Capitol Reef National Park
Strike Valley Overlook
CapitolReefisoneverydeceptivenationalpark.Thoughitaveragesonly6mileswidefromeasttowest,
fromCathedralValleyonthenorthtotheWaterpocketFold(above)tothesouth,itextends60miles,
10xitswidth.TravelingthroughitonUtah24,asmostcasualtouristsdo,it’smerelyareststopenroute
tooneoftheother“MightyFive”(Arches,Canyonlands,CapitolReef,Bryce&Zion).Eveniftheyventure
downthe8-mile-longScenic Drive southoftheVisitorCenter,they’veseenonlyasmallfractionofthe
parkanditssurroundingruggeddesertlandscape.
Butwearenotcasualtourists,arewe?Oh,nowe’renot.Weliketostopandsmelltheflowers…someof
usmorethanothers(SharonandAnn).Whileothersofusliketogetourfeetwet…notasmuchlikeas
tolerate…in pursuit of that ultimate National Geographic moment. For some (Sharon)…not so much
tolerateasloathe.Thereshouldbeampleopportunityforboth…andsomuchmore…onthis5-daytrip.
WedepartWestGlenwoodMallonMonday,May15,at7:00(7:30fromRiflerestarea).Yousleepyheads
can depart later, if you like, but you’ll miss out on our en route hike, Big Dominguez, SE of Grand Jct.
Inourhastetoreachthefalls(belowleft)in2014,weblewrightpastthem.I’velocatedthemwithaGPS
waypointthistime,sowewon’tmakethesamemistake(Ihope).It’sonly3milestothefallsonmostly
level terrain (<400’ gain), but you keeners may go farther if you like (to the extent your non-hiking
spouseswillallow).FYI,“keener”isCanadianforagung-hoperson.IknowthisbecauseI’vebeencalled
one by my Canadian friends…one of whom is an ultra-marathoner (now she’s a keener). Here in the
goodol’USA,we’reknownsimplyas“mileagewonks”,thoughnon-wonksmaythinkusjust“simple”.
Whetheryougo3milesor6,we’llhaveatailgatepicniclunchat
the trailhead after the hike, then continue on to Torrey, Utah,
abouta4-hourdrivefromBig Dominguez.TurnoffI-70south
onUT24(pastGreenRiver)towardHanksville.Thenturnright
(west)atHanksvilletowardFruita,Utah(below)andTorrey.
View from Panorama P oint
On Tuesday, May 16, we have several options, including two leader-guided hikes, Spring Canyon and
Pleasant Creek(canyon),aswellasavarietyofself-guidedoptions.Countongettingyourfeetweton
eitherofthecanyonhikes.SpringCanyonisthemoredifficultofthetwo,andmaybedoneasanout-andbackhikeeitherfromitsconfluencewiththeFremontRiverorviaChimneyRockCanyon.Itcanalsobe
doneasathroughhikebeginningateitherend.Aprincipaldeterminanttowhichoptionisselectedisthe
FremontRiver.Ifitistoodeeptowade,thenaChimneyRockentry/exitwouldbetheonlyviableoption.
AcompletedescriptionofthisandPleasantCreekbothcanbefoundonthewebsiteunderHikingMaps.
Those of us averse to wet feet…or otherwise challenged (e.g., moi)…may opt for one or several easy to
moderateself-guidedoptions.Theyrangeinlengthfrom0.1mileto2.3milesone-waywith<50to>1000
feetofelevationgain(seeFruitaAreaMapandGuideunderHikingMaps).TheseincludeGoosenecks,
Sunset Point, Fremont River, Hickman Bridge, Grand Wash, Chimney Rock Loop and Fremont Gorge
Overlook.TheParkServiceratesthelasttwoasstrenuous,buttheydon’tknowourgroup.Nevertheless,
pleaseexercisecautionandalwayshikewithafriend.
OnWednesday,humpday,May17there’satwist…asinMuleyTwist.Therearethreedifferenthikesin
this sinuous canyon alone, from (relatively) easy to an “are we there yet” 15.4-mile marathon. I had
donetheshorterLowerMuleyhalf-loopmanyyearsago,andIwaslookingforwardtothelongerversion.
But,alas,evenI’mnotstupidenoughtotrythatwithbrokenribs.NorwillIbedoingthehalf-loopeither.
You’llfindcompletedescriptionsofbothLowerMuleyTwistandUpperMuleyTwistunderHikingMaps.
MostvehiclescanaccessLowerMuleytrailheads;however,high-clearanceisrequiredforUpperMuley.
A2WDtrailhead,0.3milesfromtheBurrTrailRoad,is2.94x4milesfromtheStrikeValleyOverlookTH.
OtherhikesthatdayincludeRedCanyon,SurpriseCanyon,andHeadquartersCanyon.Furtherdetailson
theseandotherhikesintheWaterpocketDistrictcanbefoundunder(whereelse?)HikingMaps.
Thursday,May18:After3daysofhiking,perhapsyou’rereadyforabreak.Well,youcouldcurlupin
yourhotelroomandwatchDaytimeJeopardy.ButIknowthat’snotyourstyle.Ontheotherhand,fora
changeofpace…literally…youcouldtryourCathedral Valley4x4adventure.Foryoukeeners/wonks,
thereissomehiking…upto10.4milesintotal…thoughmanyofuswouldprobablyoptforfewermiles.
There’s~58milesofdrivingtheCapitolReefbackcountry…beautifulscenery,whetheryouhikeornot.
High-clearance4WDisrequiredforsomesections,althoughmostoftherouteappearstobereasonably
smooth…if dusty. This trip is weather dependent, as rain could turn that dust into a greasy quagmire.
Lookforadditionalinformationunder…youguessedit…HikingMaps.Areyoudiscerningatrendhere?
Cathedra l Valley
Okay,sosomeofyouhaven’thadyourfillofhikingyet,andthethoughtofdriving58milesoffpavement
isaboutasappealingasahotelwithbadroomservice(whoareyoupeople?).Foryou,thereareacouple
ofotheroptions:Sheets Gulch,adeep,narrowcanyonwithchallengingboulderfieldsandpour-offsto
surmount;andCapitol Gorge/Golden Throne,afarlesschallengingalternativeleadingtothePioneer
Register,averticalslickrockfacewithinscriptionsleftby19thCenturyMormonsettlers.Thesetwotrails
sharethesametrailhead,withGoldenThroneasteeper,shorterout-andbackhike,whileCapitolGorgeis
arelativelyflat,sandywashthatcanbedoneeitherasathroughhikeoranout-and-back.There’salsoa
short,ifsteep,spurtrailleadingfromthegorgetoaseriesofwater-filledpotholesor“tanks”(belowleft).
Forallthedeets,besuretocheck…yup…HikingMaps.
Andthatbringsustoourlastdayonthetrail(s),
Friday, May 19. Hickman Bridge and the Rim
Overlook share a trailhead along Hwy 24 east
oftheVisitorCenter.Ifyouhavethetime(anda
lot of ambition), Navajo Knobs lay 2.4 miles
beyondRimOverlookalongthesametrail.
The eastern TH for Cohab Canyon is across
Hwy24fromHickman Bridge.ItswesternTH
isonScenicDriveacrossfromthecampground.
You can hike Cohab as a through hike with car
shuttleorconnectwiththeFryingPanTrail.
TheCassidyArchTrailoriginatesinGrandWash,1.3
miles down an unpaved road from Scenic Drive. You
canhikeGrandWashasa2-milethroughhiketo/from
Hwy 24 or as an out-and-back hike from either end.
For a more challenging outing, add the Cassidy Arch
1.7-mile hike or continue past the arch on the Frying
PanTrail2.9milestoCohabCanyon.Somanyoptions.
For further details see Fruita Area Map and Guide
under…yeah,yeah…HikingMaps.
Becauseourgroupisstayingliterally“alloverthemap”
in and around Torrey, our tailgate location(s) will be
decided only after our arrival there. Also, our meeting
placeforallhikeswillbeannouncedatourfirstTorrey
tailgate,Monday,May15,~5:00.Tailgateassignments
for the Capitol Reef trip are as follows: 5/15 – A-K;
5/16–L-P;5/17–Q-Z;5/18–A-Z;5/19–A-Z.
Surprise Canyon