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Show Cathedral Valley: Capitol Reef 's Hidden Gem (Editors Note: Capitol Reef National Park is located in an area roughly bounded on the north by the San Rafael Swell, on the east by the Green River, on the west by high ridges of the Wasatch Plateau and on the south by Lake Powell. The park headquarters is 30 miles east of Loa and 37 miles west of Hanksville, Utah. Writer Davidson is a Park Ranger responsible for public information activities.) CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK, Utah Although Capitol Reef National Park is bigger than Bryce and Zion national parks combined, it Is probably the least well known of the national parks in Utah. Within its 378 square miles, however, may lie more variety of eroded landforms and environments than any other national park in the intermountain west. Some of these "treasures of scenic beauty" remain virtually unknown, even to Utahns. Among these are the soaring stone monoliths of remote Cathedral Valley. The major part of the "Waterpocket Fold" became Capitol Reef National Park in 1971. This fold in the earth's crust is the best and most readily viewable of its kind in the United States and stretches 100 miles from Thousand Lake Mountain to Lake Powell. The fold (or "moncline" to geologsits) was pushed up during the last 60) million years as the Colorado Plateau was itself uplifted by forces deep within the earth. Where the waterpocket Fold begins 'i' sprawl southward from Thousand Lake Moutnain lies a colorful land of myriad mesas, ridges, monoliths, buttes and valleys. For ages, the forces of erosion have done a powerful work on this land that drains Thousand Lake Mountain; the South Desert, Hartnet Desert and the Middle Desert comprise three throughs of the drainage. Cathedral Valley lies in the Middle Desert vastness, almost "hidden". This vast drainage area that the National Park Service administers as the "North District" of Capitol Reef National Park was almost unknown only a generation ago. It was known best by the few stockmen who had been grazing cattle in the area since Mormon pioneers arrived in the 1880's and, as one author noted, "few stockmen are travel writers". One of the first persons to propose its protection was Charles Kelly, the first Superintendent of Capitol Reef and a noted historian and western writer. From 1943 until 1950, Kelly had served as a custodian without pay at Capitol Reef and came to know the land intimately. In Kelly's day, the entire Capitol Reef area and most of Wayne County was the end of the earth. The road from Sigurd to Torrey wasn't paved until 1940 and the stretch from Torrey to Fruita (the old Mormon community in the center of the park) remained dirt for another decade. As for Cathedral Valley well, that was almost another planet. Today, things have changed some. Wayne County folks can cover the 200 miles to Provo in a little over three hours legally. Travelers can speed straight to Capitol Reef over beautiful Highway 24 from points east and west. Suddenly, Cathedral Valley and the other wonders of the North District aren't another planet or the end of the earth. But it still takes some doing to see them. There are primitive dirt roads into the North District but the family sedan just isn't suitable transportation. Roads are rutted and washcut in places and rock debris sometimes litters the narrow, twisting track. At least a high clearance vehicle is needed; better yet, a four wheel drive. It's an all day trip just to taste the country. What's a sojourn in the remote country like? Unforgetable. I will always remember my first trip and not just because I fell off my motorcycle there, either. It was April, still coolish, but the sun growing ever more dominant. Just outside the east boundary of the park, I wheeled off Highway 24 at a sign marking "River Ford". There the Fremont River (a "stream" by backeast standards) must be forded. The day I crossed about 18 inches of water was flowing from some spring rain; it's usually less than a foot in dry periods. The rolling pink-grey hills you climb through first are like moonscape; they also can be treacherous. When it rains, this clay is slick beyond imagining and will stop the best four wheel drive, dead. Soon the first of many panoramas presents itself a valley called North Blue Flats. As you slowly twist around turns and bob over rises, Thousand Lake Mountain and its approaches extend to the North in constantly changing perspective. To the south, the stark basalt peaks of the Henry Mountains loom against the sky. You are still driving through Lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management. After a dozen miles, you reach a junction. Don't pass up this one mile spur road because you'll miss an overview of the lower part of the South desert drainage trough. These stark broken "badlands" are very impressive to a "flatlander". (Continued on Page 8) Even Utahns Miss the Hidden Splendor Of Capitol Reef 's Valley of Cathedrals (Continued from Page 1) After another mile or two on the "main road" you'll enter Capitol. Reef National Park. Soon, a 400 yard spur winds to the South Desert Overlook, one of the best views in Utah. From a high cliff perch, a desert spectacular rests in full array before you. This is a place just 'to sit and drink deeply of. You'll probably drink alone, too and may think or mumble that nowhere else around can top this. But wait another 400 yards or so on the old main road and a little jaunt right on a spur suddenly, it's Cathedral Valley! To those who suspect hyperbole here, I can only say "wait till you see it". Here before you lies a mammoth amphitheater with walls soaring 2,000 feet a stage for display of huge dark red and gold pillars. Here you will see the destruction and beauty that water has worked on 150 million year old Entrada Sandstone. Here, for anyone with the faintest flicker of sensitivity, is an authentic mountaintop experience. Savor it. After Cathedral Valley, all else on your jarring drive may be anti-climactic, although interesting. Turning south again at Cathedral Junction you'll pass features and short spurs that can show you. the remains of magma intrusions into sedimentary rocks, a sinkhole and a hill of sparkling selenite (gypsum) crystals called Glass Mountain. The scenery changes constantly. When you reach Highway 24 again near Calnoville you'll be bone tired and glad to feel blacktop again. But, guaranteed, the 70-odd miles you ground gears through will remain in your memory a lifetime. It's a good idea to check with rangers at the park visitor center before you take this journey. They know the road and keep track of weather conditions. You can purchase some helpful guide material there too if you want. What's the best time for this ad venture into one of the last frontiers in the intermountain west? I'd pick late October above all. The fall rains have pased and the air is crisp and cool. In the dead of winter, the upper elvations of the River Ford to Caineville loop road are often closed by snow. In spring, rain can spoil the primitive road surface. Chances are you may have to come in the summer. It's going to be hot, scorching desert hot. bring along gallons more water than you think will be needed. If you break down it may be hours, even a day, before someone comes along. |