Hiking, Walking, Climbing

The weather finally turned warm on one of our days off so at last we could plan on taking a hike. We parked in the Grand Wash parking lot and began the 300 yards to the trailhead of Cassidy Arch. The entire trail is 3-1/2 miles roundtrip with an elevation change of 670 feet and is listed on the park’s brochure as a strenuous hike. We haven’t hiked in almost a year so why in the world would we start with an easy or even moderate one! LOL Most of the elevation change occurs in about the first half mile, and Russ said that was quite enough change in such a short distance for him! The arch was named after the outlaw, Butch Cassidy, who is thought to have occasionally used Grand Wash as a hideout. The picture of me at the beginning of this paragraph is actually near the start of the trailhead and is not of the arch. The views along the way were spectacular, and we made frequent stops to rest and enjoy the landscape laid out before us.

At one point we even had an impressive view of Navajo Dome in the distance (though I zoomed in a bit for the photo at right of Russ seeming to appear right in front of it). Eventually we had our first look at Cassidy Arch, and from this point it was another ½ mile hike along some smooth slickrock formations….careful where you step! Finally we reached our destination, and I’d like to say we were awestruck by what we saw, but I guess we’ve seen too many arches in the past few years. After having been to Arches National Park and also seeing arches at a couple other national parks that didn’t require as strenuous a hike, we’re just not sure it was worth the hike for us though it is amazing to see what nature has done. The hike back down seemed to go faster (why is that?), and we passed desert flowers in bloom plus we “discovered” another arch (below right) which Russ dubbed “The Farmer’s Arch”.

Not far down the Grand Wash from the Scenic Drive are a couple entrances to the Oyler Mine. The first claim to this uranium mine was staked in 1904, and in the 1920s pieces of uranium ore from this mine were ground up and mixed in drinking water, or worn in packets on waistbands, as a “cure” for rheumatism. Not sure that worked out real well as the cure was possibly worse than the disease! The openings are now closed off with grates which allow the bats to access the interior to roost and to keep people out.

Sat., May 14, was National Migratory Bird Day, and each year Ranger Dave hosts a bird walk along the Fremont River. Barbara, Nancy, and I walked over to the picnic area where it was to start at 7:30 a.m. Unlike the beautiful day before, it was now overcast, cool, and a little windy, and we weren’t seeing many birds initially but maybe that had something to with the two little dogs that were brought along who clearly did not like each other. Why would you bring dogs on a bird walk? The owners kept trying to separate them, then finally left, and it seems the number of birds increased…imagine that! There are lots of well-fed American Robins in the area and just as I decided to snap a picture of one perched in a tree, two Orioles began fluttering around in the branches above. If you look closely at the photo (double-click to enlarge), you can see their bright yellow bodies. Barbara was getting too chilly and decided to head back for some coffee, and Nancy felt she really should get back to the campground to help John since she was technically on duty. I continued on with the group.

From the picnic area, we strolled across the street towards the Gifford House where we found a Yellow-Rumped Warbler sitting atop a bush just outside and a Say’s Phoebe in another bush nearby (okay so I didn’t know the names of the pretty birdies until Dave told us). As we continued along the Fremont River, birds were spotted here and there but not always by me. However, perched at the very top of a bare branch (not much higher off the ground than the top of my head) was a Black-chinned Hummingbird that just sat there for the longest time (posing for pictures evidently!) We also spotted an Indigo Bunting and a Lazuli Bunting searching for food in the grass, but the photo below right does not do justice to their bright blue coloring. We saw several more birds along the way, but I didn’t get good pictures of them or they flew off too quickly to catch on film.

However, one of the last things we saw on our walk was a Golden Eagle flying near the rock face across from the campground. As we all trained our binoculars in that direction, it landed in a crevice near the top and someone spotted its nest. Dave said that there had been reports of an eagle’s nest in the area but they hadn’t seen it yet. I couldn’t see the it with my binoculars, but one gentleman with higher powered ones than me said he could see a couple eaglets in the nest! The next afternoon Russ and I got out our telescope and aimed it in the direction of the nest. Being at a different angle than I had been the day before, it was not as easy to see into the crevice but we could see one of the eagles perched at the right-hand edge. And there it sat for the next hour and a half. As you can imagine, people were curious as to what we were looking at, and we offered a look to anyone who asked. I zoomed in my camera as far as I could to try and get a shot of the eagle, and though a little blurred from enlarging, hopefully you can see it especially if you double-click on the photo (look for the white arrow pointing to it). Around 4:30 it flew off, and we didn’t see it again the rest of the evening.

Besides hiking, rock climbing is a favorite pastime of many who visit Capitol Reef, and one day we spotted a couple guys attempting to do so in an area directly across from the campground. As we chatted with one of the rangers while watching them, he told us that it probably took the guys a couple of hours just to get to that point and figured they would only climb to the top of the overhang. Only one of the guys actually climbed and shortly after the picture above left was taken, he repelled down to where his buddy was. Obviously I had zoomed in for that photo, so at right is a photo of the rockface with an arrow pointing to the area where they were. Some folks just love a challenge!