order breakfast that is delivered to the "lobby" and eat in your tipi.  Yes, quite luxurious, but oddly enough, the luxury does not include air conditioning.  Surely the Native Americans had air conditioning in their tipis, right?

It is a fun experience, but with near 100 degree heat, our non-air-conditioned tipi did not provide for the most restful night of sleep, but none-the-less, waking up in the middle of the colorful desert, and finding young rabbits hopping about just outside your tipi is quite a luxury.

We started our day as I have found the best way to do so, by speaking with a ranger.  The rangers are truly there for a reason and they have some great advice about the prettiest and most accessible places.  The ranger we spoke to said there were several short hikes to Balance Rock, amongst the Windows and to Landscape Arch.  She told us that the prettiest one was Delicate Arch, and while it was only a few hours hike, it was, as she described, like climbing steps for three hours.  And did I mention it was warm?  And as it is the desert, it is not like there is much shade.  The ranger even described that the rocks, to the touch, were well over 100 degrees and could burn you.  Yes, it did seem like an incredibly inviting hike.  But then she recommended to visit just as the sun was setting and described the beauty of the color of the rocks and the sky.  Sold!

So, we made our plan: we would go visit some of the arches near the road, ride through the park, then go eat a late afternoon meal and come back prepared to climb stairs for three hours in hopes of some incredible photographic opportunities.

Our first stop was to Balance Rock, where as you can imagine, fun photos were a must:

This rock is basically on the road through the park, so it was crowded with people.  We did not stay long, but instead ventured on to the next part of the park we were excited to see, a section called Windows.  

We watched as small children shimmied up smooth rock surfaces and decided, we too, of course could do that.  Like my cat, who always seems to look up to see what she can climb and what height she can reach, we decided to do a bit of climbing.  Our climbing was not nearly as quick, easy or as graceful as those small children we had just watched, nor did we venture nearly as high as they did.

After climbing, or perhaps sliding, back down, we walked a bit more on the path much less traveled and found another large arch that seemed reachable, so of course, we had to climb.

And I'm so glad we did!  The top of the arch, or perhaps the bottom loop of the arch, was a perfect spot to sit and take in some glorious views.  And although we complained a bit that the lack of blue skies was taking away from our photographs, the heat was oppressive, but not the sun's rays.

We took the one park road to the back of the park into the Devils Garden area (this should have been a sign for us).  We refilled our water bottles as it was near midday and the heat was really turning up the dial, but the hike to Landscape Arch was a mere mile and half round trip.  This arch is one of the park's longest ones and one that may not be around much longer.  It is so thin that the rangers fear any sort of disturbance, such as an earthquake, may destroy it.

We were thrilled (we thought at the time) to see the blue sky return and make our desert photographs even better.

On our way back towards the car, we noticed another path off to the left where herds of people were coming from.  We weren't totally sure where the path led to, but as there were so many people, surely it was a sight worth seeing, not too far off.  It definitely was a sight worth seeing, and the blue skies were just perfect!  

However, now, at midday, besides just dealing with the heat, the sun was beating down on us like we were being punished for something we didn't even know we had done.  But, we made the most of it, laughing along the way, stopping under trees that only Charlie Brown would have been proud to decorate, or leaning up against rocks that created mere inches of desirable shade.

And of course we took lots of fun photos!

Look carefully at the photograph above.  Do you notice a man-made stack of rocks?  We noticed them, but that was about it... until later...

The long hike was well worth it though as we came upon Double O Arch.  This is one of the park's most scenic spots and as it is off the beaten path, there were very few people here.  What happened to those herds of people that led us on this path?  Not totally sure, but I believe they were just climbing up the first little peak to get good views.  Or perhaps, unlike us, they planned their hikes for times other than the times of peak heat.  Silly people!

With some, um, grace and agility, Jessica and I made it into the lower of the two arches, somehow shimmying up rock worn down over the years to become a smooth, sheet surface, that was a little taller than we were.

Thankfully, Jessica had the idea to venture up a bit further behind the lower of the arches and that is where we were able to get this view:

Do you see why it is called Double O?  If you look carefully, you can see Jessica standing in the lower arch where we were first photographed.

It is here that our story begins to tumble...  According to the map, there were two trails to get back to the main path and our car.  One of which was the one we had just traveled on and another one which appeared to be just a teensy bit longer.  My father always told me never to take the same path twice, so, off we set.  Again, we should have read the signs, listened and paid attention to them, but instead, we just laughed at them:

We quickly realized that following a lesser-traveled path in the desert is very difficult.  Think about it.  Most trails you travel on are either made of mulch, gravel, or just well kept so that trees and shrubs do not block the way.  In the desert there's rock.  Not lots of little rocks to make a path on, but instead what appears to be one giant rock.  

So, not only was the path a treacherous one to take, but more than once, we felt utterly lost, with no sign of a path around us.  It was after, probably much longer than it should have taken us to figure it out, that we began noticing that the stacks of rocks were everywhere, and that they seemed to in fact mark the path!  OH!  What a genius idea!  After discovering this, we felt a lot better, well, sort of...

We saw one person along the path headed in the opposite direction.  One.  And when we asked him if we were close to the end, he just sort of laughed.  We began to see shapes and faces in the rocks.  Perhaps that rock did actually look like Santa Claus, or maybe I was just hoping his sleigh and team of reindeer would come rescue us. 

There was virtually no shade on the path and the sun was shining in all its glory.  (Why did we complain about the clouds earlier?)  There were no signs to tell us how far to go and as the rocks could scorch you, there was no where to sit and take a rest.  We had both carried several bottles of water, but the little bit we had left, after being in the 100 degree sun for hours was near boiling and offered very little relief.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, we began to reach landscape that looked more familiar and we began to hear the echoes of other travelers.   We met a few people towards the end of our journey who were about to take that same path.  The poor people, they seemed so happy and energetic, they had no idea what they were about to find, even though we tried to warn them.

We finally made it back to the car after what seemed days.  It had, in reality only been about four hours, but like wind is factored in to let us know what it really feels like on a winter's day, I believe the heat in the middle of the day should also be factored in when expressing time.

Am I being dramatic, yeah, probably so, but Jessica and I got a true beating by the desert sun, not one we will soon forget.  It also made me sympathize, even more so, with the people who have escaped oppression in their own country by crossing a desert into another one.

On the way back to the luxury tipis, we pulled into the parking lot that led to Delicate Arch, the one we had planned to climb to at sunset.  Muscles aching, skin scorching and pure exhaustion setting in, we decided that this view would have to suffice until our next journey back to this beautiful part of the United States:

We rewarded ourselves with some Tropical Sno in Moab where we were served by one of the most Californian Californians I have ever met, despite being in the middle of Utah.  The Hawaiian-print shirt, the long hair, delightfully optimistic spirit and vocabulary (lots of dudes, bro, rad, totally, etc.) was a great way to perk us up after our epic adventure.  Enough so, that although we didn't do any more hiking, we did ride back into the park at sunset to see the rocks light up with the last of the day's golden beams.

We sat outside our tipi for quite a while tonight.  Stargazing in the desert just might be one of this world's greatest gifts; take advantage of it some day.

Miles traveled: 0 (Jess drove!)

Hours in the car: 2

Gallons of gas purchased: 0

States: Utah

Best quote:  As we stopped to fill up the car with gas, sheer exhaustion showed itself when Jessica uttered: "That price sure is gasey."