The Trek to Tower Arch

The trek to Tower Arch begins at the Salt Valley Wash which is a pretty intense trail to drive on for 8.3 miles. Despite my SUV not having 4-wheel drive we persevered through the trail. Although I HIGHLY recommend a vehicle with a high clearance and 4 wheel drive. We got lucky and I have a lot of experience off-roading with 4WD or not. There are many large rocks, steep climbs, soft sand, and sharp turns. We made it through almost the entire trail to where the parking area is but was stopped about a 1/2 mile away from the parking area. A steep hill gave us a bad vibe, despite my car making it through everything else we opted to just continue on foot. It was roughly 3 miles before we actually made it to Tower Arch we kept second guessing ourselves not being able to see it while walking. We kept on, trusting the footprints we were following.

Upon our arrival to Tower Arch we found it to be much more spectacular than any of us had expected. The entire ride we only passed only one other car and it was heading away from the arch. We had the entire area to ourselves and you could tell there was not a single soul for miles around. We immediately started exploring in and around the arch just trying to take it all in.

As the sun was setting our group was sitting on the arch just admiring the incredible sunset. It was close to one of the most beautiful moments I have experienced. After the sun had set the temperature dropped a lot. Aside from Arches being known for it's bright starlit nights, that evening was not the case. The cloud cover had prevented the stars from providing us with light. Fortunately for us we remembered to bring a couple headlamps with us.

We made it back to the car realizing we get to ride the same trail again but for an added challenge you have half the visibility with it being dark. The intensity of the ride was not nearly as bad the ride to the arch. Although one portion on the way to Tower Arch you have to scramble up this large extremely steep rock we now had to go down. The approach from the angle we were driving caused us to go upwards, then down, and then turn to the right slightly or fall off the side of the rock. When you are in the upward position you cannot see anything but black from the windshield. It took a lot of planning, direction, and everyone else getting out of the car. To make it up to the incline before the downward portion required a lot of momentum which is terrifying when you can't see anything. I held my breath, trusted my arms and feet to position the car as needed luckily we made it through.

Once we were finally back on pavement we all gave a collective sigh of relief. Before exiting the park we decided to stop at one the parking areas and we all laid on the ground and watched the stars which were just beginning to shine through the breaking cloud cover.