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The Small Hikes

We went to Moab to explore the area and do some photography exploration over a week-long period. We arrived late on Sunday and left early on Friday which gave us 4 full days of hiking in this beautiful area. The weather cooperated most mornings and a few evenings for golden hour photography, but we got a variety of lighting from overcast, snowing, foggy, and full sun. In total, we hiked a little over 30 miles and over a mile in elevation on this trip. We came to the same conclusion that our favorite type of hiking is the type where we're alone or hiking with very few people so that we can enjoy nature to the fullest extent, as well as get a perfect photo with no one in it.

We did so many little hikes on our second full day in Moab. We started pretty early to try and get some earlyish morning photos, but the sun didn't come out. In fact, it started snowing as we were driving through the park and was snowing pretty hard as we got to the far end of the park in Devils Garden. But we were there and we're in Moab to hike, so we got out of the car and headed to Tunnel Arch and Pine Tree Arch, which were a short half mile to get to. The snow wasn't ideal, but the temperature wasn't too terrible and there was a slight breeze but overall made the hike pretty tolerable. Tunnel arch wasn't much to look at, and neither was Pine Tree Arch, but we did get some cool views of fog rolling through the area we were hiking.

After leaving the Devil's Garden area, we stopped quickly at Skyline Arch, which is right off the side of the road and I wouldn't even consider a hike.

We moved onto Sandstone arch and Broken Arch after that which was the first real hike of the day at just over 2 miles long. It was still snowing when we started the hike, but only barely so. By the time we finished the hike, the sun was starting to peek out of the clouds. Sandstone arch is very aptly named since you hike through very thick sand that holds your feet down as you take each step. It wasn't very far, but the sand makes it much harder to walk. The hike to Broken Arch was different from the rest - we hiked through a prairie instead of between canyons or walls of sandstone. There were great views in every direction of the hike, including being able to see Broken Arch the entire time. When we got to Broken arch we wandered around to the backside and got a bunch of different views. Right before we left, the sun lit up the prairie behind Broken arch for us to get a well-lit photo.

We then went back to the Windows area to try and get some better photos from a lighting perspective. With the sun being covered by clouds, we figured the photos would be different than the first day of this trip when we walked up to the Windows. We were also able to get some better photos of Turret Arch since the sun was still in the East and that's an arch that you shoot looking West. We took the "primitive" trail around the Windows which wasn't primitive at all, and wandered down to Double Arch which was just covered with people. There is no way we'd be able to get a photograph without people in Double Arch, but we weren't expecting too so the Arch met our expectations.

After resting in the hotel for a little bit and getting some ice cream from downtown, we headed into Canyonlands to spend our evening. We weren't expecting a good sunset because of the clouds and forecast, so we ventured to take a look at the White Rim Overlook which has spectacular views on the Eastern side of the Canyonlands National Park area. The White Rime Overlook provided a better-than-expected view of the White Rim that was very surreal to look at. On our way driving back into town for some dinner we saw the sun peek through the clouds as it was setting and provided some perfect light, which made us a little sad that we didn't pick a destination for an evening hike to catch golden hour, but we were exhausted and it was what it was at that point.

Trailhead Location
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7.24 mi 3.6 hrs 6,252 ft 860 ft
View Graphs
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Foggy Morning
Tunnel Arch
Pine Tree Arch
Blurred
Dry Desert
Skyline Arch
Light Snow
Sandstone Arch
Backside of Sandstone Arch
Through Broken Arch
Broken Arch From Up High
Turret Arch
Flying Through the Window
Laughing Katie
Double Arch
Shafer Trail Through the Canyon
Shafer Trail
At the Edge
Into the Canyon
At the Edge of the Canyon
White Rim Overlook
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