I had a four day weekend at the end of March due to the Cesar Chavez holiday. Nick did not have the holiday off and had a lot of work for grad school, so I decided to take a solo trip. Spring is a tough time in Colorado with lingering snow and mud, so I decided to check out Moab, Utah, which is only a five and a half hour drive from Denver and has close proximity to two National Parks, Arches and Canyonlands. Utah deserts also get very hot in the summer, and so I will definitely only be visiting in spring, winter, or fall. And I hope to have many future visits to Utah! I have just had enough scorching summers to last me a lifetime.

Day 1: Friday, March 26 – SR 128 and Delicate Arch at sunset

I left in the morning on Friday to a partially cloudy and partially sunny day and headed out west on I-70. It started to rain and then snow quite a bit between Glenwood Springs and Palisade (this is why I have a winter car kit), but cleared up. I stopped for lunch in Fruita, Colorado as the sun started to come out. I grabbed pizza by the slice from Hot Tomato and a coffee from BestSlope. Downtown Fruita is super cute and has lots of food and outdoor seating options, and pizza by the slice to go is just perfect for solo travelers, as is the cute outdoor seating at BestSlope.

After that, I had not driven further west ever, so this was all new scenery. Someone in my wildkeepers group who lives in Utah recommended the Fisher’s Towers hike, which was along State Route 128. In my research I found that SR 128 was recommended as an excellent scenic drive anyways, so this is the way I took to Moab. At first it seemed kind of odd and bumpy and empty, but soon I was surrounded by jaw-dropping red rock towers. The route follows the Colorado River into Moab. This was some real Western movie stuff!

I got to stop in the middle of this and take a good dirt road to Fisher’s Towers trailhead, which as quite busy. There was still a mix of clouds and sun as I got out to do some hiking. The hike is 4.5 miles round trip, but you can really choose any length you want and turn back. Even getting out and walking about 100 feet is worthwhile. The initial uphill does get your legs burning before it flattens out and you weave in and out of these remarkable, cathedral-like rock towers. I waved at some rock climbers as I headed in further, surrounded by stunning walls of red rocks near and far.

I did about 3 miles ish and turned back before reaching the big eight foot ladder climb. I wanted to have time to set up camp and check out the sunset.

As I excited the red rock canyon with the Colorado River running through it, I found Moab was a gorgeous little town surrounded by red rock and with the snowy La Sal Mountains in the background.

I stayed at Up the Creek Campground all 3 nights, which was perfect for a solo traveler. It’s a small, creek side campground right in Moab (you can walk right into town). You park and carry (or use wheelbarrows they provide) to your simple site. There are no fires and a simple shared bathroom with showers and sink for dishes and water.

I brought my backpacking gear so I had no trouble carrying my gear to set up my little site.

Next, I walked to Moab Brewery to get some beers for the week for sunsets. I planned my trip around sunrises and sunsets, and I wanted to hit every single one.

I had a few options planned out as possibilities for sunset, but in the end decided to catch the iconic Delicate Arch sunset. Delicate Arch is the rock formation on the Utah license plate and probably the most famous arch there is. Sunset is very popular for photographers. I debated going for sunrise or sunset. The appeal of sunrise would be to beat the crowds, but sunset would allow me to avoid doing the hike in the dark and see the iconic arch lit up. I decided to do sunset!

I drove the thirty minutes from Moab to Delicate Arch trailhead. It is a steep, windy drive that I found a bit scary until it flattened out, but would get used to as I drove in and out of the park several times throughout the weekend.

Delicate Arch is quite an uphill trek. It’s only 1.5 miles up, but it seemed long. It’s a beautiful hike though as you gain elevation and can see more of the park. I found that way, way, more people were coming down than heading up for the famous sunset. I think the busiest part of day at Delicate Arch is midday, so either sunrise or sunset are both good bets to avoid crowds. It is easy to space out though particularly hiking up and down the large portion of steep slick rock.

As I reached the top, there was a point with a drop off that challenged my fear of heights, but I stayed looking at my feet (it didn’t seem so bad on the way back for some reason).

Delicate Arch is in this huge, steep bowl. That was probably what surprised me most is how un-flat it is, and I found it a bit scary to be honest. I saw a girl drop an AirPod and it started to slide down the bowl until someone grabbed it. Later, I dropped my phone on the rock and quickly grabbed it while sitting after the sunset, and a guy sitting near me told me last time he was here, a woman had dropped her phone and he hiked all the way down to the bottom to get it (it’s really far!). Then, she put it in her pocket and it FELL AGAIN. She had a hole in her pocket. He does not know what happened after that (oh. my.).

Anyways, I did not really enjoy walking close to the arch and decided to skip waiting in line to take a photo under the arch, and instead pick a sunset viewing spot. I found a flat rock close to the trail and set up there.

It was super windy which made it feel really cold. I brought my backpacking stove and some food thinking I might make a quick dinner but skipped that idea and just had the beer.

Sunset was at 7:36 that night, and at 7:04, the arch lit up with its bright, orange color, the snow-covered mountains shining behind. The glow was over by 7:18. It was short-lived but magical, and I think well worth the journey and wind.

I headed down after the glow ended to avoid hiking in the dark too much, and enjoyed sunset colors as I reached my car around dark (tip: bring a headlamp for all sunset hikes – I only had to use mine at the very end).

I got back into town and felt much warmer without wind blowing. I found restaurants were still open in town, so I went to the very cute restaurant Spoke on Center and got a burger on their patio before heading back to my campsite. It was pretty cold by this time, so I snuggled up in my tent so I could be up for the sunrise the next morning. I had considered trying Delicate Arch for both sunset and sunrise, but after a fairly tough hike up, quickly ditched that idea. Read my next entry to find out where I decided to head for sunrise!