TR: Zion National Park

Damon · Posted: Apr 02, 2009 9:05 am Post subject: TR: Zion National Park

Sidenote... we should have a trip database here....

Went for Spring Break, last week of March. Anytime before Memorial Day is a great time to go as the weather is not unbearably hot. Also, after early April (7th? maybe?), the shuttles are running again which is nice.

Must do hikes:

Angels Landing... 2.5 to the top, last .5 is along side a chain. Pretty grueling hike, but if your relatively in shape, you'll be fine. To reach the summit you will be walking along some pretty serious cliffs, with about 2'-3' of walkway. Do this the first day you get there, it is one of the hardest hikes at Zion, so everything else will feel super easy after.

Angels landing from the Virgin River:

Part of the chain:

Spine to the summit:

View from the summit (or close to it):

Weeping rock is pretty easy, takes about 15 minutes to do.

And finally, Emerald Pools - Easy hike, good photo ops. Windy this day, not sure what the falls look like with no wind.

Falls at Upper Pool:

Runoff:

Middle Pool overlooking Lower Pool (not seen):

Other notables... The Subway... Couldn't go this trip due to the lack of climbing gear, but it is definitely high on the list, and something you should do if you have the capability. Also, there are also a ton of hikes I didn't do (only had two days!), but if you are heading down, I would recommend these...

A ton more pics on Flickr.

Damon

Commodore · Ladies Man Joined: 20 Jun 2005 Posts: 11636

Awesome pics man!! That place looks fun as hell.

chavez · RIP MHL 04/25/1958 - 01/11/2006

Zion is such a cool place. Wish I had made more than 1 trip during my years in Vegas.

Wakebrad · Ladies Man Joined: 11 Dec 2003 Posts: 12257 City: Dallas

Wow, those are some amazing shots. I've never been to Utah but have a friend out there that keeps trying to get us to visit. I knew they had great skiing out there but didn't know about anything like that.

Did you guys camp out there?

Damon · Posted: Apr 02, 2009 9:26 am Post subject:

Thanks guys.

No camping, I've got a friend with a house near St. George - about 45 minutes from the south entrance. Camping would be great though, especially when it starts to warm up a bit. Still dips down to below freezing there at this time of the year - the mist from the waterfall would turn to snow by the time it hit the ground.

savage3221 · Posted: Apr 02, 2009 12:01 pm Post subject:

Damon, My friends actually went there for their spring break too and said about what you did. Sounds like I need to get out there.

8824 · Posted: Apr 02, 2009 12:38 pm Post subject:

Zach M · Posted: Apr 02, 2009 6:48 pm Post subject:

Great pics! I did Subway last October, then went over to Paria Canyon and did Buckskin Gulch. Definitely some amazing hikes out there, I hope to get back soon.

Here are a few pics from my trip.

Zach M · Posted: Apr 02, 2009 6:55 pm Post subject:

Some more...

The last 2 are from Buckskin Gulch

Zach M · Posted: Apr 02, 2009 6:56 pm Post subject:

And a few more from Buckskin Gulch

Damon · Posted: Apr 03, 2009 7:20 am Post subject:

Zach M, That is awesome! Exactly what I want to do next time I'm there. How is the hike into the Subway?

And it's hard to tell from the pics, but did you haul around your SLR? That's my biggest concern, trying to wade through water and belay with a camera pack.

Zach M · Posted: Apr 05, 2009 8:21 am Post subject:

The hike into Subway was awesome, you move through many different types of terrain. I highly recommend getting a book with detailed directions. The first part is hiking through a wide open rock face, and if you don't pay attention you can get lost. We missed a trail and ended up hiking about 45 minutes out of the way.

The rappels were pretty simple if you have done it before. The water was so cold it took your breath away. The girls brought full wetsuits and the guys wore tops and booties. The worst part, by far, is the hike out of Subway. The 5 miles in (coming from the top down) are full of variable terrain and can be tough on your body. Once you get to Subway, you have another 5 miles of hiking along a shallow river bed (long and pretty uneventful). Once you hike these 5 miles, you exit by climbing up a VERY steep set of switchbacks with an elevation change of 400 feet. Your legs are done by the end of the day.

I did bring my SLR. We had backpacks with dry sacks for anything important. I double bagged the dry sacks for the camera. The majority of the day you can keep it out, except for the long stretch where you are swimming or wading through the water. I brought multiple lenses on the trip, but ended up using the 10-22mm the entire time. Next time I won't lug around the extra weight of different lenses. A tripod would have been nice, but mine is too heavy and I tried to pack light.

Buckskin Gulch is a less strenuous hike, and absolutely amazing. You are completely isolated from everything, surrounded by rocks on all sides. The terrain changes around every bend, moving through small rocks, huge boulders, and mud. It is amazing to see how the water has carved out different patterns around every corner. If you read the books, it tells you about a campground area in the middle. Don't stay at that. If you hike another half mile around the corner, you will find a ledge that sits about 100 feet above the canyon floor. You can climb up to that (the last picture in the series) and be isolated from the other groups hiking. There are rocks that people have set up as benches. Just be careful where you walk around this part, we had scorpions, black widows, and other poisonous creatures all around.

Damon · Posted: Apr 05, 2009 4:00 pm Post subject:

Zach M, Good to know - thanks. Did you have a book you'd recommend?

RUSSIAN · Posted: Apr 05, 2009 6:01 pm Post subject:

Damon, great photo's especially view from the summit! Zion is on my hit list Very Happy

Zach M · Posted: Apr 05, 2009 7:00 pm Post subject: