Seven Hollows Trail, Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas

A nice hike

November 17, 2007 at 1.45pm CST
Camera: Pentax K10D
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/180)
Aperture: f/4
Focal Length: 120 mm
ISO Speed: 100

Arches National Park — Trail to Delicate Arch

The day we took this hike was a relatively cool autumn day. Snow had fallen the night before on some of the peaks east of our campground. Even so, we ran short of water by the time we got back to the truck, having only taken one bottle of water each. In the summer and hot days in other seasons, it is imperitive that hikers take adequate water. Every year, several people have to be rescued on park trails simply because they didn’t take enough water.

Hiking to the Arch

Delicate Arch is located at the end of a moderately strenuous, 1.5 mile (2.4 km) hiking trail from the parking area at Wolfe Ranch. Taking more than an hour each way, the round trip is slightly more than 3 miles long and the Arch is completely hidden from view on this trail.

The first third of the hike is through rugged, brushy terrain and gains slightly in elevation. The middle third of the hike is along the face of an exposed slickrock outcrop and is strenuous due to the gain in elevation, but offers better views of the geology in the salt valley. Cairns (piles of rocks) have been placed by visitors and park staff to roughly suggest the otherwise unmarked trail to the top, yet visitors tend to wander all over the huge expanse of completely exposed sandstone. The latter third of the trail is the most rugged, as hikers have now nearly reached the “top” of the plateau. The Arch is still invisible, and the trail runs around outcrops, through washes and between stands of twisted brush and trees. The trail may be easier to follow, but meanders as parts become muddy and difficult to walk through. During the 2004 fall season, the trail clearly followed the left (northern) side of the plateau, and brought visitors along a narrow shelf nearly 150 feet above a dry wash.

The arch comes into view suddenly around a corner in the trail and frames the La Sal Mountains to the southeast. The immediate area around the Arch offers views of the southern expanse of the park, and has unguarded cliffs plunging one hundred feet or more. (from Wikipedia)

Slickrock

So-called “slickrock” sandstone, which is a significant portion of the trail, is not slick at all, but has a surface much like sandpaper. The sandpaper texture is notorious for inflicting severe abrasion injuries. The name “slickrock” was given by early settlers of the area because their horses’ metal shoes had difficulty gaining traction on the rock’s sloping surfaces. Slickrock also becomes very slick when wet. (from Wikipedia, edited for use here)

More images of the trail are at my Haw Creek Out ‘n About blog, in a post called The Trail to Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah

Photo information
September 24, 2007 at 2.00pm CMT
Camera: Pentax K10D
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/9.5
Focal Length: 55 mm
ISO Speed: 100

Karen and our oldest daughter went for a hike at the Bona Dea Trails near Russellville Saturday while I stayed home to do some work on the shop. We had heard that there was an alligator in the wildlife refuge that the trails wind through. Karen was always looking, hoping to see it everytime she was there. Of course, I was a bit skeptical that any of us would ever see it.

I was wrong!

Our daughter took these pictures yesterday. Karen estimates that it was 70 to 100 feet away. She has a post about it on her blog, too.

It doesn’t look like this guy — or gal? — needs to go far for a meal!

Karen on the Edge — Grandview Point Trail, Canyonlands National Park

The Grand View Point Trail begins as the end of Grand View Road on the southern tip of Island in the Sky Mesa. It starts at an approximate elevation of 6,100 feet and heads one mile southwest along a level path.

September 23, 2007 at 11.56pm CMT
Camera: Pentax K10D
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/350)
Aperture: f/8
Focal Length: 18 mm
ISO Speed: 100
Flickr page

The Devil’s Walkingstick

Aralia spinosa, commonly known as Devil’s Walkingstick, is a woody species of plants in the genus Aralia, family Araliaceae, native to eastern North America. The various names refer to the viciously sharp, spiny stems, petioles, and even leaf midribs. It has also been known as Angelica-tree. - Wikipedia

This photo was taken on our last camping trip at Petit Jean State Park, Arkansas, on Seven Hollows Trail.

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I’ve published a post with some pictures on a hike we took in September over on my Haw Creek Out ‘n About blog, for anyone that might be interested.

The Trail to Delicate Arch, Arches National Park, Utah

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A composite image from several photos.

I was too close to get the whole thing in the viewfinder, so took some overlapping images and used autostitch to assemble them into one image. That’s why some of the people look a little ghostly. They were in two or more of the overlapping images and got “blended” into the scenery.

The same arch can be seen from a closer viewpoin in Utah Sky in a Natural Frame.

Photos in this composite image were taken September 24, 2007.