Zion National Park

Keyhole Canyon is a tight slot canyon that is found in the heart of Zion National Park just off the Zion Mt. Carmel (highway9) Highway. Unlike many of the slot canyons in Zion this one has a quick hike leading to the entrance. Due to this and the easier rappels, Keyhole Canyon is usually considered the beginners slot canyon in Zion. The whole adventure is only a half mile and it takes about 2 hours to complete. Keyhole is cold and there are cold water swims. Although some people do brave keyhole without a wetsuit, its an uncomfortable and rushed trip

Orderville Canyon is a tributary of the Zion Narrows and the canyon that most opt for after they graduate from the Zion Narrows. Many actually get a taste of the Orderville Narrows when they are hiking the Zion Narrows and notice the off shoot. However the park only allows hikers to go to the first waterfall. Going past this without the proper gear and knowledge can be hazardous to your health. Often people end up jumping and this results in injuries.

Orderville Canyon Trail
Its nice to have a four wheel drive to get to the trailhead for Orderville Canyon, but if the weather is nice a 2WD can make it. Follow the trail description from the link below and enjoy. Orderville Canyon is one of the most dramatic slot canyon adventures in Zion National Park and the best part is that almost anyone in good condition can enjoy this hike without having to have technical canyoneering skills and rope management skills.

The Zion Narrows Trail is the one trail that just about everyone that knows of Zion National Park has heard of. We got to play in the narrows a couple of times this year, but did not do the entire hike from Chamberlains Ranch. We will have to put that on our todo list for this spring. We did go through from Mystery Springs to the Temple of Sinewava while the upper narrows was closed. Its was flowing heavy and it was a swimmer even in the short section we went through. Later in the season we again got to exit out the narrows when we did Orderville Canyon. The Narrows deserves its name as one of the most incredible hikes anywhere.

Zion Narrows

This weekend we hiked the West Rim in Zion National Park. The hike is usually done as a backpack, but we opted to do it as a quick day hike instead. My hiking partners for the day were Bo Beck and Tim Tabor. We started early and got our car shuttle started. We parked one vehicle at the Zion Canyon Visitor Center and another at the Kolob Terrace where the trailhead for the West Rim is located. The trail begins with a even to gradual up and down hike through the forested path of the West Rim from Lava Falls. After Pototo Hollow the trail steepens as it reaches to Scouts Outlook. If you have never hiked out to Angels Landing don’t miss this chance. After Angels landing the last couple of miles is a downhill trek into Zion Canyon. If the shuttle is running jump on and catch a ride back to your vehicle. If you hike this after the shuttles shut down for the season be sure to park at the Grotto instead of the visitor center.

I had done Echo Canyon before in 2004 at the end of a six year long drought and my 3 year old son, my husband and I just walked a large section of it. This time through we swam and made our way through cold pools of water and there were some fun raps and downclimbs. We wore our wetsuits and were again comfortable. The water was not as cold as Das Boot (we did this the day after doing Das Boot) but we were glad we had on suits. It was darker in Echo Canyon, and although I did not realize it at the time, it was clear when I looked back at my photos. Echo Canyon, like Das Boot, is a narrow wet canyon with a lot of fun downclimbs. To find it hike up from Weeping Rock past the entrance to the East Rim Trail or Hike up from the East Rim Trail and go up a ways toward Observation Point. The complete trail description is on my website. http://www.zionnational-park.com This canyon I give another thumbs up!

Bo and I ventured into Behunin before it got too hot and while it was hot enough that we would not mind some cold water. Behunin is a wide wash located about mid-way up the West Rim Trail from the Grotto. It was an enjoyable hike into the canyon with some long raps throughout. The trail ends at the Middle Emerald Pool area in a rock pile. From there is a nice easy jaunt down to the Zion Shuttle.

This was a fun weekend where my hiking partner, Bo Beck, and canyoneer Shane Burrows did Das Boot and The Subway. Bo brought along another friend who likes to go nameless on the net, but most know him as the bushwacker. Das Boot is an exciting narrow slot with many fun downclimbs that opens up into The Subway. The water is cold in Das Boot so a wet suit is needed even in mid-summer. Bo and I wore 5/7mm suits and we were comfortable. Shane is use to going faster and wore a 3mm suit but I stop and take a lot of photos so Shane’s teeth were chattering. Das Boot is a great slot and one of the top on my list. If you attempt it be competent at downclimbing since the raps are short, awkward and downclimbing is usually done instead in many places in the slot. Shane Burrows writes the http://www.climb-utah.com web sit and of course you can find the trail descriptions on my site as well.

http://www.zionnational-park.com

Parunuweap and the Barracks are without a doubt my favorite place in the world. The hike getting there is an ideal adventure with a Zion National Part start, one of the funnest slot canyons anywhere and warm spring at the end! The East Fork of the Virgin River (Parunuweap Canyon) is as impressive as the Zion Narrows but situated in a remote and wild environment. I got to finally meet Dave Webb from Utah.com who I have been talking to about hiking together for almost a year! He brought his brother and his brothers son and radio talk show host Chris Draper. We all hung out in Mount Carmel Junction for the night and set out on our trip after Chris’s early morning Saturday Outdoor Show on KSL. He is able to do this by a satellite phone. My hiking partner Bo Beck went with us and one of his co-workers and his friend caught up with us at Fat Man’s Misery.

Dave put a video of some of the fun highlights of the hike on the net. People here at work keep teasing me about doing the dog paddle through the water. ~laughing~

Dave’s Pages and the Video
http://utah.com/travelheadlines/
http://www.redrockadventure.com/video/misery.html

Thanks Everyone! It was a great trip!

Here are a couple of photos of the hike. The first is Bo Beck climbing the chimney and taking the rope up for those of us that are less skilled in climbing and the next is the brige itself. The mountain is often also called Crawford Mountain and the arch, Crawford Arch.

This was a great climb. The weather was warm, but we were concerned there would be snow on the face of the entry. We hiked up to the North Guardian Angel and sure enough there was. We decided to go for it anyway and chose a route to the left of the usual crack. It was not bad at all, but we did have to still cross a couple of snow sections.

Bo Beck, my hiking partner led the way. He tied in and took the rope up the side of the mountain. I was terrified of him doing this but he said its a breeze. He took off up the side of the moutain (a fall here would be deadly) with his HUGE backpack on. I shook my head and decided that since he does teach climbing and he is a Zion search and rescue veteran I need to just trust he won’t get hurt. So I pulled out my camera and starting shooting. He threw the rope down and I climbed up, but he had the rope secured and I was totally safe. At the same time three other guys were climbing up the mountain side. I found this unusual that we had chose the same day to climb since when we got to the top and looked at the log it is obvious that few have ever climbed the North Guardian Angel. The peak is on some list hoewver as one of the top 100 peaks one needs to climb, so its getting more attention lately.

Bo had done the peak once before, almost one year ago. Our friend Ram had done it 13 times! I like a little more variety in life, but that is quite the accomplishment. We climbed the rest of the mountain in the same manner. We all got to the top and signed in on the book. (the book is modly and needs someone to bring up a new jar to put it in!)

On the way down we all went together. We had a hand line and climbed down to the ridge. The snow had melted quite a bit but we were stilll unable to go down the crack. The descent was actually easier than the ascent.

This was another great trip with my best friend Bo. I hope to do many more!