Sometimes weekends just fall in to place. Taryn was scheduled to start a month rotation in Moab at the start of June. A week out some other friends mentioned that levels for Muddy Creek were looking good and they were planning on running it on Sunday. Muddy Creek, a canyon in the southern San Rafael Swell, is more often done as a hike in the summer months and only has enough water to float it on years with a lot of snow runoff and even then, only for a couple of weeks. Coming off a historically good winter we knew we couldn’t pass up the opportunity so immediately said yes. Finally, our friend Leah reached out a few days before the weekend saying she was organizing a big run in Capitol Reef National Park on Saturday. Neither Taryn or I felt in the best running shape, but the logistics were just too convenient to pass up so we told Leah we were in.
The University of Utah’s outdoor gear rental proved very easy and Taryn and I found ourselves driving down to Capitol Reef with a truck loaded with paddles, packrafts, and all the other adventure gear Taryn might need for her month in Moab.
We rolled in late and spent the night at some BLM land outside of the park where everyone was meeting up. In the daylight the next morning we were amazed to see the size of the crew Leah had assembled for this impromptu adventure. There were 14 of us, mostly a collection of nordic skiers and other ex-UofU athletes. Not a bad showing for a desert marathon planned 48 hours prior. We piled into a few vehicles as we could manage and then headed to the Grand Wash trailhead.
The initial section up Grand Wash was an absolute blast. The energy was high with such a large group and it felt really special to finally be back in Capitol Reef after years of coming there as a kid. The miles sure went down easier than when I was a little kid, but the intricate and majestic landscape was just as big as I remembered.
Eventually we came to the turn off to the Frying Pan trail, our first real climb of the day. The sun was getting high in the sky and the group began to separate a bit. We regrouped at the top and then enjoyed the long and winding descent down into Fruita. As we got down to the road I was psyched to see that the “David Scraped his Knee” sign was still in place after all these years.
The section along the road to the visitor center was a slog in the heat and a few members of our group decided to call it there because it would be a while before there was another good place to drop. We said goodbyes, topped off our waters, and then started up Sulfur Creek.
The cold water of the creek was absolutely blissful and we all found our energies and moods improving. After only a few minutes we reached a section of overhanging wall that I remembered my sister and I “mining” as little kids. It was yet another good opportunity to reflect on 20+ years of growth and how adventures are available at any scale with the right mindset.
Continuing up the creek a ways we reached the first little pour-over. This felt like an exciting milestone because above it lay the first bit of new trail that I had never gotten to explore as a kid. We quickly scrambled up the side and continued up canyon.
Shortly after we reached the second waterfall which we again bypassed with an easy scramble.
We continued up stream for another two miles until the canyon walls began to widen and we came to the fork that would bring us out of Sulfur Creek and over to the Chimney Rock trailhead. We all topped off our bottles again and spent a while laying in the creek trying to get as chilled as possible before what we knew was going to be a hot climb up to the entrance of Spring Canyon.
The climb out to Chimney Rock and onto Spring Canyon was brutal as expected. By the time we started up the Chimney Rock switchbacks it was 11:30 and we had already covered almost 17 miles. The heat sapped our energy and people began to complain about sore feet and cramping legs. But luckily with a group as large as we had there was always someone enjoying a second-wind and so collectively drafted off each other into Spring Canyon.
The upper section of Spring Canyon was a real treat. I had spent a good number of days in the lower section of Spring Canyon when I was younger, but the upper section was still novel to me. Around every corner we were rewarded by new views of massive sandstone walls.
As we got into lower Spring Canyon the cumulative miles started to really hit those of us in the group who aren’t (essentially) professional athletes. We were over 20 miles in at this point and, while the map made the finish line look close, we were no crows and knew the winding canyon meant a good number of miles still to go. Taryn especially was feeling the mid day heat and the group slowly spread out until it felt like we had the canyon to ourselves.
By the end we were both totally out of water and feeling a bit trapped in the winding canyon but luckily the walls began to get shorter and the vegetation more lush and we knew we were getting close to the Fremont River, the end of our loop. We popped out onto the banks of the river, wadded across, ran the final half a mile down the road back to Grand Wash, and finally limped into the parking lot to the congratulations from our friends. We all headed down to the river for to soak our feet and sip on some much needed beer.
It was a magical experience to get to chain together the many magical places in Capitol Reef that I remember exploring as a little kid. It was my first “macro” adventure in the park after years of “micro” adventures and I’m really thankful and impressed that Leah managed to organize such a solid last minute crew to share it with.
But the weekend was only half over and the main event still lay ahead so once our feet were sufficiently numb we left the river and started the drive up to the Swell to rendezvous with our other friends for Muddy Creek.
We stopped for a much needed feat in Hanksville and did a final check of water levels. The gauge showed levels were still near 200 cfs, more than enough for our float, so we excitedly left town and started the drive deep into the desert.
A couple hours of bumping driving later and we arrived at the takeout just in time for a glorious sunset. We managed to locate our friends and enjoyed a relaxing evening and a nice early bedtime.
The next morning we piled our gear into a few cars and made the hour-ish drive to the put in. There were clearly a number of people with the same idea for the day but we managed to find parking and set about getting our boats inflated. We had dragged our boats down to the steep sandy riverbank and were getting ready to launch when we suddenly saw a tiny dog that had been playing near the water get swept into the current. The dog’s owner was some distance away by the cars and seemed concerningly unconcerned with her dog being swept away into the unknown. Knowing I only had a few more seconds until the dog disappeared around the corner I ran to the bank and leaped in. Now it turns out that Muddy Creek is accurately named and indeed very muddy. I had assumed the water would be quite deep but learned otherwise when I felt my bare feet slam into a rocky bottom in knee deep water. I was luckily able to grab the dog and wade to shore but once the adrenaline wore off felt the arch of my right foot absolutely throbbing from where it had landed on a rock. I hobbled over to the dog’s owner and was a bit perturbed when she gave me only a small thanks and then immediately released her dog back to running around the launch.
We decide it was time to get onto the river and away from the launch before anything else happened so we climbed into our eclectic vessels and set off down Muddy Creek.
The first few miles were calm flat water. The sandy banks slowly transformed into rocky cliffs that grew higher and higher as we descended into the heart of the Swell. It was my first time in a packraft and I was pleasantly surprised by its comfort and stability.
We soon came across our first rapids of the day. The low water level made for technical but relatively low consequence fun as we bounced against underwater rocks and smooth rock walls.
Our friend Will decided he wanted to try his hand at kayaking and swapped out with Rueben, one of the few people with actual river experience in the group. It was hilarious (if at times also a bit nerve wracking) to watch Will teeter his way down the frequent rapids. We did see a few flips but he crushed it for a first time in a kayak.
We had tried to give the group a safety talk about being careful about putting feet down in moving water but as we repeatedly bumped into rocks and got our boats stuck those warnings were sometimes ignored.
The rapids were surprisingly continuous but we did find some good places to pull over and grab some snacks, drink some beer, and explore some side canyons.
As we got further down canyon the walls began to narrow and steepen and soon we found ourselves in a deep canyon with the rim a hundred feet overhead. The ambiance in this gorge was captivating, deep inside one some of the most remote desert in Utah, the only sounds the moving water and light wind traveling up canyon.
I was sure this spectacular section would be short lived but as we continued around the next few corners I was overjoyed to see the canyon only continuing to get deeper and deeper.
We found occasional outcroppings to regroup on (and discovered a very cool side slot canyon that I scrambled up until hitting a pour over I was nervous about reversing) but mostly we just continued downstream, at the whim of the current.
The float through the narrows continued for probably close to an hour and provided some of the passage through one of the coolest environments I have ever had the privileged of witnessing.
All good things must come to an end and eventually the walls began to shrink and the river started to widened signalling we were getting close to the takeout. My bruised foot had started to seize up and I had developed a slow leak in my packraft so it seemed like the right timing.
The takeout ended up being easy to identify (we had had some anxiety about missing it and ending up stranded down river) and we pulled out and got to work deflating out gear and starting the long process of shuttling it back up to camp and our waiting cars.
Muddy Creek far exceeded any expectations I had for it. I knew it was rarely runnable which seemed like reason enough to prioritize doing it, but I had not realized how continuous and beautiful it would be. The southern Swell has always felt like a mystery to me, a large swathe of road-less desert in the middle of Utah. To get the chance to float through the heart of it, effortlessly passing down 16 miles of a remote canyon thanks to the ephemeral interplay of water and desert, felt like a real blessing.
Leave a Reply