Easter | Sunday, April 9, 2023
For a change, I actually stayed home most of this weekend to get some stuff done around the house and relax for a bit. It’s a rare occurrence, but sometimes I need a little break from camping and hiking. However, after being home all day on Saturday I was already ready to get back outdoors and I did end up getting out to hike for a couple of hours on Easter morning. I left early on Sunday without any real plans on where I was headed, and I ended up in one of my favorite areas close to home on Winter Camp Ridge. I drove out to the end of that sandy track and then rim-walked along the edge of Salt Wash just within the boundary of Arches National Park. It was a lovely morning for a walk in the backcountry!
There was a brief window of color in the sky as I drove down the Yellow Cat Road. Then the clouds overtook the sun on the eastern horizon for a while.
As I was driving across Winter Camp Ridge the sun came back out again and illuminated the landscape across Winter Camp Wash into Arches National Park.
Winter Camp Ridge Road
From the end of the road I walked above the ‘Sandstone Bowl‘ on my way to the edge of Salt Wash.
I continued out to the end of a narrow peninsula of land that juts out into Salt Wash.
Pool over Salt Wash
Here’s the view up Salt Wash from near the end of the peninsula.
This is looking the other way down Salt Wash to Elephant Butte and The Windows Section.
I liked the way the clouds kind of mirrored the shape of the peninsula I had been walking out onto.
I remembered seeing this formation from below during my hike into the canyon last spring.
As I walked along the rim on the way back to my Jeep I spotted light through Swanky Arch below.
After returning to my Jeep I drove back up the road a little ways and then hiked cross-country to visit Winter Camp Arch, which was a good one.
When I returned from my hike out to Winter Camp Arch I drove down to Jug Rock, ate some lunch and then decided I had had a nice morning hike and was ready to head home.