We left Fruita on Sunday and took one of the smaller roads back across the Utah border. The first stop was Fisher Towers. Fantastic sandstone spires in this area. The hike was not too challenging but the payoff was really solid. Views north to the valley and to the south some really colorful hills.
At the top, you are kind of on an overlook spot but the drop-off into the canyon is pretty gnarly. On one of the rocks not too far from the lookout point there was a metal box. It was probably a geocache. The first time I had seen one. But you would have to be crazy to try and get to it. Perhaps the only way to get there would be to climb the rock face from the bottom.
The next day we hung out in the park for most of the morning and I played a ton of ukulele. I did some yoga and afterward, I couldn’t move my ankle up and down. I’m not sure if I compressed the nerve while I was sitting cross-legged (I tend to do so a lot) or when I was doing yoga.
But yeah it was a little concerning. It’s been a day now and I am feeling better. I have more feeling and range of motion. I think I just need to give it time.
Anyway, we got into Arches National Park around 3 o’clock (you need reservations to get into this one) and we did the Delicate Arch trail. I would say this is the most famous trail in the park. Not too challenging and the arch at the end of the trail was stunning.
You have this view of the arch and the La Sal Mountains in the background. And because it was the middle of the day there weren’t as many people as there would be in the morning. We chilled in the shade and rested for a bit before moving along.
Later in the day we stopped off at the campground and walked over to the bouldering area. Amanda is very big into rock climbing and she wanted to get some movement in. She is very strong and very good at climbing. It was impressive to see her do her thing.
When we were in Fruita we went to the climbing gym and that was my first real experience with rock climbing. It’s something I have always been interested in from a distance. But I never put myself in the situation to learn.
I decided to give it a try and I was able to “solve my first problem”, as a true climber would say. It was a little scary but I definitely enjoyed it. I think I can be pretty good at this.
When I made it to the top of the boulder I screamed – I felt so accomplished. There was definitely an adrenaline rush and I really enjoyed it. We will definitely be doing more climbing over this next month and I am excited to learn more.