5/2–5/8/21

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Factory Butte & Capitol Reef National Park

I decided to take a slightly more scenic route than Google’s choice from Moab to Bryce Canyon, stopping briefly at Factory Butte and driving through Capitol Reef National Park.

Factory Butte is just a 6,302’ plat-topped peak in Southeastern Utah, but something about it in pictures I’d seen caught my attention. Perhaps due to its isolated nature I felt we had something in common? (Ha.) In any case, the clouds were doing something quite interesting that afternoon and I enjoyed it.

I continued on through Capitol Reef National Park. I didn’t stop often or spend too much time there, as I wanted to grab some groceries and get to my BLM spot near Bryce well before dark in order to ensure everything went smoothly for the upcoming week. But perhaps another time it would be worth a more thorough exploration.

BLM Camping

The first part of my week was certainly not the highlight of my trip. I think the stress of the last month was getting to me: between preparing for the trip, work deadlines, and then driving across the country. In addition, the weather affected me a bit. At 7,500’ of elevation, it was much colder here, getting down into the low 20s at night. My first day it only got up into the 50s and it was very windy, which gave my screen house some trouble. And to top it off, a little bit of loneliness made its way in there.

I ended up solving the weather issue by turning the passenger seat of my car into a workstation. I sat my laptop on my knees, the back being supported by the dashboard, and used one of my cubby doors as a desk for my mouse and notebook – it was a perfect size. And honestly, rotating between that and the screen house wasn’t too bad.

Bryce Canyon National Park

On Thursday I headed to Bryce Canyon National Park (a convenient 15-minute drove from my campsite) for this week’s backpacking trip. Bryce Canyon isn’t a very large park, so I had to link both backcountry trails (Riggs Spring and Under the Rim) and two frontcountry trails (Peekaboo and Navajo) together to make a route that suited me.

I met my pre-arranged shuttle at Bryce Point. The plan was for the driver to take me to Rainbow Point, where I would begin, and I would end up back at my car on Saturday after completing Riggs Spring and Under the Rim. Then I would assess whether the Peekaboo Connector Trail was open (it had been closed due to icy conditions, but the park ranger I spoke with was very optimistic that it would open soon). If it was open, I would take it to Sunset Point, via the Peekaboo and Navajo Trails. Then I would hop on the free park shuttle back to Bryce Point. If, on the other hand, the connector trail was closed, I’d simply drive around to Sunset Point and do some variation of those trails as a short loop.

When I got into the shuttle van, I was surprised to see two girls about my age. We conversed a bit on the ride (while I sat two rows behind, haha). They were from Southern California and were on a road trip visiting national parks in the Southwest. It turned out they were also doing the Under the Rim Trail and had reserved the same campsite as I had for the second night: Yellow Creek. As we got out of the car at Rainbow Point, one of them started complaining about blisters, as they had apparently just done a hike in the Grand Canyon the weekend prior. “Well you can’t quit until after Yellow Creek,” I called as I walked away toward the trailhead.

I never saw them again.

Day One: Rainbow Point to Iron Spring

Day one on the Riggs Spring Loop and Under the Rim Trail was alright. I wasn’t near any of the features that Bryce Canyon is known for, namely the hoodoos and windows, but rather meandered through ponderosa pines. Nevertheless, it was a pleasant, easy walk. The cooler temperatures made for good hiking weather, so I never had to take a mid-day siesta, like I had at Canyonlands. And once I was a couple miles from the trailhead, I didn’t see a single person.

I eventually arrived at my campsite and checked my watch… 2pm? Well 12.7 miles apparently went by faster than I thought. And of course I didn’t bring a book this time. I used to carry one on all my backpacking trips, but realized I almost never had time to read. I even once carried Walden 126 miles from Monson, ME, to the summit of Mt. Katahdin (fitting, I suppose). And guess how many pages I read that week? Zero. So here I was, with seven hours to fill, and no book. I tried napping for a bit before realizing I had Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five as an audiobook on my phone. Score. I listened from where I had left off – about 40% in – all the way to the end, before falling asleep at 9pm.

Day Two: Iron Spring to Yellow Creek

Day two was much more interesting, as I passed the Pink Cliffs for most of the second half of the day. They were beautiful, and I enjoyed the fact that most people don’t see this feature, as it’s  off in the backcountry, requiring a longer walk to get to. While I was admiring the Pink Cliffs in solitary peace, I was sure there were crowds of people shouldering past each other to see the hoodoos (and this certainty was verified the following day).

I arrived at my campsite at 4pm, as I had taken a much more leisurely pace on that day’s 13.8 miles. With the rest of my evening, I filtered water, ate dinner, and just relaxed by the creek while admiring the Pink Cliffs.

Day Three: Yellow Creek to Sunset Point

I made it back to my car at Bryce Point on the morning of day three and checked on the status of the connector trail – it was open! So I swapped out my large pack for my day pack and got back on the trail. Immediately I ran into people, and the crowds only grew thicker the farther I walked. It was certainly worth tolerating, however, as the hoodoos and windows were quite amazing. I’m in awe of how the earth can be formed in such a way simply by water, ice, and time working on the different layers of rock. Although, I also like the explanation provided by the native Paiutes: the hoodoos are Evil Legend People who were turned to stone by a powerful Coyote god. If you want to hear more on that story, read on here.

After a total of 9 miles that morning, I made it to the shuttle at Sunset Point, which I took back to my car. I felt I had seen enough of Bryce Canyon at that point, so I made my way out of the park in search of food.

Stats

Miles driven this week: 290
Miles driven so far: 2,799
Miles hiked this week: 35.5
Miles hiked so far: 70.75
Nights slept in Obi the Subaru: 5
Nights slept in the backcountry: 2
Total nights slept in Obi the Subaru: 11
Total nights tent camped in the backcountry: 2
Total nights cowboy camped in the backcountry: 1
Total nights slept in an AirBnb: 2
Time since start of trip: 16 days
States visited since start of trip: 8
National parks visited since start of trip: 4
Hoodoos seen: ask the Coyote god