The Main Passage

Capitol Gorge begins as a two mile gravel road at the end of the Scenic Drive and until 1964 was the main passage through Capitol Reef. The drive through the Gorge follows the curves of this water-carved, sheer-walled canyon, and the sun was shining so brightly on the colorful walls that in spots it almost seemed to wash them out but not entirely. One of these areas that we passed along the way was the Tapestry Wall so named because of the vertical shades of color within the rock formation and in the right light the colors seem to change.

The road ends at a parking lot from where you can begin walking the trail through the streambed of the gorge with canyon walls nearly 100 feet high on both sides. The trail is relatively flat and follows an old wagon trail through the canyon that in some spots is only about 40 feet wide. The rock formations that surround you are amazing, and you can even spot an occasional cactus flower in bloom.



















In the 1800s and early 1900s travelers who came this way carved their names into a section of the canyon wall that is now known as the Pioneer Register. (Nowadays it would be considered graffiti and you’d be fined $250 for writing on the rocks!) Some of the names are more than 20 feet above the floor of the wash, and we guess they must have stood on their buckboards to achieve this. We were expecting some sort of orderly fashion to the register with perhaps a date at the top and the names carved nicely below it. However, it’s really just a hodge-podge of names and dates, some written over others, including some more recent ones…still kind of cool though. (You may need to double-click the photo to enlarge and get a better view.)

We continued down the trail heading to The Tanks, which are pockets hollowed out in the stone from the elements over time that can hold gallons of rainwater, a vital source in this desert climate. Some are quite small, but we’ve heard that there are some in the back country that are as large as a swimming pool! These pockets of water help give the Waterpocket Fold its name. The trail to get to these tanks is a series of little switchbacks marked with rock cairns with an elevation change of about 80 ft. (at least that’s what the trail sheet said but seemed like more than that to me!) We scrambled our way up, but when we reached The Tanks it was a little disappointing as they were completely dry and appeared as just holes in the ground. There was a little bit of water in a crevice area but that was it. Glad we weren’t thirsty pioneers looking for promised water! Oh, well, it was a good hike.

We made our way back down and started back along the gorge the way we came, continuing our walk in the streambed passing some more interesting rock formations that we hadn’t seen going the other way. The one pictured at left is actually not very big and about shoulder high off the ground so I was able to get a nice closeup. We also stopped to capture a photo of the Golden Throne, towering in the distance at 1,400 feet above the road. At one point we noticed a couple people walking on a trail that hugged the canyon wall a couple feet above us. We decided that might be easier walking than on the gravel and rocks in the wash so we climbed up and found a nice dirt path. A few feet further we noticed a signpost facing the opposite direction. When we got in front of it we found that it read Petroglyphs with an arrow pointing towards the canyon wall. We hadn't noticed the dirt path initially and thought the trail began in the streambed (they do merge together at one point). Anyway, the Fremont Indian petroglyphs are worn quite a bit and over the years there has been some vandalism with people using them as target practice, but they’re still really cool to see.

A couple days later we had to go into Torrey and had our first “fast food” burger since we arrived at the beginning of April. There are actually two burger joints in town situated directly across the street from one another. Everyone told us that the burgers at Slackers were much better than those at Chillz so we decided to give it a try. Slackers Burger Joint runs a daily special (1/4 lb. burger and fries for $4.99), and we ordered two. We brought a soda to share and sat outside on the patio enjoying a lovely day. Even at 2 in the afternoon, the parking lot was packed and the place was hoppin’ (only 2 cars at Chillz). They have an extensive menu including several varieties of burgers, sandwiches, salads, handmade shakes, and much more. We can’t compare the two places, but the folks were right about the yummy burgers and fries. Of course maybe it was just because we haven’t had a burger or fries in over 2 months! Guess if you’re ever in the area you’ll just have to check it out for yourself.