I think 2 days at Arches is plenty, maybe only 1.5 days. For the whole trip, 2 weeks? You can definitely find enough to fill out that much time.

I don't think you should do the entire Devils Garden hike. Hike to Landscape, then continue along that trail for as long as you both feel comfortable. Delicate Arch is great - the last section has that dropoff but the path is relatively wide. I'd be more concerned about the fact that this hike has some uphill/downhill sections on bare rock and if he loses his balance and falls it wouldn't be good. I'm thinking of the first real uphill section after getting off the dirt trail - it's somewhat steep and if he fell on the way back down it could be really bad.

But there are plenty of flat/easy hikes in Arches and all over that area for sure. Take as much time as you can for the trip, you could spend a month if you had the time.

Thanks for the suggestions for Canyonlands! RE stops between Arches and Chaco, we do plan to go to Mesa Verde, and may make shorter stops at a couple of other sites.

Myer - thanks for the description of the drop offs at Delicate Arch. If the trail is 4-5 feet wide we should be fine. He can use his walking stick and someone can lend a hand if he gets off balance. We hiked similar stretches last year. If it doesn't look safe we'll turn around.

wendy,

At the risk of sounding "smart", you won't turn around when you reach the dropoff. I don't think it's more than a very short walk and it's at the very end of the hike. When you turn the corner the Arch is sitting in front of you.

At worst you get on your hands and knees, look funny and crawl. That's what I did at Horseshoe Bend in Page. I was afraid to walk to the edge. But there were only a couple of people there.

WhereWeAre mentions a rocky area. That might concern me a bit more than the dropoff. It's a large rock and a bit steep (not a lot). I saw some people stop to rest there. Maybe if somebody remembers if you can go around it. I don't remember.

The rocks at the beginning of the Delicate Arch hike. Does anyone have a link to a picture of this area? We can always slide down on the seat of our pants?

Thanks for the warning. It is at the beginning of the hike - if it looks impossible we can just go on to something else.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heyJFFdH4Wk

I always watch youtube. You can find many more hikes in Arches NP on youtube. This one seems to be a very good one of the hike itself. Not my video, I don't know who's it is.

Just take your time. This hike is fairly easy, IMOP. As Myer says, you can always crawl for that last little bit if you have to. My daughter has been afraid on a couple of the hikes we have done and she has scooted across on her rearend and crawled on a couple of occasions(on hikes much scarier than this). You might want to do the same at Deadhorse Point, that's a doozy of a dropoff, but very pretty--similar to viewing the Grand Canyon.

Probably allow 2 hrs to get there and 1 hr for the return. I think it took me about 1.5 hrs to get there and 40 minutes for the return. I have hiked it twice. One of my favorite hikes. There is no shade at all, btw.

spiro,
What dropoff at Dead Horse Point? I don't remember one.

The link that spiro posted doesn't show the big rock (massive rock) but shows the dropoff between 2.5 and 4.5 minutes into the video.

I'll check my old photo to see if I have any of the rock.

And this shows the dropoff.

http://youtu.be/ngvhXmokzpM

Thanks! The path looks pretty wide - if you lost your balance you could either just plop down or lean on the wall.

We may have to be obnoxious and hug the wall both ways.

Well, if you don't consider a dropoff to be at Deadhorse Point, I just don't know how to describe it. Isn't about 2000 feet. I thought the dropoffs on both sides while driving in was pretty cool too. All of the overlooks and edges definately gets me a little shaky in the knees. Kinda like the GC does.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66pli...eature=related
looks like a drop to me.

Yep - that's a drop off! The trick is keeping the SCI hiker a few feet back from the edge - even if he wants a better picture!

spiro,
That's not a dropoff. There's no reason to be sitting on the edge like that in order to get a view of the 180 degree bend in the river.

Actually there are a couple of places with slightly different views.

I consider it a dropoff when you have to walk it to get where you're going.

There's another one of those right behind the office.

wndy,
You won't be the first to be hugging the wall.

I have some friends who had trouble with Navajo Loop / Queens Garden in Bryce. I saw photos they took of each other and it was quite funny. This stuff normally freaks me out.

I'm the one who believes the yellow median on Rte 12 in Utah is to straddle.

I'm not looking forward to driving in Glacier.

I guess I'm crazy then, but I can't think of to many things that have that much of a drop. lol

Myer nailed my question. It's not how close we can sit to the BIG drop - DH would get closer to that edge than I would. It's whether we have enough room to maneuver safely to get to the next point - with an allowance for some wobbling. If we can't do that safely, it doesn't matter if the drop is 50 feet or 1000. (we KNOW a 20 foot drop to granite can do a lot of damage...)

There are a lot of great sights in Arches that take very little effort.

Balanced Rock is right beside a parking lot.
The Windows Section - North & South Window, Turret Arch and Double Arch are all a short walk from a central parking area. You could easily spend several hours walking around there.

Wendy,

One thing I'll mention about Dead Horse Point - you can really see and enjoy views in all directions from the safety of behind the railings/viewing walls. There are places where you can walk right to the "edge" and look straight down, but no need to do this if you don't want to.

Devil's Garden loop in Arches would be a no go, as others have said.

I have hiked the Firey Furnace twice and both times there was one section where we walked on a rock with a drop off, then had to hop across a small gap, but a gap with a long fall below....I don't think I would recommend it for you.

Just for reference - heights don't bother me at all, but I would be concerned for your husband on these two hikes.

Mesa Arch in Canyonlands is a very nice, short hike. My parents last did it in their late 70's and loved it, and Mom is not in good shape in several ways.

Have fun!

I don't have pictures of the slickrock section but found a website that has some good shots of that part. Take a look, my concern is based mainly on the consequences of your husband losing his balance and falling going downhill. That section is somewhat steep so not sure if he would just fall and stop or possibly roll a ways.

http://www.willhiteweb.com/arches_na.../trail_157.htm

If you think you can do it then go for it, it is really a great hike.

Thanks for the pics of the steep section of slickrock. It reminds me of a steep section of Mt Washington that scared me as a kid - but really wasn't dangerous as you wouldn't actually slip very far on the granite if you lost your footing. This may be different - we'll take a good look as we get started.

And a big thanks to Dayle. Unfortunately hopping gaps with big drops below is probably something we should skip. It looks like there are plenty of other wonderful hikes - we're looking forward to spending a few days there.

wendy,
Go to my web site:

www.travelwalks.com

Select the Utah 2008 trip. There are a lot of photos from Arches. Some from Canyonlands and Dead Horse Point.

#14-18 is in the easy Windows section.
38-39 is Mesa Arch in Canyonlands. no problem.
42-44 is Dead Horse Point. Getting to any of these is no problem as you park right beside and walk as close as you want to the edge.
54-62 is Fiery Furnace. You can see the areas people have mentioned. Narrow, walk across gap, any edges.

Only you can decide.

Thanks! The pictures definitely help.