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.

Humphrey's Peak elev 12,633' High point in Arizona

Time to hike another state high point! I only live about 270 miles from Flagstaff, which is where Humphrey's peak is located, and it has been calling my name for sometime now! As I looked to see what the most direct route to get there was, I noticed there were 2 ways - either through Zion National Park and on through Kanab and Page, or the southern route through Colorado City, Fredonia, and Jacob's Lake. Although there is a little winding through the Jacob's Lake area where the speed limit is 40 miles per hour for a total of about 15 miles, it still seemed like it would be about as fast and much shorter than the northern more route.

I had 2 days off in a row and so I originally planned to go on Wednesday, my first day off in case I decided that I wanted to stay overnight because of weather or fatigue. But the weather looked bad for Wednesday and on Tuesday nights I play volleyball till midnight, so I wouldn't be able to get an early start on Wednesday which meant more possibility of running into a thunderstorm in the afternoon.

So Thursday it was! I woke up just before 5:00, ate breakfast, gathered my gear and was off at 5:30. I was familiar with the route to Jacob's Lake as I had been there a couple years ago when I visited the north rim of The Grand Canyon. I had no idea how beautiful the scenery would be past that though! What I saw caught me completely off guard and I stopped at one point at a look out to take a picture of the amazing contrast between the green valley floor and the red rock walls that jutted straight up hundreds of feet.

I got to Flagstaff with no problem, drove through the town a ways, even touring "old town." At Humphrey's road, I took a right which lead me to hwy 180 north. I followed 180 for 7 miles to a sign on the right hand side of the street which indicated that the Snowbowl ski area was at the next right. I took a right immediately after the sign and followed that road another 7 miles to the Lower Snowbowl parking lot (elevation 9320) and easily found the trail head at the north end of the parking lot.

I arrived at the parking lot at 9:45 and started up the trail at 9:47. The well marked trail starts through a colorful high mountain meadow, under a ski lift as it heads to a forest made up of tall pine trees mixes with aspens.

The scenery soon changed from the openness of the meadow to the dark, shaded forest. Nothing fills up your senses more than a hike in the forest, especially after doing mostly canyon and desert hiking for the past couple of years. Every sound from the wind rustling through the tops of the trees 50 feet in the air, to the faint bird chirps, to the creaking of the trees about to fall, gets and holds your attention.

Through the forest, the trail was very unstable, walking over many roots and rocks. Not long after entering the forest was a trail register, which I signed. At about 10,100 feet, the trail makes a sharp switchback to the right. This was the only spot I lost the trail. The spot is marked with a cairn, so when I couldn't locate the trail a few yards up, I retreated to the cairn and found where I had made my error.

As I reached the 11,000' elevation mark, the trees became more sparse and the surrounding area started opening up. I could see the top of a ski lift on the mountain opposite where I was across the canyon. There were also a couple of rock slides around the 11,400' elevation point which offered a new terrain to cross. Out of the forest, the wind became much stronger and I was forced to tie my hat to my backpack at about 11,600'.

I encountered a sign at about 12,100' informing hikers that there is no camping above the tree line. Soon after, I came to the Weatherford saddle between Agassiz and Humphrey's peaks. From here, the trail is a little less defined but there are posts that help mark the way, if needed. For the most part, the trail stays just below the ridge line most of the way up.

After passing a couple of false summits, I made it to the summit at 12:10. The summit was incredibly windy! In fact, a got blown around a bit on the final ascent to the top. There are 3 rock "forts" at the top to help shield the wind. They helped, but I still put on my thermal sleeves, snacked, took pictures, and talked with other hikers at the summit for about 50 minutes before heading down.

I could faintly see the north rim of the Grand Canyon. More distinct were the beautiful Vermillion Cliffs that I had passed on the way. I was very happy that the cloud cover had left the mountain top - driving in, there was a blanket of clouds over the summit and in talking to a hiker on the way up, he said that the clouds had been there for the past few days. The views were amazing, eventhough standing up for long periods of time was exhausting and cold, constantly battling the gusting wind.

I started down at 1:00, once again getting blown around by the wind. As I headed down, I was able to take in the views I missed as I was headed up the mountain. I made quick time, even jogging part of the way, and was back to the trail head at 2:37.

In total, the hike took 4 hours and 50 minutes, with 50 minutes of that resting on the summit. One more high point down!

Fairyland and Navajo Loops Bryce National Park

I had only been to Bryce National Park once before and never had done any hiking, so I thought I'd take a short excursion to the Park and do a little exploring. I decided in the morning I wanted to do a "strenuous" hike, and in the afternoon I'd do something a little more Moderate/Easy.

When I looked on line for some interesting hikes to do, Fairyland Loop Trail looked like a good one to try out in the morning. It starts out at Fairyland Point which is located before actually reaching the entrance station on a road that comes in from the left.

I arrived at the trail head at 7:12am and started on my way. One thing that is very visually appealing about hiking in Bryce is that the trails are so easily defined and can be easily spotted from a ways away.

I rapidly began losing elevation as I dropped from the rim into the canyon amongst the hoodoos. On my way down, I spotted a doe and her fawn just up the trail a few yards. As they saw me coming they left in a hurry down the trail.

The sun still hadn't risen above the canyon walls but the hoodoos seemed to glow despite being in the shadows. I crossed several dry river beds which were probably very active rivers in flash flood situations. I also crossed one section of the trail that had been moved and reblazed just over to the side due to a massive rock fall.

I made a short excursion of about 200 yards to see the Tower Bridge - a natural bridge with a tower like rock jutting out behind it. Soon after, the trail took me into what is known as the "Bryce Amphitheater." Beautiful views of amazing rock formations were visible all around me!

Shortly after Tower Bridge and entering the Amphitheater, I started gaining back all of that elevation I lost on my way into the canyon. I knew I would eventually have to start climbing to meet up with the Rim Trail, which is what I took to get back to the trail head.

I reached the Rim Trail and took it back to Fairyland Point, noticing the Bryce Lodge and a few other buildings along the way. A sign indicated that I would be on the Rim Trail for 2.5 miles. It was a relatively flat 2.5 miles with views of the trail I had just been on across the canyon.

I made it back to the trail head at 9:44 after 8 miles of hiking. It was a very picturesque hike that I hope to do again!

In the afternoon, I did the Navajo Loop which was absolutely amazing! From what I've read, it is the most popular hike in the park, and for good reason. The beginning of the trail takes you 550 feet down steep switchbacks through "Wall Street." From the Canyon Rim looking down, Wall Street looks like a dark abyss which actually seems inviting when standing in the hot sun! This portion is definitely the highlight of the hike.

Soon after leaving Wall Street, there is an option for a short excursion to 2 bridges, a cool formation just up a small side canyon. I got a picture there and then headed up the trail to the rim again, a 550 vertical foot hike.

After 1.3 miles, I made it back to the top. This was a REALLY pretty hike!

The Narrows, Zion NP

I had been through the narrows twice before, but the last time had been about 5 years earlier...so it was time to go again!

I got to the Chamberlain's Ranch trail head at 9:55 and started on my way. I remembered in the past trip with my brother-in-law Jeff, we spent about 15 minutes at the beginning trying to figure out how to get across the river without getting our feet wet, as the first couple of miles of the hike is along the river bank and not in it...Anyway, after all that time trying to figure out how to keep our feet dry, I still managed to make an ill-advised jump and got a foot wet anyway. Needless to say, this time I just went right in and forded the stream.

I came to the cabin at 10:46 after about 3 miles. Soon after this, the trail entered the river and I was on my way. For the next few miles, the canyon walls continued to creep in closer and closer all the while getting higher and higher. At 12:31 I encountered the first stretch of narrows. I also noticed that many new obstacles and mini waterfalls had formed since the last time I went on the hike.

At 1:45 and after about 8 miles I encountered the waterfall, North Fork Falls. This is easily bypassed by a notch on the left side of the trail, which, if you didn't know it was there, would be easy to miss. The falls are about 20 feet high and the force of the water coming down is enough to make it nearly impossible to hike back to the base of the waterfall once down.

I encountered the confluence with Deep Creek at 2:57 after about another mile of hiking. Deep Creek has about as much water flow as North Fork so from this point on, I would be hiking in twice the volume of water, with the canyon walls much more narrow than they had been before - meaning the current would be stronger and the depth of the river, deeper.
Over the next 3 miles, many campsites are found, each numbered from 1 to 12. Also, a smaller stream, Kolob Creek, adds a little more water flow to the river. It was here I camped on my overnight trip with Jeff. It's a perfect place to filter some water!

From here, the hike becomes more difficult. The rocks are more slippery, the water deeper, swimming becomes the only way to make it through certain points (depending on the water level that year) and you're just plain more tired...

I came to the Grotto, a cave like structure carved out over the years by water flow through the canyon, at 4:01, and to Big Springs about an hour later at 5:05. Big Springs marks the 11.5 mile mark and is a pretty place for some pictures. It was here that I first encountered the day hikers coming up from the bottom (Temple of Sinawava). Also, after Big Springs was the only swimming spot I found.

After 2 more miles filled with deep water and slippery rocks, I encountered Orderville Canyon coming in from the east (left). I should say here that I was happy to have brought my hiking pole to use as a depth check for the river. Although it was actually clear this hike and I could see the bottom for much of the hike (the previous 2 hikes it was a muddy brown color with no visibility), there were portions where the water was too deep to see the bottom. So I poked and prodded along with my hiking pole to determine if I'd be swimming.

Not long after, I made it back to Riverside walk and the shuttle stop for the Temple of Sinawava at 8:25 and after 16 miles of hiking!