capitol reef.
cohab canyon.

our final hike at capitol reef was into cohab canyon. derek was interested in this one, so we waited for him to finish working one day, and hit the trail. (the whole east coast 9-5 schedule has it’s benefits out here, even if he doesn’t think so when he’s starting work at 7am).

like the last hike, this one goes straight up.

the first 0.3 miles took us up about 400 feet of switchbacks. there was less grumbling than i expected.

the views from up high were pretty amazing.

once we were at the top, we got a pretty good look at the canyon we would be traversing.

this kid was ready for adventure.

into the canyon we go.

we were welcomed with tons of great spots to do some rock climbing. we got right down to business.

occasionally, anna gets herself into a precarious position that she gets a little nervous coming down from. derek provides emotional support and technical guidance.

the little holes and pockets and caves were so cool.

isaac gets in on the climbing action.

hazel was a little more cautious than usual.

cool alcove.

more climbing.

just some scenery, without kids climbing all over it.

and more cool erosion pockets and holes.

this was pretty much the extent of hazel’s exploring.

i attempted a family pic, but isaac made a daring escape before i could snap it.

along the way, some hikers told us about a cool little slot canyon to check out. of course we found it and spent a good bit of time exploring and testing the limits of our comfort zone, squeezing through the slot.

i think the girls could have gone further in, easily, and i maybe could have navigated up and over into it, but we were a little unsure, so we held back.

swiss cheese rocks.

hazel inside a hole.

anna even further inside the hole.

past the slot canyon, we found our favorite place to climb. anna scooted up and down several times.

higher and higher each time.

isaac joined in, but was a little less adventurous.

and hazel even less so. 🙂

the other day, anna told me, “i see grown ups climbing with ropes and stuff but when i grow up, i just want to climb with just my hands and feet. no ropes.”

we found another smaller little slot canyon area to explore. it had a perfectly smooth and even ramp for everyone to climb up and then run down like mad men.

at some point, the crazelnut gave up hiking and decided to get as much sand on her person as possible.

when it was about 45 minutes from sunset, we made our way out, not wishing to be in a pitch black canyon at night. back at the top area, looking into the canyon, derek made me take a selfie. (he collects selfies of our travels).

i took another pic of the canyon. i can’t help myself.

adventurer anna.

and then we headed back down the switchbacks. the kids slipped on the gravel a bunch of times. hazel was really grumpy about the situation, so i was required to hold her hand the entire way, yanking her up into the air everytime she started to skid out.

excellent views, once again.

finally at the bottom, on the walk back to the parking lot. my favorite pic.

and that’s the tale of our hike into cohab canyon. 🙂