Natural Bridges National Monument

These pictures are from Natural Bridges National Monument, in SE Utah. There are three large rock bridges, all carved from rock through the eons by streams moving through canyons. There are trails to the bottom of each bridge from the main road through the monument. These pix are from the trail down to Sipapu Bridge, the largest of the three. It's 268 feet long and 220 feet high; 31 feet wide and 53 feet thick.

The trail down is short (0.6 mile) but steep (500 feet elevation loss). The folks who built it had to be rather innovative. The photo of the ledge with an overhanging rock...well, the ledge is the trail! If you blow up the photo you can see a wooden bridge at the end of the ledge...you go down that to continue on the trail. Something like the Anasazi did, I reckon...though I bet their ladders weren't bolted to the stone.


In the canyon below the ledge, I couldn't help thinking that the underside of the arch looked like a dinosaur's belly and neck given the huge size and the stripes. The stripes, I believe, are desert varnish, caused by many centuries of water runoff and seepage.









The picture of the ladder going up the ledge to the handrails...that of course is the trail! Quite an interesting and adventurous hike...highly recommended. It reminds me of the Hidden Canyon trail at Zion, which also has chains, ladders, and staircases.