I have this friend named Michael Rawson, I call him Big Mike. When I get bored I go down to Provo, Utah because I know Big Mike will be doing something epic. My plans got canceled and this was one of those last second Utah Adventures.
This adventure started like most other rowdy adventures. I crammed into a car with four other dudes. We were embarking on an epic journey to Capitol Reef, we had no idea what it would turn into. Our car followed a caravan of two other cars as we traveled South.
After about 3 hours of driving through the boondocks of Utah, we arrived at our campsite. I would totally tell everyone where this campsite is but my friend who shared it with me would probably not like that very much. This campsite was about 20 minutes from Capitol Reef which was perfect for our adventure that we had planned the next day. We settled down and got some rest.
The next morning everyone started getting ready for the canyoneering we came down South to do. There was one small issue that we would run into. Half of the group was made of quitters. We discovered on this morning that half of the group was discussing going home early to do something dumb like watch a movie. This will come into play later in the sidequest.
We started driving to Capitol Reef and it was already so beautiful. We arrived at Capitol Reef and I realized how under rated it was. We parked at a pull off and started our approach to a slot canyon titled “Stegosaurus”. The approach was steep, hard to navigate and very strenuous. But, we were very excited to start canyoneering.
One by one, we dropped into the canyon. This canyon was already starting to get tight and technical. We had a large group of athletic specimens that were ready to tackle just about anything. Slowly but surely we made our way through the canyon as the walls only got tighter.
Before we knew it, the canyon has turned into a complete slot canyon. The canyon was getting too tight to walk though so we had to use a technique called “stemming”. I’m fairly new to climbing and canyoneering so this was a completely new term for me. Stemming is where you use your hands and feet flat against a surface to support yourself. This technique is way harder then it sounds.
Once we exited the slot Canyon we were met with the one and only repel on the exit of the canyon. The repel was only about 35 feet and the anchor was very solid so none of us were stressed. We completed the repel with ease and exited the Canyon.
We went to the Maverick gas station to get some snacks and this is when we found out that the weak portion of our group wanted to head home early. 7 dudes crammed into a truck and returned to Provo for unknown reasons. Everyone who wasn’t a quitter continued on the journey.
Desperate for a new sidequest we asked our friend Mikey, who was a local in his younger years. He said, “Dude I know this crazy spot we could go to, Calf Creek”. We were all immediately in. We drove 2 hours and hiked 2 miles up to the spot and let’s just say it did not disappoint.
Breathtaking is an understatement for this insane waterfall. Being a 19 year old male, my instincts immediately lead me to remove my shirt and sprint into the waterfall. This was one of those memories that will never fade, pure bliss. The rest of the squad followed and it was a great time. We hopped out cold but accomplished.
Half of the crew ended their journey and did the long haul to Provo in the late hours after the waterfall adventure. Big Mike, Caden and I were looking for a place to camp. We stumbled upon a lake called Fish Lake on our way back. We cowboy camped here for the night. The excellent fall colors surprised all of us and the peaceful morning was unbeatable.
This road trip was a great success and I’d like to thank everyone for coming. Special shoutout to Big Mike for the invite. I’ll be back down sending it in Utah soon.
