THE HEAT IS ON
My
first trip “out west” was in May of 1998.
I went with three friends, as that was about nine months before I met
Christy. On that trip I visited the
Grand Canyon for the first time. Christy
has always wanted to go there, but we’ve never managed to work it into one of
our trips. The main problem is that as a
teacher she has two months off every summer.
Unfortunately, summer isn’t the best time to go hiking in the
desert.
We’ve
contemplated visiting the Grand Canyon at other times. Spring break would provide more appealing
weather. However, Christy only gets a
week off, and a week just isn’t enough time to do much in the Grand Canyon,
particularly if you want to visit other parks in the area, like Zion and
Bryce. Christmas is the only other
option, but it’s awfully cold and snowy on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in
December. In fact, the North Rim is
actually closed from late fall until sometime in May due to snow.
Despite
the heat, we decided to make a long-overdue visit to the desert southwest this
summer. We planned our trip for late
June, right after the end of the school year.
June isn’t quite as hot as July or early August, and more importantly it
avoids the monsoon season that typically starts in mid-July. I wanted to hike several slot canyons during
our trip, and they can be deadly if a flash flood occurs. Flash floods can happen at any time of the
year, but they are most common as a result of thunderstorms spawned by the summer
monsoon.
This
year we decided to forgo our usual 4-week trip for several reasons. Instead, we’d take only 2 weeks for our visit
to the southwest. In September I plan to
spend another two weeks with friends backpacking in Colorado.
Two
weeks is nowhere near enough time to see “everything” in southern Utah and
northern Arizona. For that matter, two
years probably wouldn’t be enough.
However, I figured it would be ample time to hit some of the highlights. Christy would get her visit to the Grand
Canyon, and I would get another chance to hike in some of my favorite parks in Utah, such as Zion and Grand Staircase –
Escalante.
The
heat was a concern, to be sure. Some
high-elevation areas that we planned to visit, such as Bryce and the rims of
the Grand Canyon, are actually pleasant in June. However, most of Grand Staircase – Escalante
and the bottom of the Grand Canyon typically experience temperatures exceeding
100 degrees in June.
Aside
from the heat, our biggest concern was Christy’s knees. Last summer, while we were hiking in Wyoming,
one of her knees swelled up to the size of a cantaloupe. Rough trails and steep descents cause her
knees the most problems, so we decided to save the Grand Canyon for last. We’d start our trip in southwest Utah, in
Zion National Park. After a few days
there we’d make a brief visit to Bryce Canyon National Park before heading on
to Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument.
From Escalante we’d head south, to the Grand Canyon’s north rim. After a brief visit there, we’d drive around
to the south rim (a drive that covers about 20 miles as the crow flies, but
takes 4 ½ hours).
One
issue with the parks in the southwest is that practically everything beyond
blowing your nose requires a permit.
Most can be reserved in advance, which is necessary for the more popular
trips. In March I was lucky enough to
secure permits for our two backpacking trips in the Grand Canyon. In April I landed reservations for our
backpacking trip in Zion as well as our dayhike
through the Zion River Narrows. I also
managed to reserve sites in the car campgrounds in both parks. We were lucky there though. I actually got THE last site on the north rim
of the Grand Canyon, and we had to settle for a walk-in site for our last two
nights in Zion.
We
were less successful getting a permit to hike through the Coyote Buttes to “The
Wave” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wave,_Arizona) from the BLM (Bureau
of Leasing and Mining*) in the Paria Canyon /
Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness Area.
Getting a permit requires entering a lottery, as only 20 people are
allowed there each day. 10 spots are
awarded three months in advance, while the other 10 are awarded one day in
advance. When I put in my entry, there
were already over 500 other entries for that particular day. Apparently “The Wave” is an extremely popular
destination with German tourists because it appeared in some German movie. Now it’s practically a pilgrimage for
them. Due to the current rules, that
means that us Americans have little chance of ever (legally) seeing one of the
most spectacular natural features in our own country. Needless to say, I wasn’t too surprised when
I got a rejection email a few weeks later.
On
a side note, applying for a permit through the lottery requires a
non-refundable $5 fee. Let’s do some
math here. $5 / per entry x over 500
entries just for the DAY that I entered = a butt load of money. The rejection email I received states, “your non-refundable fee will be used only
for continued recreational enjoyment of the Paria
Canyon and Coyote Buttes
area, to the benefit of yourself and other visitors that will hopefully have
the opportunity to visit some other time.” The last time I was in the general area the
“continued recreational enjoyment” evident consisted of some rough dirt roads,
a campground with four primitive campsites and pit toilets, and a state of the
art visitor center that would make NASA proud.
At least the BLM rangers are comfortable. And I’m sure those permit fees don’t free up
funds for the BLM’s usual business – leasing land for mining and oil and
natural gas drilling. Edward Abbey must
be rolling in his grave.
Our
trip would feature 3 short backpacking trips.
The rest of our time would be spent on dayhikes,
with plenty of car camping and scenic driving along the way. Our first backpacking trip would be an
overnighter in Zion, on the West Rim Trail.
The other two would be in the Grand Canyon. Of those, the first would be a three-day trip
to Phantom Ranch, while the other would be a relatively short hike on the
Grandview Trail to Horseshoe Mesa. I was
also looking forward to several dayhikes, including
the Golden Cathedral and Calf Creek Falls in Grand Staircase – Escalante
National Monument. Most of all, I was
looking forward to our one-day thru hike of the Virgin River Narrows in
Zion. That hike is widely considered to
be the most spectacular, or at least the most famous, slot canyon hike in the
world. I’d hiked part of the canyon solo
back in October of 2005, but I was looking forward to returning to see what I’d
missed.
*
Actually “Bureau of Land Management”, but I prefer Edward Abbey’s more accurate
definition.
VIVA LAS VEGAS
Despite
our best efforts, we couldn’t get all of our gear and clothing into two
suitcases. Eventually we had to add a
duffel bag, and even that was a stretch.
We got a pretty good deal on our airfare through United, but by the time
we paid $170 in baggage fees for the round trip, it wouldn’t have been much
more to fly direct on USAir (since I don’t have to pay baggage fees when I fly
with them).
We
took a taxi to the Charlotte airport early on Saturday morning. We sailed through check-in and security and
had plenty of time for a hearty breakfast at Chili’s. The flight to Chicago was smooth, as was the
one to Vegas. All of our baggage showed
up, and things were going just peachy until we arrived at the Advantage
Rent-A-Car counter.
We
had a reservation, but Advantage didn’t have any actual cars. Well, that’s not exactly true. They had some cars, but nothing that came
close to what we’d actually reserved. We
had reserved a small SUV, mainly because the trailhead for one of the hikes I’d
planned requires high clearance.
Unfortunately, the bitchy clerk didn’t seem inclined to bend over
backwards to help us. Since she was
pregnant and it was 106 degrees outside, I wasn’t sure how far I should push
her.
They
offered us a “free upgrade” to a giant 7 passenger SUV that gets maybe 10-12
mpg. Considering how far we were planning
to drive, that “free upgrade” would’ve cost us a small fortune. I offered to take the “free upgrade” if they
knocked $150 off the cost to compensate us for the increased cost in gas. That got me nowhere, so after 45 minutes I
demanded to speak to a manager. How did
that work out? We eventually found the
manager in the garage. I renewed my
efforts to negotiate a better rate for a car I didn’t want, mainly because we
were in a hurry. We needed to get to
Zion before 7pm to pick up the permit for our backpacking trip, which was due
to start on Sunday morning. Since our
shuttle to the trailhead was leaving first thing in the morning, getting it the
next day wasn’t an option.
As
luck would have it, somebody returned a Ford Escape shortly after we got hold
of the manager. That was exactly what
we’d reserved. Even better, it was
equipped with Sirius Satellite radio.
The manager didn’t charge us for that, and knocked off $75 from our rate
for our trouble. Overall we came out
ahead, even if it meant hanging around the Las Vegas airport longer than I’d
anticipated.
By
the time we got out of there we had just enough time to swing by REI to pick up
stove fuel and some other key supplies.
We didn’t have time for our planned trip to the grocery store though, so
we ended up buying food for the first couple of days of our trip at REI. How did that work out? We walked out of there with two small sacks
of groceries and supplies after parting with $130.
We
headed north out of Vegas. I couldn’t
wait to get out of that place. The
driving was terrible – not Florida terrible, but still pretty awful. Between that and the unexpected delays, I
really enjoyed the view of the Vegas skyline in my rearview mirror.
We
drove straight to Zion National Park.
Luckily there wasn’t a line at the entrance booth. We bought a 1-year National Parks Pass for $80. Since
we’d be visiting Zion, Bryce, and the Grand Canyon, it will more than pay for
itself if we visit any other parks with fees in the next year. If not, the excess cost is a donation I don’t
mind making.
Our
first stop was the Visitor’s Center. We
found a fairly impressive line at the backcountry information desk. The ranger there looked like he’d rather be
anywhere else. Most of the folks ahead
of us seemed disappointed – the permits were all taken for that destination,
that canyon is currently closed due to a plague of locusts, no, you can’t have
a campfire. Yada yada
yada.
Someone even cut in line ahead of us, apparently oblivious to all of us
that were waiting. We were all so
astonished that nobody said anything.
The ranger didn’t seem to notice, either. He was just another person to deal with.
We
eventually escaped with our backpacking permit for the West Rim Trail. I’d reserved campsite 4, as it looked to be
in a particularly scenic location.
Unfortunately, we found out that the Cabin Spring, where we’d planned to
get our water, was no more than a trickle due to the recent hot, dry weather. That spring is about a mile beyond campsite
4. Luckily there was another flowing
spring, but it was 3 miles before our site.
We’d have to fill everything up there for the rest of the first day as
well as the hike out on Monday.
From
there, we headed over to the Watchman Campground and checked in. When we arrived at our campsite, we
discovered that there was a tent already there.
We double-checked the number before pulling in. Christy was about to walk back over to the
office when two young, half-naked women crawled out of the tent. Well, technically they weren’t really
half-naked. If a scientist or doctor or
close family member or innocent bystander or recreational enthusiast were to
measure their total body area and the portion of total body area covered by
clothing, they would calculate that they were actually at least ¾ naked. I guess half-naked is just an expression
after all. I couldn’t really blame them
though. It was over 100 degrees, and
they’d been inside a tent, with the fly on (for reasons that remain unclear –
what were they doing in there?). Then
again, what’s the point in casting blame when there are 7/8 naked college girls
running around?
On
a side note, I find it funny that this sort of thing never happened to me when
I was 25 and single. Not “ha ha” funny. Just funny.
It
turns out that the girls were in Zion modeling sunscreen.
OK,
I’ll admit it, I made that part up.
Anyway,
the girls explained that the ranger had told them to just take any unoccupied
campsite. This struck us as being a bit
odd, considering that the campground was full.
They hadn’t paid for the site, either.
They were extremely apologetic, but also a bit distraught. Where would they go? It occurred to me to let them share the site,
but I knew Christy would never go for it.
Later, Christy patiently explained to me that that was exactly what
their game was all along. I’m a little
slow, but I eventually saw the light.
What would 25 year old single me have said?
They
made some frantic phone calls while taking down their tent. A few minutes later a ranger came to their
rescue. He was male, roughly 25, and
presumably single. I’m sure everything
worked out.
We
set up camp quickly, but discovered one other snafu. A bottle of insect repellant had apparently
exploded in my suitcase during the flight.
That stuff is toxic, and it had actually eaten through some of the
fabric that lines my suitcase.
We
drove back into town for dinner. Our
grocery shopping at REI hadn’t yielded dinner for the evening (it was a bit
early in the trip for dehydrated or freeze-dried meals). We picked up a few things at the local store
for our backpacking trip. On the way
back we stopped at the Spotted Dog Café.
The Spotted Dog Café wasn’t cheap, but the food was surprisingly
good. Christy had pasta with vegetables
and I had trout, and we were both impressed.
We also had their Spotted Dog Ale, which was excellent, though it did
taste mysteriously like Fat Tire.
Most
National Parks have gateway towns. I
find most of them to be an obnoxious clutter of crappy restaurants and gift
shops. Springdale is a pleasant
exception. It features all of the
typical tourist services, but both of my visits there have been enjoyable. Christy and I enjoyed several meals in town,
and found the local people to be exceptionally friendly. Even the grocery store there is decent,
albeit expensive.
We
returned to camp and started organizing our gear. Once we’d packed for our backpacking trip it
had cooled off enough to sleep. We went
to bed fairly early, tired from a long day of traveling.
THE WILD WEST END
“Walking in the wild west end
Walking with your wild best friend”
From “The Wild West End” by Dire Straits,
lyrics by Mark Knopfler
We
were up at first light (before 6am) on Sunday.
We broke camp and drove to Zion Adventures (http://www.zionadventures.com/) in Springdale. Along the way we stopped for coffee. Sadly, I don’t remember the name of the
place, as the coffee was excellent. It
was on the left side of the road (heading out of the park), just before we
reached Zion Adventures.
We
met our shuttle driver at Zion Adventures.
We left there at 7am with another couple that was backpacking the West
Rim Trail and a group of canyoneers. Most of the canyons in Zion require
rappelling and other technical skills to descend. Zion Adventures offers guided trips, but this
group was going on their own. They were
planning to descend either the Right Fork or the Left Fork of La Verkin Creek, but I can’t recall which.
We
stopped along the way for a rest break at a fragrant outhouse. After my turn, I noticed some lovely
wildflowers blooming near the toilets. I
retrieved my camera from the van and was taking photos when the driver passed
by. He saw me and said, “those flowers may be pretty, but they smell terrible”.
We
were dropped off at 8:15 at the trailhead below Lava Point. The first few miles featured easy but
relatively uneventful walking. Although
the views were somewhat limited, the wildflowers were fantastic. We saw lots of Prickly Pear Cactus in bloom,
along with other flowers that I’m not familiar with. Best of all, we enjoyed almost perfect
solitude. The other couple on the van
started ahead of us, and we didn’t see anybody else all morning.
By
late morning we reached the first campsites.
We actually walked past the turn off for the Potato Hollow Spring. Since that was the only reliable water source
along the trail, we double-back as soon as we realized my mistake. A short distance down the side trail to
campsite 8 we found the spring near a massive Ponderosa Pine. We settled down in its shade, where we could
enjoy the cool air, which was enhanced by a delightful breeze. Although we were at a fairly high elevation
(almost 7,000’), it was quite hot. I
filtered water from the spring while we ate lunch.
After
lunch we resumed the hike with a stiff climb.
The climb was a bit of a grunt since I was carrying almost 3 gallons of
water. Along the way I was surprised to
see Indian Paintbrush blooming on an adjacent
hillside. I wandered off-trail briefly
to get photos before resuming the hike.
At the top of the climb the truly outrageous views began. We found ourselves walking along the edge of
a cliff, looking out over a sea of sandstone sculpted into bizarre shapes and
figures. Buttes and mesas segued into
distant mountains, with the entire landscape carved by twisting slot
canyons. It looked like the kind of
place where the Roadrunner might give the Coyote the old middle finger.
We
walked along the edge of the abyss for several miles. As I gazed out over the landscape, I wondered
what was hidden in the deep shadows of the narrow canyons thousands of feet
below. Meanwhile, Christy speculated
about camping on top of an isolated mesa in the middle of a sea of slickrock. Would it
possible? Maybe, but it would require
some serious rock climbing to get to.
The
last few miles were pretty slow due to the gawking and photography. We arrived at campsite 4 around
mid-afternoon. I set up camp and relaxed
a bit before getting restless. After
studying the map, I decided to take an off-trail hike to point 7,100’. Based on the map, it looked like it would
offer an awesome view. That point is right at the corner where the West Rim
cliffs bend to the north. From that
point, there would be views to the east, west, and south.
My
first attempt involved hiking further down the trail. I thought I could contour over to point 7,100
from the trail, but the vegetation proved to be too thick to bushwhack
through. I retreated almost to camp
before heading off-trail towards the rim.
Eventually I arrived at a point with fine views east, south, and
west. Far below I noticed an even more
dramatic point. It was situated at the
end of narrow causeway of sandstone, with sheer drops off each side.
I
scrambled down to the point. There was
some tricky footing along the way, but nothing too dramatic. From there, I took in a view that blew my
mind. The landscape was so bizarre, my brain literally couldn’t wrap itself around what
it was looking at. I gazed out over a
landscape of buttes, mesas, and cliffs bisected by sinuous canyons. I spent a good bit of time trying to figure
where each canyon was going, and how (or if) they connected with each other. Eventually I gave up and headed back to
camp.
After
dinner I returned for sunset. It was
spectacular, but mostly I enjoyed seeing that angry orange ball of fire
disappear, if just for a few hours.
Unfortunately I knew it would be back again in the morning to torment us
again. We headed to bed shortly thereafter.
Neither of us slept well due to allergies / sinus problems that bothered
us throughout the trip. That was too
bad, because the temperature was actually pretty ideal for sleeping.
ANGELS ON HIGH
We
got up at first light the next morning for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted to catch sunrise and get some
photos with good lighting. More
importantly, we were running a bit low on water despite filling everything we had
back at Potato Hollow the previous afternoon.
We’d consumed quite a bit on the remainder of the hike and at camp, and
of course we’d needed some for cooking as well.
By the time we went to bed we each had only a couple of liters. I was pretty confident that it would be
enough, but it seemed wise to finish the hike early before the worst of the
afternoon heat set in.
Christy
joined me at point 7,100 for sunrise.
I’m glad she came, as that was the best view of the trip, and it wasn’t
visible from the trail. Unfortunately I
misjudged the exact location of sunrise.
It turns out that the sun rises in the northeast, not the east, in
June. As a result, point 7,100 wasn’t a
good vantage point to see the sun actually rise. Despite this we ate bagels and enjoyed the
view at first light before returning to camp.
Ironically we got back just in time to see the sun crest the mountains
to the northeast.
We
broke camp a few minutes later and began a big descent to Cabin Spring. Along the way we were treated to more crazy
views of sheer cliffs, soaring mesas, and twisting slot canyons. Unfortunately the sun was now high enough to
prevent good photos. That was a theme
for much of the first week of the trip.
I think we went a full week without seeing even a single cloud!
We
passed the last campsites near Cabin Spring (which was allegedly dry, though I
didn’t hike down to it to verify that).
The descent continued on a trail that must’ve been hacked / blasted out
of the side of the cliff. This made for
some exciting hiking. Parts of this
section of trail appear to have been paved once upon a time, though the surface
is now in pretty rough shape.
At
one point I spotted a small stream far below the trail. I was pretty sure it wasn’t a mirage, but it
would’ve been difficult to get to. We
checked our water supply and decided that we didn’t need any additional water
to finish the hike.
We
arrived at well-named Refrigerator Canyon a few minutes later. We crossed the narrow canyon on a footbridge
and stopped for a break. Resting there
is pretty compelling, as the canyon is typically about 20 degrees cooler than
the surrounding area. The canyon stays
in the shade most of the day, so it never heats up. Eventually we had to leave though. The only climb of the day followed. Eventually we crested a ridge and enjoyed
some pleasant walking on slickrock (which isn’t
actually slick at all, except perhaps when it is wet). We did miss one turn along here. As a result, we took an unplanned side trip
along the brink of a cliff. The Virgin
River and the park road were straight down from there, about 2,000’ below.
We
relocated the trail and got our first view of Angel’s Landing
ahead. Angel’s Landing is a sandstone
spire that rises straight up from the bottom of Zion Canyon. The Virgin River contours around three sides
of the formation. It’s one of the most
famous landmarks in Zion, and as you might guess, it’s a popular destination
for dayhikers coming up from the bottom. After a very quiet hike seeing only a handful
of people, our experience was about to change.
We
descended towards Scout Lookout, where the route to Angel’s Landing
departs from the main trail. As we
descended, Angel’s Landing loomed ahead, growing
larger with every step. Scout Lookout
was swarming with people, most of them determined to reach the summit of
Angel’s Landing. I had mixed feelings,
but it would’ve been a shame to hike right past it when it was only a ¼ mile
away. Christy decided to wait at Scout
Lookout for me. This was helpful, as it
meant that I didn’t have to carry my pack.
That turned out to be a savior, as carrying a large pack up Angel’s
Landing would’ve been awkward, if not downright hazardous.
Climbing
from Scout Lookout to Angel’s Landing requires a considerable amount of
scrambling. There are chains along much
of the route, though I didn’t find them to be very helpful most of the
time. I usually preferred to keep my
hands on the rocks. I went with just my
camera in one hand, leaving the other hand free for climbing and occasionally
grabbing a chain. I didn’t carry any
water, which was probably a mistake.
However, it would’ve been very awkward trying to scramble along that
route while carrying the camera and a water bottle.
I
was perhaps halfway when I overheard two hikers talking. One said that the round trip from Scout
Lookout took most people about 2 hours.
Needless to say, that was quite a bit longer than I was expecting. Despite delays caused by the crowded route, I
made it there in just under 30 minutes. The summit was covered with people when I
arrived, several of whom were actually being attacked by chipmunks (seriously,
I saw one chipmunk climbing up a girls leg).
I took a few quick photos before heading back. Fortunately I was most of the way back to Scout
Lookout before the route really began swarming with other hikers.
The
hike from Scouts Lookout to Zion Canyon was fast and uneventful. Parts of the trail were still in the shade,
which made a huge difference from direct sunlight. Still it was getting pretty hot by the time
we reached the Virgin River. We followed
it for a couple of minutes before crossing it on a bridge. We arrived at the Grotto Picnic Area a minute
later. We used the restrooms and got
water before catching one of the Park’s shuttle busses back to the Visitor’s
Center.
We
really enjoyed backpacking the West Rim Trail.
The scenery was fantastic, and the wildflowers were an unexpected
bonus. We enjoyed quite a bit of
solitude, too, at least until we reached Scout Lookout. There was even some wildlife, including
toads, colorful birds, a rabbit, a wild turkey, and lots of lizards. We didn’t see any Mule Deer on the trail,
though they were certainly plentiful around the campground the night before our
hike.
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