Arches National Park: I conquered the Devil's Garden primitive trail

I had another early wake up this morning, for good reason.  My plan for the day was to hike the Devil's Garden primitive loop trail at Arches National Park.  In a past visit to the park, I had done half the loop, then returned the same way.  I guess I was intimidated by the directional sign that listed the primitive part as difficult and strenuous.  I had a coworker tell me it wasn't too bad, and I decided I was up for the challenge.

I left my hotel at 7:00 am, and as I entered the park, the eastern sky was slowly brightening by the rising sun.  I captured the moment with Balanced Rock in the foreground.

When I got to the Devil's Garden parking lot, there were only a handful of cars there.  It was a bit chilly, but I knew things would warm up later.  I did a quick check of the Primitive Loop Trail sign, then headed off on my adventure.

In the early morning, the desert cottontail rabbits were active.  I got a nice shot of this one giving me the look.

As I walked along, I got a partial view of Pine Tree Arch.  At the one mile mark, I came across Landscape Arch...the largest in the park...and Partition Arch.

From here, the trail became more uneven and the fun began.  I walked up a steep section of slick rock, which seemed a little too challenging for a couple of guys with cameras.

Things were pretty smooth sailing, even as I walked on top of a fin.  It was narrow and a bit scary considering its height, but it didn't faze me...I was careful.  After getting on safer ground, I walked to the Black Arch overlook, and took in the views.

When I got to Double O Arch, I had reached the two mile mark of the trail.  I snapped some photos, then opted to take the spur to a stone edifice known as Dark Angel.  Along the way, I spotted a rock in a very precarious position!

When I returned to Double O Arch, I was officially ready to tackle the more difficult part of the loop trail.  Things started out fairly easy, but became increasingly more challenging.  But, before we get to that, I took another spur to Private Arch, saw a hole in a fin called High Window and a Checkered White Butterfly during my lunch break.

Now, back to the slick rock.  There were several steep and pretty hairy rocks to carefully tiptoe...and slide down.  I'm not ashamed to say I was sliding on my rear end because everyone was doing it!

I was feeling a sense of accomplishment and enjoying my walk when things REALLY got interesting!  The trail went right into a pool of water, and everyone was trying to decide how to deal with the situation.

Either walk through the water, or take the risk climbing on the steep and slippery rock adjacent to the pool.  What to do?  I decided getting wet was preferable to possibly hurting myself.  I took off my shoes and socks and took the plunge.  It didn't work out too well for me.  The water was too high for my short legs and I ended up getting my pants wet.  On the bright side, I was pretty much dry by the time I got back to the parking lot, and I saw a few baby lizards along the way.

In all, I ended up hiking over seven, sometimes hard miles.  At this point, I was done for the day...I was pretty footsore.  But, I was proud of my accomplishment.  I doubt I'll ever hike this trail again, but at least I can say I HAVE done it!  Tomorrow, I'll be doing a few easier hikes.