Hau goes CRAZY!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!

Capitol Reef Satruday

Saturday: the last day at the Reef, and after breakfast and goodbyes it was Jarom, Brit, Linda, and me that were left. There was a little service project left for us to do: the stations weather station had blown over during a storm and needed to be secured by better means than gravity. We formulated a plan involving some scrap wood, cinderblocks, and gravel. Since we were, after all, the English major group, I suggested we draft the plan in writing, and the next group to carry out plan out. After we were done reinforcing the weather station, we decided on a hike near the Station. We drove to the trail head and the first half a mile or so was switch-backs, but after that we came to a gorgeous canyon that was fairly flat. The myth goes that this was where the polygamist hid out when the feds came to arrest them. They were said to hide out in the crevasses in the sides of the canyon, many of which we shimmied through. We spend a good couple of hours out there, making our way through the cracks in the canyon walls, before it was time to go back down. Before departing for the University we stopped at the little gift shop where, outside in the warm fall sun, we shared a delicious strawberry-rhubarb pie and chocolate ice cream.

The drive home was partially spend unconscious (only be me and Brit, Linda manned the wheel and stayed well awake. And thanks for the pics Jarom!). Having stopped only for the fake policeman, we got back right around 6. Brit and I took Jarom home home, and when we got back we unloaded the car. Despite our slight exhaustion we had a Halloween event to attend. The party was fun, but the trip had definitely taken its toll. When we got back late at night we were exhausted and ready for absolutely ready for bed…

Can’t wait to go back!!!

Capitol Reef Friday

The day started with a beautiful sunrise over the eastern mountains. Or breakfast duty, as was the case for me. As it turned out, the job was a light one. Linda had gotten up early and had started off breakfast already. I helped out here and there, but most of the breakfast time was spend standing around talking. After breakfast was over with and the dishes were done we set out for the first hike of that day. We drove up to the trail head leading to Cassidy Arch. The hike up was gorgeous. As was the view of Fern’s Nipple. And that is all I have to say about that.

The Arch was phenomenal, and perhaps a little scary when close to the edge. Or when other got close to the edge. Very. Close. To. The. Edge. This precarious location, though beautiful, was also unfortunate. During these first two days, there had been some tension build up between the Brian’s, and Hau had developed a strong fit of rage, resulting in half the group taking flight off of the arch. (Hopefully videographic evidence of this will be uploaded soon and can serve as warning for future visitors).

When the (remainder of the) group made it back down safely (unlike others, who got there faster), we split up. Some went for a hike through a nearby wash, while the others (including myself) went to the way cooler place (despite what members of the other group might say!); the presumed hide out of Butch Cassidy (no wash can beat that!). We had to drive there, and after a short hike and scramble we made it to the cave (held up by one single stick as I remember it), which we had to crawl through to make it to the hide out. Butch was not there at the time, so we took some pictures and headed out. On the way out we stopped to discuss the necessity people feel to leave their mark (after finding evidence of Justin Timberlake leaving his initials on one of the rock surfaces). We met up with the rogue group and paused by the side of the road for lunch before setting off together. We drove for just a couple of minutes before we pulled of the road. About fifty yards away from where we stopped, we found the dinosaur bone. Some vertebras were exposed and a tibia. It was an interesting to see the bones in the stage prior to National Geographic or the Natural History Museum. I am glad they have not excavated the site, and left the bones there to be viewed and touched, because it was amazing to touch a bone, tens of millions years old, that ones was part of the core structure of a giant reptilian.

Leaving the remains of Rexy (our beloved dinosaur) behind, we started heading back to the field station. On our way back to base, however, we stopped at the sight of a waterfall. Hau informed us that the waterfall was man-made, cutting over mile off of the rivers path. This had been done in order to make the construction of the highway in the 70s’s easier, and to stroke the ego of an engineer who thought his waterfall was the best thing ever to be created on this planet. However, in recent years there has been talk about reversing all this due to the value of American wetlands (only 1% of the original wetlands currently remain). The reversal is planned for 2013, with possible push-backs.

We got back to the field station where some of us stayed to nap, and others (including myself) went up to climb the wash. I must say in all honestly that I did not make it all the way up, as a case of acrophobia got the better of me. Yes, that would be fear of heights. It was a great scramble nonetheless. The others did bravely conquer the mountain, returning victoriously and on time for dinner: Teriyaki chicken, as deliciously prepared by our trip leader Tara. We had visitors for dinner; some of the locals and members of the UVU staff stopped by to discuss aspects of the region’s oral history. It was during dinner that it was decided that the stay would be extended for those that could spare the time. We had come with two vehicles and the people that had to be back early would drive back as planned with Tara, and those that wanted to stay could.

Dinner was done and the dishes cleaned. It had been a long day and we had covered quite some miles. Everybody was tired, so what better to end the day than a late night hike? The whole group (after convincing Tara to come along as well) set out some time after 9. It was nearly a full moon, so flashlights were not allowed (I have the tattoo to prove it). The sky was clear and was cool. The conditions were perfect and the hike was great, as everyone enjoyed the beautiful night and the pleasant conversations. On the way back Hau stopped us and requested we walked one by one through the narrow valley that laid ahead. When it was my turn to go, I slowly entered the shadowy area before me. As the voices behind me trailed away, the short walk in solitude became extremely peaceful. Every few yards I stood still, in complete silence I would look up at the rocks, the sky, and simply enjoy the beauty and seclusion of the place.

When we had all made it through and had reflected on our solitary experience we drove back to the field station. Most everyone headed off to bed, but Jarom, Brittany and I stayed up, readying ourselves for bed with some late night hot cocoa. We turned in a little after one for the best night of sleep ever!

Day Three

Though I missed a few of my comrades who had taken the early car home, this was my favorite day. We woke in the morning, cold and dark. I was on the breakfast crew so I headed over to the kitchen to get it started. We had omelets with the choices of mushrooms, peppers, ham, and cheese. They turned out delicious, if I do say so myself. After we had cooked the meal, we gathered together to pack and clean our residence. It was a sad day to say goodbye to land, friends, and experience that we had learned to love over the time we were there. Linda, Jeffery, Brittany and I stayed behind to go on one last hike. After some debate and indecision, we finally decided that we would go to Cohab Canyon, a switchback trail that leads to many slot canyons. It was believed that this area was one of the places where polygamists would hide as the authorities would come through searching for the offenders; I could believe it. Some of the area was like a maze. Walls were close and it took a lot of effort to climb. I think if someone was searching for another it would take long time to find the person they were searching for. After exploring about four of the slot canyons, we came to a big balanced rock and took a picture. I had forgotten my camera, so Jeffery used his camera and was the photographer. After taking pictures at the rock, we turned around on the trail and walked from whence we came. At the bottom was a historical house that was part museum and part store. We bought ice cream and a strawberry/ rhubarb pie which was shared among us. Then it was time to say good-bye to the land and all its beauty. We packed up, stopped at the visitor's center briefly, and headed home. It was an exhausting day so Jeffery and Brittany fell asleep in the back seat while Linda drove the long way home and I kept her company when I wasn't napping.

Capitol Reef Field Station: Day Three

Oh what a wonderful and sad day this was. I awoke with a puffy and slightly swollen face from the previous day's exposure to the elements of Capitol Reef and every inch of my body ached from the riggers and continuous hiking and activities of the previous day. It was fabulous! It was defiantly well worth it and earned only by hard work.

My dear roommate and I awoke to shouting in the hall and thinking we overslept. However, the ipod showed it was only six something in the morning. Surely after the previous day we were not required to get up so early. So I promptly rolled over to resume my sleep. At that point I noticed the light beams creeping through the blinds on the window. I decided that if I quickly arose out of bed and hurriedly bundled up, I may just make it outside to the phenomenal sunrise. So, I did just that and rushed to a bench to watch the sun come over the breath taking canyon of sky reaching red rock. After about ten minuets I realized that I had missed the sun rise and the sun was up. Yet, the sitting and gazing over the wonderful view was exceptionally peaceful.

Unfortunately to my miss judgment as to what time it truly was, I missed my kitchen assignment. But don't worry.... I made it up with my dish detail! We had superb omelets and breakfast burritos. Then we all quickly pitched in to get all the cleaning assignments done so that we could pack up and head home. We heroically only produced .5 pounds of garbadge a day per a person while the national average is over two. We bid our final good byes to our wonderful host Hau and took our last pictures to stake our claims in the Capitol Reef Field Station history books. We lumbered or rather rushed to the van and hauled it home.

We made stunning time and were quite pleased when our cell phones finally had reception to tell our loved ones we were indeed still alive and on our way home. When we arrived at UVU only a few short hours, we quickly unloaded the baggage, replaced the back seat, emptied the coolers, and said good bye to the good friends we had made on our three day Capitol Reef Field Station adventure.

Picture # 1

Courtney, Tara, Kathleen, Brittany, Jarom, Handsom Brian, Other Brian (aka Regular Brian), Hau. Hiding behind the camera: Jeffrey. Hiding out of view: Linda.

Friday

After a day of recuperation, I am back to continue my comments on the trip. I’m sure not everything I say will be in the right order, but I’ll try to at least divide everything into two days.

Friday: It was my morning to help make breakfast so I got up early went to the kitchen and stood around, watching other people cook. Hash browns and pancakes is, at most, a two person job. People slowly trickled in and ate their food, and then slowly trickled out to get ready for our first hike of the day. We would first be going to Cassidy Arch. The hike was beautiful and the arch terrifying! The angle of the arch and the surrounding mountain gave me a pretty good feel of vertigo, but I did venture out onto it, and stood on top of it with everybody else. Tara got a good video of Handsome Brian (Brian Anderson) fighting with Other Brian (Brian Thredgold), which eventually led to Handsome Brian’s demise. Hau went crazy as well, and half our group was lost (not really, of course)! Hau does not tolerate a trash quota of over .23 lbs p.p. The hike down was just as beautiful as the way up, Hau did a good job of “leaving no trace”, accept for when he lead our whole group off the path on accident. Don’t worry, no “Biological soil” was harmed it our trekking. When we made it to the bottom the group split up. The group I was in went through…some wash. It was Grand, or Capitol, I think; and the other group went… somewhere else, which I’m sure wasn’t as cool as where I went.

Our hike ended before theirs, after waiting for approx. 2.5 minutes we had had enough of sitting, and set off to scale the hills skirting the highway. The boys made it to the top just as the other group was pulling up. We made sandwiches from the back of the van for lunch and all piled into our vehicles to see the dinosaur bone. It was (thankfully) a very short walk to where the purple fossil sat encased in the rock wall. On the way back to the field station we stopped by the side of the road to see a “man-made” waterfall. Back in the sixties the natural path of the river had been redirected to compensate for the highway. Hau told us that the river was planned to be moved back on its natural path in 2013. I would like to see the waterfall again once all the water is gone.

When we got back to the field station we all separated, most lying down, or taking quick naps. I went out with a few others to see if we could make it to the top of the canyon, but had to turn back fairly quickly because my hip was giving me trouble. Unfortunately, my husband followed me, and never made his way back up (sorry!). The others did continue on though, and made it to the top.

While it was my evening to cook dinner as well, Tara did most of the cooking by herself. She was falling asleep, and decided to cook to keep herself awake, she didn’t ask for help, and I was so tired I didn’t even offer! A few locals, and some other members of the UVU staff stopped by for dinner. We had dessert, and after the guests left we had a talk about the following day’s plans. The original plans were for the whole group to leave around 9am, but there were a few (including myself) that would have liked to stay longer. Having two vehicles, a few of us decided we would stay a few hours longer and go on another hike in the morning.

Even though everybody was so exhausted, we thought a moonlit hike might be enjoyable. After several minutes of getting ready, and several minutes of arguing Tara into coming, we all set off on the last hike of the day, and for some the last hike of the trip.

The moon was bright enough that we didn’t need any other light, everything was cast in a blue glow, and the air was crisp and fresh. It was beautiful. We went through a wash, and most of our hike was across flat ground. We did come to an incline, and again my hip was giving me trouble, so I stayed behind. Jeffrey, Jarom, and Tara stayed behind with me. I think Tara was happy for the excuse to stay behind, she was so so tired. While I am upset that I didn’t get to make it to the top, I’m happy for the time I had to talk with those that stayed behind me, it was a very pleasant evening.

When the other group came back down we made our way back to the cars, each taking turns walking through a dark spot between the rock walls. It was a little unnerving to walk alone in the dark, but there was a feeling of peace that came with it. And for me, it felt like I was back home. When we got back to the field station, most crawled into their sleeping bags, but Jarom and Jeffrey and I stayed up and had some hot cocoa. It was piping hot and super-chocolaty, the perfect thing to get me relaxed and ready for bed. We went to bed around 1:00, and I was sooo thankful my husband was there, my hip was so bad, I couldn’t even take my own pants off (let alone put them back on in the morning!) I slept wonderfully!

2nd day at capitol reed

The second day at capitol reef was amazing as the first. We started the day off with a hike Cassidy's Arch. It was three hours and when we reached the arch there was some funny videos made of the arch. Some of the class went on even more hikes afterwards but I unfortunately fell fast asleep for two hours. After dinner there were some locals that came and told a little bit about the history of capitol reef. It was a very interesting conversation to listen to. Then at around 9 or 10 we went on a two hour night hike. It was a very eye opening experiance and something that I would love to try again.