brimhall canyon & strike valley overlook
may 2010
Brimhall Canyon is a short drainage on the southern end of Capitol Reef National Park accessed from the Halls Creek Trailhead. A long drive down the Notom Bullfrog Road is required to get there but the reward is more than worth it. James and I, as part of our 2 week trip after our second year at CSM made this hike to see the Brimhall Double Bridge up close. We were in the middle of a real fun extended trip exploring much of southern Utah in the process looking for interesting and obscure places. This was no exception. From the trailhead, a nice trail switchbacked down to Halls Creek and amazingly, it was dry! I was at this same spot just 2 months before when Josh and I hiked the Halls Creek Narrows and due to the extremely wet winter of 09/10 in the Utah desert, it was flowing at the time and our hike through the narrows included lots of wading.
This time though we were able to easily cross the dry stream bed and continue towards the reef and into the Brimhall drainage. It was a short hike into the reef where the canyon narrowed as it cut through the Navajo Sandstone. A little bit of Class 3 scrambling then took us directly under the arch (See the banner photo above) which is composed in the Wingate Sandstone. We actually met up with a solo guy who was already at the arch and he had some interesting stories to tell about his travels. I envied him as he spoke about places all over the world and as I write this small report now in 2015, I am happy to say I am living life the same way!
After a couple hours at the double arch, we hiked back and returned to the car, where we went to The Post which is a small corral near Headquarters Canyon and hiked a short ways up there to check it out. We roamed around the historic wooden ruins that was once used to corral animals. Interesting to say the least. A great sunset on the cliffs above the valley greeted us as we cooked dinner. The next morning we hiked up the Strike Valley Overlook Trail to reach the top of the reef and the view of the valley below was fantastic. Roaming around the top was real sweet.
This time though we were able to easily cross the dry stream bed and continue towards the reef and into the Brimhall drainage. It was a short hike into the reef where the canyon narrowed as it cut through the Navajo Sandstone. A little bit of Class 3 scrambling then took us directly under the arch (See the banner photo above) which is composed in the Wingate Sandstone. We actually met up with a solo guy who was already at the arch and he had some interesting stories to tell about his travels. I envied him as he spoke about places all over the world and as I write this small report now in 2015, I am happy to say I am living life the same way!
After a couple hours at the double arch, we hiked back and returned to the car, where we went to The Post which is a small corral near Headquarters Canyon and hiked a short ways up there to check it out. We roamed around the historic wooden ruins that was once used to corral animals. Interesting to say the least. A great sunset on the cliffs above the valley greeted us as we cooked dinner. The next morning we hiked up the Strike Valley Overlook Trail to reach the top of the reef and the view of the valley below was fantastic. Roaming around the top was real sweet.
Brimhall Double Bridge
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Sunset from our camp near the historic corral
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Panoramic view from the Halls Creek Overlook Trailhead
Panorama of Capitol Reef from the Post Outlet corral
Strike Valley Overlook with the Henry Mountains in the distance