Surprising Solitude in Arches National Park

In my experience, most surprises that occur on trips are thoroughly unwelcome. When you’ve allotted so much in the way of time and resources to an expedition, the best surprise tends to be a total lack of surprises. However, there is one surprise I always hope for, but rarely experience: solitude. This is nowhere more rare and precious than in a National Park. In Arches National Park it seemed a fool's dream indeed as we embarked upon our canyon lands adventure.

We drove across the desert, through the last dregs of night pouring from the towering heights of the Book Cliffs. In the quiet of the pre-dawn hours the miles flashed by as the roots of the mountains dwindled to scrub crested foothills. From the top of one such hill, we watched the fleeing shadows die on spears of morning sunlight that painted the landscape red beneath us.

We were heading to Arches National Park, with only a vague idea of where we would sleep that coming night, as we had no reservations to our names, and the lone park campground was booked many nights in advance. Arches is a popular park, and that year it would see more than a million visitors - many of whom would march down its trails in thickly packed lines. On that fine, bright dawn, our hopes were not great  for our chances of finding a campsite, let alone  solitude!

As we pulled into the park, and drove past the entrance station and past the many redrock wonders that lined the park road, our fortunes began to change. Great thunderheads boiled out of the desert horizon, mirroring the bubbled sandstone formations below. Tourists hastened from viewpoints as the shadows of the clouds fell across the land. Picnics were packed away, and trailheads returned to at a frantic pace. As the storm loomed, the park emptied. Arriving at the campground, we found a great surprise indeed - many abandoned campsites! Apparently, the forecast had grown dire, and many reservations had been cancelled. The storm had the grace to wait as we set up our tent; then we took shelter in the car as the torrents of rain arrived amid flashing lightning.

A cycle of dramatic storms would roll through the region for the next several days. As we had come prepared, and didn’t mind getting caught out on a hike in the rain, we were able to experience the park largely without the interruption of its infamous crowds of tourists. We took the mishaps and challenges of this fortunate change in weather without complaint. Once the tent blew away, and we had to hunt it down to where it was trying to hide behind a thicket of sagebrush. Another time a downpour of epic proportions hit, and we took refuge in the visitor center until it had exhausted itself, and afterwards several park roads had been buried by flash floods! Such events only added to the experience, as nothing could detract from the joy of experiencing this place without a million other people to get in the way.

This experience taught me that contrary to my previous experience, surprises on adventures are not in every case disastrous in nature. The unexpected brings an added element of excitement, and it's important to remember that every rain-laden storm cloud that grows on the horizon has in it the potential of a rainbow.


























________________________________________________________________________________

Written in one hour for the #naturwritingchallenge