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to Broiled Hike
Hiked
On: July 10, 2010
Trail Length: 7.85 Miles
Trail Time: 5 hours 23 minutes
Difficulty: Moderate
We didn't get started on this trail until a little after 1:PM that afternoon. I had some problems finding a good map of the trail and even finding good directions to the location. There just wasn't a lot on the Internet at first glance and when probing for information it seemed to be randomly scattered. I always take on all my hikes the best map of the trail I can find and also a topographical map of the trail. Unfortunately, I didn't have a very good map of either. While some maps and some sources said the trail was just a little over 3 miles long, others said it was well around 9 miles long!
When starting on the trail we took out time, taking lots of pictures, enjoying the views: plants, big trees, mushrooms, rock walls. There were a few people on the trail (this was between the trail head and the arches). I was actually surprised to how many families with small children I saw on the trail. It wasn't until about at the end of the trail that there was a small loop from the trail head to the arches and back and then a bigger loop that split from the arches. The trail to the arches was not very difficult. Stairs were provided for very steep areas and the path was plenty big for hiking.
The views were pretty but nothing spectacular. The trail is deep in the forest and never crests for any long range views. The north arch was the most visible and the trail included walking on top of the arches, but what you saw in that first loop you saw for the rest of the hike.
After taking a brief rest at the twin arches, we then continued with the arches loop heading toward the Slave Falls trailhead which was marked as being 3.5 miles away. It was on this larger loop that we seemed to have lost all sight of civilization. One thing that did impress us was how quiet the trail was. It wasn't until about 2 miles into this trail that I had started to get worried.
A couple of hours had passed and our next stop, Jake's
Place, had not shown up yet. We never saw another hiker on
this trail and spider webs had shown up on the trail. I
began to worry thinking we'd taken a wrong turn. 
The trail was pretty well marked except at
one area where the trail went under a cliff overhang.
There was evidence of a campfire here and so we
stopped for a brief rest and when starting again we
spent about 20 minutes trying to find where the trail
started again. About an hour later we made it to
Jake's place. By this point we were worried that it
would start getting dark soon and did not want to get
caught out here. It had become overcast and we could
hear thunder in the distance. It was at that moment I
was glad I had purchased poncho's at the last
minute.
Leaving Jake's Place (which wasn't much of a place at all, but a popular camping spot), there were a few signs that confused me again at exactly how the trail progressed. I picked what I thought was the quickest way back to the trailhead (luckily I picked right) and we bagan our hike back. This time, though, we were not taking our time and hiked at a pretty steady rate. Unfortunately in getting to Jake's Place the trail descended pretty steadily. That meant we would be climbing steadily. Already being tired and a little short on temper because of how long the trail was taking, hiking with a climb did not bode too well. Needless to say, we were exhausted.
After finally getting back to the parking lot we gladly left Twin Arches. Had I prepared better we could have had a much more enjoyable hike. It is a good trail, but don't hike if you're not used to hiking long distances with elevation. We'll be returning when we're ready and will have a much more enjoyable hike, but for now we're glad to be home.