Delicate Arch is one of Utah's most famous natural icons. It's on their license plates, on calendars and postcards, all over nature photography books and online forums and photo galleries... Getting here is pretty challenging. It's a 1.5 mile hike each way up some pretty intense rock and dirt paths. Near the end of the trail we hit a bunch of ice, snow, and slush.
We'd heard that sunset was the best time to see Delicate Arch so after seeing Mesa Arch in the morning and hiking through Arches NP throughout the day, we headed over to Delicate Arch for sunset. We did get some sun on the arch, but that was right before we arrived at the arch. heh..
It was overcast all day and we had fun watching the sun set behind this thick wall of clouds. Right at the horizon there was this little crack between the top of the mountains and the wall of clouds, just enough for the sun to poke through, and that it did. However, apparently it was still diffuse enough to where it didn't actually provide much light on the arch itself when it shined through the clouds. Nevertheless, we still got to fire off some shots at the arch.
One thing I noticed was how different the locations were between Mesa Arch and Delicate Arch. In Mesa Arch, you only have room for a handful of photographers. At Delicate Arch, you're basically shooting from this huge amphitheater bowl with room for easily 100 photographers or more.
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