Mt Whitney Elevation 14,497' Highest point in Continental US

At 14,497 feet in elevation, Mt Whitney is the highest point in the Continental US. The 22 mile hike can be a daunting 1 day attempt, but it was worth every second.

Mt Whitney had been on my list of hikes to do for quite some time and with free time right now, I thought I better give it a shot. Obtaining a permit was quite a process. I missed the February lottery system for giving out permits which meant that all 160 spots per day were completely filled from July through September. The Ranger told me that there were occasional cancellations, so between checking the Mt Whitney website and constantly calling in to find out about any last minute cancellations, I was pretty much on a first name basis with the staff…

I ended up getting the permit about 5:15pm on Tuesday for Friday of the same week. So I determined that I would leave the next morning so that I could get somewhat acclimated to the altitude.

I left about 9:15 Wednesday morning and got to Lone Pine to pick up the permit at the ranger station/information center at the corner of Hwy 395 and Hwy 136 at about 3:15 (2:15 CA time).

As a child, my family loved to vacation at Rock Creek, just about an hour and a half north of Lone Pine and at an elevation of 9750 feet. I decided that it would be a fun trip down memory lane, a great way to get acclimated, and a good way to take a short day trip the next day to Yosemite.

After spending the next day in Yosemite, I drove back to Lone Pine that night and tried, to no avail, to secure a camp sight at the Whitney Portal. The Whitney Portal Campground is located adjacent to the trail head to Mt Whitney, up Whitney Portal road – the only road with a stoplight in town. The camp sites were all taken there so I went back down 2000 feet in elevation to Lone Pine Camp Ground at 5900 feet.

I set up camp and got to bed early, as I knew I would have to get up early the next day to make the attempt on Whitney. I had read that only 1/3 of the hikers that attempt to summit each day make it. That number seemed incredibly low to me, but I would find out why the next day!

I woke up at 4:53, took down camp by 5:35, and arrived at the trail head (elev 8360 ft) where I had to park in the overflow parking, at 5:53. I started on the trail at 6:01 and it was already starting to get light outside. The trail head is easy to spot located by a strange looking wood structure on the North (right) side of the parking lot as you’re driving in. Restrooms are located just across the road from the trail head and there is a little store just up the road a few hundred feet.

As I started hiking, I realized that it wasn’t nearly as cold as I expected it to be, and I quickly shed some layers of clothing. As the sun crested the White Mountain range to the East, the suns rays seemingly turned the pine forest a brilliant orange color, and I was already remembering how beautiful the High Sierras were.

I quickly came to and crossed a small creek on my way to the North Fork Creek Sign about 1 mile into the hike. I arrived at the creek at 6:22 and my GPS marked the elevation at 8627’.

As I continued, I passed a sign indicating that I was entering the John Muir Wilderness and another sign with hiker information on it. Soon after this section of the hike, waterfalls dominated the landscape and the sound of the water crashing down dozens of feet could be felt throughout my body. The 2010-2011 winter saw record snowfall so the creeks were high and powerful.

My next point of interest I came to was Lone Pine Lake located at 9920’ and about 3.06 miles in, according to my GPS (My pre-hike research indicated that it was 2.8 miles and elevation 9900. As there was consistently a discrepancy in the mileage and altitude between my GPS and what I had read before I left, I’ll continue to put the researched value in parentheses after my GPS reading). Leading up to the lake is a unique and fun “train” of logs to aid in crossing a large, but shallow, stream/marsh. I never actually saw the lake as the main trail passes by on the North, but a sign marks the way down to the lake. I arrived here at 7:22.

Past the lake a few hundred yards is a sign indicating that I was about to enter the Whitney Zone. Hiking beyond this point requires a permit and all solid waste must be carried out with you in the baggies provided when picking up the permit. Although I had read that there are frequently rangers present checking for permits, there was not one there on my attempt. I noticed a drop in temperature as I entered a small canyon immediately past the lake and saw the first snow pack remaining from winter.

After another 30 minutes of hiking through more breathtaking scenery and rock hopping across another river, I came to Out Post camp, another primitive camping spot, which is marked by a sign. One of the first things I noticed was that the people camped there who were just getting up in the morning were limping around as if in considerable pain. I stored that memory away in my memory bank, and would reflect on it later… My GPS recorded the elevation as 10255’ (10400) and 4.33 miles (3.8).

After leaving the camp site, the trail once again meandered by a stream and waterfall which drained from Mirror Lake close above. The emerald colored Mirror Lake to me was the most beautiful lake I came to. The trail makes it’s way around and above the south (left) side of the lake and views of the lake got better and better as I hiked higher on the trail. At one point I lost the main trail on the way up for about 100 yards or so, but ended up back on the main trail before I knew it. I had no trouble staying on the main trail on the way back down. I arrived at Mirror Lake elevation 10554’ (10640) at 8:10 after 4.79 miles (4.0).

Just past Mirror Lake, I encountered the first of a few snow fields that I would have to pass through. It was pretty fun and easy going, and once past the snowfield, I came to a granite cirque filled with boulders with lush vegetation growing by the stream in the middle. After about ¾ of a mile, I came to Trail Side Meadow elevation 11242’ (11400) which is marked by a sign indicating that there is no camping in the area at 8:47 and 5.44 miles (5.0). This would have probably been the last reliable place to filter water in a drier year, but I was able to filter some later from snow melt because of the snow that still remained.

I hiked up through another snowfield to get up out of the cirque that contained Trail Side Meadow. Off to the south I saw Consultation Lake, which was still partially frozen, at 11670’. The trail doesn’t pass near the lake and as much as it would have been fun to go explore it, my tired body was telling me to keep moving. I arrived at Consultation Lake at 9:11 after 5.95 miles (5.5).

After another half mile, I came to Trail Camp, the camp that many hikers use as their base camp for their Whitney ascent. There were many tents set up, many on rock or half dirt half rock. The only spots for tents were extremely small. Trail Camp is located at an elevation of 11963’ (12000) and I arrived there at 9:33 after 6.44 miles (6.0). After not eating breakfast before I left, I was getting a little hungry so I took 20 minutes for lunch. As I ate, I could see people making their way up the infamous 97 switchbacks. It looked like a daunting task as they disappeared out of view for a while only to reappear a little later a lot higher up.

Once finished with my sandwiches, I followed the trail which took me through the camp in between two snowfields low on the opposite slope. I thought about trying to count the switchbacks at first, but then decided I’d need all my mind power to get through the climb at this high altitude. I decided to keep a slow and steady pace, only stopping to take pictures. This technique worked well as I passed many people on the way up. About a third of the way up, I couldn’t help but think about my Mom since she was the one that introduced me to the High Sierras and would have loved to have been on this hike with me. I’m sure somewhere she was smiling down on me.

The snow runoff created a large stream which at times disappeared under the rocks. The only way I knew it was there was because as I would walk over the rocks which it was flowing under, I could hear the loud rumbling of the water beneath me.

About halfway up the switchbacks, I came to a section of cable rails that I had seen on the internet as I had done research on the hike. Despite all the snow on other parts of the trail, there wasn’t as much as I expected at the chain section. Just previous to the chain section however, snow blocked the main trail. This added a little bit of adventure to the hike as I had to free climb about 10 feet to get to the beginning of the cable section. I was able to walk on rocky ground while not even touching the cables as the snow in this section which usually necessitates the cables was melted for the most part.

Shortly past the cables, I looked off to the right and realized that I had been steadily gaining elevation as the huge snow filled cirque immediately below Mt Whitney came to view. Although the 2 miles of switchbacks are uphill the whole way, it is a gentle grade and I didn’t stop at all other than to take pictures.

Just before reaching Trail Crest was the one treacherous snow field to cross. I didn’t realize just how treacherous until I was about half way across and thought, “I wouldn’t want to drop my hiking pole down there…” (off to the right was about a 60% grade down hundreds of feet, and although it was snow, it would have been impossible to stop without the proper gear). From that point on, I was extra cautious to take every step slowly along the foot wide slushy trail.

At 11:37, after 1 hour 38 minutes and 2.4 miles of switchbacks, I reached Trail Crest and had amazing views for the first time of Sequoia National Park to the west. A sign welcomes you to the top indicating the elevation to be 13600’ which was very close to what my GPS said – 13595’. However all the research I did on the internet said the altitude was really 13700’. Either way from this point on I would be relying on 1/3 less oxygen then I was accustomed to and the going would be a bit slower.

Immediately past Trail Crest the trail descends. I even wondered if I had somehow taken the John Muir Trail which I had read comes up from Sequoia National Park instead of the Whitney Summit Trail. But my fears were soon quelled as I came to the sign marking the junction of the Whitney trail with the John Muir Trail to the Crabtree Ranger Station – a back country ranger station located below in Sequoia National Park. I continued on the Whitney Summit Trail.

The views from the trail between Trail Crest and the summit were amazing! Guitar Lake down below really looks like a guitar! And once Mt Whitney comes into view, its giant gentle slope on the west side is revealed. Also visible was the summit hut. Despite the altitude, I received my second wind here and realized that I was so close to summiting the highest point in the continental US.

After continuing on the west side of the summit ridge for about a mile and a half, and crossing one last snow field, I reached Whitney’s west summit slope and quickly made my way up. I had my head down, trying to ignore the fatigue that was starting to set in when I looked up to see about 100 yards in front of me the same summit hut that I had seen earlier from the trail – only this time much bigger!

I had reached the tallest point in the continental US! It took me 7 hours and 15 minutes and 10.9 miles. The sense of accomplishment was great! I signed the summit register located just outside the hut and made a tribute to my mom with a comment I left in the space provided. I was one of the last to summit that day as I got started a little later than I had planned. I remembered that only 1/3 of those who try to summit everyday make it, but I was the 60th person to summit and there were a few other names after mine when I left.

The conditions on the summit were perfect – in fact, in all my summit attempts in my past, it was probably the warmest on Mt Whitney. To start the day I was worried about thunderstorms, which had started a wild fire 20 miles south just a week earlier. But this day there was not a cloud in the sky.

I took some pictures and looked around for 38 minutes on the summit, then I decided I better start heading down. The altitude was starting to have a little of an affect on me with a slight headache and by just slowing me down in general.

The trek back to Trail Crest seemed to take forever as would the remaining 8.8 miles. It had been a while since I had been on a long hike and my legs were feeling it. On the way back, near Lone Pine Lake, I spotted a deer just a few feet off the trail. It seemed to be pretty tame as it just allowed me to meander on by without so much as flinching.

I finally made it back to the parking lot with a ton of mosquito bites at 7:29pm. The final piece that made my trip complete, however, would take place as I returned to my car. Everywhere I camped there were bear boxes to keep your food locked up and away from the bears. I had overheard a few conversations about bears in the area and, in fact, when I picked up the permit, the ranger told me that they had been having trouble with a bear chasing hikers around their car to get their food as they were leaving for/returning from their hike.

Well, I hadn’t even seen a sign of a bear for the 2 days I had been up there, although I have to admit I was a little nervous to see if any damage had been done to my car since I had left food in the trunk (not advisable) because there were no bear boxes in the overflow parking that I could see. Anyway, just as I returned to the car, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye towards the middle of the parking lot.

As I looked up I muttered, “Oh boy…” There was a black bear walking and sniffing around the cars about 30 yards away from me. I quickly got the keys to my car out of my pack in case I needed to make a quick get away. My next move was to grab my camera. By this time, the bear ad disappeared from sight and I was a little nervous not knowing where it was and somewhat disappointed that I hadn’t been quick enough to get a picture.

Not to worry though – just as I had those thoughts, the bear appeared again and looked over at me and started walking in my direction. I quickly snapped a couple of pictures and jumped in the car. My adventure was now complete!

In total the hike registered 21.8 miles and took me a total time of 13 hours and 28 minutes. The scenery was breathtaking but the hike left me completely sore and drained, just in time for the 6 hour drive back to southern Utah.

Lone Pine Camp Site.

A waterfall that drains from Mirror Lake

Half moon visible through rock formations

Crossing one of the snowfields

There was another sign like this warning of lightning posted on the summit hut

A look at the gentle west slope of Mt Whitney in the distance as seen just past Trail Crest

Inside the summit hut

A look at the 97 switchbacks from the summit. If you look closely, they can be seen in the middle of the picture just above the snowfield.

Iceberg Lake from the summit

Guitar Lake (on the right). Looking into Sequoia National Park

A general overview look from the switchbacks looking back at where I had hiked. Trail Camp is below in the middle of the picture just to the right of the lake. The big Lake on the right is Consultation Lake. The small lake off in the distance is Lone Pine Lake.

A closer look at Trail Camp

And yet another closer look...

Mirror Lake from the trail above

The "where's waldo" picture. Also, Lone Pine Lake can be seen in the background.

Shamans' Gallery, Grand Canyon

A few days ago, I was informed that a friend of mine, Jeff Frost, was going to be hiking to Shamans' Galley in a few days and he wanted to see if I wanted to come along. It was definitely time for a hike, as it had been a couple months since I had been; but as I researched this hike on the internet, I realized that this was not only a hike, it was an opportunity to view a piece of history.


The multi-colored paintings found in Shamans' Gallery are believed to have been painted before 1000BC. Although the National Park Service was made aware of the paintings in 1986 by Gordon Smith, there is evidence at the site that the paintings were discovered in the 1940's as well.


I met Jeff at his house at 6:15 and we started on our way to meet up with some of his hiking buddies, Terril, Mark, and David, at the Toroweap turn off, located about 6 miles east of Pipe Springs National Monument off Utah hwy 59/ Arizona hwy 389, (8 miles west of Fredonia) and marked with a large brown sign. We arrived at 7:03 and hopped in their suburban for the remainder of the ride.


Once on Toroweap Road (aka BLM 109), the next 49.1 miles are all on dirt road. The first 32.2 miles are on a decent dirt road which is passable for any passenger car. Once to the Hack Canyon turnoff, the unmarked turnoff to the trail head is about 9 miles away. Look for 3 volcanic mounds on the right and not much past them is a turn off on the left hand side of the road. This small dirt road was more rough than the main road that we just left and would need a high clearance vehicle to navigate (but impassable even for a 4 wheel drive vehicle when wet). In .6 miles past the turn off, there is a cowboy horse corral. Where the road splits at the corral, veer to the right and head in a south western direction.


For the next 7.9 miles, this small dirt road will take you to the Grand Canyon Park Boundary. Just before the park boundary, Jeff's brother-in-law Rick and his friend Joe were camped. So we met up with them and the seven of us made our way into Grand Canyon National Park. Once past the park boundary, the road gets drastically worse and really is very slow going for the next 8.4 miles to the trail head. We arrived at the trail head at 9:45 and got on our way at 9:51.



The temperature was extremely cold and made a beanie a necessity. So I left my trademark hiking hat in the car and donned the beanie. The trail head is marked by a small bird house looking structure. The trail is slight, but decently defined for the most part. It starts at an elevation of about 5800 feet and quickly starts descending. A drainage is soon encountered ahead, and the trail turns left and stays just above the drainage on the left hand side.





A little over a mile into the hike, we encountered a makeshift gate made of barbed wire and old logs. Just before reaching the gate, views of the valley below open up, and the approximate location of Shamans' Gallery can be ascertained. In the distance, there is a canyon which seemingly has a river of rocks flowing from it. Just to the left of the river of rocks, the canyon wall in the distance has a small section of bright red coloration. Shamans' Gallery is between these two landmarks below.

1.3 miles from the start, or .3 miles from the gate is an old cowboy camp. I went in to investigate and found some old tin cans which would have been used many decades of years ago. The Cave went back in much farther than it appeared to when I spotted it from the trail.



The total hike down to Shamans' Gallery losses about 1800 feet over 3.6 miles. Just before getting to the ancient artwork, the canyon wall to the right is made up of volcanic rock and a new wash/canyon intersects the trail. This canyon is Tuckup Canyon - the canyon where the Gallery is found. Just a short way down the dry creek bed and up on a shale shelf on the left is Shamans' Gallery.


We arrived there about 11:20 and after snapping a few pictures from the canyon floor, we climbed up to the shelf and took some close up pictures. The pictures speak for themselves.

After admiring the amazing historical site and eating lunch, we started back at 12:50. My legs were feeling the workout on the way out and I arrived back the the parking lot at 2:15. We ate some snacks and took a little side trip to an overlook into the grand canyon while waiting for all of our group to return.

At 3:05, we started on the road out. We got back to Toroweap road (the good dirt road) at 4:12 - which means we covered the 16.3 miles in an hour and 7 minutes. We got back to the paved highway at 4:57, meaning we covered the last 32.2 miles of dirt road in 45 minutes. We made it back to Hurricane at 5:47.

So our total drive time for the trip was about 5 1/2 hours and total hiking time was about 7.2 miles and 4 1/2 hours.

Note: If you're interested in petroglyphs, a much more accessible site is the "Falling Man" site, also known as the Whitney-Hartman site, just south of Mesquite, Nevada. Info on the exact whereabouts can be found on my trip report found by clicking the link above.

Also, there are some rarely seen petroglyphs near Mount Kinesava in Zion National Park. These are much less accessible due to the difficulty in getting there. You can click the link above to see images of the petroglyphs and read my trip report.

West Rim, Zion National Park

DAY 1
I had planned on doing the West Rim of Zion Canyon sometime this year, and with the year quickly winding down, I thought I better take advantage of my back to back days off. What is most commonly thought of when talking about the West Rim hike is the portion from Lava Point to the Grotto trail head which is about 13.5 miles. I actually wanted to start up at Lee Pass in the Kolob Canyons portion of Zion National Park, which adds another 24 miles to the hike. I have heard this referred to as the "trans-zion west rim hike" probably because it incorporates part of Kolob Canyons as well. My knees had been swollen for 2 weeks from a volleyball injury so I decided instead of making it a camping trip which would require a heavy pack, I would split it up between 2 days just in case my knees couldn't handle it.

With the days getting shorter and 24 miles of hiking ahead of me in day 1, I knew I would have to get an early start. I got to the LaVerkin Creek trail head at 7:02 just as it was getting light, got my gear together, and got started at 7:12. From what I had read, the LaVerkin Creek trail descended down to the creek and was about 6.5 miles long. The well defined trail immediately descended and meandered through juniper, scrub oak, and aspen trees. I was looking forward to checking out some of the camp sights along the way for possible future camping trips. After about 2.4 miles, I came to camp sight 1, after 3 miles, camp sight 2, and 3.6 miles, camp sight 3. I knew that shortly before the Hop Valley trail came in from the south (right) I would have the option of checking out Kolob Arch.

The Kolob arch is the second longest natural arch in the world, measuring 287.4 feet, only 3 feet shorter than Landscape Arch in Arches National Park.

Starting the day I determined that I wasn't going to go to the arch because it would add about 1.2 miles to my already long hike that I wasn't sure my knees would make. But as I got closer and closer to the arch trail, I began to talk my self into it. So once I got to the trail, which came in from the North (left), I decided to take it.

The Kolob Arch trail starts off pretty level as I walked through a deep canyon. Soon, though, it began to take a toll on my knees and the going was slow as what was normally an easy up and down climb was made much more difficult by my questionable knees. After about 4 mini steep ascents and descents, the trail opened up and I came to a flat wooded area. I thought I'd take a quick breather and just as I stopped I saw a sign indicating that further travel was not recommended and etched in the sign was written, "Kolob Arch. (look up)" Sure enough, as I looked up, I saw the arch. I'm glad that sign was there! The sun was so that the pictures didn't turn out since I was in the shade but the arch was fully in the sun and reflecting it's rays back at me.

I quickly made my way back to the LaVerkin Creek trail. I noticed a horse tie off as I turned back on to the trail. Shortly, I encountered the Hop Valley trail sign and took it to the south. The trail was well defined at first, just as the LaVerkin Creek trail had been, and it started ascending quickly until we were overlooking a large dry river bed which ran through a large plain. I found the the river bed to be incredibly beautiful. I really had never seen anything like it before. As I walked through the river bed, I noticed a small seep of water which I noticed became larger and larger the further south I looked. Soon I could see the trail approaching a cattle fence. I opened the gate and proceeded through. to the far right was a rock wall and I could now see a river which must have started from a spring just past where I saw the seep in the river bed. I continued on the trail until I came to a spot which overlooked the valley below. I could see tons of cows who returned my stare as if they hadn't ever seen a hiker before. As I descended the little plateau, the trail disappeared. I knew I had to just follow the valley south to get to where I was going. As I continued, I dodged cow patties and kept my distance from the cows. At one point, I took a trail that ascended another small plateau but soon found that this trail just led to a makeshift camp sight. I bushwhacked my way through sparse sagebrush and back down this small plateau. At this point, I decided that it might be wise to take out my map and see exactly where the trail was. The map showed that the trail just followed the river. So I went back towards the river and found the faint trail again. The trail actually crossed the river a few times. The river of course, was only an inch or 2 deep so my feet never got wet. I continuously lost the trail over and over through the next couple of miles, but continued to follow the river, spotting many little frogs and even a snake along my way. The trail then left the valley to the right and climbed steeply up a recently improved trail which was wide enough to be an ATV trail. The ascent seemed to go on and on. What made it a little more difficult was the shade that I had enjoyed for the beginning of the hike, was quickly dissipating and the sun was becoming more prominent with every step. Soon after the trail leveled out, I came to the second cattle gate. At this point the trail was very sandy, which it had been for much of the hike so far, and was very exposed to the sun. I noticed fire pit knoll, where I had been earlier in the year with Kaden Elwess looking at some land, so I knew the road was close.

The only portion of the trail I had been on before was the part of the trail from hop valley to where it crosses the Kolob Terrace road when I did a little scouting a couple weeks earlier. That portion of the trail isn't particularly exciting as it is on a slight gradual incline as it crosses the road. Once across the road, the trail goes across about 50 feet of slick rock until it continues through a grassy area. For the next 4 miles of this "connector trail," the trail stays just to the south of the road and takes you through some beautiful meadows. The road was visible from the trail for much of the way. Through the grassy areas, the trail was overgrown and unkept, and there were even poles stuck in the ground to mark the trail in some spots. After about 3 miles on the connector trail, the trail came to slick rock marked by cairns. I had read that the trail was hard to follow in some spots through this area, but I found it very well marked and easy to follow.

The Connector Trail takes you to the Wildcat canyon trail. Once on the Wildcat canyon trail, the trail led me through a pine forest which gave me some much needed shade. At this point I was running low on water and any respite from the hot sun was welcomed. I soon saw the trail coming in from the left that led back to the parking lot of the Wildcat Trail head, known for where you park to do the Subway hike. I have done the Subway twice, once earlier this year, and quickly recognized the trail. Soon the Northgate Peaks trail left off to the right(south) which is the subway route, but to get to Lava Point, I continued straight. At this point, my legs were getting very tired and the Wildcat Canyon trail, thought pretty, seemed to drag on forever. With just a mile or so left, the trail takes you past Wildcat Canyon, a beautiful canyon with white walls and deep green pine trees creating a magnificent contrast. Finally at 6:20 pm, after 11 hours and 8 minutes and 23.9 miles, I made it to Lava point where a car was waiting to take me back home to try to recover as much as possible for the next day.

Day 2
The second day I had planned the completion of the west rim which was from Lava Point down to the Grotto trail head in Zion Canyon. I had read that it should only be 13.5 miles - considerably shorter than the previous day.

I decided to sleep in a bit longer than the previous day to give my aching legs more time to recover. I got to Lava Point trail head about 10:45 and was on my way at 10:50. It was already hot! The high temp the day before exceeded 100 degrees in St George, unusually hot for this time of year, and it wasn't much below 100 degrees on the trail.

A sign at the beginning of the trail indicated that from Scout Lookout to Angels Landing was closed, which ruled out a side trip to Angels. The trail starts out descending down from Lava Point and reaching the West Rim trail after about .1 miles. I, of course, recognized it as I had just come up that trail the day before. It seemed like I came to campsite 9 not long after I started. Campsite 9 is also where you can find Sawmill Springs, and a little spur trail that breaks off on the right (west).

The trail continues for the next 3 miles, or so, along the plateau through grassy meadows until it drops into Potato Hollow. Soon I came to campsites 8 and 7 and the Potato Hollow Spring. From here the trail climbs about 400 feet in a little over a half mile, but the views open up and I was able to look back and view where I had just been.

After about another mile, I came to the trail junction with the Telephone Canyon trail (and campsite 6), which was closed due to fire/flooding conditions. It is a shorter way back, but from what I'm told, less scenic. I had planned to take the standard West Rim trail anyway.

Taking the standard West Rim trail route (canyon rim route, according to the sign) to the right (west) takes you along the rim of the Great West Canyon system and phantom Valley with beautiful views of Greatheart Mesa, Ivins Mountain, and the Inclined Temple. I had to stop and take a few pictures!

As the trail continues along the southwest edge of the plateau, I passed campsites 5, 4, and 3, and views toward the main Zion Canyon's land marks opened up and I was able to spot Castle Dome, Behunin, Mount Majestic, and Cathedral Mountain.

The trail suddenly starts losing elevation as it winds it's way to campsite 2 and the other junction with the telephone canyon trail. There is also a spur trail to the West Rim Spring(also known as Cabin spring) which I took. The spring was only about a 100 yard walk off the main trail. I had read that it was just a seep through the ground, but I located a trickle seemingly coming through the plants just above the pool.

After taking a picture of the Spring, I made my way back to the main trail and continued losing elevation at a fast pace. The trail seemed to be carved out of a rock face which was so steep, that although they were switchbacks, I couldn't see the trail below us. I thought if I were to slide off the side, I wouldn't even catch the trail below because of the steepness and pitch of the cliff. I had no sooner thought that, than I spotted blood markings on the outside of the trail which indicated to me a fall of some sort, and the blood was still dripping.

I peered over the edge but the canyon bottom was still a good 100 feet down and trees blocked the view into it. I decided that I would back track up the canyon once I reached a point where I could get down into the canyon just to see if someone needed help. I reached a spot where I could slide down a foot or two before reaching the canyon bottom. As I bushwhacked my way up the canyon, I realized that it would be a much more difficult trek than I had originally thought. I came to a sand area where I spotted some cougar tracks. They stopped at that spot and turned back around, so I knew I wouldn't encounter one up ahead. I came to the spot where I expected to see something, but nothing was there. The only spot left to look was up on an incline where a thicket of trees kept the top well hidden. I scrambled up the sandy and leafy hillside until I finally made it to the top. I looked around for a second and didn't immediately see anything but the sound of flies swarming was getting louder and louder. I followed the sound and finally saw what had left the blood spot up 100 feet above - a deer. Feeling relieved that it wasn't a person, I skidded down the hill and made my way back to the main trail.

From here, the trail took me across a bridge, spanning a narrow slot at about the 12 mile mark. Just when I thought all the climbing was over, a the trail moderately gained elevation around Cathedral Mountain. The trail then takes you through a narrow chute, where I saw two large buzzards perched atop trees, watching as I made my way below them.

I enjoyed looking down into Refrigerator Canyon to the right (west) as I frequently see it from the inside when I hike Angels Landing. The trail dropped quickly to Scout Lookout after a little over 13 miles and from here, the trail became very familiar.

The Walters Wiggles portion of the hike (21 steep switchbacks) was much more difficult on my knees than usual after nearly 40 miles of hiking already! Once down Walters Wiggles, the trail goes through Refrigerator Canyon - a nice shaded canyon - for a much too short stroll before descending 500 feet in about .75 of a mile. I actually turned around and hike backwards down portions of the trail to relieve my knees of some of the stress.

After 7 hours and 40 minutes of hiking, I made it to the Grotto trail head at 6:30. My GPS registered 15.9 miles, considerably longer than what I had read it would take. I did take a couple of short excursions - one to the West Rim Spring and one to do some investigating down telephone canyon to see what the blood spot was, but not 2.4 miles worth...

Normally after a long hike, I'm ready for more, but this one kicked my butt...or knees, I should say...But after 39.8 miles and 18 hours and 48 minutes of hiking, I was given all I could handle. But I can't wait to do it again!

And I did do it again! To see my 2016 Trans-Zion West Rim hike, click here:

East Rim Zion NP with side trip to Cable Mountain

I decided to hike the east rim of Zion National park and take a side trip to Cable Mountain which, in my opinion, offers the prettiest views I've seen anywhere in Zion. It adds an extra 6 miles to an 11 mile hike, but is well worth it!

I left my house a few minutes after 7:00. I had forgotten that road work closed the road through the east side of the park until 8:00 so I had to park and wait a few minutes for the road to open. I arrived at the trail head which is located off a small road just inside the east entrance station around 8:45 and began the hike.

The trail starts through a gate with the typical information board to let you know about your surroundings. The trail is wide with pine trees, Junipers, and scrub oak lining it for the first mile or so.

The trail became sandy, with a slight but steady ascent for much of the next 5 miles. Along the way, the views open up to Checkerboard Mesa as well as other magnificent canyons dotted with trees and enclosed by white canyon walls. The contrast was beautiful!

After about 2.5 miles, I came to a barbed wire fence off to the right side of the trail, marking the Park boundary and the start of BLM land. Shortly after the fence I came to Jolley Gulch, a large canyon with great views to a sharp drop off.

Past Jolley Gulch, the trail continues upward until you come to Stave Spring. The spring itself is located just off the left side of the trail and is marked by a sign. A pipe has been placed in the ground, and the actual water from the spring comes out of the pipe. Back in the early 1900's, there used to be a saw mill in this area and it is said that the remnants of old logs can be located, although I have never seen them. They were transported from the area to the cable works atop of Cable Mountain and from there lowered some 2000 feet down to the canyon floor. The wood was used to construct the old Zions Lodge as well as a few cabins in the canyon.


After a short quarter mile from the spring, a sign indicates the way to Cable and Deertrap Mountains. I took the 3 mile trail which breaks off to the left to get to Cable Mountain. The first mile or so slightly ascends before the final 2 miles descend to the edge of the Mountain and the cable works.

I am always taken back by the amazing views from Cable Mountain. Looking down roughly 2000 feet to Big Bend, The Organ, and Angels Landing provides, in my opinion, the most spectacular view in Zion. It is also captivating to imagine how timber was once lowered all the way down to the canyon floor from that point. I sat and ate lunch for the better part of an hour before continuing on my way.

After snapping some pictures, taking in the breathtaking views, and refueling, I decided I would start back to the east rim trail. Once back on the main trail, it's only a short while longer until the trail goes into permanent descent mode.

With only a little over 4 miles left in the hike, the trail takes you to Echo Canyon, where you can view down into the remarkable canyon. When I hiked this trail with my in-laws a few years back, they actually turned around at a certain point here and headed back because of the drop off on the right hand side of the trail. Really, unless you are deathly afraid of heights, it's really nothing to worry about it. I didn't even think twice about it and was surprised that it would have an affect on people. But if you have a very strong fear of heights, I guess it is worth noting.

The trail soon leaves the defined path and changes to slick rock with cairns to mark the way. There is one portion of the hike, marked by a larger cairn where the trail is a little difficult to follow. The first time I did the hike a few years back, I actually followed what I thought was the trail straight ahead where a faint game trail continued on, when the real, main trail took a sharp turn back to the right. This time around, the trail was marked better, but could still be lost unless good attention is paid to the cairns.

Once past the slick rock portion of the trail, it soon joins in with the trail up to Observation Point. About a half mile from that point is the entrance to Echo Canyon - a canyon I will definitely be exploring in the near future!

From there, you take switchbacks down to the weeping rock trail head. I decided to make a short trip up the half mile weeping rock trail since in had been a couple of years since I had been there. Also the last mile down was spent overlooking weeping rock, so I thought I might as well go check it out.

Once done with weeping rock, I headed over to the shuttle stop and waited for it to come take me back to the main entrance to the park. Over all, I covered about 17 miles in 8 hours and 5 minutes.