Hello our fellow wanderers!
We stayed in Moab, Utah back in September 2021 for two weeks and during our research of epic hikes in the area we learned about Fiery Furnace in Arches National Park. We researched that a permit is required so we decided to get on www.recreation.gov to see if any were available.
There are two types of permits available.
1. Ranger-guided hike over 2 miles and 2 hours.
2. Self-guided hike over however long you want for how long you want.
And... we lucked out! There was one self-guided permit available on September 12th (must have been a cancellation) so we took it!
This permit requires a sequence of events to happen prior to receiving the permit from the rangers.
1. Reserve your space on www.recreation.gov.
2. You must be able to get into Arches National Park (more about this below).
3. You must watch a video at Arches visitor center either the day before your hike or the day of your hike. When you arrive, check in with the ranger at the trail information booth (was currently located outside when we went) and the ranger will escort you into a small theater type room to watch a video on the dangers of the hike and how to protect the sensitive ecosystem of the trail. After the video, the ranger quizzed us.
4. Ranger will give you your permit (to be attached to your backpack where it can be seen during your entire hike (see picture above) and you will be handed a parking pass to tape to your window, so the ranger knows which vehicles belong to the permit holders.
5. Head to trailhead and park. There are restrooms at the trailhead but no water. Make sure you have adequate water for your hike.
We tried to get into Arches the day before our hike to watch the video and pick up the permit (as recommended by the rangers). They said quite a few people see the video and decide the hike is not for them due to the complexity of the hike and there is very little shade on the trail.
However, when we arrived around 10am the day before, the park was at capacity and shut down. They had signs up stating to come back in 3-5 hours. We were a little taken back by this as we have never experienced a National Park that was just closed randomly.
TIP: Your reservation for the permit does not guarantee you entrance into the park.
We decided to come back the next day, the morning of our hike. We arrived prior to the park technically opening and after a few minutes in line, we got through. We then had to wait about 30 minutes for the visitor center to open before we could check in with the rangers and to see the video.
We started the hike at 8:30am-ish and wore SPF clothing with wide brim hats. Brandi drank about 3L of water and Chris drank about 4L of water during the 2.4 miles that we hiked over about 3 hours. You need to make sure you wear proper hiking shoes for desert hiking as you will be doing a lot of scrambling, bouldering and hiking in sand. A good shoe grip is necessary, and you will use four points of contact quite often during this hike, if you have sensitive hands, we recommend wearing gloves.
On September 12th at 11am-ish, it was 98 degrees outside with full sun.
This hike is not easy. You need to be in good physical shape and be able to climb up and slide down. You need to be able to shimmy your way through tight spots. You need to be able to regulate your temperature while hiking in the exposed sun.
We downloaded the AllTrails Map of this hike and referred to it quite often because it is easy to get lost in Fiery Furnace. You must have a good sense of direction because the GPS maps do not always work in these remote areas. However, AllTrails has yet to fail us. There are signs with arrows on them along the trail but if you wander off the trail (my mistake or intentional) you will not see these trail markers and you will get lost.
This is a trail that loops around the Fiery Furnace, and we took the trail clockwise (honestly, because we didn't look at our map and got lost right at the beginning).
Our AllTrails Map also guided us to Surprise Arch and Skull Arch which are not marked on the trail. If you do not know where to turn off, you will never find them. We were able to explore both areas and they are a must see if you are doing this hike!
We did meet a couple of groups of people who didn't have maps downloaded and they were lost. We ended up assisting by showing them where they were on the trail.
We highly recommend the trail if you can physically get through it. Wear SPF clothing in the exposed sun and have enough water and snacks along with a map. There is so much to see and explore if you can wander off the beaten path (of course, not killing the ecosystem - by staying on the rock or sand).
This trail is insanely beautiful! You will not be disappointed!
Thanks so much for wandering off into Fiery Furnace with us! Please check out our video on YouTube for further details of the hike. Search for Wandered Off or click link on our website. Please like and subscribe. As always, your support is truly appreciated!
Wandered Off
Chris & Brandi
Comments