I arrived in Torrey, Utah just outside of Capitol Reef National Park in the evening on August 13th. A tiny town with one main street, a few restaurants, a general store and that’s about it. A town you could drive through without knowing it if you aren’t careful. I was the last customer able to order at the Italian restaurant as they were running out of food… at 7PM.
I found a free camp spot just outside the park where I got to experience mostly clear skies and enjoy the starlight. The following day I made my way into the park’s visitor center where I got a run down on the trails and different parts of the park. The park covers a long, skinny plot of land in central Utah. This land is called the Waterpocket Fold and due to uplift from tectonic activity and an ancient tectonic fault the land formed a natural sloping landscape with rock formations at an angle with reference to the horizon compared to the Grand Canyon where the rock striations are horizontal. Another unique characteristic of this fold is water flows and collects creating this oasis of lush greenery in an otherwise barren landscape dominated by red and orange rock.
Utah Highway 24 runs through the middle of the park where the visitor center is and most of the hiking trails and popular sights. But the park also has two dirt roads, one running to the North and one to the South. I was told my Subaru couldn’t get to the North side of the park and I would need a high clearance vehicle. That makes it all the more intriguing and a reason to definitely go back. How many people get to actual experience this whole park?
I settled on Chimney Rock trail and made my way to the trail head. Getting ready to go on a long day hike is always a process for me. Because of how everything fits in my car and my particulars on how I store my water, it always takes me a while to get things out, pack my bag and make sure I’m not forgetting anything. As I’m going through this process, a woman parked next to me is going through the same process. A similarly packed car. Obviously another person living on the road. She smiled, said “Hi” as she finished up and headed out on the trail. I briefly talked to a father and son that had New Jersey plates then headed out on the trail.
As the trail winds it way up to the first overlook to see the beautiful landscape of the park, I run into the same traveler. After a conversation about the view, we decided to finish the hike together. As we had both spent a lot of time hiking alone we were both looking forward to some company.
Looking back on my time on the road, one of my biggest regrets is the lack of people I was willing to talk to, meet and really get to know. Before I left Houston I had visions of being holed up in small bars meeting locals learning about their lives and towns and really getting to know them over a beer or two or three or four… Or meeting fellow travelers that invited me on their own adventures. But to be honest, except for a select few stories that I have already written about, more often than not I was sitting at the bar by myself looking at my phone planning my next day, or talking myself out of being social on the trail thinking people don’t want this hobo looking guy invading their space. Enter Kat.
Kat, an artist living in New Orleans who could not mask her North Carolina accent if she tried, possesses the ability to hold both sides of a conversation which was fine by me. Often apologizing for dominating the conversation, I was happy to let her so I could hike and listen to something other than my inner-monologue. Conversations about how we got where we are, why we made decisions that got us here, travel “pro-tips”, families, past/current significant others and our futures. While hiking through the wilderness I don’t see any need to hold back. I probably will never see this person again and who are they going to tell. It was weirdly therapeutic to talk it out to someone else even if they are a complete stranger. We spent two days together hiking, going to campfire ranger talks and enjoying another’s company for a change.
Listening to Kat’s stories, she is the type of person who makes fast friends wherever she ends up. An inviting, honest and entertaining personality, it is no wonder people gravitate to her. And while she has created friendships with ease all over the West on her travels I certainly have not and I’m lucky that I ran into her that day in Capitol Reef.
So I feel it is important to note that for this particular week of the trip I had done very little planning. I knew I would have a week and I wanted to see Zion and Bryce but that is like 3 days maybe 4 at most. What was I to do with the rest of the week. I could really go anywhere but I didn’t just want to waste my time driving somewhere to just turn around and drive back to SLC. So while I was still in Zion trying to plan out the next week of my trip feeling overwhelmed with how much time I had and what to cover, I turned to my go-to wilderness and adventure guide, KFisch (also one of my oldest and closest friends, bonus). He did not disappoint. I received a string of suggestion texts including, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, The Vermillion Cliffs, Hole-In-The-Rock Road, Capital Reef National Park, Buckskin Gulch etc. Well I think I have enough to fill my week.
I drove out the East side of Zion on their winding, weaving tunnel through the face of the canyon on state highway 9 on my way to higher elevation and Bryce. While the town of Springdale, closest city to the entrance of Zion, sits in the valley of the canyon, the town of Bryce sits atop the plateau and on top of the canyon therefore much more pleasant to sleep in. Sleeping back in my car after over a week of sleeping in my tent and several beds, I finally had a good night’s sleep, AHHH Home.
The next morning I drove into Bryce National Park, stopped by the Visitor Center to plan my day of hiking then drove to the Amphitheater of the park. The Amphitheater is a natural bowl surrounded on three sides by the giant canyon walls while the inside of the bowl is full of tiny canyons line by hoodoos (unique rock structures worn by wind and water to form smooth beautiful pillars). The view was unlike anything I had ever seen before. One singular view that captured nature, geology, the horizon and a paintbrush of colors. Truly a postcard view. It was amazing.
I hiked the Figure 8 Combination trail which combines several loops in the park. It leads you down into canyon and winds you through pathways cut by giant hoodoos. The trail gives you a unique perspective of the canyon and the hoodoos as opposed to just standing on the ledge looking down. The following morning I got up early to catch the sun cresting the horizon and splashing the hoodoos with sunlight. The hoodoos are beautiful on their own by sunrise is on another level.
Sunrise at Bryce’s Amphitheater
After sunrise I drove out of Bryce to see what the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument had to offer. I stopped at the Cannonville Ranger Station which wasn’t too far from Bryce to discuss what I should see. The Ranger there was incredibly nice and helpful (unlike what I had experienced in Yosemite) and told me her favorite hikes and showed me which dirt roads to drive down. As I’m looking at the map I see at the Southern edge of the park, Buckskin Gulch, one of the longest slot canyons in the USA. Both KFisch and my brother had suggested it. Ok new plan, get me there. Turns out I can drive the original route she planned for me stopping at her favorite hikes on my way to Buckskin Gulch. I’m all set to leave when they mention that I should be off the road by 1 or 2PM. Excuse me? It is 11AM at this point and I have a two hour drive if I drove straight to Buckskin Gulch not including any hiking. Why? Monsoons, another regional difficulty I had not experienced on my travels yet.
The National Monument is lined with dirt roads and when it rains the dirt turns into clay and you can’t drive on it and could damage your tires. Not only that but because the ground doesn’t absorb water it could rain miles away and the water will flow to the lowest point which is where I was driving. After all the help with where to hike they were not very helpful on this issue with possible rain. The conversation continued something like this:
Me: “Should I not go?”
Ranger: “No, you can go just watch out for rain.”
Me: “What does look out for rain mean?”
Ranger: “Just watch for the sky getting dark from behind you.”
Me: “Well is it supposed to rain?”
Ranger: “Well you never know here”
Me: “Ahhh, ok? But other people are driving on that road right now, right?”
Ranger: “Yeah”
Me: “So, what do I if it starts raining?”
Ranger: “Stop and wait it out”
Me: “How long does that normally take?”
Ranger: “Anywhere from 2 to 48 hours”
Me: “48 hours? Hmmmmmmmmmmmm… Ok well I’m going to give it a shot”
Ranger: “Yeah sure. Just watch out for the rain”
Me: (aggressive eye roll)
So after being properly freaked out about possibly being stranded in my car in the Utah desert for 2 days I decided to forgo the hikes and just book it to the next ranger station (about 2 hours away) on the way to Buckskin Gulch. The Grand Staircase is exactly as described. It is a series of plateaus, Bryce being near the top and the monument highlights the dramatic drop in altitude down the plateaus. This makes getting stranded more dangerous for two reasons. First, it is incredibly hot the lower you go and second, water funnels to where I am going. As annoying as the conversation was it probably prevented me from running into any danger. I made it to the Paria Ranger Station and discussed the route to Buckskin Gulch with the lady there. About another hour down another dirt road would get me there. Ok so the next question is where would be cool to sleep. She advises me that just South of Buckskin Gulch there is free camping and it should be pretty cool there at night but if I drive another hour South from Buckskin into Kaibab National Forest, there will be no issues with the heat. As I’m looking at Kaibab National Forest on the map I notice a little known feature just South of it (some of you know where I’m going with this), the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. “The North Rim is right there? How far is that from here?” About 2 hours.
After avoiding the Grand Canyon because I thought it was out of the way. I now had inadvertently driven two hours from it. And only an extra hour from my original destination. First Buckskin Gulch then the Grand Canyon. I leave the ranger station and head to the dirt road to Buckskin Gulch. It is about 2PM and remembering my warning from earlier I look up and see rain clouds in the direction I’m going. I quickly change my mind for probably the 4th time that day and stay on the paved road and set my course for the Grand Canyon.
Early on in my trip I went to Canyonlands and thought it was amazing and I remember thinking to myself, “Hey, this is kind of like the Grand Canyon”. Nope. WRONG. There is nothing like the Grand Canyon. It is my most favorite place I have ever been to. Nothing compares to it, its vastness, its colors, its rugged yet tranquil feeling, your feeling of insignificance standing on the rim. I hung out at the North Rim Lodge drank a beer on the ledge of the canyon and thought about what a crazy day of driving got me to the most beautiful happy hour spot on Earth.
I drove down to Cape Royal in the Grand Canyon. It is a great spot for sunsets and sunrises as the river curves around it you can look east and west with great views. I got there just in time to make myself some dinner and run out to the tip to witness sunset through some rain and lightning in the distance. I still will defend my claim that Washington has the most beautiful sunsets but this one was on fire.
Sunset over the Grand Canyon.
The following morning I got to see sunrise.
Sunrise at Cape Royal.
Then drove out stopping at Jacob Lake Inn for a great breakfast then onto Buckskin Gulch. Unfortunately due to recent rain there were impassable parts of the canyon but I still got to see several miles of it. I also met Randolph and Courtney, a couple from NY on a road trip through the West. It was nice to walk and talk with people for a change.
On my way back North I stopped at the Paria Ranger Station again to confirm I could drive back on the same dirt road I came down on the day before. I was told that a car got stuck because of the rain last night but I could try it if I wanted to. NO. What is with this travel advice? Just say “No. Don’t drive on that road.” So I had to reroute to stay on paved roads and ended up back in Bryce for the night.
The following day I drove to Escalante to talk to the rangers about Hole-In-The-Rock Road. I was there around 10AM where I got a similar warning about driving in the afternoons. Hole-in-the-Rock Road has historical significance which I frankly don’t quite understand but it had to do with drilling a hole through one of the many mountains/plateaus to access Lake Powell to feed water back to the city of Escalante (I might have that wrong but the drilling through the rock face is where it gets its name.)
I explored Spooky Canyon and the Devil’s Garden which are just off the historic road. Spooky Canyon was so narrow I couldn’t get through it with a backpack on. Devil’s Garden is a secluded plot of land with more hoodoos.
Continuing on the road I followed route 12 to Torrey, Utah on my way to Capital Reef National Park. This was one of the most surprisingly beautiful drives of my trip. As you drive up and down the plateaus of central Utah you experience unbelievable landscape views stretching out over the rugged wilderness. After several successful but long days of driving and hiking I made it to Capital Reef National Park where I was able to settle for a few days. Phew!
The night before leaving Vegas I slept for maybe 2 hours. Maybe I wasn’t used to sleeping in a bed, who knows, but I couldn’t sleep and I was running on empty when I started. Getting out of Vegas took a lot longer than I expected. Between the oil change, tire replacement and grocery shopping I didn’t get on the road until early afternoon. This was August 8th which gave me 8 days until my next drop dead anchor point to meet up with friends for the total eclipse in Salt Lake City. In other words I had 8 days to get from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City. A drive that could be done in about 6 hours, so I had a lot of time to kill. Good thing Utah is a giant state filled with things to see.
The first decision was whether to start at the Grand Canyon then work up or go straight to Zion National Park. There are a few “guidelines” I traveled the road by: See awesome stuff (obviously), avoid cities, focus on places you wouldn’t go out of your way to see in the future (aka Mount Rushmore. I’m not flying to go see Mount Rushmore so check it off now), and see new places. So when it comes to the Grand Canyon, it honestly didn’t check enough boxes because (and I know this sounds backwards but) it is my favorite place in the world and I will be making multiple trips there in the future so I didn’t feel like I needed to drive there. Also, driving to the South Rim puts me on the wrong side of an enormous hole in the ground if I am planning on going to the SLC and you pretty much have to drive to Zion if you want to go to the North Rim so Zion it is.
Now one thing John and I had experienced on our 10 days traveling together that I had not encountered by myself was sleeping in the heat. The previous month saw me traveling through the Canadian Rockies, and the Pacific Northwest where the evening temperature fell into the 50s most nights which is perfect for sleeping in your car. John and I had been pretty diligent about finding camping locations at high elevations. I checked the weather in Springdale, UT (the valley of the canyon) and it forecast low 70s for the evening. Not great but doable. I found a spot outside the park on BLM land on the North Creek and I wouldn’t sleep in my car but my tent should be fine. After not sleeping the night before I was looking forward to recharging. Well that didn’t happen. It felt like the mid 80s until about 4am when the temperature finally started dropping. So after 2 sleepless nights I’m not in the greatest of moods and while originally planning two days in Zion, I decided I had to cram as much into one day and get out of the valley and get to higher elevation.
I hiked Angel’s Landing’s that day which turned out to be one of my favorite hikes of the summer. A lot of elevation gain and scary at times as you are hiking up a very thin ridge with steep slopes on either side. The hike provides metal chains for you to hold on to so you don’t slip off the edge, pretty exciting. The view was breathtaking at the top as you are on this ledge that juts into the middle of the canyon looking up and down the valley.
Atop Angel’s Landing Looking into the Canyon
Unfortunately it is an incredibly crowded trail which made using the metal chains even more difficult as people are dancing around each other going up and down the trail.
After Angel’s Landing I went to the most popular trail in the park, The Narrows. A walk in and through the Virgin River with canyon walls protruding out of the Earth hundreds of feet on either side of you keeping you enclosed in the canyon. Although I have hiked this trail before I figured since I was here I had to do it again. Plus it was super hot and The Narrows is shaded by the canyon walls and you get to walk in refreshing water.
After two days of not sleeping and a long hike in the heat my patience was pretty much gone. The Narrows was completely packed with people and it felt more like a water park than nature. I walked up the canyon for about an hour turned around and hiked out. I look forward to hiking it again with family and friends because it is truly a beautiful and unique hike but when you are looking for a solitary hike, it is not the place.
I rode the bus out of the Canyon, ate at Oscar’s Cafe (highly recommend) and headed to Bryce.
What an adventure! The RealTripping is on pause for right now. I dropped Jason off with his dog and car in North Carolina on 9/21 and headed to my new home. After 106 days and 15,666 miles living out of my car exploring the Western United States and Canada, I have settled into a spare room at my brother’s place in Newport News, VA. While there were several objectives for this trip, finding myself on the East coast at the end was one of them and I succeeded there.
I apologize for not keeping the blog post portion of the website updated. The last post that wasn’t a “Photo Announcement” was about Washington state. John Philip defined our trip through Oregon and California to Las Vegas therefore I will pick up the narrative in Southern Utah. The blog still needs to cover Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Toronto, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Virginia and North Carolina. As well as new friends met along the way, a total eclipse, a crashed wedding and reuniting with the part of the country I spent the first 2/3rds of my life in. The narrative will be finished and I hope all of YOU will continue reading.
