HDT Day 20: Into Capitol Reef National Park

Daily Miles: 17.9, Total Miles: 263.8

The winds were gusting and howling last night and earplugs weren’t much help.

As I set off this morning, I realized I hadn’t seen a buffalo yet. Soon after, I saw one next to the trail but it had been dead for some time.

I dropped steeply into Swap Canyon and followed it all the way to Notom Road, entering Capitol Reef NP. With empty water bottles, I was fortunate to find treatable water at the second Swap Canyon spring.

I turned off on Burr Trail Road and switchbacked up to the Lower Muley Twist TH. I found my cache nearby and loaded up on food and water, lightening my load a bit by having a feast of a lunch. The rest of the afternoon was spent walking down Lower Muley Twist Canyon, a steep-sided canyon with numerous caves, alcoves, rock formations and an intermittent small creek. Very cool! Lower Muley Twist was named by early travelers – the canyon was just wide enough to twist their mules around.

I saw my first humans since Hanksville, hikers on a loop hike.