Zion: West Rim
Trailhead 9:15 AM. The first two miles of the west rim trail are extremely strenuous, unforgiving, switchbacks. Most trails level out now and then, but this stretch seemed to be entirely uphill. About a fourth into the 2-mile climb, I caught up with a gentleman from Florida…
Zion: The Narrows
On Monday morning I speed-hiked down the West Rim Trail. On the canyon floor, I shuttled to Watchman campground, set up camp, and filled my belly with a delicious Beef Ravioli MRE – one of the best yet! I crammed all electronics and paper documents into waterproof bags and stuffed those bags into my backpack. Today I would hike The Narrows.
Zion: East Rim
Hiking up the east rim from the canyon floor was strenuous – switchback after switchback with short spurts of level terrain interspersed. Toward the end of the climb, thighs and calves on fire, I took solace in the fact that the return trip downhill would be a cakewalk.
Zion National Park, UT
Finishing up early at Buckskin Gulch allowed us just enough daylight to skim the surface of Zion National Park. Zion, Utah’s oldest and most visited national park, is located in the southwestern corner of the state. The park is amazing, but don’t think that you’re going to see much of it in one afternoon.
Buckskin Gulch Slot Canyon, Utah
The website Adventuresports.com defines a slot canyon as “a narrow canyon carved into sandstone or slick rock by centuries of rain and flash flooding… often filled or partially filled with water and can be extremely dangerous to navigate through.” Buckskin Gulch, the longest and deepest slot canyon in the southwest, is located in southern Utah and superintended by the Bureau of Land Management.
Four Corners Monument, UT/CO/NM/AZ
Continuing along on our Summer ’08 Road Trip, Angela and I left Mesa Verde and headed west towards Buckskin Gulch, a slot canyon on the Arizona/Utah border. On the way we stopped at Four Corners Monument, where visitors can simultaneously exist in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. The monument is owned and operated by the Navajo Nation…