We had seen firsthand in Moab the previous day how popular national parks are in this year of the road trip. So on Saturday we were pleased to be visiting Utah's most remote national park.
The visitor center was closed. Rangers were outside at a table in front of Gifford House to hand out maps and answer questions. We started by hiking from the nearby parking lot up about 500 feet to Cohab Canyon.
There's a good view SW up the Fremont River.
Soon we reached the top of Cohab Canyon.
The ranger told us there were interesting rock formations and side slot canyons up here.
Here we are about halfway down Cohab Canyon.
This trail and Grand Wash farther south can be hiked one way if you spot a car shuttle on Hwy 24. The Frying Pan Trail along those white rocks in background goes 3 miles south to Cassidy Arch and Grand Wash.
On the return hike we explored the deepest side slot.
There was a convenient "bag check" just as the slot narrowed.
I followed.
Liz at the end of the side slot:
We drove the Scenic Drive to Capitol Gorge. The first 2.4 miles is a drivable dirt road.
The next mile is an easy walk.
We made the short climb up to the Tanks.
These potholes normally have water, but not after the dry monsoon season of 2020.
Layered rocks along the Scenic Drive:
We drove another dirt road into the Grand Wash and hiked down a short distance.
We leave the wash to ascend to Cassidy Arch.
View west down to the Grand Wash road:
View south of rock formations on the far side of Grand Wash:
We're near the fork of the Frying Pan trail continuing north while we will take the Cassidy Arch spur to the left.
I'm on top of Cassidy Arch about 7PM.
Liz is silhouetted by the low angle light.
I took this picture of her across the V-shaped opening.
View of Cassidy Arch on the return hike:
A steep gorge twists from below Cassidy Arch down to the Grand Wash.
It was a bit past sunset when we got back to the car. We were pleasantly surprised by an excellent dinner at the Rim Rock Inn near Torrey. We continued on to Richfield for the night. In both Green River and Richfield we stayed at motels near superchargers. They are 124 miles apart on I-70 but 197 miles the way we did it on Hwy 24. Admin's haunts in the San Rafael Swell and Goblin State Park are between I-70 and Hwy 24. If we had another day we might have checked those out.
The visitor center was closed. Rangers were outside at a table in front of Gifford House to hand out maps and answer questions. We started by hiking from the nearby parking lot up about 500 feet to Cohab Canyon.
There's a good view SW up the Fremont River.
Soon we reached the top of Cohab Canyon.
The ranger told us there were interesting rock formations and side slot canyons up here.
Here we are about halfway down Cohab Canyon.
This trail and Grand Wash farther south can be hiked one way if you spot a car shuttle on Hwy 24. The Frying Pan Trail along those white rocks in background goes 3 miles south to Cassidy Arch and Grand Wash.
On the return hike we explored the deepest side slot.
There was a convenient "bag check" just as the slot narrowed.
I followed.
Liz at the end of the side slot:
We drove the Scenic Drive to Capitol Gorge. The first 2.4 miles is a drivable dirt road.
The next mile is an easy walk.
We made the short climb up to the Tanks.
These potholes normally have water, but not after the dry monsoon season of 2020.
Layered rocks along the Scenic Drive:
We drove another dirt road into the Grand Wash and hiked down a short distance.
We leave the wash to ascend to Cassidy Arch.
View west down to the Grand Wash road:
View south of rock formations on the far side of Grand Wash:
We're near the fork of the Frying Pan trail continuing north while we will take the Cassidy Arch spur to the left.
I'm on top of Cassidy Arch about 7PM.
Liz is silhouetted by the low angle light.
I took this picture of her across the V-shaped opening.
View of Cassidy Arch on the return hike:
A steep gorge twists from below Cassidy Arch down to the Grand Wash.
It was a bit past sunset when we got back to the car. We were pleasantly surprised by an excellent dinner at the Rim Rock Inn near Torrey. We continued on to Richfield for the night. In both Green River and Richfield we stayed at motels near superchargers. They are 124 miles apart on I-70 but 197 miles the way we did it on Hwy 24. Admin's haunts in the San Rafael Swell and Goblin State Park are between I-70 and Hwy 24. If we had another day we might have checked those out.