Time to stop messing around with a driving tour of Capitol Reef NP. Today we got down to basics with a long hike back into country not viewable from the road.
To access our 4 1/2 mile strenuous hike to Cassidy Arch we again drove the Scenic Drive in the park (see Down To The Bottom blog), but turned off after Fruita into the dirt road along Grand Wash (where it is believed Butch Cassidy had a hideout). We bumped and bounced down this road for a mile, parked in the parking lot with the sun just clearing the east mesa , put on our backpacks and
and headed 1/2 mile south down the wash to the trailhead. Wouldn’t you know—there was that Creepy Guy again!!!
At the trailhead a sign informed us that the 1 1/2 mile (one way) trail would take us up 950’ in elevation. Up we went along the west wall of the canyon, headed north back the way we had come!
As we climbed we had several views of the wash.
At this point we had walked down the wash to the left, walked up the (hidden)mesa face, around that rounded point, down that side to the end of a box canyon, around the end and up the side we were standing on to get this view.
Our trail goes around the end of this wash and on to the left all across this terrain.
Higher still with the road looking smaller,
and finally a view of our goal. As with a lot of features in this park, things are not always what they seem. This is not a cave, it is the arch. We will soon be over there crossing that white slickrock.
Meanwhile, on we went (Duane’s in the shadow there on the right.)
The trail dipped up and down, sometimes hidden. When we couldn’t see where to go we just looked for the rock cairns.
Almost there, we crossed the slickrock between cairns.
Believe it or not this little three foot (to the crease) rock face finally posed a problem. I used the small hole on the left for a step up, but Duane couldn’t get his shoe in there, and couldn’t bend his knees enough to climb up the ledge. Our solution: I sat on the ledge in front of the big rock, and pulled him up with his walking stick while he scrambled up enough to gain the ledge. Teamwork!
A few more feet and we were there! After 2 1/2 hours we were hot and tired. On the right we found
this little hollow, with some shade from the sun which was overhead by now and bathing the whole area in bright sunlight. We enjoyed a cooling break by eating our salty snacks (a must in this dry heat), before starting back down the way we came.
Duane went out the same way, but I went the other way to view the arch from the opposite direction. I ended up on the arch itself with a view of Duane up there on the left, and a view of the bottom of the hole.
Once more we had to figure out how to negotiate our trouble spot. The simplest way was to slide.
Around and down and around and down.
Looking back we saw the arch looking like a hollow in the rock. On the right is a dark pointed shadow that is actually the top of the arch.
The trip down took only an hour and soon we were just above the parking lot.
A tricky little hairpin turn left,
then right, and we were down. A hot 1/2 mile walk along the wash, then wonderful air conditioning.
Heading out of the park the noon sun bathed the landscape in beautiful light.
This cow and three calves (one is in the ditch below the road) had escaped through a hole in the fence this morning. We were surprised to find they were still wandering around on the road.
We exited the park and drove a few miles to this tiny place (the long part is seating, the crosspart of the T is kitchen and restrooms). Inside we found wonderful air conditioning, huge, tasty cheeseburgers, really good fries, and best of all, tall glasses of icy cold cola.
Ahhhhh!
Pickleball tomorrow.
Louise and Duane
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