The full Devils Garden Trail is a 7.8-mile loop where you'll see six different arches and tackle rock scrambling and climbing. This parking lot was also busy (the main campground is located here), but we could still easily find a spot in the morning. Knowing the Delicate Arch hike was packed, we decided to make our way to the far end of the park to tackle the Devils Garden Trail. Trek the Devil's Garden Trail and See the Landscape Arch If you can, try to see some of the more unique formations like the Windows Arches or those on the Devils Garden Trail at this time. The arches' colors are the most vibrant during the hour after sunrise or the hour before sunset, so plan your day accordingly for the best photos and views. The rock formations, bright red and orange typically, looked as if they had been lit on fire in the early morning sun. We woke up before sunset and arrived at the park entrance as golden hour was taking shape. So the following day, we figured let's go big or go home. With all there is to see, having as much time as possible is key to enjoying Arches, especially if you only have one day to hike and explore. We first arrived at noon on a Friday to a sign saying the park was full and to come back 3 hours later. When planning your trip to Arches, make sure you consider its popularity and how this may affect your plans. Even the shortest of Arches hikes can become exhausting due to the heat. The sun can be very aggressive since it reflects off the sandstone and red rock, and you won’t find much shade to get away from the harsh rays. Make sure that when you hike Arches National Park, you carry at least one gallon of water per person. Because of this, it is unsafe and illegal to walk on top of arches or climb up their curved sides no matter how tempting it may seem. Also, just a friendly reminder that this park is in a desert landscape. The existing ones also continually evolve with massive changes happening as recently as 1991 when the largest arch, Landscape Arch, lost a chunk of rock almost 60 ft long from its curved structure. More arches are constantly forming and changing shape due to shifts in the salt bed underneath the earth in this area. The park is home to over 2,000 of these different arches measuring 3 ft wide to 300+ ft wide. The arches, built from over 100 million years of erosion, are commonly featured on computer screensavers, cell phone backgrounds, posters, postcards, and even Utah license plates. So much so that many people recognize the natural wonders housed within it without even realizing it. The question remains how much longer Landscape Arch will exist, or when the next rockfalls will occur.Arches National Park is one of the most well known of the Mighty 5 National Parks in Utah (right up there with Zion National Park). We decided to make a detour by climbing around the arch in order to reach.the visitor center. We were nearly standing underneath the sandstone arch when we heard again cracking noises, although no rocks were falling. Ten minutes later, we, an American girl, two Germans and I, decided to pass underneath the arch. Then I thought: Was there anyone underneath the arch like I was five minutes ago? Is there more material to fall? I could feel the earth shaking since I was standing only 60 meters above and 80 meters away from the impact site. The sandstone, however, did not come to rest until a larger amount of rocks fell with loud cracking noise, releasing some of the stress. Shortly after I had taped the first small rock fall. Therefore I kept the video-camera directed towards the Landscape Arch and tried to find the cracks with the zoom-lens. From now on one could clearly hear a continuously damp cracking. Then I heard again cracking and the noise of rocks hitting one against the other.
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