Arches National Park (Day 1 - Part I)

Nov 14, 2008 :- Water and ice, extreme temperatures, and underground salt movement are responsible for the sculptured rock scenery of Arches National Park. There are about 2000 cataloged arches ranging from a 3 foot opening to the Landscape Arch, the longest of them all, measuring 306 feet across.

The day began driving to the northermost portion of the park going by the Courthouse Towers.



One then passes through Rock Pinnacles constituting the Great Wall with Petrified Dunes on the other side of the road.



The road takes you down into a valley known as the Salt Valley. The formations beyond the road are known as the Fiery Furnace.



Sand Dune Arch and Broken Arch are a short hike (1.6 miles round trip) away beside the park road.



It was then time to take a short stop at the Skyline Arch, one of the spots to be at sunset.



The Devils Garden trail takes one to the largest concentration of arches in the park. It is a 4.2 mile round trip along that trail, with other byways making it about 7.2 miles round trip. The hike takes one through rugged, rocky terrain with short steep slopes up and down. An arch known as the Wall Arch collpased recently in August of 2008.

Tunnel Arch



Pine Tree Arch



Landscape Arch :- It is only 6 feet at the narrowest point. A portion at the top corner collapsed a few decades back. One never knows how long some of these arches would continue to exist. However, new ones are being formed at about the same rate probably slower than that of existing ones being destroyed by human and natural causes.



The remnants of the Wall Arch are just beyond the Landscape Arch. The terrain becomes really steep beyond the Wall Arch and continues right upto the Double O Arch.

Partition Arch



Navajo Arch



Double O Arch



Dark Angel : A climber made it to the top just before I reached this point. His screams of delight and accomplishment could be heard from a distance in the desolate land.



Private Arch : This arch is along the Primitive Loop trail, back to Landscape Arch from Double O Arch. It was an extra 1.5 mile trip back along this trail. I had run out of water and preferred to take the trail I had come along.



By the time, I was back at about 2:30 pm to the parking lot in Devils' Garden, I had hiked almost 6 miles and was extremely tired. It was time for quick snack and a brief rest. The plan was then to get to Delicate Arch, the most famous of the Arches in the park. It is an ideal point to be at sunset.
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Saguaro National Park

Nov 1 & 2, 2008 :- Saguaro (Sa-wah-roh) National Park is located close to Tucson Arizona. It is split into two distinct parts, the Tucson Mountain District (West of Tucson) and the Rincon Mountain District (East of Tucson). Both areas are a short drive from the airport. The park itself is characterized by the Giant Saguaro cacti, a National symbol of the American West but Arizona in particular. This area is a part of the Sonoran Desert, usually a hot and dry place that does experience ocassional snow in the cold winter months. Some of these giants may grow to a height of 45 ft, can have a girth of 10 ft, may live for about 150 years and weight about 5-8 tons.

The screen at the amphitheater at the Tucson Mountain District rolls up and provides a splendid view of the cacti behind the Visitor Center. Short hikes (less than a mile each) on the Hohokam Loop Road allows one to walk among these towering cacti and view other flora of this desert. The hot conditions did not inspire me to go along one of the longer trails. Sendero Esperanza trail takes one to Amole Peak after a short walk of 1.5 miles. Instead, I preferred the short walk in the Cactus Garden, and others like the Desert Discovery Trail, Valley View Overlook Trail and the Signal Petroglyphs Trail.

Don't miss the 52 minute video shown at 1pm at the visitor center in the Rincon Mountain District. It is exclusively about the Saguaro giants and the life that it supports. This area has short trails like the Desert Ecology Trail, Freeman Homestead Trail and Cactus Forest Trail. These are accessible along the 8 mile Cactus Forest Loop Drive. The Freeman Homestead Trail takes you closer to an area with the largest concentration of massive saguaros. It supposedly has one with 30 arms jutting around the main trunk (I couldn't locate it).

Drive along the Catalina Highway through the nearby Coronado National Forest to experience beautiful valley vistas and sunset views. It is a 25 mile drive that takes you from a height of 3000 ft to 9000 ft.

Visit Colossal Cave close to the park in the Rincon Mountain district. It is a cavern that was formed 12-20 million years ago but now is dry or dormant. Complete lack of water results in the formations not growing anymore. It is different from most other caves since it always is at or around 70 degrees F, no matter what the season. Take the 50 minute tour through the cave to see formations of the stalactites, stalagmites and helictities.
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Lassen Peak in Lassen Volcanic National Park

Sept 20th 2008 - On the last trip to Lassen Volcanic National Park a hike to the top of Lassen Peak had to be dropped. The thought of hiking to the top of Lassen Peak that rises to a height of 10457 feet above sea level was too much to resist. We had noticed snow on the mountain top on the last trip in early September last year. We were eager to gather conclusive photographic evidence to negate the lack of belief shown by a few. A year later it was time to accomplish scaling the peak that rises from a base height of 8500 feet above sea level.

Ashish agreed to accompany me on what was the last weekend of summer. We reached the parking lot at the base at around 9:45 am and began the hike at 10:05 am. The temperature was in the high 50's and one had to dress appropriately knowing it gets colder and possibly windier at the top.

We had set on a hike of 2.5 miles one way and were told that it takes between 3 to 5 hours to make it back. We had heard about air being rarer at an altitude and we experienced it within the first quarter mile. Although the slopes were not very steep it took a while to adjust to the air while ascending the slopes. Frequent stops to catch ones breath, enjoy the nature around you, click some photographs and shoot some video helped get accustomed to challenge at hand. The first level had high coniferous trees on a small plateau. The trees thereafter flatten out as one goes on further up. A group of four hikers talked about the impending proposition and preferred to have a quick brunch just before the ridge had to be scaled. The incline is continuous for approximately 60 % of the entire length. Continuous switchbacks along the the ridge make the hike easier and also improves the views. A view of Lake Helen and the valley towards the south gets prettier as one keeps ascending. At one point one gets to see the glacial slope at few other locations are plaques describing formation of the volcanic mountains in the park and general geology of the area. The second half of the hike is on a barren mountain side with plenty of loose gravel and rock. Ashish was on his first hike to a mountain peak and was going along with relative ease. He used the video camera to good effect describing our progress and clicking photographs all along, at every spot where we encountered something new. The second half of the ascent resulted in rising clouds taking away views towards the north, west and east. We reached a sign that indicated 0.5 miles to go to get to the top. We continued with renewed vigor and made it to the false top. Here is the crater than forced the lava out in 1914 when there was the last eruption. The true top is about a couple of hundred feet higher. the ascent to this small hill is through very loose soil, gravel and rock .

Soon we were at the very top where one can see the survey mark and a communication station that is marked as a high voltage spot. We reached the top in 2 hours without having stretched ourselves and going at a steady pace with short halts along the way up. The first five minutes offered obstructed views with only the south being clearly visible. Visibility got poorer as the clouds shrouded the mountain top leaving a small area towards the south. The devastated area towards the east was clearly visible giving an idea of what could have happened at the time of the eruption in 1914.

It was time to much onto snack while enjoying the good but relatively disappointing views. More and more hikers kept reaching the top compared to the ones we had seen go downhill. It was getting crowded at the top making clicking an unobstructed photograph a difficult proposition. It was getting colder too with the wind catching a bit and the couds getting denser. It was time to head down and make way for the ever increasing hikers. Hikers seemed to range from the young age of 15 to a aging 70 year old. Many seemed challenged but kept trudging along the slopes.

The hike down was more enjoyable and obviously more comfortable and quick. The clouds cleared a bit and so did our minds with the satisfaction of having scaled our first 10000+ ft high peak. We observed the trees closely on the second half down and noticed that these were flatter possibly due to the yearly snow melt along the slopes and earlier destruction by the volcano.

We reached the parking lot at the base in about 1 hr 15 minutes. This concluded a moderate hike in distinct topography . Ashish enjoyed his first hike and is certainly in for more.

Half Dome, Mount San Jacinto and Mount Whitney beckon next. Anybody going? You have one confirmed participant .....