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Sheets Gulch--Capitol Reef National Park--Feb. 16, 2013
After enduring this brutal winter here in happy valley we have all been suffering from cabin fever and ready to get out and get some fresh air and sunshine.
Our original plan was to hike Moonshine Wash as I'd had that one on my short list for a long time now. I had checked the NOAA snow pack map and it kept showing a pesky 2 inches of snow covering the area that didn't seem to be melting very fast. Not too big of a deal for hiking, but I started wondering how the roads would be after they thawed out in the morning. Me and greasy wet clay don't get along too well. The day before we were to leave, I started getting a bad feeling every time I started thinking about it so after some careful consideration, we decided to hit up another one that we've wanted to check out. After we decided on Sheets Gulch, we felt way better for some reason. We'll save Moonshine for warmer weather.
We woke up early Saturday morning, but like most times, we ended up getting a later start than we expected. The drive to CRNP was uneventful but beautiful. It was cold (8 F in Levan), but hardly a cloud in the sky and the further south we got, the clearer the air became.
We stopped at the visitor center to make sure we didn't need to pay and ask if anyone had a report on the canyon. The ranger gal said that one of the park employees was just up there a few days before and had to turn around because of ice. :shock:
I'm thinking she must have been in a different canyon because the ice we encountered was more fun than anything else...
On the drive down the canyon, my wife spotted this herd of Bighorn Sheep right off the road.
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From Shane's (www.climb-utah.com) beta, we were expecting to drive up the wash a ways but the BLM had shut it down and moved the trailhead down the road 200 yards.
For those considering this hike, I would just park next to the culvert and hike up the wash from there.
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Not long after we started hiking we saw this little grasshopper hopping around. Kinda strange.
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We got into a little snow as the wash started to cut into the Waterpocket Fold. I love these old grizzled Cottonwood trees.
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It wasn't long until the wash was cutting deeper into the fold creating this shallow slot.
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Not long after we were faced with a few fun upclimbs that spiced things up a little.
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More fun stuff.
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Trevor was running all over and having a great time.
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Justin and Brandon were having a great time as well, but opted to save a little energy for the rest of the hike...unlike someone else :haha:
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We stopped to take a family pic.
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The canyon slots up very nicely again.
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One of the more fun boulders to climb over, Trevor could walk under this one.
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The beautiful slot ended way too soon and so we found a warm spot in the sunshine to rest and have lunch.
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From Shane's beta, he mentions lots of petrified wood and we weren't disappointed. Brandon, my little rock hound, tried to put this one in his pack :haha:.
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We finally made it to Elephant Arch and were indeed impressed.
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I noticed this strange formation on the way down the canyon. It looked like one massive iron deposit...if someone knows for sure, please let me know.
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More petrified wood. There was a lot.
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We spent a leisurely 5 hours in the canyon and enjoyed every minute, except for the slog at the end. Trevor's feet were pretty tired at that point and probably wished he'd conserved a little energy from earlier in the hike.
On the way back, we drove from the visitor center to the campground and managed to see a couple small bucks still packing their horns and a bunch of does and fawns hanging out in the pasture. In the campground we saw 3 wild turkeys which is always a treat. The pics I took didn't turn out too well, but I did get some video of them.
By that point we were quite hungry and looking forward to an old favorite. It was a regular stop on the many trips we used to make to Lake Powell and we were looking forward to Mom's Cafe in Salina. Sadly, it had gone way downhill from the last time we were there and were very disappointed. Time to look for a new favorite.
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I hope you enjoy the video despite that fact that my movie making skills are lacking...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tb6vLnoOzFk
