Thursday the 6th, we made an early start and traveled across the Colorado, and then back down along the river to a trail that leads to Corona Arch and Bowtie Arch. This is one of our favorite hikes of all time, and we have done it several times in the past. Not in the National Park, it is a slick rock hike, with only cairns to mark your way. It crosses a railroad cut, and then back around the cliffs a couple of miles, to reveal the two arches. Along the way, you can see an additional arch called Pinto Arch, but no trail leads to that one. There are hand rails, and a ladder to help you along in a couple of spots.
The two main arches are actually only several hundred yards apart, but are very different. Bowtie formed when a pothole in the cliffs above met a cave underneath. It used to be called Paul Bunyan's Potty before that name was appropriated for an arch in Canyonlands National Park. The hole is about 30 ft in diameter. Corona Arch, eroded out of a sandstone fin. The graceful span is 140 feet long, and 105 feet high.
When we arrived at the two arches, we found a boyscout troop rappelling down from the top of Corona arch. Pretty scary. We learned that two folks have recently died trying the same thing, just within the last couple of years. While searching for a cache behind some house sized boulders near the arch, we found a bronze plaque in memory of one of the young fellows. He had just returned from military service. Too bad.
Below you can see a few pictures of the main arches along the trail, as well as some other shots of the river and of the railroad cut.
Ray.
ReplyDeleteThe Railroad ROW ( Railroad Right of Way) is the UP/ SP D&RGW . Now known as the UP Cane Creek Sub from Brendel UT to Potash near Moab. They Government has a super fund site there and they haul contaminated dirt from Potash to a disposal site in Nevada in special dirt hauling cars/ containers. you may have seen some of these cars on the siding in the area around Brendel. The cars flat cars carry 3 on the open top boxes that are stacked on the car. The cars are articulated ( share a common center truck. So they look like two cars with the center truck supporting both cars.
Just a little fyi Note the Filming of the Lone Ranger ( 2012 Release) was filmed in this area. around Moab.
Bart