The Mighty Five! +1
Where do you even start when writing about one of the most incredible adventures you’ve been on? It seems nearly impossible to do a trip like this justice using only words, so I’ll add a few pictures along the way, but let’s be honest… those won’t do it justice either.
Growing up, I was able to spend a great deal of time visiting National Parks. I credit these trips as much of the inspiration and reason for starting Within Reach at all, but I will save that for another post. In short… these trips sparked a love for our Parks system and led me to set a goal of seeing all 63 (at least at this point) National Parks.
As a part of this goal, I am always looking for ways to link parks together into an epic adventure. For that reason, Utah’s Mighty Five has long been a bucket list trip. In the summer of 2021, my wife and I, along with some of our closest friends, conquered this goal. We actually even added a bonus park in for good measure.
In case anyone reading this isn’t aware, the 5 National Parks that make up Utah’s Mighty Five are: Arches NP, Bryce Canyon NP, Canyonlands NP, Capital Reef NP, and Zion National Park.
After a great deal of planning, and even more waiting, we finally sat off on this adventure toward the end of July in 2021, because who doesn’t want to spend Summer in the desert.
Our first planned stop was Silverton, Colorado. This area has been a favorite of mine since I was a little kid. We spent some time around there and Ouray on a few trips and the beauty of the San Juan backcountry has never left my mind. Having 4-wheel drive gives you the ability to explore some incredible places around here. While riding trails, we came upon Lackawanna Mill in Silverton. Such a cool place to stretch our legs and take in the beauty that Colorado has to offer. After some fun exploring, we went off to find a place to set up camp before heading into Canyonlands National Park the next morning.
That night we camped in Dominguez Canyon Wilderness area which is managed by the Bureau of Land Management(BLM).
There is something about camping in the middle of nowhere that offers a certain amount of clarity it is hard to find elsewhere. I have more to say about that, but you can find that in this post here: Camping and Clarity
Canyonlands was one of the places I was most looking forward to visiting. This was largely due to the way we would be exploring this park. Our itinerary pretty well consisted of one item for this trip… Elephant Hill. Per the Canyonlands National Park website, Elephant Hill is “one of the most technical four-wheel-drive roads in Utah” presenting “drivers and mountain bikers with steep grades, loose rock, stair-step drops, tight turns, and tricky backing.” For this reason it is actually one of Jeep’s recognized Badge of Honor trails. Needless to say, this trail was a little more than what this Arkansas boy was used to. That said… it was a blast.
After the white knuckle experience that was Elephant Hill, we had a good BBQ dinner in Moab and got some rest before hitting Arches National Park the next morning. At Arches we did some hiking in Garden of Eden and The Windows Section before heading to the Delicate Arch area. There we were able to do a little more off roading on Cache Valley Road.
One of my favorite things about visiting National Parks is how they are almost other worldly. Without even leaving our country, you can experience so many diverse landscapes and features.
The Windows Arches were some of the neatest to take in. Arches alone are such a spectacular feature, but the way these came together is incredible.
After spending the day exploring Arches, we set out to find camp and make dinner. This alone ended up presenting quite the adventure.
We quickly found a nice area in BLM land that had designated sites and even bathrooms. We parked down in a small cove/canyon and got out to look around and make sure we were happy.
Without going into too much detail, a couple of things happened pretty quick that gave us a little pause. We always pay careful attention to our surroundings and something just didn’t feel right. Instead of waiting around, we decided to drive a bit further toward Capitol Reef. And boy were we glad we did.
Even though rain was not in the forecast, it began to pour before we could even get our tacos cooked. We ducked inside the 4Runners and waited out the first wave of the storm. It was pretty wild. After the rain subsided, we jumped into one of the annexes to quickly eat dinner and then tuck in for the night. Well… for a little while. Shortly after getting into our tents, another storm moved in. We jumped back into the vehicles and watched the storms. It was a little mesmerizing and concerning at the same time. We spent hours watching lighting hit the ground through windshield wipers that were practically useless. At about 2 in the morning we were able to emerge from the vehicles and get into our tents. I must say, I was very impressed at how well the tent and annex handled the rain. There was no time to really prepare other than to make sure everything was zipped up. In hindsight, I am so thankful that we didn’t stay where we originally planned. Had we been where we were when the storm hit, we could have been in a bit of trouble. We were down just enough that part of our camp would likely be floating, if not worse. While rain wasn’t on our radar and not the reason we moved, it was definitely a blessing that we did. Trust that gut feeling!
The next morning we set off to park number 3 on our journey, Capitol Reef. We had planned to do a bit more off-roading here to explore Cathedral Valley. Unfortunately, storms had temporarily closed the road as well as many other areas. It started raining again as we came into the park and we were able to see just how powerful water can be in these canyons. Due to rain, the full Scenic Drive was actually closed off and we were limited in our exploring for the day.
We first explored the Petroglyph Panel. It is always incredible to see the pieces of history that tell the story of each park. These images depict the story of the Fremont and Ancestral Pueblo people who inhabited the area nearly 2,000 years ago, and document their hunter gatherer lifestyle.
After that we hiked out to Hickman Bridge. This Natural Bridge is incredible. Fortunately, the rain let up as we were hiking and we were able to explore the area a bit more before moving on
The drive out of Capitol Reef and toward Bryce Canyon was incredible. It’s always neat to watch the landscape change as you drive from one place to the next. Much of the drive was through the Dixie National Forest where, after a pitstop for pizza, we decided to spend the night. This was easily one of our favorite campsites.
The next morning, after a quick breakfast and coffee, we rolled into Bryce Canyon. There are so many things to see here and I could have easily spent another day or two in this area. From the very first look out, the views are incredible. We hit a number of points and lookouts and were able to do a good bit of hiking.
We hiked a portion of the Under-the-Rim trail, the Bristlecone loop trail, and the Navajo Loop. The Navajo Loop is a must hike. It is not a very long hike, but it is a great way to experience the park, going down into the canyon and seeing the true beauty of the park.
On the way out, we were able to check out a few other areas, smaller canyons, and look out points. Fairyland Canyon was another must see. The rock formations at Bryce Canyon are simply incredible. The park is known for its Hoodoos, which are found on every continent. But Bryce Canyon happens to have the largest concentration of these found anywhere on Earth. It truly is something you just have to see.
From Bryce Canyon, we started the nearly 2 hour drive toward Zion. The drive into the park is breathtaking and gave quite the sneak peak into what we had in store for us. We arrived a little later than planned and struggled to find an ideal camping spot. After some driving we happened to find a small area of BLM land just outside of the area and set up camp. After a good dinner and some visiting, we turned in early to beat the sun up.
The next morning was a big one. I had been waiting all week to get to Zion for two big reasons… Angel’s Landing and The Narrows. So we made sure we were on the first shuttle out so we could check these both off our list.
Angel’s Landing is one of the most visited areas in the park and a bucket list hike for many. It is a 5.4 mile round-trip hike with a 1,488 foot gain in elevation. The last half mile out to the end of the ridge consists of chains of hold as you make your way along the narrow trail. The hike is considered one of the most dangerous hikes in the United States and has claimed the life of 17 as of 2023.
From the first time I learned about Angel’s Landing, I knew I had to do it. And it definitely did not disappoint.
Getting to the end of the trail and looking out was an incredible feeling. I will say that the trail didn’t necessarily feel dangerous, but the large volume of traffic and crowded trails likely make it more dangerous than it should be.
For that reason, the park now requires you to enter a lottery to obtain a permit. It is definitely worth doing if you are visiting Zion and able, but definitely make sure you are ready for such a hike.
After making the trek down from Angel’s landing, we changed from our hiking boots to Chaco’s and took the shuttle to The Narrows. Fortunately the water level and temperature in July were fine without having to have any additional gear, so we had packed everything in a backpack to avoid having to make the trip back to the vehicle.
We hiked a few miles in The Narrows to around the Wall Street section before meeting up with our friends and turning around to head back. It is incredible to be able to take on these two hikes in one day. Granted, I can’t wait to come back and see even more of The Narrows.
Needless to say, we were pretty well exhausted after a full day of hiking. After hitting the Visitor Center to stamp National Park passports and do some souvenir shopping, we went back into town to get a well deserved meal. After eating we started our journey back toward Arkansas, stopping just outside of Petrified Forest National Park. Being that we had camped the past 3 nights and hiked just over 11 miles at Zion, we figured it might be a good time for a hotel and a shower.
The next morning we headed to our bonus park. Being that Petrified Forest was kinda on the way home, we couldn’t miss an opportunity to add another park to the journey.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect here, but it was definitely a worthwhile stop.
As a kid, I would come across the occasional piece of petrified wood when hunting or hiking. It always felt like I had stumbled across some bit of treasure. So to hike in this park with full logs and trees that were petrified was a pretty cool experience.
Even this park tells quite the story when you think about how history and the events that brought this about.
After our time at Petrified Forest, the inevitable had come. It was time to go home. That said, any adventure worth having is going to have its hiccups. On the interstate in New Mexico my 4Runner lost power. I was able to exit and, after using our jump-starter to get us back rolling, we hit the closest O’Reilly. They said the alternator was fine, but the battery was shot. After a quick swipe of the plastic and a battery change, we were back on the road. It didn’t take long to realize that the alternator wasn’t as fine as the test showed. We took turns driving through the night and luckily made it home. Of course I got to change out an alternator the following week.
It’s fun looking back on trips like this, though it really does just keep you ready for the next one. We live in a pretty cool world, but far too often we get caught up in the day to day and forget to look around. While hopefully this was enjoyable to read, I hope it encourages you to get out and see all the things around you. If something like this seems crazy, I’d encourage you to start small. We’re so quick to say anything is possible, but there is another side to that coin. Anything is impossible if you let it be. So don’t. Get out and find adventure Within Reach.
