Moab, UT
After many days of hiking and an all day adventure on Wednesday, we were looking for a day of rest. But Thursday’s forecast was for decent weather in the morning followed by clouds and wind in the afternoon. With rain predicted for Friday and Saturday, we decided to take advantage of the good weather Thursday morning and headed out for a short hike (1.2 miles one way) to Longbow Arch. The trailhead is along Rte. 279 (Potash Road) in the parking area for Poison Spider Road.
We’re going up to the top?
The first half of the hike is steeply up, passing a nice panel of petroglyphs along the way.
After a few switchbacks the trail goes right up a steep area of slickrock. This part is easier than it looks and green markers painted on the rock makes the trail easy to follow.
The last part of the steep sliprock use to be a bit tricky to get over. But the Trail Mix Group has recently installed a series of hand holds, eliminating most of the danger.
After a half mile of “up” the terrain flattens and the trail meanders over slickrock and through some areas of fairly deep sand.
A mile from the trailhead the trail turns in to a canyon and Longbow Arch appears above.
The trail continues by the arch before turning and going right up under it.
A beautiful Claret Cup Cactus in full bloom sits below the western end of the arch
Returning back down the trail we enjoyed great views of an area across the river called Behind the Rocks and the snow covered La Sal Mountains in the distance.
Then it was back down the steep section of the trail. Those new hand grips are nice going up but really help when going down.
This hike turned out to be perfect for the weather. We had clouds mixed with sun the entire time but the sun disappeared completely as we returned to the trailhead. There was even a little rain as we drove back to the motorhome. But more rain is on the way so we’ll definitely have a couple of days rest in our future!
Oh, the Places They Go! 
Once again, beautiful pictures. Its so difficult to really see how steep some of your hikes are but putting Pam in the picture (wearing those beautiful bright colors) really makes it clear.
Thanks, Sue:) I was surprised how the photos showed the steepness of this part of the hike.
Dang, some of those places look really steep. Thank goodness for the hand holds. Feels like I’m being blown away here. Enjoy the down time.
John is enjoying his two days off for weather:) It is hard to justify sitting here if the sun is out.
Beautiful hike — even though I love hiking on slick rock because it’s so “grippy” I would definitely appreciate the handholds on that VERY steep section. That claret cactus is gorgeous! Your photos are wonderful — you chose very good colors for your hiking apparel. :-))
Thanks, Laurel! Sue is always reminding us to dress for the photos:)
Wow…slick rock is as enough when it is level. That stuff looks downright dangerous. Hand rails…excellent!
Gorgeous photos you two!
Thanks, Marsha! It really wasn’t too bad to climb. The boots stick really well, thank goodness:)
I can’t believe what nice weather you have been having.
We have been lucky, Pam, until yesterday…wind, rain, and much cooler. But all should be gone by Sunday:)
Beautiful cactus, Pam!
Thanks:) It was our first with more than one bloom.
Hand holds, rings, ladders … you do like to add a dimension (up!) to your hikes! More great photos of a beautiful area.
Haha! Yes, we do like to add a little extra challenge occasionally, Jeff:)
Awesome hike…we can’t wait to do this trail!
It was a very neat trail and we had the arch to ourselves:)
That looks like a super fun little trail! It’s on the list!
Interesting mix of weather you’ve been having. I guess wind is better than HOT! Enjoy your down days!
It was the perfect short good workout before the weather turned. This is a new trail just recently added to the BLM site.
You both amaze me! Loved those petroglyphs!
Thanks, Nancy:)
You find such nice hikes. Thanks for sharing the great pictures.
Thanks, Debbie:) This is a new trail and I found it in the local Moab Happenings. Great fun trail:)
Hadn’t heard of that trail. Looks like fun! Especially with the addition of the hand holds.
This hike was just recently added to the BLM site and the Moab Happenings featured the hike and sharing that the hand holds had been added. It looked a cool arch and a nice short hike.
The up looks really fun and the down looks like “helicopter please”. Really wonderful photos – that one of Pam crossing the canyon is stunning. Glad John was able to successfully call in a weather front for a couple days 🙂
We always have to remember that what goes up must come down:) Yes, John was very glad that the weather actually got it correct this time and he had two days of rest:)
Seeing now the hand holds, I think I can do the climb up. Your bright colored shirt not only suits you, you popped out of the photos! Sue is right, dress up not only for the hike but also the photos. Now I wished I bought one too when you did 😦
You wouldn’t have any trouble with this hike, MonaLiza. The hand holds aren’t placed well for short people, but it isn’t bad. Thanks! The new shirt color does brighten up the photos:)
Fabulous pictures again! Love the flowers and the view of the river both going up and coming down the slick rock. Boy would I love to do that hike. Love the petroglyphs. I’ve always worn subdued colors when I hike so as not to be noticed by the animals I hope to see but clearly when I get to the desert I must amend my dress code. Love your colors.
Thanks, Sherry! You would really enjoy this hike.
That was exciting! Again such fab pictures. We do the same, enjoy days out while the weather is good….no matter if we need a rest day!
Those hand holds look like an excellent idea. Wonderful photos Pam. You look great in bright colors.
Thanks, LuAnn! It is my new shirt from Dead Horse Point SP.
Great pics! Just did this trail and it was awesome! Your photos look a little more “spring-like”, but Winter was nice since nobody was there and the sand was cold for the dogs paws’. Definitely one of my new favorites!
Alicia @ GirlonaHike.com