I have never been inspired to do a multi-day trip from an overlook, but that was before Capitol Reef. In May of 2013, I took my dad to southern Utah for a road trip. I was still recovering from surgery, limiting myself to merely driving. On our way home, we drove the Burr Trail, a scenic backway through the heart of Capitol Reef National Park, and on the map I saw a point called Halls Creek Overlook. We decided to drive out of our way to see it, and I was blown away by the scale that could be seen, deciding right then I needed to go back and explore. When the opportunity of a long weekend came, I started planning.

Capitol Reef had always been overlooked by me because it seemed like most of the park was on the stretch of Highway 24 that curved beside the Fremont River as it cut its way through the Waterpocket Fold. While the section along Highway 24 is pretty spectacular, the back way we drove further south gets off the highway. The Burr Trail, a partially paved, partially dirt road, is named after John Burr, a rancher that developed the path for moving cattle. It leads east from Boulder, Utah to one of the only natural routes through the Waterpocket Fold, Muley Twist Canyon.

The Waterpocket Fold, that’s another story in itself. Named because of the pockets of water it contains in its natural tanks, the fold is a nearly impenetrable reef. It’s not a reef in a conventional way that we think of coral in the sea, rather it is a ripple in the earth’s crust that goes on for over a hundred miles. Only the two roads mentioned go through the fold, and the relief makes a striking view from anywhere along the reef. Halls Creek flows intermittently along the Grand Gulch that makes up the valley to the east of the Fold, the valley that inspired me to come back.

A Capitol Reef Backpacking Route & Plan

After researching the area, I found that Capitol Reef has one of the best backpacking policies among all of the national parks I have visited. Permits are free, available in person only at the Fruita Ranger Station (open 8 AM – 4:30 PM), and to my knowledge there is no limit on permits available each day. They do have a group size limit of 12, which is the only limitation they enforce. However, the remoteness of the area means that doing a shuttle hike implies that I almost certainly need to provide my own shuttle. While hitchhiking might be an option, there are very few people that drive the roads out there, meaning that I may be waiting a significant amount of time for a ride. I decided to bring my mountain bike and self-shuttle on the last day, giving myself a bit more freedom to do a longer hike without the need to loop back to the car.

The best route looked to go from the Halls Creek Overlook to the Halls Creek Narrows, then back up the valley to see Brimhall Natural Bridge, a double arch that can be seen from the overlook, and then head north to see the historic Lower Muley Twist Canyon, the canyon that provided settlers and ranchers a path for them to travel through the reef. At the top of Lower Muley Twist is the Burr Trail, where I would stash the bike for the shuttle back to my car. If I was feeling good with enough time, my plan was to day hike Upper Muley Twist Canyon, an extension of Lower Muley Twist on the north side of the Burr Trail.

A Capitol Reef Hike Begins

After a long drive through the night, the sun started to rise as I drove south from Green River towards Hanksville. As it crested the La Sal Mountains to the east, the light lit up the red rock country I had become almost accustomed to this spring. This was my fourth desert trip of the season; however it was the first solo trip of the year. While the company of the previous trips was great, there’s something to just getting out into the wilderness alone that can give a person peace. After getting the permit in Fruita, which was a bit out of the way, I headed back towards the Notom-Bullfrog Road. Named after the Notom Ranch on the north end and Bullfrog Marina on the south, my little hatchback flew down the dirt road with a cloud of dust in my wake towards my first stop, the Burr Trail switchbacks.

Up the switchbacks, the Lower Muley Trailhead was just past the top, where I pulled over and left my mountain bike and water for the shuttle back. As I started my drive back towards Bullfrog, I watched the odometer of my car climb another 18 miles before finally reaching my destination, Halls Creek Overlook, finding only the last bit of the road to the overlook to be rough. As I pulled up, I only noticed one other car parked at the overlook. I wondered in the back of my head if I would see anyone along the stretch of desert I was about to roam through, but the thought passed as I packed my backpack and double checked everything was where I needed it.

After shouldering my pack, I finally walked to the edge of the rim to survey the canyon below. Halls Creek Overlook is spectacular. Nearly 1000 feet below me was the dry creek bed, with the canyon sprawling for miles unobstructed to the north and south. On the other side of the canyon was the colorful uplift of the Waterpocket Fold, featuring the massive red slide area, where it looks as if a major section of the fold suddenly turned into dull red lava, flowing down the side of the hill into the dry wash at the bottom. On the far side, I could see a very distinctive double arch eroded in the sandstone, inviting me out to run down and explore its secrets. Down I went, first captivated by the exposure of the cliff I was hiking down, slowly turning to awe at the wildflower bloom I was finding. On my previous trips, the wildflowers of the high desert was just about to start, however now in mid-April, the flowers were in full bloom, lining the red cliffs with yellows and violets, whites, and reds.

As I reached the creek bed, I immediately headed south, knowing I had a quick march of 7.5 miles before reaching the inlet of the narrows. The route went quickly, with a mix of trail and wash hiking keeping the route from meandering too much with the bends of the dry creek. As I started to approach the narrows, the creek started to appear sporadically, finally becoming a flowing stream just before a sharp right turn where it abruptly changed its southerly flow to head west into a canyon of its own making. Just before delving into the canyon, I stashed most of my overnight gear out of sight before the entrance, continuing on with only my day hiking gear.

I have hiked in the Zion Narrows and Buckskin Gulch, two of the most famous “narrows” of the southwest, and I have to say post trip that the Halls Creek Narrows were just as good, just shorter. As I headed down the river, the crisp clear water felt great on my feet, unlike the stagnant chocolate milk I had found in Buckskin, and the canyon walls, some over six hundred feet high, towered around me on all sides. About a mile in I was forced to start walking through the water, and irregularly there after I had to wade back in when the river shore disappeared. The deepest section I found was two spots past the half-way point, both being around 3 feet deep and rising to my belt loops. During the peak of spring runoff, these could get deeper, but I would imagine that most people would be able to get through them without having to swim.

As I neared the end of the narrows, the sound of frogs filled the canyon halls. They seemed to be everywhere, with an occasional tadpole seen swimming through the water. As abruptly as the narrows started, it ended, leading back into the Grand Gulch and continuing south as if nothing had happened. Here I turned left and followed another small stream northward to the top of Halls Divide, the rise in the gulch that caused the creek to flow around it and through the narrows. Near the top of the divide, I was fortunate to see the sunset and find remnants of an old wagon road, proof positive that this area had been part of the historic west.

As I made my way back to my gear stash and north along the wash, I finally gave into the twilight and started looking for a spot to make camp. A sandstone outcropping on the east side caught my attention, and as I walked up to the top to make camp, I was surprised to find two other guys were already up there, camping out and eating dinner. We talked for a bit, finding out that they had seen me from the top of the narrows earlier that afternoon, and they invited me to hang out with them that night, sharing stories about recent trips. As the sun finally set and the stars came out, I was treated to a mass array of light points that can only be seen in the darkest of skies abundant in southern Utah.

After a colorful sunrise, the next leg of the journey began with hiking back to the area just below the overlook. Again, I made fast time back up the valley to the point I had come down from the cliffs. Here, instead of heading north towards the Muley Twist entrance, I decided to take a side detour to go see Brimhall Natural Bridge up close. At first, the trail to the arches was very easy, turning into a decent scramble and steep hike at the end as I navigated around a friction climb, a squeeze to get by a large chock stone, and finally hiking up and over a steep ridge to bypass an impassible dry fall to see the arch. It’s quite an elegant arch, symmetrical with one arch on top of the other instead of side by side like some of the other double arches I’ve seen. The area just below the arch is a small oasis, with a small amount of water and shade trees, making it a great lunch spot.

I hung out for an hour or so and enjoying some food with a view, then clamored back through the two hard sections, and back to the main gulch to continue my route north. Here the trail was less defined, following the dry creek bed exclusively for a few miles before spotting the next stop of the trip, the Hamburger Rocks and the Muley Tanks. The Hamburger Rocks is a collection of short hoodoos that have eroded from the top layer of the slope, forming small dark oval boulders that resemble hamburger patties. The slope to get to them is fairly steep, but just north of the hoodoos are the Muley Tanks, large pockets of fresh water that are well shaded enough to hold water from storms for weeks after the last rain. Some of the best water in the area, and the last decent spot to fill up, pumping a gallon or so of water out of one of these holds was a necessary stop before continuing on. After spending some time pumping water from the tanks and enjoying the mini oasis that had grown out of the solid rock around the tanks, I continued on towards the goal of the day, Lower Muley Twist Canyon.

After about a mile I came to the obvious entrance to the canyon, another steep walled canyon driving a slot through the reef directly west. I followed it as it seemed to slice right through the sandstone without any elevation gain, and brought me promptly to what seemed the other side of the reef, continuing northward on the west side of the reef. After another mile or so, I found an enormous alcove that I turned into my camp for the night. It looked as if it had been well used, and upon further inspection, I found old cowboy signatures from the 20’s along with some relics of their equipment they brought through the canyon. The park named that alcove Cowboy Camp, and as I fell asleep, the sun sank and darkness enclosed the alcove with hardly a sliver of sky showing at the edge of the overhanging roof.

The next morning I woke up very refreshed after the early night, and immediately started racking up the miles through the canyon as I worked my way north and slowly up, winding my way through the Muley Twist. The canyon had gotten its name from the pioneers that had used it in the 1800’s as a wagon trail, saying it would twist up a mule with all of the weaving turns as it cut through the sandstone. Several enormous alcoves, bigger than the one I camped at the night before, left me in awe as I followed the dry stream bed. Colorful wildflowers filled the canyon, most notable wild purple Antirrhinum, more commonly known as snapdragons.

Only one short section required some scrambling to get myself through some boulders that had been tossed around, probably by the last major flash flooding event based on the debris strewn around. After a few hours of winding, the first indication of a trail I had seen since the Muley Tanks showed itself with the trail cut-off sign that signaled the final stretch of the Lower Muley Twist.

Back to Civilization

As I worked my way up the last few miles, a sudden gap in the canyon walls to west indicated I had finally reached the road. At the road, the first people I had seen since the first night came into view, a couple with a camper truck just about to hike down the canyon. After talking with them briefly, I fetched my bike and my water stash, filled up my water, and started biking my way down the steep switchbacks to the Bullfrog Road. On the bike ride back, I didn’t see a soul on the road, although the trailhead had a few more cars than when I had left it. As I jumped in my car, I decided it might be best to head home and leave the Upper Muley for another day. At the least, it would give me an excuse to come back and further explore the beautiful area surrounding the Fold.

Need to Know

Information

Free overnight permits can be picked up at the Fruita Ranger Station along Highway 24.

Best Time to Go

Spring and fall have the mildest weather, with the most water being available in spring. Summer can be very hot.

Getting There

Capitol Reef National Park is located in southern Utah. The trailhead is located on the Bullfrog-Notom Road, south of highway 24.

Maps and Books

The National Geographic Trails Illustrated #267 Map covers the entire park. For getting to and from the trailhead and exploring other hiking destinations in the state, the Utah Delorme Atlas & Gazetteer can be helpful. In regards to books see Capitol Reef National Park: The Complete Hiking and Touring Guide as well as Best Easy Day Hikes Capitol Reef National Park.

Editor’s Note: This article by Ted “tmountainnut” Ehrlich originally appeared in Issue 15 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here for additional photos and content.