10 November 2014

Stardate 2014.860

Arches National Park at sunset

Ancient Art

Our fourth day is a travel day. While driving through the Professor Valley, we turn onto the Fisher Towers Road for a short side trip up to the Towers.

Ancient Art (left) and the King Fisher

Four prominent towers rise here. They are King Fisher, Echo, Cottontail and the Titan – the tallest. Yet, there exists myriad of climbs on non-distinct formations and connecting ridge lines. In the above photo, Ancient Art and King Fisher collect morning light.

Climber setting protection on the corkscrew summit of Ancient Art.

We heard the Cobra formation had lost its head and was no more. Hiking in, we were saddened to see that rumors where true; the Cobra was dead. On the other hand, it's our lucky morning. Directly above us, a pair of climbers was ascending Ancient Art. The climbers were making their final moves onto the exotic corkscrew summit.

Climber on the corkscrew summit of Ancient Art.

Success! Many climbers try to stand on the tiny summit. However, listening to the above climbers' conversation, it was too windy to safely stand.

Good Morning Castleton Tower!

We were hiking in and out of drainages, being showered in niceties such as sun-hit on Castleton Tower, and company (see upper left photo). Left to right: Castleton Tower, The Rectory (large butte), The Nuns and The Priest. The upper right towers in the photo are known as the Sister Superior Group (a.k.a. The Professor and Students).

The King Fisher

King Fisher Tower

The King Fisher (left) and Ancient Art's corkscrew summit

King Fisher and Ancient Art pose from another angle.

Dock Rock

Dock Rock is one of the last to greet the day's sun. Our hike over, we ate a snack, pointed the 4-Runner toward Colorado and with a fair amount of sadness, drove home... sniffle, sniffle.

The Fisher Towers area is unique. I have numerous photos of the area, and I think I may save them for a winter post. The area can be haunting, it can be magical, it can be mystical and it can be miserably cold and wet. Up next, Argentine Pass, Colorado. Thanks for reading!

Adios

2 comments:

  1. What a majestic end to the perfect vacation with perfect weather. Thanks to you, I now know the individual names of the Castleton group!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow, the sun-hit on Castleton shot looks like a movie backdrop - almost too amazing to be real.

    Some of those towers remind me of the drip-castles we used to make at the beach. :)

    ReplyDelete

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