 |
| Second Tank above Capitol Gorge |
 |
| Our Hikers in Capitol Gorge |
 |
| Landscape along the Capitol Reef Scenic Drive |
 |
| Starting into the Gorge (Petroglyph Panel to Left) |
We arrived in Capitol Reef National Park in the early afternoon so a short hike was in order. We decided to take the drive down the Scenic Drive to the Capitol Gorge Trailhead and see if we could find the tanks at the end of the canyon! Two of us had been there many years ago and not been able to find the trail to the tanks. Now that we are a bit less "green," we had a feeling we would be able to find them! After 7.5 miles of pavement and 2 miles of dirt from the campground, the road ended at the Capitol Gorge Trailhead and, off we went! This was easy hiking but interesting ... a good first hike in the park. We perused the petroglyph panel found on the left just as we entered the canyon.
 |
| Trailhead Info Sign |
 |
| Finishing up at the Petroglyphs |
 |
| Petroglyphs and Pioneer Registries |
 |
| Capitol Gorge |
Passing through the narrow canyon, we also found three other "panels" on the walls. The park service calls these other panels, Pioneer Registries. We also noted five iron bars coming out from the walls in the canyon. We can only assume that these were grab bars for those unfortunate enough to get caught in a flash flood. The danger of such an occurrence is real, folks! My husband and I were caught in a flash flood coming out of the dirt road part of the scenic drive about 15 years ago. Yep. It was scary. But, we and the car survived! With one of the iron grab bars, there is a camera that we assumed was there to keep tabs on grafitti artists, flash floods and hikers needing help.
 |
| Grab Bar and Camera in Capitol Gorge (They are serious about flash floods.) |
 |
| Gorge Scenery |
 |
| Hiking in Capitol Gorge |
 |
| Terry gazes at the high-posted Pioneer Registry |
As the gorge opened out a little, there is a small sign on the left side indicating the junction of the tanks trail. Sure enough, there is a cairned trail heading up a small wash and winding around above until you can reach a larger wash where there are potholes that hold water. The tanks wash is beautifully carved where we found the first tank and a low lying arch just beyond. This first tank had a good amount of water, although, it was impossible to tell how deep it was. Some of the water in the park have the bad amoeba stuff in it. No way should you end up in any deep water inside the park! On up the wash, we found one other tank with a lot of water. We skimmed around a rock on the left side and hiked on up but this was the last one, we think.
 |
| Climb up to the Tanks |
 |
| First Tank with Arch |
 |
| Squeezing around the Second Tank |
 |
| Happy Hikers |
After photos and fun, we tried to follow the tanks trail back. I don't think we were able to follow it back the same way, but we got there! Down at the signed junction again, we were a little confused about which canyon we should head back up. With the help of the GPS, we figured it out and went on our way. It was a delightful little hike. The gorge is impressive. And, the old grafitti connects us to the past. (My husband asked me if we waited until a rain storm was coming before we did it! ... Not this time!)
Stats: 2.7 miles; 220' gain; 1.75 hours
 |
| Danuta and David talk at the Second Tank |
 |
| Climbing at the Tanks Junction (Trail Sign Below) |
 |
| The Gorge as seen from Trail Sign |
 |
| Capitol Reef Trail Overview |
No comments:
Post a Comment