Made a quick stop at the little Hills and Hollows convenience store/gas station on the way into town for a few beverages.
There were a lot of deer strike remnants and we saw several deer so we didn't hurry.
Coming down Boulder Mtn., we stopped at one of our favorite pull offs in
Teasdale overlooking the
horse pastures on the left.
A lovely scene with a thunderstorm moving off in the distance.
The steep switchbacks go right up the side of the cliffs across the road from the campground, so it wasn’t long before we were huffing and puffing.
It was a reminder that we were at 6800’ or so…not the 750’ we’re used to at home. The view just gets better as you climb up the cliff.
You’re just beginning to wonder how the trail reaches the top when it cuts sharply to the left and you are in the canyon.
As we reached the turn, the wind was gusting hard against the top of the switchbacks, but as soon as we entered the canyon, the wind was gone. We enjoyed walking along the slickrock and sand as we followed the wash. There were stretches of odd red cliffs with deep pockmarks.
Farther on, Sharon noticed a hummingbird feeding on Indian Paintbrush flowers. We stopped to enjoy the scene and take pictures. Sharon got some nice ones with her Sony superzoom.
Eventually the trail from the campground joined the Cohab Canyon Trail, and we resumed our upward walk. We enjoyed the display of colorful rocks and dramatic sky in total solitude…something still nice about Capitol Reef.
When the trail started going downward, we decided to turn around and head back. It was already 6PM. The way back seemed a little longer and the steep sections of switchback got tiresome before we reached the bottom. We’d gone about 4.5 miles on our “break in hike”. ..warming up for the 11 miler we had planned for later in the trip.