15 miles, mostly easy

Much of the day was in washes, lots of winding around and through willows, tamarisk, some prickly bushes and sandy creek beds. Where the Arches road crosses Courthouse Wash, we saw a school bus parked, and soon heard its former occupants: kids in groups scattered around the wash hearing wondrous things from the rangers.

I would recommend that if you plan to do this hike and are not from the area, come a couple of days early and hike around Arches because you will not see more than one on the Hayduke route.

The last two or three miles into Moab was on the road, and while we kept a quick pace in order to reach the post office in time, my legs were sore and getting achey. We got to the post office just in time–for our package and my legs.

We stayed at the Bowen motel, where we enjoyed last showers and a bed, and I used their complimentary computer to fix our website.