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.
Looking forward to the next post. Love, Mom