One of the big things the girl wanted to do in Arches National Park is the Fiery Furnace hike. The Fiery Furnace is a maze of many sandstone “fins” (Which are tall blocks of sandstone) that create a bunch of narrow canyons that you can navigate through and explore on your own. Because of the possibility of getting lost, the Park Service requires people to either go on a ranger led guided hike or get a permit to go on your own. The number of permits given out each day is fairly small and requires that you go through an orientation session where you talk with a ranger and watch a safety video before you receive your permit. If you go on your own you have to leave part of the permit in your vehicle windshield so they know at the end of the day who they should go looking for if your vehicle is still in the parking lot.
Go on a guided hike or do it on our own? Seriously? Luckily we were able to get a permit.
The hike was really fun and was cooler (temperature) than most other hikes in Arches due to the several hundred foot canyon walls blocking the sun. We had to do a lot of scrambling, climbing, sliding, etc., but it was a lot of fun and a great full body workout. We did end up getting lost a couple times, and ran into some dead ends, but were able to retrace our steps or find a better path.
I’m not sure it was smart to tell the mama bear that you got lost a few times. But, I’m not surprised that you went on your own. Maybe build some cairns next time? Looks like a great hike 🙂 Miss and love y’all.
These are GREAT pictures! A Ranger-led hike? I knew where that was going! Not for these hikers! Glad you were able to accomplish the goal of hiking in the Fiery Furnace…it looks like an amazing place!