Navaho Knobs--our hiking tour de force

Well we did it.  9.4 miles with just under 2500 elevation gain, most of the hike between 6000 and 7000 feet above sea level.  That qualifies as a strenuous hike. 

We didn't want to do this amount of ascent in the heat of the day, so got up early so we could leave the trail head at 7:15.  Good decision.

We left from the trail head to Hickman Bridge, and went about 1/4 mile and 200 feet up to where the trail split. That's where the hike really began. 

The hike was unlike any we have done before.  Most of it consisted of climbing to the rims of canyons.  We'd climb to the rim of one, then hike into the inside part of the canyon where the canyon wall met with another canyon, and then back up along the rim of another canyon.  Each time we would hike to the "inside" part we'd cross a gully.  Sadly, each one of those parts of the hike also involved a descent, sometimes as much as 200 feet which, of course, we just had to make up, plus more.  We did that for almost 4.5 miles until we reached the peak, which was a dome of rocks called Navaho Knobs. 

About 50% of the hike was across long stretches of rock.  A trail couldn't be created across these rocks, so the path was marked with cairns--hundreds of them on this hike whereas on a typical NW hike one might see one or two. 

Sometimes we were walking along ledges close to the edge (but not too close--the park service has made the trail safe unless one is very foolish), and sometimes under towering cliffs.  The next photo shows a ledge along which we walked--for this one we were on the second tier.  Occasionally there were steep drop-offs, though, and one had to be very careful.  The Navajo Sandstone we were hiking on provided great footing. 

Here is a photo of where we are heading, when it was some 3 miles or so in the distance.  I have highlighted the part that is Navaho Knobs in the second photo--the top of the two little, barely observable bumps.  The rim just to the right of it appears to be higher, but that is deceiving--it really isn't.

 

If we hadn't actually done it, it would have seemed almost inconceivable that there was a way of getting to this spot so far in the distance.  Or that these two bodies in their 60s could get there. 

 Here we are at Navaho Knobs, the top of Capital Reef, able to see miles in every direction.  Really at the top of the world.  We had lunch there.  It tasted good. 

Hike Report:  Navaho Knobs, Capital Reef National Park, UT.

(Note that the elevation gain changes a bit when one disables the elevation correction.  Note also that, as is typical with both my hiking and biking Garmins, elevation gain does not always equal elevation loss, even though we always start and stop in the same exact location;  I basically take an average of all of these figures to arrive at what I believe to be the best estimate of elevation gain.  I also use data from two different Garmin computer programs, which usually provide slightly different estimates (one Garmin uses Google Maps and the other uses barometric pressure to estimate elevation).  The figure I arrive at is probably accurate to within 50 feet or so, which is pretty good.  Also, usually it is within a few feet of elevation gains provided on the occasional trail map that reports elevation gains of hikes, which makes us feel confident in what we estimate when this information is not provided by trail maps.)

Cohab Canyon/Hickman Bridge in Capital Reef National Park

We got an early start today (8:30) so we could catch some of the morning chill on our initial climb into Cohab Canyon.  It was a good plan.

The initial ascent of about 300 feet was on rocky switchbacks right above the campgrounds. 

On our ascent we could look below and see the homestead of the original pioneers to the area.  Those structures are now museums, and are quite interesting.  Behind the barn weaving up the hill one can see the rock fence that required a huge amount of work for the man who built it. 



After the initial ascent, we traveled through a beautiful canyon for about one mile.

We found two types of wildlife in the canyon.  One was a type of squirrel or chipmunk.



And the other was a prehistoric reptile that, regretfully, attacked Vicky.  Our bear spray proved to be of no use.



 

But, I am undeterred.  I will enjoy the road trip nevertheless. 

The descent from the canyon took us directly to another trail head--one to the Hickman Bridge. 



The hike to the Hickman Bridge involved a few more hundred feet of climbing.  Unfortunately the morning had marched on without our permission so the sun was up and we were getting it full blast.  Hot.

 This is the Hickman Bridge:

View from under it, as Vicky approaches:

It was another beautiful hike.  Although we had the Cohab Canyon to ourselves, the Hickman Bridge hike had quite a few hikers on it.  But by the time we got to the bridge we had it to ourselves for quite awhile, including for our lunch break.  Really something.

Many of the hikers we passed were eating apples from the orchard in the campground.  We were also.





By combining two short hikes today we got in a good day of hiking--5.8 miles with 1300 foot elevation gain.

Tomorrow we are perhaps biting off more than we can chew (to stick with the free apples theme).  We are going to do the biggie of the park--the Navaho Knobs hike which has 2400 foot elevation gain in 9 1/2 miles.  We're crazy.  But we might as well try it. We'll go very early in the morning so that most of our climbing will be when it's cool.  We are in as good of hiking shape as we can be at this point, so we might as well see what we can do for our last hike for 10 days or so.  Wish us luck.

Today's nature photograph:

Last night after the sun went down, deer appeared in the apple orchard.  Dozens of them.  They just mingled with the people picking apples.  Very zen until I remembered reading how there are Mountain Lions in the park and that they eat deer.  I was really paranoid when I got in the night to use the bathroom.

Hike Report:  Cohab Canyon and Hickman Bridge, from the Capital Reef Campground in Capital Reef National Park, UT.









(Note that the elevation gain changes a bit when one disables the elevation correction.  Note also that, as is typical with both my hiking and biking Garmins, elevation gain does not always equal elevation loss, even though we always start and stop in the same exact location;  I basically take an average of all of these figures to arrive at what I believe to be the best estimate of elevation gain.  I also use data from two different Garmin computer programs, which usually provide slightly different estimates (one Garmin uses Google Maps and the other uses barometric pressure to estimate elevation).  The figure I arrive at is probably accurate to within 50 feet or so, which is pretty good.  Also, usually it is within a few feet of elevation gains provided on the occasional trail map that reports elevation gains of hikes, which makes us feel confident in what we estimate when this information is not provided by trail maps.)