Backpacking Capitol Reef

Over memorial day weekend we went to Capital Reef in Southern Utah to go backpacking. Lindsey and her boyfriend JP came along, so we had good company. We were a little worried about the weather, but figured what the heck we getting out of the city! It was Capitol Reef or bust after that! It did rain rain on us, but we made due and the constant rain clouds over the red desert rock made for spectacular views. Our first night we did some hiking and set up camp off a dirt (mud, clay, etc) road, in which we were glad we drove in JP's all-will drive Subaru, it rocked! We were also inspired by Lindsey and JP to build a "tent patio". The better to keep our tent clean right?!


The next day we hit the trail with our packs. It was fun to have Lindsey along so we could reminisce about the old days. We sang songs, quoted movies and laughed about what we used to get in trouble for. About 5 miles into the hike, we made a last steep climb to the top of the ridge overlooking the waterpocket fold and figured it was the perfect view and the perfect place to camp. Luckily we got on top just in time to realize a huge storm was quickly approaching. We set up our tents as quickly as possible but gale force winds and pounding hail didn't help the situation. For a moment we thought our tent was going to get blown right off the ridge so we piled rocks on top of our tent stakes. We finally got her good and secure and were ready to face the storm when it passed as quickly as it had come. We watched the storm track across the valley and swallow the mountains on the horizon. Our only words, wow that was an EPIC storm! We spent the rest of the day hiking along the ridge and watching smaller storms systems pass through the valley.

On our hike out we got in a fight with the largest lizard we have seen in Utah. He stood his ground, hissed at us and launched himself at the camera when Josh went in for a closer shot. What a lil' bully!


When we finally made it back to the car, we were muddy and tired, but it wasn't anything riptide rush Gatorade couldn't cure.