Today I received the Backcountry Permits for the Royal Arch Loop. This will be my third time to do this incredible hike and this time Jesse will be joining me. The permit is for Monday 3/15/10 and out Friday 3/19. I remember very well the first time I did this hike as it was on my mind for almost the entire year before I made it. When I had completed the Bass Trail hike in March 2006 the seed had been planted to do the Royal Arch. It was the most anticipated hike/adventure I ever had. Since that time I have read a bit about other people’s experiences on the hike. Check out SummitPost-Royal Arch Loop September 2006. This group of 6 tried to hike out the wrong canyon (see day 6 entry). And then there is the couple that got lost in the canyon doing this hike. They were in the canyon for 9 days. They evidently missed Bass Canyon exit which baffles me. The best I can make out after reading various blogs is that they tried to exit out Serpentine. To their bad luck they were hiking out (not really lost after all) and were within an hour of the trailhead where they left their SUV when a park ranger encountered them and then the hoopla began. They were on Good Morning America and that’s how I found out about them. Somebody at work said that a couple got lost on the same hike Sophi and I did. So we checked out Good Morning America and sure enough, they were interviewed. There are quite a few articles about this on the Internet. Try Couple That Was Lost In Grand Canyon. Also an interesting account of a disastrous trek on the Royal Arch.
