A Key Figure

Ephraim Portman Pectol and his brother-in-law, Joseph S. Hickman, were two of the earliest and most active advocates for protecting the Waterpocket Fold area for posterity. It is fitting, then, that Pectol's Pyramid (showcased here) is best seen from the Hickman Bridge Trail, as the main route through Capitol Reef National Park, Utah Highway 24, passes between them in the deeper Freemont River canyon.

Natives of nearby Torrey, Utah, they wrote articles and sent photographs promoting the region to newspapers in Utah, after Pectol's election to the state legislature in 1928. This attention eventually led to President Franklin Roosevelt setting aside just over 37,000 acres as the Capitol Reef National Monument in 1937. President Richard Nixon signed the Act to Establish Capitol Reef National Park in the State of Utah into law in December 1971.

But, It's a Dry Heat

The high desert of Southern Utah can be unforgiving. Hear along the Hickman Natural Bridge Trail in late Spring, there are few signs of life. Pectols Pyramid across the Fremont River Canyon is a sandstone formation which dominates the landscape to the south of the Hickman Bridge Trail, but it is the knife-like sharp limbs of the dried out, dead, gnarled juniper in the foreground that rightly dominates this frame. This land is open to the elements, exposed to extreme temperatures throughout the year, and a place where only the heartiest plants and animals survive. This juniper once fell into that category, but after decades if not centuries of life, it too succumbed to this harsh environment.

Hickman from the West

Joseph Hickman was a Utah legislator and early proponent of setting aside the land along the Waterpocket Fold. On July 20, 1925, Wayne (County) Wonderland State Park was dedicated, but the celebration for Hickman was short lived, as he died two days later in a boating accident.

Hickman's brother-in-law and fellow Utah state legislator, Ephraim Porter (Port) Pectol, continued lobbying for further protection of the area, and in 1937, Capitol Reef was designated a National Monument, with this feature, then called Broad Arch, renamed in Hickman's honor. The bridge is 125' tall and spans 133', and is a great hike with relatively easy access for all visitors to Capitol Reef National Park.

Navajo Dome

The result of hard sandstone being sculpted by winds and scoured by water erosion, Navajo Dome is one of the many unique geologic structures in Capitol Reef National Park.

As a nearby marker points out: "Monsoonal rains fill the Fremont River and its side canyons with sediment, adding to the scouring power. Forceful streams easily erode softer clay and mud layers, which in turn undercuts cliff faces. Water freezing within cracks pries apart boulders and cliffs. Gravity allows features to collapse. What is left behind are domes, bridges, arches, cliffs, and slopes – a colorful masterpiece created by nature."

Capitol Reef is a quiet but magnificent location for anyone interested in geologic history. One of the “Big 5” Utah National Parks, for some reason it doesn’t get the notoriety of its peers. That makes it an ideal location for visitors, looking to escape crowds and enjoy nature.