We Hit the Trifecta! Our trip to Bryce, Grand Canyon North Rim and Zion.
Jul 3rd, 2010, 10:53 AM
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Since Zion is my absolute FAVORITE "spa vacation," I am hanging on every word. I'm so glad you took the river walk after dinner. This is the hike (stroll) I begin and end every day with when I am there. Did you look up the canyon from the lodge at night and see all the moving flashlights? A number of people will hike past darkness as the shuttle runs until 11PM in the summer. From the lodge, you can easily see the light parade of hikers heading down the trail from Angel's Landing with their flashlights.
Jul 3rd, 2010, 01:02 PM
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Hi elnap, Wow, no we missed the light parade of flashlights coming down Angels Landng! That sounds so cool! Something to look for next time I guess. People actually descend in the dark? Not sure I could M to do that! Not sure I get could me to do that!
We did take a walk in the Pa'rus Trail in evening as suggested. It was a nice walk. We missed the full moon by a few days. Zion would be wonderful during a full moon.
We did take a walk in the Pa'rus Trail in evening as suggested. It was a nice walk. We missed the full moon by a few days. Zion would be wonderful during a full moon.
Jul 4th, 2010, 08:39 AM
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We had one day at Zion left and there was some debate as to which hike to do. While I wanted to do the Riverwalk Trail after dinner that night, I really didn't want to do the Narrows. I had heard that the water levels were still pretty high due to the heavy spring run-off and I am not a tall person. Even though, I know it is a unique experience, I had no interest in walking for a mile or two in cold, chest high water. Call me a putz.
M would've done it in a heartbeat, in fact he did once before about 40 years ago before there was any trail or designated put-in like there is now. He said folks just started walking in the river wherever they could and just kept walking. He did it in his "Keds" tennis shoes. LOL.
I was lobbying for the shorter Hidden Canyon hike and M was in the mood the Observation Point Trail. Being the putz that I am, and still recovering from a chronic illness, I just wasn't in the mood to do a 2200 elevation gain hike that day. M being the saint he is agreed that we would do the Hidden Canyon hike. I promised him that when we return (and we will) we will do both the Narrows and the Observation Point hike.
We set off early again and started up the side of the canyon by Weeping Rock. The trail climbs steeply and as it got narrower and steeper,M started feeling like he didn't want to go on. In the end, M's drop off thing got the better of him and after the first set of chains and sight of the next set of chains that skirts a steep drop off, he decided to sit the the rest of the hike out. I wish he could've gone on as the rest of the hike, while scary in those last few minutes hangning onto the chains and scrambling a bit before you actually get to the opening of the Canyon has a great payoff. Hidden Canyon is a sandy bottomed canyon with steep walls that winds its way up into what I thought was an idyllic setting. I walked up the Canyon for about a half a mile or so marveling at the lush foilage and the amazing patterns on the canyon walls. There were some hanging gardens with columbine and ferns in areas where there was some water seepage. It started getting narrower and and I didn't want to keep M waiting too much longer so I turned to go back. While I was happy to have the chains to hang onto on the way over.I was THRILLED to have them on the way back as I needed to use them to haul myself up and around the ledges, etc. This hike underscores while I liked Zion so much. It is moderatey challenging while being totally unique and unlike anything I've done before. It pushed me a bit to my limit, which was good.
I found M calmly waiting for me. I did feel bad that he wasn't able to see the Canyon. He was relieved and gratified of his decision not to continue when I told him that he would not have been a happy camper on the last part of the trail before the canyon. On the way down we enjoyed the views and at the bottom, spent some time exploring Weeping Rock and takiing picturesof the lush surroundings.
We decided to take the shuttle bus back to the lodge where we had our customary pincic lunch of Nathan's hotdogs, fries and softserve ice cream. M felt like doing some more hiking, so we went off to explore the uppper Emerald Pool area and a portion of that hike we hadn't done yet and I headed back the room, cranked up the a/c and took a nap.
We had a an early dinner and aferwards took the shuttle up the Riverwalk Trail for a dusk/evening walk and exploration of the area. Wow! What a gorgeous spot and what a perfect time to see it. Parts of the canyon was still bathed in sun and parts were in shade which created some lovely contrasts and good photo opportunities. We walked to the end where there were still plenty of folks coming out of the water from doing the narrows hike. We talked to one guy that was around 6 feet tall who said that there were some areas in the beginning where he was chest deep and had both of his kids on his shoulders, but after a while it became shallower and the canyone became beautiful. He said it was worth the effort...eh...next time. The warm evenings, the effect of light on the Canyon walls and the lovely plant life left me with feeling that Zion is truly a magical place in so many ways. If I lived closer it would probably turn into my Yosemite with frequent visits being a regular thing. We will be back. As we were checking out the next morning,, the clerk encouraged us to return in early to mid November. He said the foilage changing, he lack of visitors and peace and calm make it his favorite time to come. He also said the prices at the Lodge are reduced significantly..."Name your price..." It is hard for us to travel at that time of the year, but I can envision a long 4 day weekend perhaps...
Final thoughts on the trip next...
M would've done it in a heartbeat, in fact he did once before about 40 years ago before there was any trail or designated put-in like there is now. He said folks just started walking in the river wherever they could and just kept walking. He did it in his "Keds" tennis shoes. LOL.
I was lobbying for the shorter Hidden Canyon hike and M was in the mood the Observation Point Trail. Being the putz that I am, and still recovering from a chronic illness, I just wasn't in the mood to do a 2200 elevation gain hike that day. M being the saint he is agreed that we would do the Hidden Canyon hike. I promised him that when we return (and we will) we will do both the Narrows and the Observation Point hike.
We set off early again and started up the side of the canyon by Weeping Rock. The trail climbs steeply and as it got narrower and steeper,M started feeling like he didn't want to go on. In the end, M's drop off thing got the better of him and after the first set of chains and sight of the next set of chains that skirts a steep drop off, he decided to sit the the rest of the hike out. I wish he could've gone on as the rest of the hike, while scary in those last few minutes hangning onto the chains and scrambling a bit before you actually get to the opening of the Canyon has a great payoff. Hidden Canyon is a sandy bottomed canyon with steep walls that winds its way up into what I thought was an idyllic setting. I walked up the Canyon for about a half a mile or so marveling at the lush foilage and the amazing patterns on the canyon walls. There were some hanging gardens with columbine and ferns in areas where there was some water seepage. It started getting narrower and and I didn't want to keep M waiting too much longer so I turned to go back. While I was happy to have the chains to hang onto on the way over.I was THRILLED to have them on the way back as I needed to use them to haul myself up and around the ledges, etc. This hike underscores while I liked Zion so much. It is moderatey challenging while being totally unique and unlike anything I've done before. It pushed me a bit to my limit, which was good.
I found M calmly waiting for me. I did feel bad that he wasn't able to see the Canyon. He was relieved and gratified of his decision not to continue when I told him that he would not have been a happy camper on the last part of the trail before the canyon. On the way down we enjoyed the views and at the bottom, spent some time exploring Weeping Rock and takiing picturesof the lush surroundings.
We decided to take the shuttle bus back to the lodge where we had our customary pincic lunch of Nathan's hotdogs, fries and softserve ice cream. M felt like doing some more hiking, so we went off to explore the uppper Emerald Pool area and a portion of that hike we hadn't done yet and I headed back the room, cranked up the a/c and took a nap.
We had a an early dinner and aferwards took the shuttle up the Riverwalk Trail for a dusk/evening walk and exploration of the area. Wow! What a gorgeous spot and what a perfect time to see it. Parts of the canyon was still bathed in sun and parts were in shade which created some lovely contrasts and good photo opportunities. We walked to the end where there were still plenty of folks coming out of the water from doing the narrows hike. We talked to one guy that was around 6 feet tall who said that there were some areas in the beginning where he was chest deep and had both of his kids on his shoulders, but after a while it became shallower and the canyone became beautiful. He said it was worth the effort...eh...next time. The warm evenings, the effect of light on the Canyon walls and the lovely plant life left me with feeling that Zion is truly a magical place in so many ways. If I lived closer it would probably turn into my Yosemite with frequent visits being a regular thing. We will be back. As we were checking out the next morning,, the clerk encouraged us to return in early to mid November. He said the foilage changing, he lack of visitors and peace and calm make it his favorite time to come. He also said the prices at the Lodge are reduced significantly..."Name your price..." It is hard for us to travel at that time of the year, but I can envision a long 4 day weekend perhaps...
Final thoughts on the trip next...
Jul 5th, 2010, 08:13 AM
#65
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Here is a thread that a started about the construction going around Zion this summer.
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...his-summer.cfm
Becasue of the constuction we were not able access the park from the east using Mt. Carmel Highway during our stay. A few days later they changed the construction schudle and the road was opened during the day and closed at night. Anyhow, there is a phone numer on that thread that you should call to check on the progress and to find out when the closures are.
Our route to Zion from the North Rim took us from the park to 89 to Fredonia to 389 to 59 as it 389 crosses the Utah border and then take the dirt Smithsonian Butte Road as a shortcut to Rockville and then on to Springdale and the park. We did take this route and it proved to cut some significant time off. One thing to note though is that if you are coming from the east as we were, Smithsonian Butte Road is not marked and easy to miss. About 9 miles from Apple Valley to the right you will see an arrow straight red dirt road break away from the main road. That's it. It cuts through some gorgeous canyons and the views of the surrounding buttes were nice. The condition varied from okay to dreadfully rough and rocky. We were in a Hundai and it made it fine, but we did have to negotiate some large gaps and rough spots. As you descend the swithbacks the road gets alternatively smooth and rough with washboard sections. It was adventure, but worked out fine. BTW... we almost had a collision with a tour van on this road! Apparently people pay good money for a "Utah Backroads Tour" on this road! Not sure I'd pay or the pleasure, but it was nice to save some time for free. Our car was covered in red dirt when we were done.
A word about road trips and entertainment. We'd never taken a road trip together like this and everytime I would mention it to someone that we were going on a week long road trip, they would blurt out "get books on tape!" or something like, ""you'll need to listen to something to keep from getting bored." Now, I hadn't even thought of that. I thought we'd just drive and take in the scenery and zip on through, whether we could get radio reception or not. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a nice fall back to have just in case. We love a lot of the radio programs on NPR, so I downloaded several "Car Talk", "Fresh Air", "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" and "Science Friday" podcasts from itunes onto my ipod. We did listen to few of the shows as we drove from place to place. We listened to a great interview with Joan Rivers on Fresh Air and an illuminating program on Facebook security on Science Friday. In the end, though, the scenery proved to be more interesting and entertaining than Click and Clack on Car Talk and most of the podcasts went unlistened. LOL.
As mentioned earlier, this trip ended up being one of our best trips we've taken. The variety of the landscape, the time of year we went and the weather contributed to make this a very satisfying and reasonably affordable trip. Lots of bang for the buck! We'd return to each place again, but there are some many possibilites for road trips in Arizona and Utah, it will be difficult to decide which comes next. I can tell you though that Zion and NRGC could easily become perennaial multi day destinations on their own right as the years go on.
I will post some photos over the next few days. Please feel free to ask any questions. I often leave off information as I write these things, so may periodically add to it as time goes by and my memory returns.
Enjoy.
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...his-summer.cfm
Becasue of the constuction we were not able access the park from the east using Mt. Carmel Highway during our stay. A few days later they changed the construction schudle and the road was opened during the day and closed at night. Anyhow, there is a phone numer on that thread that you should call to check on the progress and to find out when the closures are.
Our route to Zion from the North Rim took us from the park to 89 to Fredonia to 389 to 59 as it 389 crosses the Utah border and then take the dirt Smithsonian Butte Road as a shortcut to Rockville and then on to Springdale and the park. We did take this route and it proved to cut some significant time off. One thing to note though is that if you are coming from the east as we were, Smithsonian Butte Road is not marked and easy to miss. About 9 miles from Apple Valley to the right you will see an arrow straight red dirt road break away from the main road. That's it. It cuts through some gorgeous canyons and the views of the surrounding buttes were nice. The condition varied from okay to dreadfully rough and rocky. We were in a Hundai and it made it fine, but we did have to negotiate some large gaps and rough spots. As you descend the swithbacks the road gets alternatively smooth and rough with washboard sections. It was adventure, but worked out fine. BTW... we almost had a collision with a tour van on this road! Apparently people pay good money for a "Utah Backroads Tour" on this road! Not sure I'd pay or the pleasure, but it was nice to save some time for free. Our car was covered in red dirt when we were done.
A word about road trips and entertainment. We'd never taken a road trip together like this and everytime I would mention it to someone that we were going on a week long road trip, they would blurt out "get books on tape!" or something like, ""you'll need to listen to something to keep from getting bored." Now, I hadn't even thought of that. I thought we'd just drive and take in the scenery and zip on through, whether we could get radio reception or not. The more I thought about it, the more it seemed like a nice fall back to have just in case. We love a lot of the radio programs on NPR, so I downloaded several "Car Talk", "Fresh Air", "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" and "Science Friday" podcasts from itunes onto my ipod. We did listen to few of the shows as we drove from place to place. We listened to a great interview with Joan Rivers on Fresh Air and an illuminating program on Facebook security on Science Friday. In the end, though, the scenery proved to be more interesting and entertaining than Click and Clack on Car Talk and most of the podcasts went unlistened. LOL.
As mentioned earlier, this trip ended up being one of our best trips we've taken. The variety of the landscape, the time of year we went and the weather contributed to make this a very satisfying and reasonably affordable trip. Lots of bang for the buck! We'd return to each place again, but there are some many possibilites for road trips in Arizona and Utah, it will be difficult to decide which comes next. I can tell you though that Zion and NRGC could easily become perennaial multi day destinations on their own right as the years go on.
I will post some photos over the next few days. Please feel free to ask any questions. I often leave off information as I write these things, so may periodically add to it as time goes by and my memory returns.
Enjoy.
Jul 5th, 2010, 08:20 AM
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iamq - I'm so glad you had this wonderful trip! Zion is really great in the spring and fall. Usually you can't do the Narrows in the spring due to runoff, but the wildflowers are the payoff! Fall colors there are later due to the low elevation, but they usually start end of Oct at the higher parts of the park - Kolob Canyon Reservoir Rd and later in the canyon bottom. Gorgeous!
I don't think your husband would be a happy camper on the Observation Trail either. It's the only one I haven't done yet, but I understand there are lots of drop offs!
I don't think your husband would be a happy camper on the Observation Trail either. It's the only one I haven't done yet, but I understand there are lots of drop offs!
Jul 5th, 2010, 08:31 AM
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Thanks Dayle. You're help and input on this area on this forum helped make this a successful trip for us.
I'd love to be in the Canyon during wildflower season. It must be be amazing. I will pass your Observation Trail comments to M! It will make him feel better.
I'd love to be in the Canyon during wildflower season. It must be be amazing. I will pass your Observation Trail comments to M! It will make him feel better.
Jul 5th, 2010, 07:25 PM
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Thanks for your report. You had me checking the boards on a daily basis in anticipation of your next log!! Good to know that tour vans make their way on the Smithsonian Butte Road. I have it as a back up incase we don't make it back to Springdale before the tunnel closes at 8:00, but was a little worried, as we will be in a 12 passenger van. I too would love to hike the hidden canyon, but am having doubts after reading your review and some others. We have young ones.... a 6 years old and two 8 years old. Did you see any children on the trail? We leave in 10 days and I'll probrably shoot some quesdtions your way as the time draws nearer. Thanks again for all your help.
Jul 5th, 2010, 08:19 PM
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mabella, I would strongly encourage you to get through the Mt Carmel Road before it closes at 8 pm. Negoitiating the dirt road in a 12 passenger is not something I'd want to do, especially at night. As I said there are parts that are rough and steep, not ideal for a large van. The tour van we saw was more like a truck with seats in the back with canopy over the top, driven by someone who obviously knows the road. Get through the road before it closes for sure.
I don't think the Hidden Canyon trail would be a good one for young ones. There are parts that can be pretty scary. There was a family with younger children, but I'm not sure how far they made it. There are plenty of other hikes at Zion that would be more appropriate for a 6 year old.
Hope this helps.
I don't think the Hidden Canyon trail would be a good one for young ones. There are parts that can be pretty scary. There was a family with younger children, but I'm not sure how far they made it. There are plenty of other hikes at Zion that would be more appropriate for a 6 year old.
Hope this helps.
Jul 6th, 2010, 06:21 AM
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Lovely trip report that brings back wonderful memories. I was so surprised we were even allowed to hike down into the hoodoos at Bryce!
Thanks also for reminding me about the soggy mattresses in the cabins. We stayed one night in June 2005 and lo and behold new mattresses were delivered on the morning we were leaving!
Thanks also for reminding me about the soggy mattresses in the cabins. We stayed one night in June 2005 and lo and behold new mattresses were delivered on the morning we were leaving!
Jul 6th, 2010, 08:28 AM
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This link should get you Vegas/HooverDam and Bryce photos.
http://picasaweb.google.com/iamq59?feat=email
http://picasaweb.google.com/iamq59?feat=email
Jul 6th, 2010, 11:24 AM
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wow! to the natural beauty
I was hoping the vegas suite was more over the top tacky! You have a different tacky meter, or I have an over the top tacky meter! I was thinking more dragqueen tacky vegas - LOL!
I was hoping the vegas suite was more over the top tacky! You have a different tacky meter, or I have an over the top tacky meter! I was thinking more dragqueen tacky vegas - LOL!
Jul 6th, 2010, 11:42 AM
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RE Smithsonian Butte Road -- we'll be going to Zion from GCNR and I was wondering how long this road was. I would LOVE to cut some time off the drive thereby allowing more time in the park. Thanks
Jul 6th, 2010, 12:39 PM
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Hi jillh, I think it is about 8 to 10 miles long. The only reason we considered it in the first place is at the time the Mt. Carmel road was closed from 9 am - 4 pm. I believe the road closure now is at night from 8 pm to 8 am allowing daytime transit. That could change though. If that had been the case when we were traveling, we would have taken the Mt. Carmel Road into the park for sure.
Froderick, regarding my tacky meter, the photos don't do the place justice. I would believe that your tacky meter and mine aren't perfectly calibrated, but they aren't that far off either. The size was the most outrageous part I suppose.
Yes smetz, Bryce is definitely worth a visit.
Froderick, regarding my tacky meter, the photos don't do the place justice. I would believe that your tacky meter and mine aren't perfectly calibrated, but they aren't that far off either. The size was the most outrageous part I suppose.
Yes smetz, Bryce is definitely worth a visit.
Jul 6th, 2010, 02:24 PM
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