We probably should have hiked this on a not so hot day.  It was 100 degrees and partly cloudy – definitely not ideal hiking conditions.  Yet, we knew we would be hiking where there would be plenty of shade, so we made do with what we had.  My good friend Kevin was joining this time!

Earlier in the year I tried hiking to Dragon’s Eye arch and came up the backside of the natural arch.  At this point I was already about another 2+ miles until I got to the actual arch, but it was getting dark and I decided to just fly my drone to it and call it a day.  This time, I was determined to hike a shorter much direct route and finally get to the arch! 

I spent a good amount of time planning a route again.  I trimmed all the excess trail I could until the trail got down to about 3.5 miles one way from trailhead to trail end.  And, after actually hiking it, I think this is probably the fastest route to the arch.  After all, you don’t want to waste time and energy getting lost in all the fins and valleys. 

From the trailhead we got to the climbing part without any problem.  With a rope, the climbing part was easy although it would be tricky for people who don’t have much experience scrambling up rock.  From here, it got hotter and hotter.  We climbed a little ways then rested in the shade.  We repeated this process for another hour until we got to the top of the mesa.  It’s amazing how fast the sun can sap the energy from you and we were very aware that we needed to be careful or we would have to cancel our hike. 

Luckily, we saw a line of clouds in the sky and the wind was pushing them, so we could hike a little bit while the sun was covered and then rest in the shade when it wasn’t covered. There isn’t really a trail on this adventure.  We hiked through dry washes and sandstone to avoid the cryptobiotic soil.  Most of the elevation gain was behind us now at this point and we had moderately difficult hiking in front of us.  Suddenly, the sun was shut out and it started to sprinkle rain!  It did this for about 5 or so minutes, but it was enough to bring the temperature down.

After sweating and hiking we got to a good spot for us to do a check on our water and food.  We had plenty of food, but our water was getting low to where we had to make a decision if we were to continue hiking or turn back.  We discovered we had enough water to hike about another 1/2 mile, but before we continued on, we stopped and took a much needed nap. 

We also flew the drone to Dragon’s Eye Arch and figured out it was literally a straight shot to it.  We were so close, yet so far!  We had plenty of water for the hike back, but we didn’t have enough to just keep hiking and exploring. 

Another 1/2 mile hike and we were in view of the arch!  This is probably the best spot to view it.  You get an incredible view of the arch from this vantage point and you can see why we call it Dragon’s Eye Arch!  It looks like a massive eye socket on a dragon or dinosaur head!  If you look closely, you can even see that it has teeth in the bottom left!  We got some pictures, flew the drone and then headed back.

I found this arch a while ago and it felt very satisfying to finally see it with my own eyes!  It’s not the easiest hike to get to, but it’s one of the most unique hikes in Moab.  I would NOT suggest hiking to Dragon’s Eye Arch if you do not have a GPS device, or don’t have good orientation skills.  It’s easy to get lost here and there have been reports of people losing their lives here too.  We didn’t see another person the entire day, so you’ll be all on your own.  Here is what we brought to help us on our quest:

• Satellite SOS messenger device
• 3 liters of water (each)
• 1 20 oz. frozen gatorade (each)
• food and snacks (each)
• first aid kit
• 100 ft. of rope

This is a very difficult hike that is potentially life threatening if you don’t know what you’re doing or up against.  On the way back we were literally hoping and praying for clouds to block the sun.  And when we needed the clouds the most, we were blessed to have this giant wing shaped cloud shield the sun for us so we could get back to the car without stopping every 50 ft. in the shade!  When we got back to the car, the sun peeked out from the clouds!  Talk about coincidence! 😉

Here is a video of Kevin climbing down that first part where it’s mandatory climbing.