Distance > 16 Miles; People Met = 4
We actually met more than four people this day, but I’ll save two for the next day. The day started off in our oasis. We got an early 7:15 a.m. start hiking – always a good thing to beat the heat and get a good jump on the day. Then we started hiking through Sheets Draw and South Road Draw, the latter being in Capitol Reef National Park. Astounding scenery! I’ll include one photo but you’ll have to check out the Facebook photo album I’ll put up eventually.
View from Sheets Draw
We intersected with the main road to the National Park and were able to have lunch under a shaded pavilion – more good stuff. No one was down there at first, which we expected since we heard that recent flooding had closed the roads. Eventually a road crew appeared, I assume to repair the road. In any case it was permanently closed in the direction we would head after lunch, through Capitol Gorge.
A scout troop arrived on bicycles before our lunch break was over. They were to turn back around at that point. I chatted with the scout leaders, particularly Leroy Kinder. He biked many of the trails in the area and were able to fill us in on points east. That was a relief to me because my maps ended pretty much where we were having lunch. Leroy gave us a map of Wayne County that would take us from Capitol Reef on to Goblin Valley. He also gave us some Powerade.
The Scouts, with Leroy Kinder on the Left
Capitol Gorge was even more spectacular than our morning hike through the two draws. Once again, a Facebook photo album is called for. The closed road ended at another pavilion where a trail went through the remainder of the gorge. It was not until then that the daily afternoon thunderstorm arrived. Everything was going our way the whole day. Was it too good to be true? Well, yes and no. Both the worst — and the best — was yet to come, but I’ll save that for the Day 072 post.
Capitol Gorge
