Long Canyon Road and Four Arch Canyon Rim, Moab, UT


 

Last year, I went into Four Arch Canyon and visited Crisp Hole. In Four Arch Canyon, I did not spot all four arches. So this time, we wanted to see, whether we can find Shadow Arch from the rim above Four Arch Canyon. I checked the topo maps and saw, that there are two trails going off Long Canyon Rd. and dead end on the south and north side of Four Arch Canyon high above on the rim. This was a moderately easy trail at the time, we drove it.

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We started from Potash Rd. and went up Long Canyon.
The road was in excellent shape.
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There was some traffic coming down...
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We stopped on the way up and enjoyed the views...
Low Canyon in front of us...
...and the La Sal´s in the background.
Shortly before Pucker Pass...
...and the famous rock behind us.
There was a minor traffic jam at Pucker Pass, because one guy in a stock Highlander had problems to drive through the sand and over the big rocks.
Waiting...
After we had been through Pucker Pass, we stopped once more and took some pictures.
Astrid catched some blooming flowers...
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We continued on Long Canyon Rd...
...until we found a trail, which went off to the right. This is not the first one, which goes off. Before, the trail to Day Canyon Point goes to the right. 
At the beginning, we soon arrived at a 'No Trespassing' sign, because there was some drilling activity. So we explored the area and found a trail, going around that drill site.
We saw Monitor and Merrimac Butte in the background.
We went in on an easy trail, which was partly dirt and partly slickrock.
Arch Canyon Rim to the left. The powerlines are coming up here.
We parked at the end of the trail...
...and hiked to explore the area.
Astrid in front of the La Sal´s...
...and also the jeep.
Nice views all over...
Arch Canyon below us.
I hiked to the rim and found some nice geological structures.
Cool scenery...
The jeep got parked somewhere above there...
Arch Canyon Rim...
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After some time, we went back the trail, we came in and followed a trail along the rim of the canyon.
Some rocky climbs along the way...
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...and some nice dirt stretches...
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We went in to the right on the south side of Arch Canyon .
There had been some deer close by...
We arrived at a drill site and stopped to take some pictures.
Nice view...
The La Sal´s in the background...
And Arch Canyon now on the right side of us...
Shadow Arch should be on the other side in the wall.
Here is Shadow Arch, I think..
We spotted Shadow Arch. It is not really good to see, but I am pretty sure, that this is the arch.
Looking backward... We had been on the other side before.
Enjoying the views...
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The trail is going further. Astrid took a picture of me, coming back from checking out, where the trail goes.
Further down, one more shot of Shadow Arch...
...and the La Sal´s in the background.
The road into Arch Canyon is visible on this picture.
We went down the trail until we thought, that we reached the end of the trail and hiked around to explore...
Monitor and Merrimac Butte in the background...
On the way back to the jeep, we found out, that the trail still was going further.
But we turned around and headed back.
On our way to US313...
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...Almost there.

Here one can also download a gpx file of this trip:

Tracklog: Arch Canyon Rim, Moab, UT (746 downloads )

The following map shows the trail:

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