Ted's Hiking World Fiery Furnace
Arches National Park

April 19, 2011

Two months ago I signed up online for today's ranger-guided hike.  Since the tours accommodate only 50 people daily, an advance reservation is advisable, and it was necessary today.

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The group awaits some chronologically challenged stragglers

After a check to make sure that everyone is properly equipped with water and decent footwear, off we go.  Within just a couple of minutes, however, Ranger Karen stops for one of several mini-lectures.  She displays a chart of rock strata and relates it to the dinosaur era, then points to some dark-colored matter beside the trail and asks whether anyone knows what is is.  After giving the others time to respond, I identify it as cryptobiotic soil (cryptobiotic crust would have been more accurate).

Karen stresses that this stuff not only is alive, but it is the basic building material for all plant life in the desert.  One errant foot can destroy decades of growth.  After an entreaty that we respect the soil by walking only on the wash bottom or else solid rock, we move on.

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Jurassic rocks The first instruction interval

Soon we actually enter the Fiery Furnace.  Within a short distance we are treated to the first special attraction.

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Walk Through Bridge

I volunteered to play "group caboose" for an important reason.  Not wanting humans to clutter every photograph, being last in line provides some flexibility.  Now I can shoot the cute little natural bridge au naturel.

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Walk Through Bridge reprise    ⇔

Ranger Karen explains the difference between an arch and a natural bridge.  If she named the little round arch directly above us, I did not hear her.

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  Unnamed arch

Another arch of sorts is close at hand; several of the group humor themselves by worming their way through it.

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Crawl Through Arch Awaiting the would-be spelunkers

After retracing our steps into this little canyon, the route becomes somewhat more challenging, with places for climbing and places for squeezing.

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Along the way, we bypass numerous side canyons.  Some are dead ends, some are not.  A newcomer could become hopelessly confused in this labyrinth.  In fact, a special permit is required for entering the Fiery Furnace without the company of a ranger.  Hikers have become lost in here, and it is easy to see why.

GPS units tend to be all but useless in these deep canyons, and in my opinion it would be foolhardy to attempt a navigation here without at least some prior experience in the area.  Even if one could avoid losing his way, special features surely would be missed.  Pay the five dollars, take the tour, and learn something in the process.

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Suddenly an amazing structure looms above.  Albeit not its original designation, the formation's nickname has stuck:

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Skull Arch    ⇔

In the shadow of the scary arch, Karen discusses some of the micro-organisms that are able to maintain an existence in potholes.  Being impervious to radiation, intense cold, and dehydration, they can hang out here indefinitely, even after the pothole dries up.  The microbes are not immune, however, to compression by a hiker's boot.

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Moving on, the trail has its skinny spots and its tricky spots.

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Ranger Karen overdoes it at the next obstacle, literally specifying which foot to place where.  All the folks manage to figure it out for themselves.

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A seat-of-the-pants slide is necessary

The next challenge, however, is genuinely tricky.  About the only way to get through this one is to inch along a rock while leaning over and balancing with hands on the other side of a thin chasm.  Interesting!  Getting the group past this obstacle takes quite a while, leaving plenty of time to take pictures as I await my turn.

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Interesting formations abound, but we cannot visit them all

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Never a dull moment

Just as I am about to photograph an amazing horizontal tree, Karen gathers eveyone around and proceeds to explain how the juniper keeps itself alive under the harsh conditions of this environment.  I get my photo-op after the gang has departed.

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Part of the tree dies off in order to keep the rest alive

Every canyon has its own personality.  The next scamper takes us to an impressive amphitheater.

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I had better catch up, lest our leader become impatient

From here the route becomes a balancing act, as we check out one of the most special attractions of all.

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This is why decent shoes are required Surprise Arch

This amazing arch was discovered by the park superintendent fully 30 years after the park opened.  That's how remote it is in the Fiery Furnace.

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Surprise!    ⇔

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Even the bare rocks are spectacular

We are nearing the end of the trek.  Ranger Karen says that we are but ten minutes from the trailhead.  It proves to be more than that, but who cares.

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These steps are the only man-made feature in the Fiery Furnace

Come to think of it, no cairns were in evidence on this tour.  In fact, they are illegal here.  Should a ranger encounter one, it would be destroyed immediately.

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Near sunset, the Fiery Furnace lives up to its name    ⇔


§: In terms of trail mechanics, this could be the most varied hike anywhere.  Walking under natural bridges, scrambling through arches, balancing on rock fins, hanging over chasms — this tour has it all.  Don't miss it.
 

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Arches National Park
Fiery Furnace
Walk Through Bridge
Crawl Through Arch
Skull Arch
Surprise Arch