Capitol Reef National Park

11/25 -- 11/30/2021

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Capitol Reef's defining geologic feature is a wrinkle in Earth's crust called the Waterpocket Fold, extending nearly 100 miles from Thousand Lake Mountain to Lake Powell.  It was created over time by three gradual yet powerful processes: deposition, uplift, and erosion.  Capitol Reef is an especially rugged and spectacular segment of the Waterpocket Fold by the Fremont River.  With beautiful scenic drive, narrow canyons, towering cliffs, stunning landscapes, Capitol Reef is an amazing park and definitely an under-rated national park compared to Utah's other national parks (e.g., Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, and Zion). 

Getting there ...

We had an early 6AM flight to SLC (so we had to get up at 3AM!).   I rented a mid-sized SUV so we could go off road to explore more backcountry regions in Capitol Reef.  I also planned a side trip to Bonneville Salt Flats and Onaqui Mountain (for wild horses) on the last 2 days so we could have some more diversified activities for this trip.

 

 

 

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

   


The Second Day (11/26) ... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Third Day (11/27) ...

 

 

 

 

Deep erosion has carved Cathedral Valley's free-standing monoliths, or temples, out of the soft reddish-orange Entrada Sandstone, which was originally deposited as sandy mud on a tidal flat.   The scenery of the Entrada Sandstone temples of Cathedral Valley is complemented by evidence of other geologic processes at work. The flowing and dissolving of gypsum, a soluble mineral from the underlying Carmel Formation, created Glass Mountain, an exposed plug of gypsum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To complete the Cathedral Valley loop (counter-clockwise), we should visit the Lower South Desert Overlook as the last stop and continue the drive on the Hartnet Road.  But it will require a river crossing before connect back to SR-24.  When I checked with the ranger at the visitor center on the day before, the water level at river crossing was about 13 inches (higher than normal at this time of the year).  We decided not to take the risk to cross the river (at the very end of whole loop journey and closer to getting dark).  Instead we turned back at the Lower South Desert Overlook and visited the Lower Cathedral Valley Overlook as the last stop,  and took the longer route to go through the forest/mountain on the west to connect to SR-72 and SR-24 back to Torrey.

The Fourth Day (11/28) ...

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

The Strike Valley Overlook Trail (0.9 miles/ 1.4 km round-trip) offers views of the valley with nearly 150 million years of geologic history visible. This trail is accessed from the Strike Valley Overlook road which is unmaintained and requires a high clearance 4 wheel drive vehicle.  The overlook sits atop a low saddle reached by way of a sandy trail, followed by two moderate-grade slickrock climbs marked by rock cairns.  However I missed one of key cairns and lost my direction.  Instead of going for the gentle climb, I headed to a super-steep slickrock uphill and found it was too dangerous to pass.  Luckily Woanyu quickly found the right cairn and we were back to the right trail (otherwise we may miss the Strike Valley Overlook after all these efforts of driving/climbing....).


 

   

 

 

The Fifth Day (11/29) ...

   

 

   

We started our 5-hour long drive north at about 10:30AM.  The drive was smooth and fast (we could drive 80+ MPH most of the time).  However, I got a speed ticket around a small town Aurora where it was one of slowest sections on the entire route (46 MPH at 35MPH zone).  The policeman was "kind" enough to put down at 40MPH so I was only penalized for 1-5MPH range :-(

   

   

   

   

   

The Sixth Day (11/30) ...

   

   

   

   

   

 

   

   

   

   

   

Going Home ...

We returned to Tooele from the Onaqui Mountain at ~ 2:30PM and headed back to SLC airport.  The weather in central Utah was good at this time of the year:  cool at night (just below 32°F/0°C) and comfortable during daytime (~50°F/10°C).  We have visited less-known places in Utah this time (Capitol Reef National Park, Bonneville Salt Flats, and search for wild horses at the Onaqui Mountain), and there were certainly no crowds at all (we can have the whole canyon to ourselves for hours), but they are just as magical as other big named Utah national parks like Zion or Arches. 


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