thanksgiving long weekend, part 1

We hustled on down to Moab the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, heading south as soon as we could and thus enjoying the avoidance of any holiday traffic.  Both H and I had enough work to do Wednesday that we didn't take vacation time for that day (and thus didn't get out to play in the desert); Milton was a little confused - although he often is - but rolled with it.

Arches NP border is just beyond that slickrock

Thursday was a little cloudier but still dry so we hit the trails.  We had learned to avoid Arches NP from our last Thanksgiving's Delicate Arch hike, with hundreds of other hikers, and instead sought out a trailhead that was less popular, returning to the Sovereign Trails off the Dalton Wells Road.  With the not-snowy weather, there were actually quite a few campers and vans scattered about the dispersed camping area.  We walked past one group, with two dogs to whom Milton gladly introduced himself, but once out on the trails, we scarcely saw anyone.

Making our way down

When we were here before, in April, we'd wished for a trail map because there seemed to be lots of trails, well-marked/blazed but with no maps, and we didn't know where we were heading or how far we'd be going.  This time, we had a map which H found at the visitors' center in town.  At only $4.00 it was a bargain - but it was also printed on thin paper that tore on its first unfolding.  We looked at it once, tried to take a photo and then just hiked - so we pretty much didn't have a map this time either.  (The new plan is to take it into work and make photocopies of each section so we'll have those for reference next time.)

Looking towards the La Sals

After parking at the trailhead lot, we kept walking out the dirt road until we came to a white-blazed single-track trail.  The Sovereign system has trails for jeeps, 4x4s, dirtbikes, MTBs and hikers; this one was for dirtbikes/MTBs/hikers.  We stayed on this trail through a couple of junctions, before switch-backing down a short, steep section and onto the Copper Ridge 4x4 road.

Striking a pose

We stayed on this across some slickrock and down through a wash until we came to a fairly major intersection with another singletrack climbing up another butte.  We took that and at the top realized we'd be able to make a loop by descending another trail that would take us back to the Copper Ridge Road.  

Ride with Respect

From there, we took the CRR out through the wash, which turned out to be the wash we'd hiked last time, and followed the road right back to the car.  We ended up with just under six miles (probably at least nine for Milton who still doesn't know how to pace himself).

There was still some water in this crack and

lots of deer tracks in the sand leading to it