Delicate Arch - Arches National Park - June 13th

I made a lot of progress driving on Sunday.  I am now all the way out in Moab, Utah.  I'm add Arches National Park.  This was a run I was looking forward to as much as any on the trip.  I've never run on slickrock before.

I wore shorts and short sleeves.  Everything ending up being good.  I was a little worried, because it was windy and looked like a storm when I started.

A storm woke me up super early.  That was good though, as I beat the crowds to the park.  I counted over 100 cars waiting to enter as I was leaving.  It was crazy.  When I arrived I went straight to the Delicate Arch parking lot.  I wanted to run before the crowds.  There were already about 15 cars there.

The trail is a little normal to start.  It's beautiful orange slickrock and canyons all around.  It is definitely nothing like I've ever seen before.  I was enjoying the run very early on.  I knew it was almost all uphill on the way out.

I passed people but there was plenty of room.  It was cool to get to the slickrock.  I ran some, but mostly hiked as it was uphill.  There were rock cairns to point the way.  I nearly missed a turn once.

I cruised along, running where I could.  I passed plenty of hikers.  Then, I was running along a cool ledge.  The slickrock was so fun to run on and jump around.  It was gorgeous too.

After the ridge, I came Delicate Arch.  It is the symbol of Utah and just stunning.  It is a huge arch.  Of course I didn't have it to myself, but it was still great.

I didn't have many miles run, so I decided to go off trail and run some of the nearby slickrock.  That was crazy fun.  It was up and down and around.  I could run there all day.  I could still see where I was at too.  A family must've seen me, as they hiked toward me.  I told them I was just messing around and I pointed them the right way.

I knew running back would be awesome and it was.  I was cruising downhill, jumping and leaping where I could.  It was getting crowded coming up.  I was booking and almost out of control.

Then, it happened.  I had jumped plenty here, but this time, I jumped from too high.  I landed on my left heel.  It was searing pain.  I bruised my foot pretty badly.  It didn't seem broken, but I wasn't sure.

I hobbled back in.  I still ran, but ran funny.  I hoped I didn't ruin my trip.  It was good to be done and take my shoe off.  I had a nice bruise already.

I struggled walking around the other arches.  I hope this doesn't slow my trip too much.  I am planning some easy stuff for a bit, so that should help.

I'm not sure when I'll run again.  It will likely be somewhere in the San Juans.  I'm looking forward to those mountains more than any other part of the trip.  They should be amazing.

3.9 miles - 51:00 (13:04 pace) 608 feet of elevation gain