Trail Thursday: Capitol Reef National Park

Happy Friday-eve! Does anyone ever have those days where your hair is completely unruly and you are SO CLOSE to chopping it off?

Yeah… that was me the other day. It’s at this length where it’s in-between short and long and just not the most flattering (I think). I want to grow it out, but I also just really want to stop feeling like I look like a boy with long hair…

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Anyways, we’re almost to the weekend! I really wish we had some pumpkin patches near us here in Steamboat, but I guess I’ll have to settle for one at Safeway. I’m also thinking of doing a really cool pumpkin carving this year. Thinking either this one or this one. Do you carve pumpkins? If you do - do you use one of the stencils or freehand it?

I’ve got 7-8 easy miles on tap with some strides at the end this morning and hoping to fit in some strength either before my run or tonight. It’s always ten times harder to get my strength in after work for whatever reason- anyone else feel this way?

NOW- let’s get to our Capitol Reef National Park Recap!

Here’s some quick things that I took away from the park:

Fall was in full-force here and I LOVED it!

• Backpacking- super easy to find a spot and you can grab a wilderness permit once you arrive to the park. Unless the weather is bad, I think this is a great idea (we didn’t do this since we had Stella with us)

• Running- sooo many trailheads close to the Fruita Campground and even the scenic drive is a great place to run. I fit my run in on both the trail that runs parallel to the scenic drive and on the road early Sunday morning (so traffic was minimal). It was so beautiful and peaceful.

• Hiking- same thing goes for hiking as it did for running. So many easily accessible trails right from the campground OR you can drive to so many great hikes. Always remember to be prepared for your hike with adequate water, sunscreen, a hat, and know the weather.

• Driving- We did the scenic drive and also the Washburn side drive (it’s a dirt road with a few rocky sections), both of which were spectacular. We also drove into the park from the west and left the park from the east, so we did get to see A LOT of the park. There are plenty of side trips that we could have done (had we had more time).

• Food/Gas/Lodging- There really isn’t much inside the park, but I definitely recommend stopping at the Gifford House for some fresh pie! It’s directly next to the Fruita Campground so easy 5 minute walk. We got there around 8:15 Sunday morning and the pies were still warm (and there was a relatively long line). They’re a bit pricey ($6 per pie), but totally worth it. Hot, fresh pie for breakfast? Yes, please! The town of Torrey is to the west of the visitors center and gas/ food/ some lodging is maybe a 10 minute drive? It’s super close and convenient if you forget something.

• Orchards- I saw over FIVE orchards in the valley of the park (by the visitors center/ campground/ museum). We had just missed the apple picking season (by 2.5 weeks), but it really makes me want to come back and take advantage of the harvesting season. They have walnut, apple, pear, almond, and peach trees.

OVERALL takeaway - We will definitely be back. The history is amazing here (we came across the arch where Butch Cassidy hid!) and the overall accessibility is amazing. Pretty easy to bring your furry friends too (if you don’t want to go hiking), since the trail to/from the visitors center is dog-friendly. It may be the least popular of Utah’s Big Five National Parks too, so that’s more incentive to visit!

Fruita Campground!

Nice walking trails to the Visitors Center and green space to enjoy a picnic!

One of the orchards along the Scenic Drive

Views from my run!

Driving on Washburn drive towards the canyon

Butch Cassidy’s hideout arch- located in the top middle canyon!

Petroglyphs!

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Have you carved your pumpkin yet?! Gimme some ideas!

What are you up to this weekend?!?

Pumpkin Flavored things - yay or nay? —> no, thank you.

Ever been to Capitol Reef National Park? —> if yes, what was your favorite?

Trail Thursday: Timber Lake Backpacking In Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park!

Happy Friday eve! I’m so excited to share with you some of the photos from our backpacking trip last weekend in Rocky Mountain National Park. We booked our overnight camping permit about a month ago on their website here. Alex or I had never done any sort of Wilderness camping where you needed a permit, so we were both a bit excited and nervous! It was so easy to book the site and navigate through their website to find the best location for us on the date that we were looking for (plus it was inexpensive too! $26 to book online). I ended up booking Snowbird site at Timber Lake because it was a relatively do-able distance for us (4.6 miles 2,000’ gain), close to the lake, and close to the Grand Lake entrance of the park (closer to our home!). It ended up being National Parks Day on Saturday so the park and trailhead was busier than we expected, but it wasn’t anything unmanageable. We picked up our permit at the Kawanachee Visitors Center around 11:15am and got to trailhead before noon! We ate the sandwiches that we had picked up at Natural Grocers earlier in the morning and headed out. The Ranger that gave us our permit said to be on the lookout for Moose (they were rumored to be active in this area) and that the hike would take us 4-5 hours. We were hopeful we could get to the site around 3pm!

Ready to go!

The trail to Snowbird site was so beautiful and well-maintained. I honestly think it was one of the best trails I’ve been on since moving to Colorado 5 years ago!

We crossed over several streams, but there were great man-made footbridges which made it easy.

It was also a pretty gradual ascent (hard, but still do-able if you’re used to the elevation) for most of the hike which was nice since we had our heavy backpacks on!

At mile 2.6, we made it to the Active Landslide area. I had read reviews where most people went around the landslide, but that it was very steep and difficult. We looked at the landslide area (it was short - maybe 1/10 mile long (if that))- gravel and a few downed trees to go over and under, but we decided to give it a try! It was definitely trickier with our backpacks on and I think that if the trail was wet at all or if we were just beginning our hiking/backpacking season then it would have been much more difficult/near impossible. We made it to the other side (thankfully) and soon arrived at the Long Meadows trailhead.

At this point, the trail climbs up a bit steeper (with several switchbacks) and you never really get a great view of the Never Summer Wilderness region. Another mile or so past the trail crossing, we came to the Jackstraw site (it was unavailable this year) and to the open meadow (SO BEAUTIFUL).

We knew that once we hit this site that we were getting close (our mileage said we were around 4.5 miles and ~2,800’ in gain)!

We crossed by the privy and at this point the trail subsides a bit and rolls in-and-out of the forest and meadow area, until we arrived at Snowbird site! Our mileage said that we were at 5.0 miles and gained 3,000’ in elevation (a bit off from the designated site details). We arrived at our site at 2:55pm and I think we really made excellent time. We didn’t stop too much coming out, but I was definitely TIRED once we got there!

Rockslide area right by our campsite!

We set up our tent, sleeping bags & pads, and gathered our chairs/books/cameras to head to Timber Lake around 4pm. Once we got there, we were the only ones! It was so beautiful- the photos absolutely do not do it justice. The lake was about a 5 minute hike from Snowbird campsite.

We turned in relatively early (both had a mild case of (what we think) Altitude sickness, a bit of nausea) and had all of the winter layers since it was anticipated to get down to around 30* that night!

Thankfully we packed all the layers (plus hand warmers which I put on my toes!), so we weren’t too chilled when we woke up the next morning. We retrieved our bear box (necessary for the wilderness camping) that we set out 70 steps from our campsite the night before and made coffee (always tastes so much better outdoors!)/ a Mountain House for breakfast.

We both wanted to get back home, so we packed up pretty quickly and were out hiking back by 7:45am! It was still chilly for the first 2-3 miles so I kept my mittens and down jacket on for a bit.

Good Morning!

We made it out of the trailhead by 10am and only met a handful of hikers heading out onto the trails. The other snowbird site was never filled and overall it was so peaceful! We got a bunch of reading done and the beauty of the Fall Foliage during the hike was spectacular. It is definitely longer than the NPS suggests, but I think you should be able to make it to the Lake within 3.5-4 hours even if moving at a gentle pace. The biggest factor in this trail is making sure to be prepared (you have zero cell service) for all weather conditions (including First Aid/ food/ layers) and going through the landslide area (it is pretty dicey for anyone who is not experienced or if the trail conditions are even a bit damp/ frosty).

Navigating the Landslide area with all.the.layers

Overall- I’d highly recommend backpacking out in Rocky Mountain! The trails were so well-maintained. We didn’t see any wildlife (slightly disappointed), but I know it’s out there so please remember to leave no trace when hiking and respect the animals who call these places home.

Some of the many Fall colors we came across!

Trail Thursday: Stagecoach State Park

Happy Thursday! I was brainstorming last night what I should write about today and realized that I’ve yet to do a review of the Colorado State Park that’s in our backyard- Stagecoach! Also I’ve had to re-type this same thing four different times because Maple is extra lovey right now and continues to delete my typing! Ha. Good thing she’s so cute. I’ve got 7 miles on the schedule this morning with 8 x 30 second strides at the end. Then it’s all about carbo-loading and getting a lot of sleep to prep for my Run Rabbit Run pacing tomorrow night!

I may be a bit biased, but Stagecoach is definitely one of my favorite State Parks. It has 10 MILES of runnable (and bikeable!) trails around the entire lake, ample spots to fish, a beach to relax, and three different campgrounds!

I’m not entirely sure when exactly the campgrounds close, but it will be relatively soon (thinking October?). The park still remains open in the winter and they do a GREAT job of grooming a bunch of trails around the lake for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing.

We’ve lived within 5 minutes of the park for the past year and a half and I still haven’t gotten tired of all that it offers. You can boat on the lake and ice fish in the winter - so there really is something for everyone!

Visiting the Dam is also another fun activity to do if you are visiting from out of town and you can access the trail around the lake very easily from that parking lot.

Ever been to Stagecoach State Park?

What is YOUR favorite State Park? What’s so special about it?

What do you have on the workout front today?

Trail Thursday: Yosemite National Park

Yosemite is my top-two favorite National Parks. I love the shear beauty of the valley, the crisp air that surrounds you, the amount of trails that you can explore with (or without) a dog, and the variety in their campgrounds. We visited Yosemite on our roadtrip out west a few years ago in the beginning of October and stayed at two of the campgrounds there. The first night, we stayed at the Crane Flat Campground (we had planned to stay there two nights). The second night (after our sleeping bag zipper broke) we ended up booking a hotel because we were so.cold.! It dropped down to the upper 20s at night and with no properly working sleeping bag, it was just too chilly.

Driving into the Park!

Stella vs. Deer

First night camping in Yosemite. It.Was.Freezing (hence the giant mittens)

Even Stella was cold....

I had managed to book just one night at the Lower Pines Campground (I booked it back in June and there was only one night available!). It was the perfect temperature there (maybe 40s at night?) and we loved this campground. I cannot say enough good things about it! It was in a great location (right next to the river), we could see Half Dome right from our tent. I'd recommend planning your trip 6 months in advance and bookmarking when your reservation date will be available (~5 months in advance). 

Stella leading the way!

There were several paved trails along the park that we could walk Stella (one of the most dog-friendly National Parks we've been to!) and I also got to run in the park once (highly recommend)! Because the speed limits are slower, you can feel safer than you would running on a backcountry road (or at least I did). I also ran during the mid-afternoon where there were ample people around (to be safer). 

Hi Stella!

We did a few shorter hikes (where Stella had to stay in the car), which we started by ~6am so it would be cool enough in the car for her. I'd definitely recommend planning ahead if you want to do a lot of hiking and research places to board your furry pets for a day or two (it's worth it!). 

I'd also recommend doing the drive up to Glacier Point at sunset. We brought our dinner up there and enjoyed it with a view (cannot recommend this enough). It was so beautiful and we got so many great photos as the sun was setting among the valley. 

Ever been to Yosemite? 

Favorite part of the park? --> We REALLY want to go back, so let me know if you have any recommendations!

Trail Thursday: Grand Teton National Park

I've been fortunate enough to visit the Grand Teton National Park twice. The first time was in 2015 when we did an impromptu trip to Yellowstone and drove through the Tetons enroute to Yellowstone. The second time we did get to spend a bit more time in the Tetons (last Summer, 2017), but still never quite enough time (in my point of view). I always feel as though Yellowstone's close proximity to the Tetons overshadows it.

The Tetons are absolutely spectacular and I'd really love to plan an entire trip just visiting it (without Yellowstone).  We've driven through several of the side roads in the National Park (one was just before my Jackson Hole Half Marathon start and it was zero dark thirty...yeah I don't recommend doing that) and there is just so much to see. 

I really do not think that the photos do it justice. I'd also really love to backpack in the park. I know that there are several backcountry options to hike to and that sounds amazing. With having Stella (our pup), it's always a little challenging planning these types of trips (dogs aren't allowed in the backcountry in both Grand Teton & Yellowstone Nat'l Parks), so we aren't able to do them as often as we would prefer. 

Jenny Lake is absolutely beautiful and I'd recommend planning to spend a day just admiring her beauty (if you have the time)! 

Also plan to camp directly in the park. We ended up camping just outside of the park last Summer (we stayed here) because we arrived later over Labor Day weekend and all of the campsites were previously booked. Still a beautiful site and only ~25 minutes outside of the Park/ Jackson Hole Ski Resort area, but I wish we could have gotten a site in the actual park. 

Ever been to Grand Teton National Park?

Camping or backpacking?