SATURDAY, 8 NOVEMBER 2025

(Moab, UT)

A slightly more leisurely start to the day, with coffee and a decision to get breakfast at Gloria’s, one of our favourite restaurants here, so that we’d have a substantial breakfast to fuel today’s hike. 

After that, we got ready and drove up the River Road to Fisher Towers, passing the towering sandstone cliffs and the Colorado River.

They have done a lot of work since we were last here and have, it appears, built an extra car park to cater for demand. We parked in the new, lower parking lot which was almost full, an indication that the trail had become incredibly well known and popular.

As we climbed the trail, there were indeed a lot of people. We have been surprised just how busy it is, on the trails and in Moab, even though we are now in November. This used to be very definitely the off season, restaurants would be quiet (and some even closed for winter). Not so much now… (or if this is quiet, I definitely don’t want to come when it’s busy). 

It’s a hard trail. Theoretically it’s not long, just 4.5 miles or so (my watch logged 4.9 miles to and from the car). It does climb up (725 feet in altitude but almost double that, 1,364 feet, taking into account all of the ups and downs). 

But it’s the uneven trail conditions and constant need to check where you’re placing your feet is tiring. Still, slow and steady winds the day. And the views from the top are worth it. Hiking, though, is substantially easier than climbing to the top of the diving board on Ancient Art tower…

Then, of course, you have to do it all again to come down, and whilst the edit involved might be less, it’s just as hard on the legs going down. In summer places it’s worse, as there is greater risk of slipping. It took nearly as long to descend, but we finished the hike as the sun was turning the walls a fantastic shade of orange, so perfect timing really!

We drove back, cleaned up and considered our dinner options. We had thought about doing some night time photography, but the clouds were moving in, so we abandoned that plan and focused on eating. We considered going to Pasta Jay’s, which we like. We fancied pasta. But it is incredibly popular and last night there were lengthy queues outside waiting for a table. I checked the menu for Gloria’s. They also do pasta. And beer. Andrew was sold on this option. Plus, as an added benefit, they are right outside the hotel so not far to walk. 

After dinner, it was time to relax, blog and watch a movie. This hotel, like many now, has a TV system that allows you to log in to your own apps, like Netflix, so we can watch what we want without the adverts that are overly frequent on American TV.  And that’s it. More tomorrow.

Today’s hike video is here: https://vimeo.com/1134997107