Cathedral Valley is one of the great remote areas of Utah that receives very few visitors. In 1945 the first superintendent of what was then Capitol Reef National Monument, christened this area of fantastically eroded cliffs, sandstone monoliths and panoramic views, as Cathedral Valley. To him, the scene seemed downright Gothic. Compared to the more popular Waterpocket Fold area to the south in Capitol Reef National Park, not many people choose to make this trip. It usually requires a high-clearance vehicle and at times a 4WD vehicle.
During most of the year, a 64-mile loop (including a paved-highway connector) can be driven to view this spectacular area. Last year (2015) I made a brief visit to Cathedral Valley and recorded this video. This year, I decided that I would try to run the entire loop. Instead of running the highway to connect the ends of the road, I would use a remote 4WD road (0146) to complete the loop. This would make a loop of about 43 miles, most of it on fast maintained dirt road. Surely no one had ever attempted this before and I would discover another epic long run. With some sight-seeing detours along the way, my run would be 47.2 miles.