Capitol Reef– The Capitol Gorge

John is not thrilled with some of my picks. He loves the places we’re visiting like the double arches or this gorge trail, but the drives are frustrating for him. Very rough for a regular sedan car with washboarding and oncoming drivers who don’t necessarily share the road. The Scenic Road and the Capitol Gorge Road have wonderful views for the passenger. Quite a challenge for the driver.

The hike was great with most in a slot canyon.

There is a section called Pioneer Register with names back into the 1800’s.

John noticed that someone and some point tried to sign by shooting the rock (top left in picture). The ranger confirmed this.

The Golden Throne.

I liked the solution cavities on the canyon walls. These are soft spots in the sandstone that have weathered into circular spots.

There are several tanks on this trail. That’s what they call the large holes holding water.

And a dry one.

  

Being short (4’10”), trails going up hills where you have to take large steps up are a challenge to me. Even more challenging is going down. For the biggest “steps” I resort to sliding down on my butt. I have more control than jumping.  This trail had me sliding down quite a bit on my butt. The embarrassing part is that I didn’t realize there were several people watching me. One mentioned she had considered taking this trail until she saw how much problems I was having. Oops!