Daydreaming a Roadtrip to Moab, the Slickrock Trail, Porcupine Rim, Arches, Canyonlands & Mexican Hat

This morning I found myself with no one to talk to, so, I asked myself, of the places I have enjoyed Roadtripping to, where would I go right now, if I could teleport myself to a destination.

Moab was my answer.

In the picture that is me on the left, Big Ed on the right, in the area of the Slickrock Trail.

Moab appeals to me for several reasons. One being the setting. Redrock canyon walls hover over Moab.

I don't know what it is about redrock, but just seeing it makes me very happy.

Moab at night is fun. There are a lot of shops to explore. And very good restaurants. And a brew pub, or two.

Unlike some tourist attractions, casinos in Reno and Las Vegas come to mind, Moab attracts a very healthy bunch of tourists. From all over the world people come to Moab to ride the world famous bike trails, like the Slickrock Trail and Porcupine Rim Trail.

I have mountain biked both the Slickrock Trail and Porcupine Rim Trail. Porcupine Rim Trail is the hardest I have ever biked. Exhausting. Incredible. But exhausting.

I am not alone in appreciating the charms of Moab. I read a book called Ghostrider by Neal Peart of the Canadian rock band, Rush. He waxed poetic about Moab being one of those rare tourist towns that you can't help but love.

The entry to Arches National Park is just a short distance north of Moab, Canyonlands National Park's Islands in the Sky district is a short distance further. A little further, to the south, is my favorite place to stay in Utah, the San Juan Inn in Mexican Hat. From Mexican Hat it is a short distance further south, to Arizona and Monument Valley. The treacherous Moki Dugway is just a short distance north and west of Mexican Hat.

In other words, Moab is close to a lot of my favorite places on the planet.

Delicate Arch in Arches National Park

You are looking at one of my all time favorite pictures, taken at one of my all time favorite places.

Arches National Park in the great state of Utah.

I can barely remember who that is standing behind me, but behind her is Delicate Arch, an arch that is pretty much the iconic symbol of Utah.

Legend has it that a map maker mixed up Delicate Arch with Landscape Arch. Landscape Arch, which is truly delicate, was supposed to be so-named, while Delicate Arch, which does sit like a part of the landscape, was also supposed to be so-named.

Turns out the accidental naming of Delicate Arch is a myth.

The trail that leads to Delicate Arch is my 2nd favorite in Arches National Park, with my favorite being the ranger led Fiery Furnace Hike.

To find Delicate Arch, from the Arches National Park entry drive 11.7 miles to the Wolfe Ranch/Delicate Arch turn-off. Drive another 1.2 miles to the Delicate Arch trailhead parking zone. There is limited parking, so try to go during the off-peak time of the day and year, if possible.

The hike is slightly strenuous, with some elevation gain. Some parts of the trail might make an acrophobic mildly squeamish. You can see part of the trail that might cause some to be a bit acrophobic in the video below.

Soon upon starting your hike to Delicate Arch you will walk past the remains of the John Wesley Wolfe Ranch, built in 1888, abandoned in 1910. Next you will cross Salt Wash on a suspension bridge.

The trail route is heavily traveled and easy to follow. As you get near Delicate Arch you will pass Frame Arch, so named because the arch acts as a picture frame for photos of Delicate Arch. At this point the trail is on a ledge blasted from sandstone, and is the part of the trail referenced above that might make those who suffer from acrophobia a bit weak in the knees.

You turn a corner and are in full view of Delicate Arch. Do not climb on the arch. Do not linger too long under the arch, as this is considered bad manners, making it difficult for others to get the personal photo they want to get.



Delicate Arch Trail
Length: 1.5 miles One-Way.
Time: 1 1/4 hours One-Way.
Trailhead: 4,300'
Arch Elevation: 4,800'
Skill Rating: Easy, there is nothing difficult.
Season: Year Round

Eddie McStiff's Restaurant Brew Pub & Bar In Moab Utah

I've mentioned before that Moab, Utah is one of my favorite places. I've got a lot of reasons why. I love mountain biking, redrock, beautiful scenery, beautiful people and good restaurants. Moab has all of that and with the beautiful people part, they come from all over the globe to the Mountain Biking Capital of the World.

I don't know how many good times I've had at Eddie McStiff's in Moab. Eddie McStiff's is a sprawling, very colorful, very lively, very loud, very fun restaurant, brew pub and bar. McStiff's makes very good pizza.

The first time I was at Eddie McStiff's they had a bottomless pitcher of homemade root beer on the menu. It was very good. On subsequent visits they no longer had the homemade root beer, so we had to switch to the homemade type beer that has alcohol in it. I tried to develop a taste for the stuff.

I am not alone in Moab being s favorite town. I read a book called Ghost Rider by Neil Peart, he being part of the Canadian band called Rush. Peart traveled 55,000 plus miles all over North America on a motorcycle. He had 3 or 4 towns that he came across that he absolutely loved. Moab being one of them. He had stays in Moab twice during his long journey. Peart's reasons for loving Moab mirror my own.

I was surprised when I looked for information about Eddie McStiff's to learn that it was for sale. I hope this does not mean that Eddie McStiff's and Moab have fallen victim to these tough economic times we are going through. More likely the owners want to retire and know they sit on a gold mine.

You can go to Eddie McStiff's website and watch a video about Eddie McStiff's and check out the menu or watch the YouTube video below, which also shows you several of the reasons I love Moab, including Arches National Park, redrock, the Slickrock Trail and other stuff.

Arches National Park's Fiery Furnace Hike

A couple days ago I blogged about Arches National Park and mentioned the Fiery Furnace Hike. Today I was looking at my pictures of the Fiery Furnace Hike and decided to blog them.

That is Big Ed helping his sister, Lydia, get across a deep chasm. There are parts of this hike that are a bit taxing for those with acrophobic tendencies, such as myself.

The Fiery Furnace is a maze of confusing high sandstone fins where it would be easy to get lost without a guide. It is possible to go into the Fiery Furnace guide-free, but you must pay a fee to get a permit. To get the permit you must have already attended a ranger led hike or be hiking with someone who has taken the guided tour. You'll also have to watch a 5 minute video about safety and protecting the park.

The Fiery Furnace Hike takes from 2 and a half to 3 hours, likely depending on how slow the slowest hiker is. I imagine my hiking group tended towards the 3 hour, or more range.

You get breaks from the hiking where you can nibble a snack, drink water and ask the ranger questions. The ranger imparts quite a lot of information during the hike.

You have to plan ahead to do the Fiery Furnace Hike because it is very popular, the available hiking slots fill up fast. So get your ticket as soon as you arrive in Moab, or when driving by the ranger station when heading south to Moab. The tickets cost $10 for adults, $5 for kids 7 to 12 and seniors, kids younger than 7 are free.

The hike is a bit strenuous, sometimes you have to steady yourself with your hands to get over cracks and maneuver along narrow ledges. At one point you have the option to take a route where you crawl through a tunnel like opening. I opt out of that route every time I've hiked the Fiery Furnace. And so do a few others. But both Goober Twins squeezed through the opening, both Wally and Big Ed, with Wally having the harder time of it, as you can sort of see in the picture.

The Fiery Furnace Hike is one of my all-time favorite things I've done, which, I suppose, is why I've hiked the hike more than once and would hike it again if the opportunity arose.

Arches National Park

Yesterday I blogged that I was surprised that the Travel Channel had Arches National Park as the #8 Top Wonder of the West. I opined that all of Utah's National Parks were Top Ten Wonders, in my opinion.

Arches became a National Monument soon after Herbert Hoover became president in 1929. Arches and Capitol Reef National Parks are by far the newest in Utah, coming into National Park status in 1971.

The entry to Arches NP is just a couple miles north of Moab. Moab is a great place to stay while you explore the surrounding area, including Canyonlands National Park and Deadhorse Point State Park and ride the area's world famous mountain bike trails, like the Slick Rock Trail, Gemini Bridges Trail and Porcupine Rim Trail.

When you enter Arches NP you climb a steep road up to the plateau on which the Arches put on their show. As you drive through the park you come to parking lots that are at the trailheads for groups of Arches.

Of the trails, the one to Delicate Arch is my favorite. It's also the busiest. And, when you finally get to the Arch you will not have an easy time of getting a picture with no people in it. Lots of Europeans visit Arches and the other southwest scenic areas. Some of the Europeans, particularly Germans, in my experience, can be a bit rude and obnoxious. And they call us Ugly Americans?

The Fiery Furnace Hike is an excellent adventure. It helps to be in good shape for that one. This is a ranger guided hike. You sign up to reserve a spot and pay a small fee at the ranger station at the entry to the park. It is forbidden to go into the Fiery Furnace without a guide. I saw a pair of Germans try. It got ugly.

(I've blogged details about the Fiery Furnace Hike, with more pictures)

Some parts of the Fiery Furnace hike are a bit tricky. It's not for the weak or faint of heart. Having said that, I have done the Fiery Furnace hike with an overweight person and a person fighting cancer. And they both did fine. Although the overweight person skipped the part where you had the option to crawl through a small tunnel-like opening. I skipped that too. I get claustrophobic.

Landscape Arch is accessed from the last parking lot in the park. Landscape Arch lost a chunk since my last visit. You no longer can walk under the Arch. That is okay with me. It was a bit unsettling to walk under it. It's huge and very thin, over 300 feet long.

Double Arch is on the same trail as Landscape Arch, quite a distance further down the trail. It's worth the hike though. None of the hikes are very strenuous, except for the Fiery Furnace and the hike up to Delicate Arch gains some elevation, but it's so beautiful you don't notice.

You can go to Arches National Park year round. I've been there on New Year's Day with the ground covered with snow. I've been there in October, twice, with perfect temperatures. I've been there in May, with it being a bit hotter. Always bring plenty of water with you, unless there is snow on the ground, then it's not such a problem to keep hydrated.