Where's Butch?

Capital Reef National Park has so many distinctive rock formations, with many of them able to be seen from Highway 24 as you drive through the park. Others require some hiking since they are tucked into canyons, washes, or perched near the top of a butte or plateau. Cassidy Arch is one of the latter.

It was a sunny fall day, and after our friend Tom finished working, he and his wife Justine abducted me and off we went in search of a hike. But first, a quick stop at the visitor center as Justine wanted to check out the Gifford House in the park. It part of a historic homestead that has been converted into a shop. They are most known for the fresh baked pies, cinnamon rolls, and the homemade ice cream they sell. We got one of each pie to try later: apple, peach, mixed berry, and strawberry rhubarb. I can report they are all delicious. The park still maintains the orchards that were a big part of the homesteads here in the community of Fruita. They are setup as a U-pick orchard. At the visitor center, they told us that you can either take the apples you pick with you for $2.00 a pound, or you can eat what you want inside the orchard at no charge. We did both, and the Gibson Golden apples were tasty.

After the apple tasting, we headed over to the trailhead for Cassidy Arch. The trailhead is shared with the Grand Wash, with the arch trail branching off from the main trail in the wash. The climb started immediately, which makes sense since the arch is about 500 feet above the canyon floor. We scampered up the edge of the butte, over the rock steps, around switchbacks, and across ledges until we reached the slick rock nearer the top. There are great views all along the trail, with different rock formations and colors that change with each step we took. We paused at one corner for a little hydration break. When we looked across the canyon, we could see the arch in the distance. It was all the inspiration we needed to keep going. We made our way across the slickrock by following the cairns until we arrived at a massive rock slab. At the edge of the slab was a large hole and beyond that was Cassidy Arch. It is a pretty huge arch, and having a bird’s eye view of it makes it different from other arches that you approach from the bottom. I do, however, think it would be cool to see it from the bottom too, but that would take some rock scrambling up the canyon below. Maybe on another trip. We walked around the arch and on top of it, enjoying the late afternoon sun along with a few other people that were there.

This arch was named for the infamous Butch Cassidy, who would sometimes hide out in these canyons with his sidekick the Sundance Kid after robbing trains, banks and such. There was no sign of them today, Paul Newman or Robert Redford either; just some birds, lizards, and chipmunks to keep us company along the way. After enjoying the arch, we turned around and headed back along the same tracks that led us up here. It was a great little hike at about 3.5 miles round trip. Special thanks to our friends, Tom and Justine, for taking me along. And to Tom for staying behind to watch the Cassie and Suki, since they are not allowed on the trails. I think I can still taste the pies we had those nights!

It was a chilly start to the day today, and thankfully the sun warmed things up for us. We took a scenic drive today, and the views were amazing. We had planned on a hike to a waterfall, but the trailhead parking was full. We opted for just the drive, and I am glad we did. It was less than 70 miles in total, and took us the better of 7 hours to complete. Somewhat unexpected and very enjoyable. I even saw some snow on the ground today, not much, but it was snow!

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