The Devils Garden Trail, Arches National Park, Utah
Tuesday May 9th , 2023
Shortly after we arrived in Moab, Gloria received an email from Janelle, a friend and former colleague from AZ, recommending the Devils Garden trail in Arches National Park. By the time we arrived at the trailhead on Monday it was really too late to start so we set our sites on hiking it the following day. We were up early on Tuesday and into the park before 7am. We drove with great determination (and no photo stops) to the trail-head, some 18 miles into the park. After a quick breakfast in the car we were ready and on the trail by 7.45am. The Devils Garden Trail consists of an established trail out past a number of arches, along with primitive trail that allows the route to be c completed as a loop. If you add in side spurs top visit the arches then the total length is just under 8 miles. The established trail is described by the National Park Service as “difficult” with steep climbs and exposed traverses. The “primitive” trail is described as the “most difficult” hiking in the park, with challenging route finding, scrambling above exposed drop-offs and potentially a water crossing. We were uncertain whether the do the loop and if so in which direction, or to go out and back on the established trail. In the end, we decided to go out on the established trail so that we could hit most of the sites in the morning light, and defer a decision on ho two get back until later.
The route out was beautiful … and exciting! At the first steep, intimidating section we did meet one lady who appeared to be in tears, wanting to turn back whilst her husband and daughter seemed keen to continue. There was one easy, but very exposed, walk along a knife edge, and one final challenging section before reaching the end. The side trips to the arches were great and as we reached our key decision point, we were still uncertain how we would return. I think the combination of meeting a party who had just completed the “primitive” trail and said it was beautiful, along with the desire not to repeat the exposed traverse, helped us make our decision. We wanted to complete the loop. The return leg was indeed beautiful, and for the most part not too challenging. However, there were a few sections that required padding down some steep slabs above scary drops. We arrived back at the car in just under 5 hours, really pleased that we had been able to complete this awesome hike.
I have to say that Gloria was amazing. Some of the sections were pretty nerve wracking. One part on the return leg in particular involved stepping down and across a fairly steep slab with sloping insecure footholds and serious consequences should you slip. At no time on this walk did she complain - a heroic effort!
To celebrate our success we went out to dinner at the Sunset Grill in Moab. This was another recommendation from Janelle. The food was excellent and the views from our table across the valley were impressive. We both had New York Strip steaks with baked potatoes, asparagus and salad to start, and then shared a “razzleberry" pie for dessert. It was a massive amount of food. Thanks to Gloria, who didn’t quite finish her dinner, we had steak sandwiches for lunch today!
Mike
Below are a couple of shots from the Devils Garden Trail - shown in color. The remainder of the photos are pictures of various arches, pillars and landscapes in general. I have chosen to show these in B&W, partly because I think B&W can be more dramatic and impactful, but also because it gives more latitude in adjusting brightness and contrast without ending up with distorted colors. I’d be interested to know what you think!
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