Prior to leaving for this trip, I had been researching any trails in Arches National Park I had not hiked on past trips. One that stuck out was the trail to Ribbon Arch, which is on the back side of the Windows Arches complex on the eastern side of the park. I've visited that section in the past, but wasn't aware of this other arch, though it shouldn't be a surprise, as Arches National Park is home to more than two thousand stone arches.
To start the hike, I had to park in the lower area and then make my way up to and through the North Window Arch. This is a very large and popular arch, as it is only a couple of hundred yards from the parking area. Visitors often picnic under the immense stone structure marveling at nature's creation. From there, I drop down a steep trail onto the backside of the cliff which contains Windows Arch. There is a well worn trail in this section, but it's nice to leave the pavement and crowds to enter the open desert.
Circling around a large outcropping and then climbing up and over a small ridge through a broad passage, the trail drops down into another stone 'bay'. At the head of the bay, another arch rises from the canyon wall. Is this Ribbon Arch? It looks quite different than the pictures I have seen. It isn't the one I'm looking for and I'm not sure of the name of this one, but it is fairly striking.
From this point on, the trail, if one exists, is extremely tough to find. The ground here is rich with cryptobiotic soil and I'm extremely careful to stay to the rocks or game trails that I find so as not to destroy the organisms at work. I delicately make my way down to the wash at the bottom of this small canyon and then climb up the wave-like sandstone on the far side, which skirts another outcropping. It's pretty steep in places, but I'm able to make my way around it without too much difficulty. The hiking shoes I have been wearing for the past few years, Merrell's Cham Shifts, have a particular tread pattern that lacks parallel surfaces. Over the years, I've come to thoroughly respect this shoe's ability to stick to dry granite and or sandstone, which makes it ideal for 90% of my hikes. I'm currently wearing my third pair and recently purchased my fourth, which are just waiting for their time.
Continuing around the skirt of rock, I make my way into the next canyon, but still see no sign of Ribbon Arch. According to the map, it should right in my field of vision at this point, but I scan the rocks in front of me and see nothing. Unwilling to give up just yet, I head back out into the open desert, again being very careful with my step placement. Finally, when I reach the center of this 'bay', I note a small spec of blue poking through the red wall of stone. At the very top, the plateau if you will, a small, thin arch of rock exposes the bright blue sky behind it. There it is. That's the arch I've seen in the pictures. Without climbing gear, I don't think there is anyway to reach the base of this arch and so I'm forced to settle for some pictures from far below. The arch itself is a very thin slab of rock, but from this distance (100+ yards away), I can't really quantify that. It juts out of a rock on the north side extends straight a few feet and then takes a sharp 30-ish degree turn before reconnecting to the rock face on the south. From this vantage point, it's impossible to see exactly how far the arch stretches, but it's still a very impressive natural construct.
After taking a few pictures of the wonder, I make my way back to the trail head, pretty much the way I came, all the while doing my absolute best to 'Leave No Trace' and not damage the fragile ecosystem with my intrusion. Checking my GPS tracking app, I see I hiked right at 3.2 miles to reach the arch and return. Perhaps not as impressive as some of the other arches in the park, including some of those very nearby it, but it does have a unique character with the sharp turn. Ribbon Arch was a less-visited, but worthy destination for this trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment