Tag Archives: Capitol Reef National Park

Leave While You’re a Little in Love…

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I have this behavioral quirk (okay, one of many) that I have come to recognize about myself.  Whenever I arrive at a destination, particularly one that is short on amenities or creature comforts, (in this case, contact to the outside world) I am overcome with the urge to bolt.  Whether it be a beach hut in Bali or a shipboard cabin in Seward, I spend the entire first day figuring out an escape route, and the last day crying because I have to leave.  It took me some time to recognize this pattern and learn to just settle down and give it a day or two before I blow up my original plan.  In keeping with my usual M.O., such was the case with Capitol Reef. Continue reading →

I May Have a New Favorite…

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No offense to Lower Spring Canyon, but I may have a new favorite hike in Capitol Reef, the Navajo Knobs trail. The author of my favorite Utah hikes reference book, Hiking from Here to Wow, describes most of canyon country as “down and in,” whereas Navajo Knobs is “up and out.” The author states the most desirable hike in the park is a tossup between Spring Canyon and Navajo Knobs, depending on whether you want “depth versus altitude.”

Navajo Knobs is a long hike at 9.5 miles round trip with a 2,500 ft elevation gain. But I Continue reading →

The Golden Path to the Golden Throne

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I carefully timed my visit to Capitol Reef to hit the cottonwood season. Sure, there is the perfect, crisp cool fall days. And the promise of lighter traffic once school is back in session. But the main reason I was really longing to return was to try to ride the golden wave of autumn. There is something about the brilliance of those giant cottonwood trees that just mesmerizes me. And if my timing is right, I can ride that golden wave all the way down to Zion. Continue reading →

Nine Days of Democracy Detox

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As I approached Capitol Reef National Park at the end of October, our country approached one of the most significant yet divisive mid-term elections in my lifetime. In the weeks leading up to Election Day, my addiction to news had reached toxic proportions. Once content with a few headlines at the end of the day, followed by a few laughs compliments of Stephen Colbert, I had now turned into an insatiable political junkie with a 3-4 hour per day habit. Continue reading →

Communing with Nature in Cohab Canyon

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I am happy to be hiking again! After a couple of weeks driving across the heartland to make the View Rally, tag my last two remaining states, and get back across the Mississippi River and the Continental Divide, my hands on the wheel have done more movement than my feet on the ground. It’s always a bit of a panic, as my mantra is “Move I must! If I stop, I’ll rust!” Had two weeks behind the wheel caused me to rust?   Six miles up through Cohab Canyon and across Frying Pan in the first day tells me all is not lost. Continue reading →

The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

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It is eerily empty here in the Red Rocks boondock. The gang all pulled out this morning bound for Kodachrome, while I am headed east to cross a couple more national parks off my never-ending task master, my Bucket List. But without a list, I lose track of my desires. And without desires, there is no expansion, no growth. Right? Continue reading →

Fording the River Fremont

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One thing I have quickly learned to appreciate about the Red Rocks Gang is that no hike is going to be “pedestrian.”  You may find yourself skirting stagnant tanks in the side of the mountain or being hoisted over boulders, but one thing for sure, it will be an adventure!   So bring your water shoes, as today, we are walking across a 20 ft wide river and bushwhacking through the bulrushes to reach the trail! Continue reading →

Ladies Choice!

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Hiking with the “Red Rocks Gang” takes on a whole different aura when it’s a “Ladies Only” hike.   One would think tempo or pace would be the obvious difference, but quite the contrary.  Of our two dynamic duos, Gayle and Jim and Mark and Bobbie, both women tend to be the trail blazers, up front setting the pace.  Continue reading →