I just didn't get enough of Arches National Park in the one day I spent there; the one thing I really wanted to do that seemed a bit much on that first day was the hike up to Delicate Arch. Although this isn't a long hike, it's much longer than the short walks from the parking areas that I managed to incorporate with my riding - it's classified by the National Park Service as a long hike. It's only 3 miles round trip, but it's pretty much uphill all the way out, and the surface under your feet is slickrock. It's not a hike that I wanted to try in my biking shoes.
So, after my round-trip drive to The Needles with a bike ride sandwiched in the middle, I stopped at the hotel to change into regular shorts (not padded cycling shorts) a tank top, and my Chaco sandals (much better for walking than my very stiff cycling shoes). I filled up my Camelbak (again) with cold water and headed back to Arches.
It was fairly late in the afternoon when I started my hike, and although the National Park Service suggests that the hike will take 2 to 3 hours, I walk pretty fast and assumed I'd be back at the car well before dark. I was right; even with taking time to just soak in the scenery, I was back at the car in about an hour and a half.
Delicate Arch is definitely a "wow" sight. It was beautiful to see if from the viewpoint by the road, but it was very very cool to be able to walk right up to it. There were quite a few people up there, and it was fun to talk with some of the other people both during my walk and as I just sat and stared at Delicate Arch and at the other sights.
And - I was very lucky to see some funny mountain goats as I was about halfway back. I saw that a group of people who were in front of me had just stopped and were standing still. I looked around, didn't see anything, and then I looked up. Ah... there were some mountain goats standing on top of a rock. As I got closer, one was looking at us as if to say "what are you doing here?". Silly goat...
