This is an alcove arch whose roof was eroded away. When I first visited in 2008, Octopus had a beautiful extended arm, now sadly missing.Ĭontinue south on the upper level to Cedar Hills Arch. Please do not climb on this fragile arch. The arch was formed by a pothole near the cliff edge that grew deeper and deeper until it wore through the wall. The top of the 29-foot span looks very much like the head of an octopus. Walk west and then back south on top of the stone ridge to Octopus Arch. Do a Class 2-plus climb onto a sandstone expanse with small weathered domes and whorling petrified biscuits. Start to the right and thread through boulders. Scale the soft, purple shale of the Nacimiento Formation which underlies the San Jose.Ĭontinue north to a large outcrop. The arches are located on the next level. Climb the big-block topped bluff north of the monster cubes. Cross San Juan County Road 2390, walk northeast through a sage flat and cross dry Ditch Canyon wash. Living in companionship with the sky hole are old twisted junipers, yucca spears, aromatic sage and stimulating ephedra.įrom the parking pullout, elevation 5,950 feet, the arches are just over half-a-mile distant. Most likely eroded from a fin, its span is 42 feet and its height is 35 feet. It is classified as “isolated” because it is not attached to any rock other than its base. It is a perfect arc of sky upheld by a stream of rock that tenuously rests on a broad platform, beautiful in form, perfect in function. Walking through Anasazi’s aperture is both wondrous and startling. It is off-trail from here, but the arch remains visible to the northeast residing on the next bench. Over the years, cairns have been transient, so make a note of your location. You need to hit this same break in the cliffs both going and coming from the arch. The San Jose Formation is a highly textured, granular sandstone which makes for delightfully sticky climbing. Shallow hand and toe holds are carved into the stone that lifts you onto the first terrace. This is the only user-friendly approach to the arch. There is a pretty good social trail that penetrates the initial cliff band on the north side of the dry fall. The south wall terminates at an 80-foot, straight-standing column. Walk north aiming for the pouroff at the apex of a natural amphitheater. The drainageway begins in La Plata County and joins the Animas at Cedar Hill, a hamlet north of Aztec.įrom the trailhead, elevation 6,200 feet, Anasazi Arch is less than a quarter of a mile away, but getting there is not obvious. The arch is located in the Cox Canyon tributary of the Animas River.
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