Arches was HOT. With temperatures in the low 100’s, the park rangers were advising that all park exploration start at dawn and wrap up by 11 am. No joke.
We turned the mid-day furnace to our advantage and spent it in Moab, doing laundry, taking care of errands, chatting with other travelers (hey Modern Tarzan), and the like.
We also fought off the heat by swimming the Colorado River and taking a cooling hike up Grandstaff Canyon. This latter was a lifesaver: there was some arch or something a couple miles in, but we were content to leave the trail and wade the shallow creek that carved the canyon.
