ceb1222

Thanks to everyone who helped me with my hiking questions... Here's a (too) long report from my (too) short trip to Zion.

Here are the basics, for those who don't want the in-depth info:

Trip: Las Vegas to Zion National Park - great, easy highway drive, very scenic

Dates: September 17-18, 2005 - absolutely PERFECT weather. Not too hot, not too cold, great for the water hike and the mountain hike. Very busy. Scenic drive still closed for summer season, but shuttle buses running EVERYWHERE - through the park and through the town of Springdale.

Lodging: Desert Pearl Inn - highly recommend. Reasonably priced, nice pool area, comfortable bed, large room, good amenities. Did see a couple of bugs, but it's the desert, right?

Food: Bit and Spur - great Mexican food, decent American food, good drinks, nice view, outdoor seating. Recommend. Springdale Fruit Company - beautiful setting, GREAT baked goods, delicious apples, higher prices

Major Events: The Narrows hike - MUST DO, recommend to anyone, beautiful photo ops; Angel's Landing hike - scary, but definitely worth the trip, very difficult hike.

Us: I'm a 25-year old female, live in Las Vegas, and my boyfriend is 27, lives in Brooklyn, NY. We are both in good shape; I hike pretty frequently and I'm currently training (although not as much as I should be!) for a sprint triathlon. My boyfriend is always participating in some sport or another after work. We found the Narrows hike to be a little tough on the legs, and the Angel's Landing hike to be challenging, both physically and mentally! (This info is important for anyone who is trying to judge trail difficulty - everyone else can ignore.)

Here are the details, for those of you who like living vicariously through others (as I do!):

We left Vegas around 7:45 Saturday morning, after packing up some snacks and chowing a quick breakfast. The drive from Vegas to Zion is pretty spectacular. The first hour is fairly boring, as it entails just getting out of Las Vegas and up through the desert. Near Mesquite, NV, the scenery really starts to change, and it's beautiful.

We arrived in Springdale, UT, at around 11:15 am mountain time (lost an hour in the time change!). We headed straight for Zion Adventure Company to rent waterproof hiking boots and hiking sticks for the Narrows hike in the Park. Two pairs of 5.10 Canyoneer boots, two pairs of neoprene socks, two walking sticks, and a map, all for $32. We then parked the car (the park was FULL - we overheard a shuttle bus driver telling some passengers that the numbers this past weekend were equivalent to Memorial Day weekend numbers) just outside the park entrance and walked into the park. At the Visitor's Center, we hopped a shuttle bus and rode to the end of the route to the Temple of Sinawava, where the Narrows hike begins.

Lots of people hike the first mile of the Narrows - this is a paved road that runs along the Virgin River, offering great views of the river and the mouth of the canyon. At the end of the paved section, there are steps leading down to the water. We plowed into the water and headed away from the horde of people.

The day we hiked, the water was running at about 55 cubic feet per second, which is REALLY low. Even at this relatively slow pace, the rapids at some points were pretty difficult to trudge through. Flash flood warning for the day was very low, as were the chances of rain. The water was listed at 65 degrees, but it was definitely colder than that. The air temp was about 90 degrees, but cooler in the canyon. We hiked in 3-4 miles, and then, of course, back out. This hike is AWESOME. I just got a digital camera (I finally joined the 21st century) and I took almost 200 pictures this weekend. The fact that you're hiking through water makes this a very unique trip; add in the spectacular scenery and you shouldn't miss out on this if you go to Zion.

MY ADVICE: if you can walk the mile in to the river, you can definitely venture into the water and continue the hike. It may sound daunting, but provided the flash flood warning is low and the water flow is low, most people can easily do at least a portion of it. Within the first mile, there is a beautiful waterfall running down the side of the canyon that offers some great photo ops. Renting the waterproof boots and a walking stick is KEY. We saw people stumbling through the water in all forms of footwear - some even barefoot (I don't have a clue how they did it). First of all, and most importantly, the boots keep your feet warm. By the end of the hike, this was very important. They're extremely comfortable. And most importantly, they stabilize your ankles, and you can walk through and on just about anything. The riverbed is filled with large round stones just waiting to catch an ankle, and these go a long way to prevent that. Finally, wear synthetic fiber clothing. I wore polarfleece pants and a cotton tank top. My boyfriend wore swim trunks and a cotton t-shirt. Our bottom halves were fine - our top halves got cold by the end of the day. Even with the low level of the water, we hit a couple of chest-deep patches (but I'm only 5'2"!) - and the water was COLD. For fairly comprehensive info regarding the hike, check out www.zionadventures.com.

Six miles, a hundred pictures, and five hours later, we hopped the shuttle bus back to the Visitor's Center. From there, we walked back to the car, returned our rental gear, and headed to the Desert Pearl Inn. Our king-size, pool view room was on the first floor and a great deal for $130 a night. I do have to mention the presence of some six- and eight-legged roommates - two tiny cockroaches hung out in the bathroom and a spider wandered under the bed just before lights out (I was too tired to care).

Hot showers eased the knee and hip pain (this was definitely one of those "I used muscles I didn't know I had" days) and we headed to the Bit and Spur for dinner. We ate outside and caught a full moon rise over the mountains. Food was very good and drinks were even better - they have a killer fresh strawberry margarita. Great Mexican food and plenty of American food options.

We headed back to the hotel, jumped in the hot tub for 15 minutes, caught a second moon rise(! - the Desert Pearl is much closer to the mountains, to the moon "rose" again), and hit the sheets.

Sunday we slept in and checked out at 11. We drove to the lot outside the park entrance again and walked into the park. Again, caught the shuttle, this time jumping off at the Grotto stop. I thought for sure I was going to die attempting the Angel's Landing hike, so we set off with the mindset that we were going to reach Scout's Lookout and then "see about the rest". WELL... after hiking up 1000 vertical feet in about 200 horizontal feet of space (I learned the true meaning of "switchback"), I decided at the top that there was no way I WASN'T going to at least attempt the rest of the hike.

This hike begins at the canyon floor, and starts out relatively (and deceptively) level. Very shortly, the trail starts climbing in steep switchbacks up the side of the mountain. These were already freaking me out and I insisted that we both stay to the inside of the trail. Eventually, the trail levels out and offers some shade as it heads back into Refrigerator Canyon. Again, you reach an even steeper series of switchbacks - the infamous "Walter's Wiggles". At the top of these, there's a flat, sandy spot that graduates into a flat sandstone viewing area - this is Scout's Lookout. An important note - there are outhouses here!

Scout's Lookout offers some great views, but as I mentioned, I didn't climb all the way up there for nothing. So we started on the Angel's Landing trail - another 400 feet of practically vertical trail cut into the sandstone. My thought process was that if I got freaked out, we'd just turn back. I made my boyfriend go in front of me so I could "watch" him - silly, because even three steps ahead of me, if he slipped, what was I going to be able to do about it?!

The rest of this trail is scary. And difficult. But definitely worth the challenge. There are heavy iron chains bolted into the sandstone, and some steps and "footprints" chiseled into the rock. I just kept looking up and thinking, "Oh my God, we still have to go UP THERE". But eventually, you arrive UP THERE and the views are spectacular. Truly the top of the world. I did not make it out to the very tip of the ridge, although to the top is basically level, because I hit an engraving in the rock: "In memory of" followed by two engraved names and several more written on the rock. When I saw that, I sat down right in my spot and said, "Okay, I'm done". And that was it. We took a ton of photos and started our descent.

The way down is no less harrowing. In fact, I found it worse. You've got that downward momentum propelling you along. I crab-walked several portions and slid on my butt the rest of the way, but we both made it. I even managed to take a couple of pictures!

It was amazing how easy the trip back down from Scout's Lookout was, and how much I was NOT afraid of the heights between switchbacks after having everything in perspective! We finally hit level ground and headed back towards the grotto stop. The plan was to try the Emerald Pools hike before leaving, but we were exhausted. I think it was the combination of physical effort and mental effort that was so tiring.

We shuttled back to the Visitor's Center, walked to the car, and took off for Vegas. On the way out of town, we stopped at the Springdale Fruit Company. This is an orchard with a log cabin-style building that houses a market. They have great fresh-baked goods, locally grown apples, organic fruit, and a deli with sandwiches and smoothies. Unfortunately, the deli had just closed, so we stocked up on apples, gourmet potato chips, juice, and some cookie bars.

Back in the car, we traveled out of town several miles before I turned onto a dirt road to the left, signed "La Verkin Overlook". We're not sure exactly where the overlook is, but we drove out about a mile or two, reach a turn-around to the side of the road, parked, and took some great panoramic pics of the "skyline" of Zion.

The ride back offered some pretty spectacular scenery as well. Although we'd traveled it just the day before, the late afternoon light made all the difference. It was a great ending to our weekend.

MY ADVICE: TRY the Angel's Landing hike. If you only get to Scout's Lookout, it's still an amazing view of the valley. If you can make it the rest of the way, it's definitely worth it. I am afraid of heights, but this really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I expected to freeze in paralysis at some point, but that never happened. I did have to keep going, without too many stops, because I couldn't allow myself to think about what I was doing. It truly is mind over matter. Although it was scary, I never got so scared that I felt the adrenaline flowing, so it must not have been too bad. The worst part, for me, was starting back down from the top. There are some spots where you've got a three-foot wide path with straight drops on either side. But if you look straight ahead at the ground in front of you, it's not impossible. Also, I found that there were not many places where you could actually SEE straight down to the ground. The edges are obstructed by rocks, shrubbery, etc., so you can rarely see over the edge, unless you want to... Finally, I just reviewed all the press releases for Zion since 2003, and there has only been one recorded fatal fall from Angel's Landing. I think if you're careful and you take your time, the danger is minimal.

Final thoughts on Zion: this is beautiful park, not to be missed. I had never even heard of it until I moved to Vegas, and now I can't wait to go back! We saw ALL AGES of people - we were continually amazed at the ages of the people kicking our butts going up the Angel's Landing trail. We ran into some 60-somethings on a perilously rocky ridge who "did this last year" and gave me an encouraging (if a little too enthusiastic, since it pushed me towards the edge) pat on the shoulder, and they were but a few of the many. I would NEVER take a child younger than mid-teens on the Angel's Landing hike. At 5'2", there were some spots where I was stretching to climb. There are plenty of other great hikes for kids to take in the scenery!

maj

That was one of the best trip reports I have read. I loved the details of the hikes. Especially liked the inclusion of the Bit and Spur menu options (my husband only eats "american" food, so we would have probably avoided a mexican restaurant).

lynnejoel1015

what a wonderful, telling trip report! my husband and i did zion back in august 2001, and from that day on, zion has been my favorite national park. we only got about 2 miles into the narrows (if that) and had to turn around because it was a cloudy day with rain threatening and since we started the hike late in the day, darkness would fall soon. we can't wait to do the whole thing all day someday.

we attempted angel's landing, but only got to the lookout. i couldn't go the rest of the way, and almost panicked that my husband was considering it. it's a very sheer drop off- like a straight wall of rock- and i couldn't imagine doing it with such narrow trail and all.

the next year my older boss did the whole thing and i was humbled. we did Half Dome at yosemite a few months after that, and now i know i have it in me to finish angel's landing some day.

as an aside, when we were coming down angel's landing, slowly and trepiditiously, this boy- maybe 14 or 15- who looked native american- passed us on the outside edge</> of one of the trails coming down (still the steep, treacherous part with chains) BOUNDING and SPRINTING ahead..... with 800 ft sheer drop only inches from his left. we ourselves had to press our backs against the chain wall and release our hold from the chain to let him pass.... it all happened so quickly.... he, we, everyone was in jeopardy of falling off. we'll never know what happened to him. i assume he made it, but it was the most insane thing, the closest thing to suicide i think i've ever seen or will see. i'll never forget that.

anyways, again, congrats!

ceb1222

Thanks for the comments!

Maj - I like Mexican food, but I was in the mood for beef, so I had the surf and turf - two jumbo prawns and two beef medallions - very good.

Lynne - When we were starting the hike, two young men - probably early twenties - were RUNNING down the switchbacks. As I mentioned, just the switchbacks scared me at first, so to see people running. Then, when we got to the portion that runs into Refrigerator Canyon, three late-teen-early-twenties foreign guys came clomping through: shirtless, carrying plastic gallon jugs of water, wearing heavy-soled hiking boots. They stomped past us, and my boyfriend got a photo shot of them heading up the chains. At a flatter portion near the top, we ran into them (almost literally) as they were coming back down. I couldn't watch them head over the edge, as they were STILL carrying the water jugs, and the last one, in his enthusiasm, stumbled just before heading down the next series. I wish I still had that "no fear" mentality!

flygirl

what a great report!

do you think mid-June would be too hot for hiking and biking there?

karens

Sounds wonderful - like my kinda weekend! The Narrows is one of my all-time favorite hikes. I'll bet after Angel's Landing, you won't have the same fear of heights in a similar situation.

flygirl - we hiked the Narrows in June and it was HOT - about a high of 100, BUT you are in the water most of the time! It would have been, I think, too hot for some of the other hikes. We were going to do the Canyon Overlook Trail, but skipped it b/c of the heat. Now we have a reason to go back (not that you really need one for Zion!)

christy1

I hope people pay attention to your warning about cotton clothes in the Narrows-cotton is a terrible material to hike in, since when it gets wet, it stays wet and cold. Always wear synthetics (or wool). On one of my Narrows hikes I went with a friend whose trip was absolutely miserable after her cotton shorts got wet.

ellen_griswold

Sounds like an awesome trip! We're huge fans of zion and and we absolutely LOVED the Desert Pearl Inn. Simple elegance extraordinaire and thankfully, we didn't have any creepy crawler visitors!
Thanks for posting.

westernhalf

Re hiking the Narrows without proper gear: We were there at the end of August and were some of those people who didn't have the right footwear. Our teenaged son was in the best shape with his sneakers. My husband was in leather sandals, and my daughter and I were in flip flops! We took them off after awhile. This is what we get for breezing in without any checking ahead of time. At any rate, the hike to the river was great, the scenery spectacular, with those soaring canyon walls and all the greenery at the bottom--impossible to take a bad picture! We stayed at the Desert Pearl Inn, which is everything people say it is--just lovely. We had a problem with bugs, too (tiny ones)--maybe because of a towel brought in from poolside. A couple of other comments: We'd brought our Maltese dog, and since the Inn didn't allow pets, we checked him in at the Doggy Dude Ranch close by. The gal who owns it is an obvious animal lover, and it is a beautiful, spacious place. Boarding prices were VERY reasonable, as well. We ate at Oscar's Cafe the first night, where portions were big and the food good, and the Pizza and Noodle Company the second (just ok). I'd love a return trip, but in the spring or fall--it was over 100 while we were there.