Flashback To Delicate Arch

About a year ago, my wife, my son, and I headed to Moab, UT to get away from what was then a snow covered Front Range. We were scheduled to stay in Moab for four days.

Late in the afternoon of the fourth and final day we decided to try and hike to Delicate Arch located in Arches National Park. We got a late start and although Moab didn't have the snow like the Front Range, the night time temperatures were still cold.

We hiked to a point in the trail where the trail narrows to a single track path, which was covered in ice and snow. Having never hiked the trail before we made a decision to turn around as it was getting late. We didn't know how much hiking we still had and the last thing we wanted was to be caught in the dark on an icy trail with our son. We turned around and headed back to the car and then to a restaurant for dinner.

When we got to the restaurant we ordered and we started looking at pictures on the wall. One of the pictures was of Delicate Arch and from the particular angle of the photo I recognized the narrow trail in the picture where we had turned around earlier in the evening. We talked to our waitress for a couple minutes and confirmed that was in fact the trail we had turned around on. Come to find out we were less than 100 yards from the arch!

I tried not to let it get to me, but deep inside I was bummed. I know we had made the right decision since my son had gotten a bit scared when we were hiking back to the car in the dark. Had we walked the additional 100 yards and taken a few moments to look at the arch it would have been a bit sketchy getting back to the car.

The following morning I talked to my wife and she was as bummed as I was that we didn't make it. With checkout only a couple hours away we decided to extend our trip an extra day so we could try again. This time we got a mid morning start. When we got to the top the view of the Arch was amazing!

This hike was over a year ago and I remember it as if it was yesterday. The funny thing is I enjoyed the failed attempt as much as the successful hike. I remember the fear in my son as it got darker and darker. I remember the calm reassuring words from my wife and the games she would play with him to keep his mind off the dark. I remember feeling really close to my family as we made the best of the situation.

A year later I realize that the arch and the views were the payoff, but the real reward was the time I got to spend with my family.