"Summit" Arch

Sunday, January 23, 2022 

Hike #9 of 2022.  2.5 miles / 34.5 miles YTD

The destination of today's hike was to try to get to an arch that we had seen across the way on our hike last Sunday.  As we were taking in the views from the overlook of that hike, I pointed out to Dan an arch that I could see on the other side of the canyon, not all that far down from the edge.  I was actually wondering if it might be a bridge because it was wide and appeared to be rather flat.  However, we now know (thanks to Google) that the difference between an arch and a bridge is not the shape but how they are made.  Bridges are made with water (makes sense) and arches are made with other weathering effects, such as wind.  I highly doubt this could have been made with water, considering where it is, so we will assume it is an arch.

Where we were last week when I noticed the arch.  It is not in this photo but it is on the canyon wall on the right side.

To try to get to it, we had to first take the OHV trail onto the next "finger" of the canyon.  The Tacoma most definitely could have made it all the way to the point at which we needed to start hiking down but the hiking part is what we like.  And yesterday we had gone out on a truck adventure, with no hiking.  Summit isn't a huge fan of rides, and this was a bumpy one.  So she needed to be rewarded with a hike today.  We were directly across the canyon from where we had been on the overlook last Sunday so it was pretty easy to determine about where we needed to start looking for the arch down below, and we were able to pick it out fairly quickly.  While Summit is incredibly capable and will go pretty much anywhere we lead her, we do need to be careful about our route because we need to make sure whatever we go up/down, we can get back down/up safely with her.  And she is always on leash so, while SHE is capable of some pretty big jumps, it can't be more than the leash will allow or it will cause her to fail.

The arch is right above Summit (short but wide).

With a little bit of planning and rerouting, we were able to get to the arch fairly easily and it absolutely did not disappoint!  It is one of the coolest ones we have ever seen - although, part of that is the circumstances....the fact that I happened to pick it out on our other hike (if I had been looking in that direction from any other spot/angle, it might not have even stood out) and the fact that we just had to go in search of it.  We hadn't been told about it by anyone or seen it on a post of any kind.  It was something we saw and had to figure out how to get to.  We don't know if is a named/identified arch so we are calling it "Summit Arch".

Approaching the arch.

Not only is Summit capable, Dan is much braver/more confident than I am.  So he and Summit walked out onto the arch for their picture.  But she and I stayed safely off to the side.  :)  It really was wide enough but the surface was rather rounded and that is what made me uncomfortable.

Dan and Summit on top

Me and Summit on the side

Dan was holding onto the end of her leash

Once we got done by the arch, we did a little more exploring around before heading back down the trail to the truck.  This was another one where we didn't see another person, which is perfect in our minds!  And, once again, there were some designated camping areas along the OHV trail.  However, considering some of the really awesome ones we have come across recently, I don't know that these would be high on the list.

Moss (?)