Moab, Utah
Before we even got to Moab, we well missed an exit to Highway 128 and drove through the dry and desert heat of Utah on an empty tank. Through the entire time that the gas light was on and our next closest gas station was about 30 miles away. We prayed, we talked, we cranked up the music, we enjoyed the scenic just to get our mind off of the current situation. If worst comes to worst, we had enough water and food to last us a walk to the gas station and back in the desert heat. Once we reached Moab and got all the information that we could about campsites and their regulations. It was then that we raced against time to get to an unknown campsite that was an hour away to pitch up tent before night falls. We spent the first night on an established campground, Needles Outpost. This is where we got our first meal.. ramen noodles.
The second day came and we were all ready to do what we had originally planned to do; that is to backpack Moab. After gaining our back-country permit, we packed our bags with food, tent, sleeping bags and water - our essentials - into three backpacks. For the two days and one night that we were in the back-country in The Needles at Canyonlands National Park, we hiked to Druid's arch and the Joint Trail; which of both were stunningly amazing! Once we determined that we will not have enough food or water to stay an extra day as we planned, we hiked out.
The third day we found ourselves driving back to Moab to load back up on food and water. That day, we feasted on fried chicken wings from City Market for lunch. During that time, we set up camp at Willam's Bottom Campsite and prepared to head out to a hike in Arches National Park. From the beating sun of the afternoon to the star-pierced sky of the night, we spent our time doing hikes to most of the arches and finally finished the night with Delicate Arch. We reached to the national icon of Utah at sunset and was able to take a few shots; one of which is shown in this blog. There's a first for everything, and that night we were wanted to do a night-hike. Three miles back, we hiked the cool calmed air of the night without headlights under the soft glow of the moon overhead.
The fourth day was dedicated to see the majority of the arches and monuments that Arches Natioanl Park had to offer. Before the hiked, we had a gourmet breakfast consisted of: a dozen eggs, a package of bacon and two french bread. After our stomach was filled, we set out to play in Devil's Garden. During the dead of day, we took the Primitive Trail (most difficult trail of the Arches National Park) just to prove that we were men. The trail was about 9 miles total, where about half of that trail was loose sand. Although the hike was painful in the heat of the sun, we were able to visit a total of six arches that day.
Jump to us heading back home to Denver. The trip back was short and sweet. We took Highway 128 back (the same road that we were suppose to come into Moab) to enjoy a scenic drive of the canyon walls and the Colorado River. It was on the way back that we wanted to reward ourselves from hiking a total of 33 miles for the past three days. At the end of it all, we got back to Denver at about 9PM and... went fishing into the morning. Caught a total of six largemouth bass to finish our Week of Man-camp.
