After hiking close to six miles on Friday we slept in a little. Heading back into the park around 11 we revisited the Windows section of Arches but the real fun was going to start once we reached the Fiery Furnace. The furnace is a labyrinth of ever changing canyon walls, fins, arches, potholes, spires and washes. Home to numerous desert animals as well as plants, this section of Arches is full of surprises. We left with a group of 14 hikers led by park ranger Rob Lorenz. The two mile hike led the group through narrow passes, down sandy washes and eventually over the top of the canyon. After returning to the trailhead we headed out of the park over to I70 and down I15 to Cedar City, Utah. Tomorrow we head into Zion.
The Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park in Utah on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
A group of 14 hikers led by ranger Rob Lorenz heads into the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park in Utah on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
A group of 14 hikers make their way through the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park in Utah on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Hikers pass through the Walkthrough Bridge as they make their way through the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park in Utah on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
The Walkthrough Bridge is one of many arches found inside the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park outside of Moab, Utah on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
The sun shines through a hole in the stone walls of the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012. This particular hole is not quite considered an arch yet as it is not at least three feet long.
Hikers take a break during their trek through the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Sunlight shines through a break in the canyon wall inside the FIery Furnace at Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Hikers opt whether or not to shimmy through the small hole in the canyon wall inside the Fiery Furnace at Arches National Park outside Moab, Utah on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Sunlight shines through a break in the canyon wall inside the Fiery Furnace at Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Blue sky shows through a crack in the canyon wall inside the Fiery Furnace at Arches National Park outside of Moab, Utah on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Spires rise above the canyon walls inside the Fiery Furnace at Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Juniper trees stand in the sandy washes inside the Fiery Furnace at Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Inside the Fiery Furnace at Arches National Park outside of Moab, Utah on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Inside the Fiery Furnace at Arches National Park outside of Moab, Utah on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Hikers make their way through the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Inside the Fiery Furnace at Arches National Park outside of Moab, Utah on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
A view of Skull Arch from inside the Fiery Furnace at Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
A view of Skull Arch from inside the Fiery Furnace at Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
The current path through the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012. The furnace is a constantly changing maze of spires, walls and washes.
Park Ranger Rob Lorenz points out different geological phenomenon as he guides a group of hikers through the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park in Utah on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
A four foot drop into the sandy bottom below during the hike through Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
A hiker takes a moment to gaze into one of the large cracks along the path through the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Hikers leap across a gap in the trail through the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Hikers chimney crawl across a wall inside the Fiery Furnace at Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Hikers make their way through the narrow path through the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Hikers make their way through the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Richard Phillips penguin walks over a crack on the trail through the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
The trail through the Fiery Furnace gives a view of the rest of Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Hikers make their way through the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
A crack in the walls of the Fiery Furnace form a trail for hikers inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Richard Phillips and other hikers squeeze through a narrow section of the trail through the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
The trail through the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
The trail through the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park passes by this deadend cave on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Hikers cast shadows on the sandstone wall along the trail through the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Blue sky shows through a crack in the canyon wall inside the Fiery Furnace at Arches National Park outside of Moab, Utah on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
The Surprise Arch rises over the trail through the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Hikers rest underneath Surprise Arch before finishing the trail through the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
Surprise Arch rises over the trail through the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
The path leading out of the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
The path leading out of the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
The Lasal Mountains rise in the background of the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
The Lasal Mountains rise in the background of the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
The Lasal Mountains rise in the background of the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
The Lasal Mountains rise in the background of the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.
The Lasal Mountains rise in the background of the Fiery Furnace inside Arches National Park on Saturday, March 3, 2012.