So I wimped out and took the easy way to see Delicate Arch. It is the most well known of the arches here in Arches National Park. Photos of the arch are used frequently, and it is pretty much the symbol of the state of Utah. It is possible that you have already seen it before. It is considered to be the largest free standing arch in the park. I would have loved to go and see it up close, unfortunately, Delicate Arch can only be accessed by a three mile roundtrip hike. Might not sound that bad but the hike uphill all the way, which doesn’t make it easy at all. Which means I will only take the easy way to see it.
There are two viewing areas for Delicate Arch, one lower and one upper. The Lower Delicate Arch Viewpoint can be easily access by a short walk from the car park. As you can see from the photos, it is so far away. I needed to use a long lens to see more of the arch. There is a way to get a little closer to the arch and that is through Upper Delicate Arch Viewpoint. This is basically a trail which leads to a ledge where visitors can see Delicate Arch a little closer. The trail was okay initially, then it just disappears as you get to the ledge. There will be some clambering to be done here so best to watch your step. I brought my lens with me so I can see it a little closer.
As I was making my way to the ledge, I can already see the Delicate Arch and it doesn’t seem that far away, so why can’t they just make a trail that goes this way. It turns out that there is a large chasm between the ledge and the arch that it is impossible to make it to the arch from here. I think even the most determined climber would struggle to make their way there. I managed to get to a spot that is as close to the arch as possible but it was still so far away. Taking a closer look at the arch, I can see ants crawling on the other side, those were actually people! They were so small that it was hard to see them. Apparently, the Delicate Arch is much taller than I imagined it to be. What’s more, I can also clearly see how steep the way to the arch is. No wonder it takes that long to visit it. I know some of you would say that I should have gone since I was already there but I was still glad that I got to see a bit of Delicate Arch, fortunately, my lens was powerful enough to see it.
[xmlgm {https://www.worldwanderings.net/kml/ArchesNationalPark.kmz} zoom=19]
