Seeking Utah hikes advice

[audrey]

In late April we'll be in SW Utah for a week, based in a cabin in Hurricane, doing dayhikes. So far my partial tentative plan is as follows:

Observation Point in the main Zion Canyon;
Taylor Creek in the Kolob Canyons section: North and South Forks (herd paths);
La Verkin Creek Trail to Kolob Arch;
Canaan Mt. via Water Canyon/Squirrel Canyon.

Coyote Bluffs/The Wave would be great, but I'll never get lucky enough to get one of the few permits.
Escalante, Grand Canyon, Bryce, etc. will be reserved for later trips - there is enough to do in the immediate area.

Does anyone have favorite trails to suggest?

 

[halfmoon]

Recommendations

You will here this from others who post here, but in my opinion Angels's Landing and the Zion Narrows in Zion National Park are two of the best hikes in the area. In you can handle a rope I have a bunch on canyoneering route that are great. I myself will be in the area for 2 weeks in May. I will be in Escalante, Zion, and the Paria Wilderness primarily. I have found the absolute best resource for Zion National Park on the web at the following location, this guy knows all the cool spots:

http://www.citrusmilo.com/joe/zion/index.cfm

 

[Furry]

LaVerkin Creek to Kolob Arch and beyond.....

Audrey,

A number of years ago (in 1997), we took this route, but did it as a two-day backpack, camping on the south side of the creek at a backcountry campsite. Great hike if you want solitude - we saw no one else the whole time. The hike past the side trail going to the arch and further along the LaVerkin Creek trail is a good one, and further adds to the sense of solitude. If I remember correctly, it ended at a small waterfall (or at least that's where we turned around). A short section of this part of the trail had a Narrows-like feel to it (not quite as spectacular, but pretty cool nonetheless). Overall, a relatively easy hike with little elevation gain/loss.

 

[TenPeaks]

It might not be possible to hike the Narrows in Zion in the spring. I was there last May and the river bed you follow to get there was a rushing torrent of snow melted water.

Angel's Landing is really cool, but not for those afraid of heights. Observation Point is a longer hike with a similar view to Angel's Landing and isn't as exposed.

If you get a chance check out the northern section of the park. It's not nearly as crowded, has spectacular views and you don't need to take a bus to get to the end of the road.

 

[mavs00]

I've done a bit of hiking in SW UT. For Zion, The OP trail is a good one. Also, for a little longer (i.e. strenuous) hike in the Kolob section, try the 14 mile Kolob Arch hike. Have fun and take lots of pics. Whatever you choose, you'll love it. Make sure to check out St. Georges, it's a cool town. We found this great place to eat last time I was there (2004), I'll have to think of the name of it.

Also, I see that you say Bryce will be saved for "other trips", I just want to implore you to MAKE SURE you do those "other trips". For my money, Bryce's hoodoo formations are other-worldly and the 11 mile Rim trail in that park, while certainly less rugged and somewhat touristy in sections, was one of the coolest visual hikes I've ever done. Mind boggling really. Bryce is probably less than 2 hours drive from St. G.

Here's a sample from Sunrise Point.

 

[Jay H]

As Mavs00 points out, Bryce is awesome, even though Zion is the bigger park, I enjoyed Bryce more. I didn't get a lot of time in either but I've biked through the park roads and have done Angel's Landing in Zion and short hikes through Bryce before.

Lots of chipmunks on top of Angel's Landing though

Jay

 

[alavigne]

Zion is definitely one of my favourite places... I think I've visited there... hmm, let me see... probably close to 10 times now.

Definitely Angel's Landing is a must, so long as you are ok with heights (besides, there's a chain to hold on to for the exposed sections). Not very long, perhaps 3-4 hours at most. Plus it is practically paved most of the way. I think I've probably hiked this trail close to ten times now.

Observation Point is also excellent - in some ways, better scenery than Angel's Landing, but as another poster said, not as "exciting" (i.e. exposed). Mixes main canyon views with some neat side canyons. The point itself (i.e. Observation Point) provides a great way to see Angel's Landing from above (the top elevation of the Observation point hike is a fair bit higher than that of Angel's Landing).

A nice little intro hike (just an hour or two) is a short trail near the main campgrounds - I think it is called the watchman trail. Goes up to a bench below a prominent point called the Watchman, and looks down over Springdale (the little town outside the park).

Other very nice hikes:
-the hike to the Emerald pools is nice, and not that long.
-if you continue up (past Angel's Landing) on the west rim trail, you can access the high country. In april there may well be snow up there. If you want a long dayhike this'll fit the bill. Excellent scenery, of course.
-If you like off-trail adventures and a bit of ropework, there's left fork north creek. Goes through an area called 'the subway'. You should do a little bit of reading on canyoneering before you tackle something like this, though.

I have a couple of good hike writeups for Zion on my webpage (one of which was when I took my Dad on a desert southwest trip). Here's the links:

A bit of writeup on taking my dad to Zion, plus the hike to the Emerald Pools...

Hike with my dad up Emerald Pools Trail (2003)

Another page from the same trip, this time describing the hike to Observation Point:

Hike up to Observation Point (2003)

Here's a page with a good description of the hike up Angel's Landing. It is taken from a page in a trip we took in the spring of 2005 (mostly a grand canyon backpack trip, but we did Angel's Landing on the last day):

Angel's Landing Hike 2005

And one more description of one of our Angel's Landing hike, just so I've got all the angles covered:

Angel's Landing Hike 2004

Hope you find all of this useful!

 

[alavigne]

Oh, one more thing...

regarding Bryce, it is possible that you may find the trails in late April still "officially closed" because of snow (trailhead elevations are 8500-9000 feet). They seem to do that there (guess they don't want to appear responsible if someone slips and hurts themselves I guess). I think you could still hike them if you really wanted to (bring some yaktrax or crampons).

Also, hikes in Bryce are quite easy and short, although very spectacular.

Now... if you want to talk about neat, let's talk about all the cool slot canyons in the Escalante area just an hour east of Bryce!!

 

[MattS]

I spent a week in southern utah last year. As mentioned before, Angel's Landing and the Narrow's are spectular hikes. My full trip report and pictures are at:
http://home.comcast.net/~matthew.smith2/southwest/southwest.html

 

[mavs00]

Definitely Angel's Landing is a must, so long as you are ok with heights (besides, there's a chain to hold on to for the exposed sections). Not very long, perhaps 3-4 hours at most. Plus it is practically paved most of the way. I think I've probably hiked this trail close to ten times now.

Hmmmm, ya think Andrew.......... We opted for OP for that exact reason. Angel's Landing was just a little too scary for some in our group. {just check out Andrew's photos 2005 to see what I'm talking about} Seeing his pics makes me want to try it now though.

As an aside, Anyone else ever noticed this about hikes in UTAH (out west in General), that the drops are WAAAAAAAAY more dramatic than most of the stuff we see back here. Doesn't matter if it's Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands, or whereever, some of those 2000' drops are terrifying

I remember once in Canyonlands, I walked across this thing called -MESA ARCH-, which is a 6-8 wide flat arch that spans an 1500 chasm down to the canyon floor. A puff of wind (breeze really) came up as I was about 1/2 way accross, and I'll tell you, I nearly crapped myself. It was paralyzing and intense, and I'm not typically prone to heights issues at all while hiking. Musta been the 1000'+ "no bounce" drop that had my heart racing. At least if you fell off Gothics North face, you'd bounce most of the way down as opposed to a free fall.

 

[sli74]

Well, everything I wouuld have said have already been said so I won't ramble too much . . .

1. Zion - Angel's Landing and backpacking the Narrows . . . . loved both but backpacking the Narrows would be my suggestion if I had to choose just one thing to do there.

2. I also prefered Bryce to Zion. The rim trail done VERY early in the morning before the general tourist population begin arriving by shuttle. You can hike one way and ride the shuttle back to your car. BEAUTIFUL is an understatement. The backpacking trip of the Under the Rim trail gives you solitude though the WOW factor is a bit less, though still wonderful.

Have fun !!! I LOVED Utah.

sli74

 

[alavigne]

As an aside, Anyone else ever noticed this about hikes in UTAH (out west in General), that the drops are WAAAAAAAAY more dramatic than most of the stuff we see back here. Doesn't matter if it's Zion, Bryce, Canyonlands, or whereever, some of those 2000' drops are terrifying

I remember once in Canyonlands, I walked across this thing called -MESA ARCH-, which is a 6-8 wide flat arch that spans an 1500 chasm down to the canyon floor. A puff of wind (breeze really) came up as I was about 1/2 way accross, and I'll tell you, I nearly crapped myself. It was paralyzing and intense, and I'm not typically prone to heights issues at all while hiking. Musta been the 1000'+ "no bounce" drop that had my heart racing. At least if you fell off Gothics North face, you'd bounce most of the way down as opposed to a free fall.

Completely Agree. The vertical relief and ruggedness out west is far beyond our gentle, rounded eastern mountains - especially so on the Colorado Plateau. I guess that's what an extra few hundred millions years of erosion will get ya!

If you like the excitement of Angel's landing and its self-belaying chain, you'd love the "via ferrata" of the Italian Dolomites (although of course there you are properly clipped in). Fantastic exposure and pretty safe if done properly.

Anyone here done much slot canyoning? Four of us are going to head to Utah in march and I'm going to finally spend an entire trip just exploring the slot canyons of the Escalante. (I've only previously just hit one or two every time I pass through).

 

[DougPaul]

Bryce and Zion are both beautiful--just different.

Bryce is small--one can do a nice tour in 1-2 days including some nice dayhikes. Both sunset and sunrise can be spectacular.

Zion is much larger--most people go in the SE entrance. Don't miss the NW, SW, and E entrances. Second the Angel's Landing hike, Watchman trail, Emerald Pools, Great Arch.

Re the narrows:
There is flash flood hazard. Make sure you check with the Rangers and check the weather before you go. The collection zone is pretty large (and not visible from the canyon) so a storm 10mi away can wash you away.

Doug

 

[pudgy_groundhog]

Anyone here done much slot canyoning? Four of us are going to head to Utah in march and I'm going to finally spend an entire trip just exploring the slot canyons of the Escalante. (I've only previously just hit one or two every time I pass through).

Halfmoon (my better half) did a trip last year to Robber's Roost by Hanksville I believe. We're going to Arizona/Utah in May and will do some easy canyons (mainly because I'll be along ).

Which canyons are you doing?

 

[alavigne]

Halfmoon (my better half) did a trip last year to Robber's Roost by Hanksville I believe. We're going to Arizona/Utah in May and will do some easy canyons (mainly because I'll be along ).

Which canyons are you doing?

I've heard of the Robber's Roost area - but haven't done anything in that area.

Which Escalante canyons are we thinking of doing?

So far, it'll be a mix of some wider, scenic canyons and some narrow technical slot canyons. Some possibilities are:

Phipps Wash
Harris Wash
Egypt 3
Bighorn Canyon
Upper part of Brimstone Canyon
Coyote Gulch

I've already done the short and infamous peekaboo and spooky gulch slot canyons (along with some others), and I am very much looking forward to doing more!

 

[Snowflea]

Ditto everyone's Zion suggestions. Hidden Canyon is a cool trail, too. But actually, if you're spending a whole week in the Zion environs, you'll have time to hike most of the trails there.

Another place worth spending a few hours to a day is Snow Canyon, located just a few minutes north of St. George. There are ~20 (?) miles worth of trails, cool rocks, and a lot less people.

I HIGHLY recommend Escalante National Monument, too, but I see you're saving that for another trip--wise move!

 

[halfmoon]

Canyoneering

alavigne,

We are going to hit up Coyote Gulch, Peekaboo, Brimstone, and Spooky in Escalante this May. Then head over to Zion for the subway, mystery canyon, fat man's misery & paraweanup, and pine creek canyon. Then wind it up with some easier stuff like buckskin gulch and paria, then really go luxury down in havasu canyon.

My friend and I did a 5 day trip in Robber's Roost....saw no one in 5 days. It was ALOT of routefinding. We got stuck in a few slots, and my partner had to drink some nasty water out of a pothole with dead rats....you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes. We were climbing on slickrock alot, using hip belays where needed. It was the most physically demanding trip of my life. Water is a BIG issue, and the weight of a heavy pack...2 gallons of water, ropes, technical gear, etc. make it a tough go in 90 degree weather. But I had a great time, and wouldn't trade the memories for gold.

 

[audrey]

Thank you all so much for your thoughts and pics! Halfmoon, the Joe Braun website is an inspiration and contains some great ideas for off-trail exploring. And the photos!!

The place we rented sits at the foot of Canaan mountain just south of Zion. Nobody seems to have heard of it, which of course is why I want to climb it. It is a huge flat-topped mesa ringed by vermilion cliffs, with miles of wandering through the red and white rocks, complete with some hoodoos and a watery canyon to ascend. A great picture (and more) at

http://www.zionnational-park.com/images/albums/pages/zion-cannan-21_jpg.htm