For this adventure run, I again traveled to Capital Reef National Park, only three hours from my home. I had always wanted to run Spring Canyon, which is a hidden deep and narrow canyon that runs west to east. It starts near Thousand Lakes Mountain and ends at the Fremont River. Towering above the canyon are Wingate cliffs and Navajo domes. To run Spring Canyon downstream, there are two trailheads to access it. Upper Spring Canyon is accessed via Holt Draw/Sulphur Creek. Lower Spring Canyon is accessed via Chimney Rock Trailhead. The entire length of the canyon from the entry point above Sulphur Creek is about 18 miles. Add on to that about 5 miles to reach the entry point. In my case, I added on another seven miles for side trips and wrong turns for a rugged 30-mile adventure. It turned out to be an amazing all-day adventure. I was able to quickly hitch a ride back 13 miles to my starting point. This video tells the story
Cathedral Valley is a spectacular desert valley on the North end of the park that does not see many visitors because of the long dirt road access. I visited Lower Cathedral Valley containing the Temples of the Sun, Moon, and Stars. These spectacular monoliths are made of pink Entrada Sandstone. Before returning home, I did a quick seven-mile morning run around these remarkable monuments. With no trails, I did a random run up and down dry washes and across sandy desert mounds. This video tells the story